#also have arya deal with the iron bank would give more time to dany to tie the meereen storyline and travel towards westeros

[asprettyasyourown]

How do you expect the Hardhome plot to play out in the books? Especially with Arya’s and Faceless men’s investment in the same?

Hi anon. I assume you’re referring to what happened to the wildlings in Hardhome?

(For those who don’t remember, after Mance Ryder’s forces have been defeated south of the Wall by Stannis, some wildlings were led by a wood witch named Mother Mole to Hardhome. She predicted that they would “find salvation where they once found damnation” and had a vision of ships coming to sail them south. However, they didn’t fare so well there, the situation growing so dire they had to eat their own dead while they’re presumably surrounded by wights. Jon sent help to get them out (it’s not well received), but slavers came first. The wildlings, following the prophecy, believed them to be rescuers and sent their women and children to them. Of course the slavers had no intention to do any rescuing and thus roped them up to sell them in Lys. But while they were sailing a huge storm broke: they were separated, one ship ending up in Lys and the other in Braavos.)

Honestly, I think it might very well be the catalyst for Arya to leave the Faceless Men. Of course, there could be other factors as well (learning about Jon’s “death”, maybe meeting Jeyne and have her tell about the shit-show that is the North now), but it might be the breaking point for Arya.

Look, we know our girl doesn’t fare well with the FM. We know she struggles to leave her Northern roots behind when she killed Daeron, a Night’s Watch deserter - something the Starks are entrusted with. With her refusal to give up Needle because it reminds her of home, of family, Jon especially. And ultimately her warging of Nymeria, her other half, who now serves as a link to her identity and her land.

We know she is fiercely protective of the smallfolk and has a strong sense of justice, from Mycah to Weasel and Gendry and Hot Pie, or when she defended Sam against the braavosi who were looking to rob him. We know she loves them and being around them, like when she used to sit at her father’s side and listen to the travelers coming to Winterfell, how she likes learning about Braavos’ culture and people (though one can argue it is part of her training, I do think she genuinely loves doing it).

We know she struggles to adapt to the neutral stance of the Many-Faced God, since she had to convinces herself to kill her first target (the old insurance guy who was conning people) by thinking he was a bad man who deserved it, or when she exclaimed that the masters should have been the ones to die instead of the slaves when the Kindly Man told her about the story of Braavos.

So when she learns that a ship full of of wildlings women and children (Northern roots) are being held to be sold as slaves (sense of justice, love of people), she will want to help them (can’t hold a neutral stance). It’s in her core. I don’t see a situation that could draw Arya more than this one.

My guess is that she will beg the FM to intervene, or at least let her intervene. I see her trying to play into Braavos and the FM’s creation (by slaves who rebelled against their oppressors) to appeal to the Kindly Man. But he will refuse her because he’s a little bitch because the FM are neutral and rescuing them would mean taking lives that were not meant to be taken blah blah blah. This will be when Arya finally realizes that the Faceless Men are full of shit, and leaves for good.

(Btw, this would make a nice parallel to her begging Jaqen to help her escape with Gendry and Hot Pie, but in this case Arya doesn’t have any leverage against the Kindly Man - she can’t really blackmail him, it would backfire spectacularly - so she just says “fuck it” and leaves to do it herself, since apparently she has to do everything around here.)

Now how she would free the wildlings is a bit trickier. Arya is still a very young girl after all. Contrary to Dany, she doesn’t have an army or dragons - yet - so she can’t just barge in the ship, kill the slavers and take off. I mean, it would technically be possible, but the afterward logistics would be a problem (how would she feed such a big number of people? How would she get them back across the Narrow Sea? etc). So I have two theories.

One is that Arya’s wildlings join Dany’s Dothraki/Unsullied/etc and they all come back to Westeros together. But while Arya will definitively meet Dany and team up with her (there’s too many foreshadowings to be any way else), the logistics of their meeting is a bit hazardous to me, at least for now. Meereen is a long way from Braavos after all. Maybe if both crowds are travelling towards Westeros and somewhere on the journey they run into each other…? It’s a possibility, but I think the timeline would conflict. Dany still has to deal with the shit-show that is Meereen right now, and it’s not something that will be resolved in one chapter. I guess the Meereen storyline could be tied by the time Arya cut ties with the Faceless Men, but even if it did, Dany and her people still have a long way to get to Braavos/Arya. How is Arya going to feed her people by the time they get to her? So while this theory could technically happen, I doubt it will.

My second theory involves the Iron Bank. I saw a great theory (can’t remember where, if anyone has a link please give it to me!) that the killing of Raff the Sweetling in the TWOW Mercy chapter was actually orchestrated by the Iron Bank. They paid the Faceless Men to make it appear like Raff was the one who killed Mercy (believable, since Raff is a known rapist and no one would think that such a young silly girl could take down a grown soldier). When Braavos will learn that an official from Westeros killed a sweet young actress after possibly raping her, it will cause an uproar and finally give the Iron Bank an excuse to cut ties with the Iron Throne and engage in martial repercussions to pay for the huge debt the crown owns them (and probably to have a better stranglehold on Westeros). So that would mean Arya didn’t actually went rogue (except when she said “Think so?”, but the FM has very little chance to hear about that), and it creates a link between Arya and the Iron Bank through the Faceless Men.

Now I think the Kindly Man very much expects Arya to leave the House of Black and White one day. He knows she can’t bring herself to erase her identity, and thus will never be a true Faceless Woman. But he also knows how valuable Arya Stark is, as the (apparent) sole successor of the North’s throne. And since he works with (for?) the Iron Bank, I wouldn’t be surprised if he told them who she is. To the Iron Bank, this would represent an incredible opportunity: get hold of the Six Kingdoms through the crown’s debt AND the North through Arya.

So once Arya leaves the FM, I can see them stepping in to offer their help with the rescuing of the wildlings, kind of like Illyrio helped Dany for the promise of Viserys paying him back once he gets on the Iron Throne, or like the Manderlys are trying to do with Rickon. They could offer food and shelter and means to go back to Westeros, thus creating a debt Arya would have to pay once she regains her place as the North’s heir. It would also explain why the Kindly Man would let her leave the HOBAW unharmed while she knows so many of their secrets, because she would still be working for him technically - as a pawn.

