Now everyone has just about scraped their jaws off the floor we can take a moment to appreciate the incredible spectacle that was last night’s episode of Game of Thrones.
Culminating in a blazing battle scene complete with dragons, Dothraki and a mad-eyed Daenerys, episode 4 of Game of Thrones season 7 – “The Spoils Of War” – rivalled many an epic battle that came before it.
This was the type of no-holds-barred Targaryen attack we have been waiting for throughout the entire series, and it did not disappoint. Upon hearing the news that Euron Greyjoy had sunk yet more of her ships (he really is relentless) Daenerys consulted her new ally Jon Snow for advice on the art of war.
The reliable bastard of Winterfell offered his view that she should hold off on heading straight to King’s Landing and burning the city to the ground, what with her being a revolutionary proponent of peace and democracy. Sort of.
It appears as though Dany is beginning to favour Jon, or else she is simply running out of options since listening to Tyrion has lost her a large chunk of her forces so far.
Nonetheless, she has finally agreed to believe him about the White Walkers and fight alongside him when the time comes. Mainly because Jon showed her some historic chalk drawings on the walls beneath Dragonstone which seemed to be sufficient evidence of the Night King and his army…
Their tenuous relationship warmed marginally from ice cold to perhaps a lukewarm in this episode, but it’s going to take a lot more than silently ogling each other in caves to make them the power couple we so want them to be.
More worryingly, Daenerys and Tyrion’s relationship seems to be under strain with her accusing him of not really wanting to fight the Lannisters and essentially questioning his loyalty. Isn’t paranoia one of the first signs of insanity?
Even so, Tyrion could indeed be questioning his decision to support the Mad King’s daughter – especially when he bears witness to her burning the Lannister army in a violent onslaught of fire and blood as they made their way back from High Garden.
With the Dothraki in tow, Dany wreaked havoc on an unsuspecting Lannister army – led by Jaime – and their spoils from the defeat of the Tyrells. Enter the Mother of Dragons astride Drogon, a cry of “Dracarys!” and Jaime Lannister’s horrified expression as he sees his men engulfed in flames.
Drogon the Dragon in ‘The Spoils Of War’
Amidst the drama, fan favourite Bronn of the Blackwater narrowly escaped a machete-wielding Dothraki and took it upon himself to launch a huge iron arrow into Drogon. Hearts were in mouths everywhere for a moment as we thought Queen Daenerys was a goner, but Drogon managed to land safely, albeit injured and extremely p—ed off.
It was at this point that Tyrion spoke for everyone as he watched Jaime attempt to run at Dany and her largest dragon with nothing but a spear: “Don’t do it, you f—ing idiot.” Luckily, Bronn saved him from death-by-fireball by pushing him into the river, but it was a close call.
Phew.
In other Westerosi news, it was reunions galore with Theon awkwardly coming face to face with Jon Snow at Dragonstone (and receiving a well-deserved smack in the nose for seizing Winterfell that time and holding the Stark boys hostage, although I’m sure no one regrets that decision more than Theon himself), and Arya Stark FINALLY arriving home to Winterfell.
Arya and Sansa’s reunion was decidedly awkward, but they were never the best of friends. What is both interesting and saddening is how much the Stark children have changed since the first season, to the point that their former identities have been almost completely abandoned, as far as Bran and Arya are concerned anyway.
After greeting her sister, Arya takes on Brienne of Tarth in a practice sword fight and gets to show off her quick-footed combat skills. Sansa is clearly unnerved by the change in her younger sibling, especially after finding out about her kill list. I foretell a sisterly rift in which Arya will challenge Sansa’s authority in the coming episodes.
In the middle of it all, Little Finger is still loitering around Winterfell for reasons that are not entirely clear and Bran is still acting super weird.
A noteworthy conversation between Bran and Little Finger ends in Bran being given the dagger with which the Lannisters attempted to assassinate him at the very start of the series. Again, we’re not really sure of the significance of this other than it’s a sign of things coming full circle, or simply a reminder that technically it was Bran that started all this in the first place.
Bran is some sort of an enlightened being now anyway and has no use for daggers and other earthly things, so he gives it to Arya. He also has no use for friends apparently, and bins off Meera before she departs Winterfell with a half-hearted ‘thank you’ for risking her life for him, justifying his behaviour by saying that he is no longer Bran any more. (Can someone please just explain this storyline properly? Thanks.)
Regardless, the highlight of this Game of Thrones episode was undoubtedly Daenerys ruthless attack on the Lannisters, which will no doubt have awesome repercussions next week.
Parallel to all the action was a distinct sense of loss – despite all of the reunions and coming together of plot lines, we are reminded that change is inevitable in the world of Westeros. Whether it be Arya and Sansa’s loss of innocence, Bran not being Bran or Daenerys teetering on the edge of losing her mind, nothing stays the same. That’s the fun of it, I guess.
Catch next week’s episode of Game of Thrones season 7 on Sky Atlantic at 9pm BST.
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