Game of Thrones, Season 7, Episode 4: Spoils of War
Well, the episode leaked a few days early, but I have enough respect for the show to wait until its proper release day to watch it. And by god, what an amazing episode. Easily my favourite this season.
Let's not beat about the bush and go straight to the most awesome moment, yeah? For several seasons straight I've kept snarking about how battles always take place off-screen, how the dragons never actually do anything but look impressive and maybe burn a boat or two... well, here, Daenerys Targaryen brings forth the fury of Drogon and the Dothraki, and in the words of the recently-departed Olenna Tyrell, "be a dragon".
Because, holy shit, the Lannister side of the coin has been winning so hard throughout the first three episodes in no small part due to Euron Greyjoy's hypercompetent fleet and his ability to seemingly teleport all over the world (which we'll be charitable and chalk to 'really good sailing skills') but Daenerys finally stops restraining herself. Tyrion and Jon manage to talk her down from actually burning down King's Landing, but the soldiers? The soldiers are fair game. It's nothing short of an awe-inspiring sight for the Dothraki to finally make good on their 'ulululating savage horse-riding barbarian horde' deal, because ever since season one ended, Daenerys's Dothraki forces have been getting less and less screentime in favour for the Unsullied and other actual named characters like Jorah Mormont, Daario Naharis and Barristan Selmy. And in this episode, well, the Dothraki horde just charging down the plains... not even then. The attack beginning with the horrifying-yet-awesome screams and battle yells of the Dothraki filling the air before the plains darken with hordes upon hordes upon hordes of wild men on horses swinging arakhs? By god that's beautiful.
The Lannister-Tarly alliance, to their credit for apparently being weakened after the battle with Highgarden, lock their shields and spears and if I'm getting my Game of Thrones lore right, those kind of organized shield-walls are the bane of the fragile-but-savage Dothraki raiders. Except, well, not all the Dothraki are on horses, and when Drogon's roar filled the air, and the big-ass motherfucking dragon just swoops down from the skies, the collective 'OH CRAP' on Jaime, Bronn and the other soldiers' faces are just amazing to behold. And then, a simple word, dracarys, breaks the Lannister shieldwall and burning corpses and dying screams fill the air, and the Lannisters have basically lost their morale before the Dothraki horde even slams down onto them.
Also, no fucking wonder the Dothraki follow Daenerys blindly even after the novelty of 'girl on fire' has worn off... I'd imagine that in the Dothraki's very horse-steed-centric mentality, someone who goes to war riding a creature that literally eats horses for lunch would be like a god unto them.
But awesome dragon-burning action scenes aren't all this episode has to offer, because throughout the battle I have no idea who to root for. Yes, I want Team Daenerys to win, but Jaime and Bronn are two of my favourite characters and I don't want them to be turned to dragon chow. I don't necessarily buy that Jaime's going to die, not with the amount of unfinished narrative puzzles he has (curse narrative knowledge spoiling who's not going to die!) but the episode is so amazingly constructed that I honestsly thought that there was a very solid chance that Jaime was going to die.
But let's talk about Jaime and Bronn versus Drogon, yeah? Throughout the earlier scenes where they were just talking about the titular spoils of war, Bronn and Jaime get into a bit of an argument. Bronn asks Jaime for what was promised to him -- a castle, not just wealth -- whereas Jaime refuses to do so until the war is won. And then, of course, the battle happens, and we see a good chunk of it from Jaime and Bronn's viewpoint, where instead of cheering "YEAH, DRAGONS STRONGKT!" like I did, from their viewpoint it was a horrifying massacre and a battle that they cannot possibly win.
Well, not unless Bronn can get to the Scorpion, the name that Qyburn gave the big-ass crossbow. (Really should've bought more than one, do these guys not play Civilization? Never bring only one siege engine into battle, noobs) And therein we get to see something that could very much spell the end of Bronn as a character. Bronn's minor enough to die in this battle, but easily one of the best characters in the show. He fights one of the Dothraki raiders, and his huge bag of gold gets tossed into the battlefield. Knowing from prior experience when he refused to fight for Tyrion against the Mountain, would Bronn go for his gold to satisfy his greed, or will he continue to fight for 'honour and duty', such as it is, and continue running to the Scorpion? Honestly, either one would fit for Bronn as a character, but duty was the one he picks, shooting the random Dothraki dude point-blank with the Scorpion in a pretty badass moment.