(Of course, this plan would fall short since Arya is not actually the only Stark alive, and she isn’t next in succession. I mean, she does have a lot of foreshadowing of ending Queen, but that’s another topic. I also doubt Arya would let herself be manipulated like this, or that the other Northern lords (and siblings) would be fine with that.)

In terms of narrative, I think it makes sense. For someone with such a large amount of leadership qualities, foreshadowings and experiences, she has been surprisingly removed from anything political (well, not as much removed than a bystander). I mean, Robb was King in the North, Jon Commander of the Night’s Watch, Bran is the Prince of Winterfell, Sansa has Littlefinger trying to make her queen from the Vale and Rickon has the Manderlys working to put him on the North’s throne. Every Stark kid has had people working to place them in positions of power and back in Winterfell (some with good intentions, some not), except for Arya. Yet she actually proved she would be a great leader. I think the Iron Bank could very much play this role in Arya’s storyline.

Anyway, here’s my (very long) answer. I hope this is what you expected!

[hvitserkk]

Just wanted to say thar your "i don't have love here" edit is absolutely amazing.what did you think of the episode?

Thank you! Although I’m sad now because I could’ve added the Dothraki, but when I was adding Jorah actually dying, I forgot cos it was too dark so I went to the next episode LOL

But thank you! 

I really liked the episode here are some of my thoughts: 

For the episode as a whole, this last week I was 100% on the “burn KL” bandwagon, but that was too much. Like it went bad fast. I didn’t expect that much damage. It was very sad to see the reactions of people in the city, Jon, Davos, Arya, Tyrion. Too see everything they’ve wanted just crumble literally to ash. 

Here’s some thoughts on the characters: 

Sandor - very sad about his death. I really like the convo he had with Arya about becoming him. Like his entire life was filled with rage and that lead him to lead a very lonely life. So sad he died in fire though. 

Arya - I am glad she made it out alive, but I’m more glad that she wasn’t the one to kill Cersei! 

Jon - I feel so bad for him. He chose Dany’s side and watch Varys be executed and I think on the scene where the sound was low and you could just hear him breathing, I think that was when he realized he did choose the wrong side. We know Jon has never wanted to be a leader at all, his whole life he’s been the “second” tier. I think it’s safe to say that he will probably end up on the throne.

Varys - Just want to say real quick, that I’ve seen a lot of people saying that his “men choose power” comment was like sexist, but I’m pretty sure he meant like “man kind”. Like the people choose who they want to lead, and it’s obvious people are choosing Jon. He wasn’t a fave of mine, but it was sad to see him go.

Cersei / Jamie - I am so glad that Cersei died. I wanted to her to suffer a worse fate, because imo, dying in Jamies arms was the best way to die for her. I really wanted him to kill her because, once again, I was on the bandwagon of “he loves Brienne and is going to KL to kill Cersei and said mean things to Brienne because he knew Dany would burn KL down”. So I was very sad to see that he would always love Cersei. I think that acting from Lena was the once of her best performances for GoT. Like he going from denial thinking the scorpions and Iron Fleet were going to save them and the fear finding out that Dany was winning and then her really crying trying to escape. I don’t like Cersei at all. I wanted her death to come like 4 seasons earlier, but Lena did amazing. As for Jamie, in the words of Tyra Banks “WE WERE ALL ROOTING FOR YOU! HOW DARE YOU!”

Euron - finally. Wanted Jamie or Cersei to tell him he was never a King and was never going to be a father though. 

Grey Worm - I am most disappointed in him. Even if Dany hadn’t gone mad, he really was the start of the massacre, because that’s what it was. The battle of KL went from just that, a battle. Dany won, and when she started burning down the place, the soldiers could have saved hundreds of people, like Jon and the Winterfell soldiers tried to do. I get 100% that he wanted to avenge Missandei, but Missandei’s entire life was filled with fear and hatred and that’s exactly what Grey Worm and Dany put KL through. If they would have stopped when the KL guard laid their weapons down, THAT would have been the vengeance Missandei would have wanted. They finally won what they had been fighting for this entire time. 

Dany - Okay so before I start I want to say that Dany is my fave, I’m part of @targaryensource for Daenerys, so don’t send me any hate pls lol. Okay  also before I start, I want to also say that I am 100% here for Mad Daenerys and that’s mostly because I have never been the viewer to want things to “change” or fit my views, ofc I have my own opinions and wants from shows, but I take the shows as they are! 

So let’s start with the bells, I DO NOT think the sound of bells is what turned Dany mad, she didn’t her the dingle and was like ???!!! I think it’s what they represented and what that meant to her. Let’s start with her early life, her and Viserys spent their lives alone, their entire life, they had nothing. They were in hiding. I didn’t like Viserys but if we take into account why he was the way he was, then we can understand. Dany was the same, she feared Viserys and him releasing the “dragon”. Then she was forced to marry Drogo, and she fell in love with him and that was the first thing that was “hers” that she lost. She also lost her brother, and even though he was an abuser, that’s one of the only people she had. 

Then she had the dragons. I don’t think she was so naive that she wouldn’t kill, but I think her killing that witch in order to bring the dragons was a big step for her character. So throughout the seasons she raised the dragons, and we can guess that she spent a lot of alone time, sitting by the fire with those dragons. Then two of them were murdered in front of her. 

Skip to Jorah and Missandei, I could write an entire book on their relationship with Dany, but we know and once again, she lost something she never had before, love and friendship.

My timeline is all over the place but let me add in finding out her father really was this “mad king” and an overall terrible person. Finding out that her brother wasn’t the monster they mad him out to be. Those, good or bad, for her must have been devastating because again all she probably had growing up was her thoughts and memories of what they had / should have had. 

I don’t want to really get into Jon x Dany, but I will say that the thought of her losing what she was raised her whole life believing was rightfully hers to someone she loved was also a big deal. He didn’t want it, but I think Varys said it right when he said  “men choose”. Seems like every group Jon comes into contact with choose him over Dany, and she’s noticed. I don’t think it has anything to do with him being a man. Like look at Cersei, she’s had men, but she’s always in power. I think it’s because of who he is and what he’s been through. Everyone knows of the Starks and when Eddard and Robb both have done for Westeros, and specifically the North, so Jon is the next, even though he’s always been “the bastard”. 

So I think that it wasn’t the jingle of bells that set her off, I think it was the thought of everything she had lost, now the people that essentially took it from her (not the people as individuals, but KL as the capital, as the symbolism) are giving up, but it’s still not enough. 

Now don’t get me wrong, obviously she killed probably thousands of people due to hatred, BUT I’m just saying that her entire life she’s only ever had a handful of people care for her unconditionally, and even more recent, shown the unconditional loyalty to not only her cause, but to her. And I think that’s what sent her off, the bells signaling surrender, but that isn’t enough to make up for what she lost. 

I’ve literally told all my GoT friends (literally two lol) that my wishes for the end is when Dany had that “dream” (vision?) when she was in the throne room, but left the throne and went to her baby and Drogo… remember that snowy scene? I want that to be re-done, but maybe like how everyone’s saying Jon kills her, like if Jon stabs her, and she stumbles into the throne room, and it’s not snow this time, it’s ashes and right as she touches the arm of the throne, she falls in front of the throne and dies. LOL that would be IT. 

Okay so those are my thoughts, and like I said, I’m here for Mad Daenerys, I’m not one to make a fuss over shows, so I can fully appreciate and enjoy the series, even s8. I love it, I got the main things I’ve wanted so far, Cersei dying, Euron dying and since we won’t be getting Dany as queen, I’ll be happy with Jon. 

[sheikah]

In the books wasn’t there 3 treasons, and one of them was a treason of love or something? Maybe daario will be danys final treason? I guess it could happen but honestly daario and Cersei just sounds odd to me. Even if he’s bitter and wants revenge, he knows exactly what dany is capable of and knows he’d be on the losing end.

Hey, anon. I’m going to use this ask to make a post about all of these “leaks” in general. Hope you don’t mind. The supposed leaks can be read here. More of my answer under the cut. 

Yes–in Dany’s book visit to HOTU she is warned of three treasons and one is “for love.”

Because of that, I agree that the idea of Daario working against her to be possible. But if I’m really analyzing it, I think that Daario leading the Golden Company would be the betrayal for gold–because he would be getting paid by Cersei/Euron/The Iron Bank, and I don’t think he would fight Dany “for love” of Cersei. It doesn’t add up. And I also don’t believe Daario was genuinely in love with Dany, so I can’t see his alliance with Cersei as like a spurned lover’s revenge. 

So to answer your question, Daario could be the final treason. But I think he fits better into the treason for gold than for love. 

Anyway, I also agree that it seems odd for this Daario plotline to be legitimate at all. So I’m going to address first the reasons I think the “leaks” are suspect. 

1. Tyrion and Varys are not mentioned. To be fair to OP, OP claims to only know details of episode 1 via a conversation with a source, and a few scattered details about the rest of the season thereafter. So possibly episode 1 is not heavy on Tyrion or Varys activity. However, OP didn’t mention this (at least not at the time that I read the leaks. He/she could have edited. I haven’t checked) which tells me Tyrion and Varys slipped their mind, which tells me that they just made up this episode plot and left them out. Say what you will about D&D and their flaws this past season, but Tyrion would be part of an episode they wrote in which everyone gets to Winterfell. He’s a mediator and would certainly be involved in the Jon parentage conflict, as well as some sort of interaction with Sansa at the very least. Tyrion is one of the big 5. He’s going to be around. 

2. The way OP described certain parts of the plot sounds “fanficy.” For example, they are vague and not very detailed when it comes to several plotlines, but they described in great detail how Jon supposedly kisses the tears away from Dany’s face when she cries about the Night King taking over Viserion. 

It also sounds overly cheesy and oddly detailed that Jon tells Arya that seeing her again feels better than coming back from the dead. Not to mention that Jon didn’t seem to enjoy the feeling of coming back from the dead at all. 

3. Certain parts of this don’t make sense considering what we know of last season. My understanding of the final shots of 7.07 is that Bran used ravens to spy on the Night King again, and that he was able to see the Night King riding Viserion and blowing a hole in The Wall near Eastwatch. You can see the scene again here. 

Based on this, the leaker’s claim that the season opens with Bran seeing this seems a little odd. We should believe that Bran already saw it, and instead begin the season by dealing with the aftermath. With only 6 episodes left, I can’t see a re-hash of this scene, a scene which already delivered its emotional payload and would be a weak opening for the final season imo. 

Furthermore, the leaker claims this revelation disturbs Bran and that he is so bothered by it, he is distracted and doesn’t address Jon’s parentage with him right away when Jon returns to Winterfell. I can see why from a writing perspective they would hold off on this revelation for tension, but it shouldn’t be because of Bran’s supposed emotional turmoil. Season 7 did its best to convince us that Bran no longer experiences emotional turmoil. This would be very inconsistent. 

4. Why would Jaime swear his sword to Dany upon arriving at Winterfell? We already know that Dany has abandoned the mentality of demanding oaths of fealty considering all that is going on, so we must assume Jaime does this of his own volition. But it doesn’t make sense. Jaime is disillusioned about Cersei, yes. But disliking Cersei does not equal respect for Dany. Jaime tried to murder her in 7.04. I’m not sure he’s going to be kneeling to her any time soon. His oath is to help in the war against the WW. That doesn’t require an oath to Dany personally. 

5. Speaking of Jaime, I think his death is more likely than Brienne’s. I see Jaime finally redeeming himself as “Kingslayer” by possibly slaying the Night King himself and maybe dying in the process. I know this is a long shot but I would love for him to be the one to deliver the final blow to NK as the true Kingslayer and one the realm would remember fondly forever. I do think it’s likely the Jaime/Brienne romance will proceed and that one of them will die. I just think it’s more likely to be Jaime than Brienne. 