Would Bronn die, then, finally redeeming himself into having grown into someone with honour or at least someone who would fight and die for a friend? After travelling with Jaime to Dorne and all that jazz, it's not too far of a stretch to think that Bronn would do so. And my god, that was a neurotic, neurotic moment as Bronn aims and shoots the dragon-killer arrows up at Drogon. Like, if Daenerys was riding one of the other two lesser dragons I would actually buy that Bronn would actually get a kill-shot, but still... this is a war, essentially the mid-season finale, and Drogon's as much fair game as Bronn. It's at this point when I don't know who to root for, because I don't want either of them to die, while still wanting both of them to succeed... and a show that manages to do that is a great show in my book. (All previous conflicts this season use Euron Greyjoy, who, while a likable asshole, was still an asshole who I wouldn't shed a tear if someone killed him)
Bronn gets a shot into Drogon's shoulder, or whatever the proper anatomical term for a fictional flying reptile is, sending Daenerys tumbling down through the sky much to Tyrion's horror -- this shit was what he was so afraid of happening if Daenerys led the dragons into battle. Daenerys survives, though, so does Drogon, but it does ground the dragon (and we have no confirmation if Drogon will be able to fly again for the next battle, though smart money is on yes). And Drogon proceeds to immediately identify the Scorpion ballista and absolutely wrecks the fuck out of it, with Bronn miraculously dodging out of the way.
Which leaves us to the big, clinching point of the battle. The momentum slows down as Jaime Lannister sees an oppportunity. Drogon is grounded and in pain, Daenerys is preoccupied with pulling the ballista bolt out of Drogon's shoulder, and it's a clear run towards Daenerys without any Dothraki in the way. Will he run away? Or will he charge and take out the enemy commander's head even if it means becoming dragon lunch within minutes of doing so? It's an interesting conundrum, and despite the other unresolved character arcs revolving around Jaime I definitely bought that it could easily be the character's end when the music slows down, Jaime jumps on the horse and charges towards Daenerys with that spear in a jousting position similar to one of the very earliest scenes we saw Jaime in and the point that was hammered in the first book and the first season: Jaime, the Kingslayer. Jaime, the champion of jousting tournaments. As Tyrion mutters "you fucking idiot", and the shots just zoomed in on Jaime as he charged down on Daenerys, and Drogon's growling face snakes in to protect mommy...
Yeah, I totally bought that Jaime was dead at that point, until some random dude -- I think it was Bronn but it could be that Dickon/Rickon dude because we only see the tackling dude from behind -- jumps and pushes Jaime in the water to spare him the fate of the horses, who were quickly charboiled by Drogon's blast of flame. The episode ends with Jaime sinking, which means he definitely survived (if he was about to die why have him sink instead of getting burned?).
You could just wave off the entire scene as 'cool action shit', but the focus on character it gives Jaime and Bronn, and even Tyrion, watching nearby and worried about both Daenerys, his ruler, and Jaime, the only family member he loves, is amazingly done. And yes, Daenerys herself is a little static, but her character develpoment came a bit earlier.
So let's go through the character moments Daenerys has had throughout the episode. It was awfully convenient that Jon Snow finds a cave full of expository cave paintings to make Daenerys believe in the whole White Walker thing (though I was actually dreading that Jon found a family genealogy chart and would go 'lady you're my aunt' or some shit) and that was easily one of the most inelegant way of solving one of the misunderstandings in the series. Also relatively inelegant is Daenerys still going on her uncompromising 'bend the knee' tirade. It's clear that Jon (who doesn't care if he's called King Snow or King Jon) doesn't give a shit about bending the knee, but he knows that he will lose the North's respect if he does so. That bit could've been done better, definitely... but it could've been done worse and I honestly think that Dany and Jon were relatively well handled.
Also of note is the definite parallels of Jon's situation right now compared to Mance Ryder and Stannis Baratheon several seasons in the past, where Jon tries to ask Ryder if his 'pride' is worth not bending the knee to Stannis. Though since the last time Jon tried to prioritize logic over pride with these Northeners he got stabbed 'for the Watch', well, dude knows his audience now, I guess?
Especially since all the bend-the-knee stuff happened before Daenerys's advisors tell her about the events of last episode and how the Unsullied fleet was fucked up, once more, by Euron "deus ex machina" Greyjoy. A combination of her frustrations and suspicions that Tyrion is pulling his punches to protect his family (and considering his attachment to Jaime, it might be partially true) as well as Olenna Tyrell's last words to her that she should ignore all her advisors and be the dragon she knows she is makes he just want to go and burn shit down with her three dragons. She does value Jon's opinion enough to ask him that, however, and Jon manages to talk Daenerys down from burning down King's Landing, because she won't be different than Cersei or Aegon.
Jon himself is more confused than anything, wanting to reach a compromise with the White Walkers and ignoring Davos's hilarious attempt to ship those two ("I've seen you looking at her... big heart."). The conversation with Missandei seems to be go a bit nowhere, giving us a bit of an introdump about Jon's status as a bastard for anyone who forgot it, as well as having Jon ask Missandei about how she basically traded a master for another... while Missandei counters that Daenerys is far, far more compromising than her older masters and would give her a ship if she so asks, but she stays because she wants to. And it's perhaps a bit frustrating considering how well Daenerys has been at diplomacy, especially with Varys earlier this season and with Tyrion last season, but eh, I'll buy it.