6. Daario leading the Golden Company seems odd to me. How would he become the leader of this group when last we heard, he was maintaining peace and freedom in the former slave cities? When Daario was a mercenary, he was a Second Sun, not a member of the Golden Company. This seems strange to me.  

7. OP claims to know nothing of the ending. I think this is awfully convenient. OP claims to know that Jon and Dany stay together despite Jon’s angst over parentage reveal. OP claims to know the ending of Jaime/Brienne storyline. OP claims to know that Jon and Dany are likely to survive because Melisandre dies to save them. But OP doesn’t know specifics of Night King’s death? Doesn’t know for sure who survives the series? What kind of scenario exists where OP is told all of these super specific details but doesn’t actually know the ending? It seems like OP just didn’t want to write that part because their “tidbits” remain easier to swallow without the finality of the series’ end there as part of them. The other “leaks” presented ludicrous endings and were immediately shut down for it. Without presenting an ending at all, OP seems more credible in some ways. But it also makes me doubt them. 

8. OP never mentions Dany’s pregnancy plot until prompted in the comments. Again, just like Tyrion and Varys, this strikes me as odd. If there is indeed a Targaryen baby, which OP says there is, this would be a huge plot point. So for OP to know this, as they claim to in the comments, but leave it out of their description of the plot in the post itself, makes no sense. This tells me again that OP is making all of this up, forgot about the Targ baby, and had to cover their ass when it was brought up in the comments. 

All that being said, of all the leaks so far, these were some I was most inclined to believe. Full disclosure: that might be because these leaks are the only ones so far that don’t give us a sadistically horrible ending for Jonerys. So maybe I was ready to accept these simply because of my Jonerys obsession. But I do think there are other reasons to give these a little more credit than other “leaks” we’ve seen thus far. 

1. The Greyjoy plot makes sense. I’ve seen other fake leaks that present Euron as the real threat and villain of season 8, as the last man standing after Night King and Cersei fall. In these theories, Euron is some sort of evil mastermind that manages to kill many principle characters. I just don’t see that. So this leak sounds closer to the mark. We can already see that Cersei’s agreement with Euron is fragile and that she is using him. When he discovers that, he might very well go back to the Iron Islands to protect what’s his or gather his forces to retaliate. 

We’ve also now seen the beginnings of Theon’s redemption arc that I personally believe will culminate in saving Yara. Theon saving Yara wouldn’t be that significant if Euron is still in King’s Landing with Cersei instead of at Pike posing a threat to Theon’s rescue mission. So all of what the leaker presents in this regard sounds right to me. 

I also think that Yara ultimately dying despite Theon’s efforts is in keeping with the tone of the series. We can’t have everything we want and I would be sad but not surprised if Yara is killed. It would also be the final straw to shake Theon out of his indecisiveness and inaction–his rage over this could believably compel him to kill Euron, providing a fitting and satisfying end to that subplot. 

2. I’ve always thought that Arya would admire Dany, and the leaker says as much. Arya is canonically aware of Visenya Targaryen and even the name of her sword. It’s not a stretch to think that Arya would look at Dany–a Targaryen woman who is brave enough to ride into battle alongside her men, a woman who tamed three dragons–and see her childhood hero, Visenya Targaryen, a warrior queen. It also fits with Arya’s character to trust someone based on Jon’s opinion, and according to OP, Jon still defends Dany to the Northerners, and Arya would see that. 

3. Even though I question it above, I don’t think the Daario plot is as crazy as others seem to think. Everyone is happy to constantly remind that there are only 6 episodes left. That being the case, I would be very surprised to see a host of new characters introduced as the captains of the Golden Company, because no matter who the writers choose, they will be a new character to show!canon. Having Daario lead the Company doesn’t make sense, especially to more invested fans like us. But the GA would probably enjoy the angst of him landing on Westeros to oppose Dany, and would also like a familiar face instead of a new character as the leader of the GC who only shows up briefly to likely be killed off a couple of episodes later. 

I also don’t think it’s that surprising that Daario could sleep with Cersei. One of the things that Dany always lamented about Daario in the books is that he clearly loved her for what she was, not who she was. Daario is arrogant and enjoys a challenge. He loved Dany because she was an impressive conquest–the Mother of Dragons, the Queen of Meereen. She was formidable in every way. He admired her power as much as her beauty. 

Dany on the other hand, was taken in by Daario’s persistence and charm. In other words, he’s good with women.

Now take Cersei. Despite her inability to truly oppose Dany’s and Jon’s forces, she is still Queen of the Seven Kingdoms. She is still a beautiful woman, the Light of the West. She is exactly Daario’s type. She is also no prude. Cersei has slept with inappropriate men besides Jaime before, and in the book she even subtly propositioned Ned Stark in an attempt to save herself when he revealed that he knew the truth about twincest and the illegitimacy of her children. So sleeping with a man casually, or with a seemingly unlikely man, is not OOC for Cersei. I don’t think that after suffering the loss of Jaime and the miscarriage of their last child, that Cersei would be in a position of confidence. She might crave the attention and comfort of a man like Daario who is 1. attractive 2. charming and 3. (assuming he really is the leader of the GC) a powerful ally. 

And of course, these two sleeping together would explain why Euron ditches Cersei, which I fully expect to happen.

4. The Melisandre story works. Sort of. I don’t really know what “army” she could pull together from Volantis but we know she’s leaving Westeros, we know there must be a reason. We know she knows about the WW and wants to prevent their destruction of humanity. We also know that according to what she told Varys in 7.03, she will return to Westeros and die there. 

Considering all of this, her dying in some way to save Jon and Dany after bringing aid doesn’t strike me as crazy. I think it’s fitting, actually. She’s another dynamic character who has changed a lot over the seasons and who has seen the error of her prophecies and her assumptions, but I think her belief in Jon and Dany and what they could do for the realm is genuine. She also said she had been ready to die for a long time. So her dying to save them makes sense. 

And of course, no one is kinder or a better judge of character than Dadvos. I am totally on board with him forgiving her in the end, after seeing that she gave her life to try and right her mistakes. 

5. As I said above, it does make sense to me to hold off on Jon’s parentage reveal immediately upon seeing Bran, so that part sounds in keeping with a good plot structure for the final season. 

OP’s descriptions of Jon’s reaction are also in line with what I’ve been saying–that Jon will handle this revelation the way he advised Theon to handle his own identity crisis. I think it sounds very in-character for Jon to accept his heritage from both families and to ultimately embrace Dany and their love despite the complications. Overall, I don’t believe this is a true leak. But parts of it sound okay, and we need to keep that in mind if we are interested in a potential real leak in the future. Because if one were to come about, it’s entirely possible that some of this information might overlap. After all, some fan theories have been correct in the past. 

So we can disregard this leak and we should. But I’m not going to dismiss the whole thing outright because to do so might be to dismiss or overlook a future, genuine leak the way many people did with Lads. After all, the wight hunt sounded ridiculous–and imo it kind of was. But it was real. Who knows what D&D are capable of lol?

[keepingup-withthetargaryens]

S7, E4:

Damn. God damn HBO.

I haven’t been writing these because I feel like everything is all a bit more straightforward these days, and people don’t need recaps because everyone is an ~expert~. I got close last week because it was such a badass episode, but this one. I. AM. Shook. 

The before-the-show “remember this” previews always get me because, i.e., in this one, we see Qyburn talking about a “solution” for the dragons, you see Dany getting frustrated, and you’re like SHIT NOT THE DRAGONS. 

But let’s back up.

So we begin at Highgarden (RIP OLENNA) with Jaime paying his debts to Bronn. I hate to say this, because as much as I hated the sand snakes (overall and just... overall) I kind of wanted Bronn to ride off to King’s Landing to save Tyene... somehow. Wishful thinking, because Bronn sends him off to help Dickon Tarly yell at people.

Now on to Cersei. Tycho, this guy from the Iron Bank, is hella creepy. He reminds me of my student loan officer from college who was like “if you take that fifth year, think about all you can accomplish”. And now 1/3 of my monthly income goes away to pay it off. Anyway.

Cersei is still possessed with the idea of controlling the “continent” which at this point sounds incredibly stupid given what we know is to come with the War for the Dawn. But, semantics.

Okay, this dagger situation. Littlefinger is being smarmy, and talking about how Bran almost died, and Catelyn did die. It’s almost as bad as when Bran was like “Hey Sansa, remember how beautiful you were when you were raped?”  It also sounds really “off” to hear Petyr call him “Brandon” because only Cat did that when she was yelling at him for climbing around Winterfell. 

I’m so glad that Meera interrupts the smarm-sesh because Bran isn’t really waving him off. And tbh whenever I see Meera, I just hope they’re not going to go down the “Jon and Meera” twins crackpot theory road. The one where they decide that there were TWO babies at the Tower of Joy, and Ned took one, and Howland took the other? I hate that theory. Let us have Jon. Meera’s a badass, but... THEN she starts talking about how when “they” (the white walkers) come, she needs to be with her family. Ah, yes, her father, THE Howland Reed, who killed Arthur Dayne, who was the only other living person not a baby who was there at the Tower when Lyanna made Ned swear to protect Jon’s true identity. 

Can SOMEONE please just tell this boy he’s a Targaryen already?! I’ve waited 12 years and that’s long enough.

Back to Bran. Bran is still being very Jaden Smith-like and it’s getting old because he’s not really helping anyone. Bran, this is why we left you out of an entire season. Remember that? The North does. 

So, now Arya is here, and maybe she can knock some sense into raisin-Bran. 

Arya looking at the Stark crest, though. *Tears up*

I’m upset that we’ve come so far that nobody knows who Rodrick is. SER RODRICK. I miss those mutton chops.

Arya and Sansa! Together! Being sassy! I love it! Except I only see Maisie and Sophie together, and not their characters, and I’ve forgotten that Arya and Sansa didn’t exactly get along all those years ago.

They talk about how Jon would be SO happy to see Arya, and I hope we get to that point. Arya says that Ned’s statue doesn’t look him him, just as Robert remarked that Lyanna’s looks nothing like her, so that seems to be a trend in the Stark crypt.

I like how Sansa is essentially WTF about her siblings’ new personalities. Bran is a fortune-telling raisin, and Arya is an assassin who broke bread with Ed Sheeran.

THREE STARKS IN ONE FRAME. AT WINTERFELL. I CAN’T.

Clearly Bran has seen Arya do something with this dagger, or he wouldn’t be so creepy about giving it to her. He ~knows. I’m glad Sansa perks up and says something about how Littlefinger has to be up to something, because for a minute there it looked like she was on board with him.

I love how Jon literally interrupts girl talk here, and Missandei is like “well talk later”. 

I also love how Dany just waltzes in there with him, and is apparently fully on board with trusting him at this point.

And we all know how much Jon Snow loves caves. *wink*

I like how he thinks he’s showing her a bit of her heritage, but really, he’s discovering his own as well. 

How CONVENIENT that there are markings showing white walkers, the very things she doesn’t believe in, though?

When Jon touches Dany I literally just wanted to scream “THEY ARE TOUCHING. WHO TOUCHES THE QUEEN” like this is 2005 Pride and Prejudice and Darcy is helping Elizabeth into the carriage.

That look.

I want someone to touch my arm and lead me gently around a cave where I learn about history.

So much tension.

So. much. tension.

People were like “they have no chemistry!” Me: *Gestures at this scene*

Also, the parallels: 

“I will fight for you. I will fight for the North. When you bend the knee.”

There are tears welling up in my eyes.

DAMN, DANY. Don’t ask Jon to bend the knee in a cave because he’s already done that and we saw how that went. But honestly I could totally see them turning this around and having him “bend the knee” some other way, especially because of that tension. DAMN.

~Lingering looks and soft music~

But I don’t know how they’re going to get around the incest factor. It’s not a big deal on GoT but there’s really no way of making it normal between two beloved characters even if they are Targaryens.

In the books, Viserys yells at Dany for not being born earlier so she could marry Rhaegar (normal) because then he wouldn’t have run off with Lyanna (Jon’s mom).

And then they exit the cave so closely it almost looks like they’re holding hands from the angle, but they aren’t, don’t worry. But we’ve come a long way in one episode.

Tyrion’s like, what do you want, good news or bad news first? Varys is like, my hands are cold.

Okay, I feel bad that Dany digs into Tyrion like that, but she has a right to be pissed. I also like how she says Jon and Davos should stay because they’re essentially part of her small council now.

“Enough with clever plans. I have three large dragons. I’m going to fly them to the Red Keep”.

I like how she says “large”. Not just that she has dragons, but like they’re LARGE. Anyway.

AND THEN SHE LOOKS TO JON. TO JON.

He’s like “who, me?” Missandei and Varys are like “who, him?” 

Help me Jon Snow. You’re my only hope.

And he gives her a speech about doing impossible things, which he has ALSO done. The layers. (I’m not just saying layers because the Onion knight is right there.)

Every time we see dragons I’m like “can Rhaegal come say hi to Jon” like we’re at the damn pet store.

Arya. Sparring with Brienne. I also can’t. If you think back to when Ned was telling Arya she’d make a fine lady one day, and she told him that’s not who she was, so he hired Syrio, and she was getting somewhat decent, but she wasn’t great. Now... on par with Brienne. We’ve come so far. *ANTM fist pump*

Pod’s like “damnnnn”.

Sansa’s like “who is my sister”. 

Littlefinger’s like “oh fuck”.

THIS. IS. GAME. OF. THRONES. 

Honestly you can tell this was so fun to shoot for the two of them, and I love it. I’m living.

Omg Jon acting like he’s in middle school: “who?” YOUR CRUSH JON. YOUR CRUSH. “I’ve seen you staring at her good heart”. ARE YOU SERIOUS WITH THIS DIALOGUE, D&D?

Okay, two things are happening here. 

1. Davos CONTINUES to mention Missandei OF NAATH. Not just, Missandei. While it’s common to mention where people are from, nothing on this show is coincidental. He even talks about if she wanted to sail home to Naath. Just FYI - if you want to know something slightly sketchy, look up the butterflies of Naath.

2. They talk about names, which Jon is like “semantics”. Are they setting us up for his Targaryen name reveal?! “My mother and father weren’t married”. BUT WERE THEY?! Ugh I can’t wait to get into this and talk about how they probably were but this post is long enough as it is.

Missandei speaks 19 languages. And she doesn’t know what a bastard is. Okay.

Jon’s aggression toward Theon. YAS. There’s my little warrior bb. His expression is the epitome of “over this shit”.

I’m honestly surprised Theon had the balls to walk toward Jon at all. Okay not funny.

Okay, sidebar: sometimes I just think about Kit in Pompeii. Running around. Being a gladiator. I’m done now.

“The Queen is gone.”

OH MY GOD DANY IS GOING TO GET THE LANNISTERS. 

“If the head of the line is ambushed, the tail will never be able to reinforce it in time” - Randyll Tarly, you foreshadower, you. Head. Tail. Dragon. I see you.

“Rickon.”

“Dickon.”

Bronn: *Cackles. Is all of us*

I like how Jaime continues to call him by dead Stark names - previously, Rickard, and now Rickon. 

But then. Hoofbeats. DAMN, DAMN. I hate the Lannisters but I like Jaime and Bronn and I know what a shitstorm is coming for them and ARE THEY GOING TO MAKE IT?!

I like how you can hear the Dothraki screaming from that far away, before you can even see them. Remember this conversation that Robert and Cersei had in season 1? Robert: I do know this: If the Targaryen girl convinces her horselord husband to invade and the Dothraki horde crosses the Narrow Sea...We won't be able to stop them. Cersei: The Dothraki don't sail. Every child knows that. They don't have discipline, they don't have armor, they don't have siege weapons. Robert: It's a neat little trick you do. You move your lips and your father's voice comes out. Cersei: Is my father wrong? Robert: Let's say Viserys Targaryen lands with 40,000 Dothraki screamers at his back. We hole up in our castles. A wise move. Only a fool would meet the Dothraki in an open field. They leave us in our castles. They go from town to town, looting and burning, killing every man who can't hide behind a stone wall, stealing all our crops and livestock, enslaving all our women and children. How long do the people of the Seven Kingdoms stand behind their absentee king, their cowardly king hiding behind high walls? When do the people decide that Viserys Targaryen is the rightful monarch after all?

Those payoffs, though.

It all looks quite stormy, as though this battle will go in favor of Daenerys Stormborn.

Sidebar: they did a fantastic job with the CGI background, here.

Jaime, if Bronn is telling you to go, you go. He doesn’t play around.

“DRACARYS”

DAMN, DANY.

And people are shook. People are stepping over each other’s ashes like it’s Pompeii (shout out, Kit) while the Dothraki mow over them.

I’ve watched a lot of war movies.

I’ve watched a lot of battle scenes.

And, damn.

Big question: Are Rhaegal and Viserion at home, or?

Sidebar: this must have been EXPENSIVE for all that fire power.

Archers with regular arrows: nope

Bronn with the scorpion: SHIT

SHIT ARE YOU KIDDING ME WE HAVE TO WATCH BRONN SHOOT DROGON WHILST DANY RIDES HIM. THIS IS GOING TO HAPPEN. I feel like this is the worst kind of dread because you KNOW it’s going to happen.

Bronn is 100% “if I were into that, I’d be into that.” Like, if I were into guys with issues and lots of war wrinkles, I’d be into him. Which means I slightly am. Anyway.

And after Dany and Drogon almost gets hit, SHE DOESN’T LEAVE? SHE DOESN’T LEARN FROM THE FIGHTING PIT SCENE? GO, GO, GO.

As much as I am in agony I’m also like THIS IS PRIME GAME OF THRONES. BRONN, AIMING A GIANT CROSSBOW THING AT A DRAGON WHILE DANY RIDES IT AND TRIES TO BURN HIM TO A CRISP? THIS. IS. GAME. OF. THRONES. BITCHES.

Sidebar: How does Bronn know how to operate this thing and dramatically throw the sides down like that?!

TYRION IS HERE? SHIT. THAT MEANS BAD THINGS FOR DANY AND/OR JAIME BECAUSE HE IS HERE TO WATCH.

“Your people can’t fight” A) Does Tyrion now speak Dothraki? He’s terrible at Valyrian. B) Is this also a reference to the fact that Tyrion MAY not be a Lannister after all? C) Is that a hint of the Rains of Castamere in the background? But like a slow remix? Um... who is going to die

Jaime, watching his soldiers crumble away like ash. Third Pompeii reference.

Bronn, shooting at Dany.

The music swells.

Drogon roars.

Tyrion watches with interest.

Bronn loads the scorpion.

SHIT. SHIT. SHIT.

He hits Drogon. He moves to strike again.

DANY AND DROGON ARE FALLING.

Okay, Drogon burns the scorpion to a crisp, but IS HE OKAY?! BB!

Dany’s really going to pull that thing out herself?

No, JAIME. DON’T DO IT.

You one-handed idiot.

But honestly that shot of Jaime galloping along the burning riverbanks toward Dany is cinematic goals.

Dany actually looks scared, but Drogon’s got her.

BAM.

BOOM.

P.S. If they killed Jaime off, I feel like they’d tell us. They were outright with Olenna... they weren’t outright with Jon. Jaime still has a lot to do.... Valonquar, anyone?

UNTIL NEXT WEEK. P.S. If you like my recaps as much as Davos loves Jon Snow, please let me know and I’ll continue writing them.

[obsidianarchives]

Game of Thrones Recap: S7E4 - "The Spoils of War"

So. SO.

Game of Thrones was lit this week. Pun intended. Pacing problems aside, the writers gave us exactly what we’ve been waiting for for seven years: Stark reunions and Fire and Blood. The closer we move to the end of the series, the more stark contrasts we get between the show’s primary theme: Ice and Fire. We see it in the characters Jon and Dany, and in this particular episode we see the contrast between Winterfell and the snows of the North and the second Field of Fire. This episode was everything, so much so that I watched it twice on Sunday, just because I needed to revel in it’s glory again.

Highgarden/King’s Landing

We start the episode off with a short scene near Highgarden, where the Lannister host is transporting Tyrell gold and provisions to King’s Landing. It seems like things are going well for the Lannisters at this point. They’re on track to pay their debts (both big and small), and have now solidified two more of the seven kingdoms under their dominion. Bronn is fed up as usual, and probably regretting his volunteering to be Tyrion’s champion all those years ago. He’s been fighting for the Lannisters for the occasional bag of gold, some titles, and the promise of a castle and a lady for a long time now, and he’s clearly tired of fighting for them without reaping his full reward.

The Iron Bank is happy that they’re getting paid back and are willing to loan Cersei more money to help in her endeavors, which doesn’t make sense to me but also I don’t understand money so that’s not the show’s fault. Cersei mentions something about Qyburn reaching out to the Golden Company - a squad of sellswords like Daario’s Second Sons only more badass - so we’ll see if that comes to fruition soon. Either way, we see Cersei feeling more triumphant than she has in a while, a feeling that won’t last long because DRAGONS.

Winterfell

Up in the North, Littlefinger is still useless. When he’s not staring down at various Starks from balconies with a smirk on his face, he’s trying to manipulate one Stark or another for some reason still unknown and unnecessary given that they’re all preparing for winter and the impending invasion from the whitewalkers. This time, he goes to Bran, the newest Stark back in Winterfell. He gives Bran the Knife That Started It All, proclaims his love for Catelyn, and swears to protect him and Sansa. It’s cute that he thinks this will work, and Bran clearly thinks so, as he quotes something Littlefinger said seasons ago and which Bran shouldn’t know given that this is the first time they’ve met. Littlefinger is clearly shook, which is wonderful. Right now Bran holds a lot of information about Littlefinger, and I can’t wait for him to reveal some stuff - especially the fact that it was Littlefinger who doublecrossed Ned for Cersei and Joffrey. It would be great if that was revealed so that we can get him out of here. Right now it isn’t clear why he’s still around - again his goal seems really insignificant in comparison to the larger things going on.

Meera decides to go back home to The Neck to be with her family when winter comes. All of the sudden, Bran is bad at social skills and barely says thank you to Meera after all she and Jojen have done for him. Meera is rightfully upset, but Bran tells her that he’s not really Bran anymore. While he remembers his life, he also remembers so much more. While I like this explanation and do like it as character development for him, it still feels abrupt when we didn’t see the beginnings of these changes after Bran and Meera left the cave - including all that time they were with Benjen. I also think that it would’ve been nice to see Bran struggling with this - he seems too fine with losing his identity, with seemingly living hundreds of thousands of lives at once, and I would have loved to see some internal struggle to further his character development within the larger plot.

This abrupt development feels like a symptom of this season’s pacing issues and the forcing of these characters into plot but I’m over it for now because ARYA ARRIVES AT WINTERFELL! There’s a scene similar to one in season 1 when the guards wouldn’t let her back into the Red Keep because they thought she was some common person from Flea Bottom. This time, guards who have no institutional memory (which, to be fair, isn’t their fault) don’t believe her, but luckily she’s able to sneak past them to the crypts. Sansa meets her there and we get a better moment than Bran gave us last episode. What’s really interesting about their interaction is that we see how opposite they still are - while they have both been through a lot of horrible things, at this moment they are at the peak of who they always wanted to be - Sansa a lady and Arya a fighter. It’s great to see them bond, but we do see where things could potentially get complicated, for example when Arya mentions her list, and Sansa laughs in disbelief.

We then get more STARK PARTY when Sansa and Arya go to see Bran in the godswood. Sansa has warned Arya that he’s different now, and Arya sees it firsthand when he tells her that he saw her “at the crossroads,” deciding whether to come home or to go to King’s Landing to kill Cersei. Bran’s mention of the List is Sansa’s hint that it’s not a joke, and when she asks Arya who is on the list, Arya tells her that most of the people are dead. Bran then gives Arya the blade given to him by Littlefinger, which means that Arya now has Valyrian steel and can fight whitewalkers! We then get to see some of Arya’s skills when she trains with Brienne. By this point, I was already ridiculously giddy about this episode, and seeing Arya’s skills made it even better. This is the moment that solidifies for Sansa that in a way she’s lost both Bran and Arya. They are no longer the children she saw in her mind. She still hasn’t heard Arya’s story - about her traveling with the Hound, her time in Braavos, her murdering of the Freys - but at this point she doesn’t even really need to hear it. While Sansa seems slightly unsettled, Littlefinger looks downright shooketh at the fact that he now has to deal with two powerful and unpredictable Starks. All his strategizing and weird ass soliloquies will be for naught if Bran and Arya decide he needs to go.

Dragonstone

Over on Dragonstone, Dany finds out about #MissanGrey as she and Missandei go to meet Jon and Davos to see the dragonglass. Even though Jon shows her under the pretense of wanting her to see the paintings deeper in the cave, there were very clearly some romantic undertones to this scene. The two of them are clearly intrigued by each other (even Davos notices), and at this point the main thing holding them back is their stubbornness. Jon shows Dany the paintings made by the Children of the Forest, mainly of symbols (ones we’ve seen before north of the Wall), but one in particular of the Children and the First Men fighting the walkers. It serves to convince Dany that the whitewalkers are real, but it doesn’t convince her to give up her claim of the North. She tells Jon that she will fight the walkers when Jon bends the knee - which COME ON FAM THERE ARE CLEARLY MORE IMPORTANT THINGS YOU CAN’T RULE OVER THE NORTH IF THEY’RE ALL ZOMBIES. Jon declines again and Dany asks whether the North’s survival is more important than his pride, but honestly that applies to her too. As I’ve said before, Jon and Dany are at a moot and I’m surprised (mainly because of the pacing of this season) that the subject of marriage hasn’t been brought up yet. Dany knew she would have to marry a Westerosi lord in order to shore up her claim to the Iron Throne and even if she and Jon weren���t making subtle eyes at each other, that alliance seems like it would be stronger through marriage rather than another King Who Knelt.

Jon and Dany’s romantic cave walk turned demand for fealty turns sour when Tyrion and Varys arrive to tell them of their loss of the Reach. Dany is angry and no longer wants to listen to Tyrion’s council, which admittedly hasn’t gone so well lately. Dany wants very badly to fly to King’s Landing and burn the city and the Red Keep, and when Tyrion disagrees she calls his loyalty into question. She then turns to Jon, who also advises against it, telling her essentially what Tyrion has been telling her: if she melts castles and burns cities to the ground, she’s just the same as everyone else. She’s supposed to be a Queen of the people. As Missandei says later, it’s how she won the loyalty of the people who came with her from Essos (problematic writing and tropes aside). While she should take the fighting to Cersei, burning all of King’s Landing wouldn’t help her cause.

Later, Theon arrives at Dragonstone to ask for Dany’s help to save Yara from Euron. After not punching him in the face, Jon tells Theon that Dany left. Theon asks where she went and then, AND THEN...

The Reach/The Crownlands

DRAGONNSSSSSSSSSSSSSS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

But actually let me backtrack a bit since this is technically supposed to be a proper recap and not four pages of me typing “DRAGONS” over and over again. So we see the Lannister army on its way back to King’s Landing. Randyll Tarly makes a report to Jaime letting him - and us - know that the gold has made it safely to King’s Landing, but that they are spread too thin and need to hurry to get the rest of the provisions through the city gates ASAP. Then, showing us that he’s better at being the worst than show-Euron, he suggests flogging the stragglers. Jaime tells him to chill, but agrees that they need to hurry.

Jaime and Bronn then go to poke some fun at Dickon Tarly because they are twelve and we hear a bit about Dickon’s personal struggles with having to fight other men of the Reach. But then Bronn’s spidey-senses start tingling and at this point I’m honestly just trying to maintain coherency for the rest of this recap because HOLY CRAP.

The dothraki come charging at them from the horizon and the Lannisters are clearly outnumbered. Bronn tells Jaime to leave for King’s Landing but Jaime disagrees, saying that they can hold them off until DANY AND DROGON COME FLYING ABOVE ALL OMGOMGOMGFIREANDBLOODDDOMGOMGOMGOMGOMGDRACARYSD;KDJGHRIAJSLK;AHGJDGJEIJSS

I’m really trying y’all but as I told you I watched this twice in three hours (with an Insecure break in the middle) and just thinking about it makes me really happy and I may go watch it again as soon as I finish this recap. This show excels at battle scenes and I love how they’re able to make them feel new and different and exciting every single time. From the battle of Blackwater Bay to the Field of Fire Part 2, the only real difference is the budget. I have yet to be disappointed by a Big Battle Episode - I was stressed and worried and surprised, and this time it wasn’t just because of the dragon but because there were characters we know and love on both sides of the fighting. There’s a moment when Tyrion appears, overlooking the battlefield, and it seems like he’s there solely to be all of us, rooting for Daenerys to win but also for Jaime and Bronn to survive.

At least until Bronn started shooting the Scorpion at Drogon. Then I needed him to go. After Dany and Drogon burn up all of the provisions - meaning it’s going to be a harsh winter for the southern lords - he gets two shots out, the first one narrowly missing, and the second wounding Drogon. Luckily, Drogon destroys the Scorpion soon after (and hopefully it was the only one in Cersei’s possession). Drogon and Dany land and Dany tries to take the bolt out of Drogon’s shoulder. Of course, Jaime chooses this time to try and charge them, but Drogon sees him and Bronn saves him from being barbecued just in time. We end the episode with Jaime, and probably Bronn, sinking in the river.

Again, this episode was amazing and I only had one small, selfish gripe with the end scene - where were Viserion and Rhaegal? Obviously that would have probably done more damage than the writers were looking for, and we don’t have riders for the two of them yet, but I think that would’ve been the only thing to make my brain truly explode. As I’ve mentioned earlier in this review and the one before, I do think the pacing is a problem and I wish this season was a full 10 episodes - I think it really would have benefited from it - but at the same time this particular episode is already in my top 10 so it’s not an irredeemable fault. I can’t wait for the next episode and am sad that we only have three more weeks of this. We are hurtling so quickly towards the end and I am not ready.