The last scene of note in Dragonstone is probably Jon's meeting with Theon, little loser Theon, with the initially word-less exchange of glares. Theon's way too weak and broken to defend himself, but it's not like Jon doesn't have a point. Jon doesn't punch or kill Theon because Theon's latest act was in service to the Starks, helping Sansa escape, but the North Remembers, and Jon remembers that the person who allowed the Boltons to take over Winterfell back in season two, killing a good chunk of Jon's family and friends, and basically fucked over their family sideways and indirectly leading to Ramsay Bolton's rise in power? Theon Greyjoy was the man. Moreso than Jaime Lannister, Theon's a character who's desperately working for a proper redemption, and yes, Theon's definitely been punished enough throughout the past but Jon doesn't know that.
One thing I appreciate about this episode is that despite the higher stakes, Game of Thrones isn't afraid of throwing in a couple of funny scene without overdoing it. In Dragonstone, standout scenes has to go to Missandei's super-chipper attitude after last episode's amazing Gray Worm sex, but clearly the winner has to be Davos. In addition to ribbing Jon about looking at Daenerys's great heart, he follows it with the equally hilarious "speaking of great hearts, Missandei of Naath" and a bit before that, he has the rather bittersweet-yet-hilarious repetition of Stannis's fewer/less OCD, which is absolutely fun. Also hilarious is Bronn's insanely happy laugh at the Rickon/Dickon joke. You would, too.
Speaking of which, before I go to the Winterfell scenes, I guess we'll talk a little about King's Landing, and the situation that Cersei found herself in. She apparently has the full support of the Iron Bank of Braavos now, with her looted gold from Highgarden paying for her debts in a single sitting. It's an okay scene, showing that Cersei's more than just a crazy queen, I just kind of wish we saw more of what the Iron Bank brings to the table in terms of war. We do get confirmation that while Drogon burnt down all the food and grain that Jaime's forces looted from the Highgarden areas, all the gold apparently got express delivery straight to King's Landing.
Speaking of which, it's two weeks ago when Jaime was talking shit about the Ironborn for looting things that don't belong to them. Tut-tut, someone's a hypocrite!
At this point, all of the Stark siblings have basically been reunited. Arya finally returns to Winterfell, the last Stark to do so (because the show's not adapting Lady Stoneheart from the books). I'm not that big of a fan of how long the 'two dumb soldiers' scene ran, although it is still relatively funny. What I loved, though, was Sansa getting the report from the soldiers and instantly knowing that it's Arya from the description of her mannerisms. The two's reunion in the crypt is perhaps my favourite reunion of all the Starks (excepting the hopefully-upcoming Jon/Arya reunion) because in season one, the Starks with the greatest relationships that were shown to us are Jon/Robb, Jon/Arya and Arya/Sansa, with the latter being an antagonistic 'tomboy down-to-earth princess' versus 'airheaded dumb rich-bitch' thing going on. Both characters have matured, and have grown past their petty feuds to care more about... well, literally everything else, but the little back-and-forth barbing they had when Sansa first enters the crypt is absolutely on point.
Sansa's absolute relief at seeing that Arya remains relatively true to who she is, especially considering that Bran's like an Elder God of the Forest or some shit now, is absolutely touching. I also absolutely loved how Arya's matter-of-fact delivery of her List of people she's going to kill was treated as a funny joke from Sansa. The two have grown more ruthless, but Sansa still assumes that the shit arya went through was more... well, I wouldn't say mundane because the shit that Sansa was put through wasn't mundane by any means, but definitely more... well, 'world-of-men', I guess? Whereas Arya and Bran were dealing with the monsters and msytics of the world. Arya went through it relatively well-adjusted as compared to Bran, though.
Also I did love how Sansa kept going 'WTF WTF' the more she learns about Arya. First, when Arya meets up with Bran, who also matter-of-factly mentions Arya's List and her bit at the crossroads. Arya actually just shrugs off Bran's visions with what amounts to a 'cool, bro' after a brief look of bafflement, taking Sansa's 'Bran has visions' line as adequate explanation, and I loved that. Also loved the look of bewilderment in Sansa's face when she realized that Arya was talking about a literal List now that Bran's confirmed it.
Oh, and Bran gives the Valyrian-Steel dagger that Littlefinger gave him earlier this episode (more on that later) to Arya, making Arya part of the short-list of cool badass characters with Dragonglass weapons that can murder White Walkers. Hell yeah!
Later on, though, in one of the best scenes in the episode and would undoubtedly be the best list if not for the whole 'DRAGONS BURN SOLDIERS WOOOOOO' final scene, we get Arya fighting against Brienne, the two uncontested most badass ladies in all of Westeros (Daenerys and Cersei are a different brand of cool, dragon-ing and wildfire-ing their enemies instead of fighting them). What better way is there to established what an awesome badass super-ninja that Arya's been into other than to pit her against a known quantity, Brienne?
Despite their past misgivings, Arya clearly has a lot of respect for the woman who beat the Hound, and both the choreography of the scene as well as the acting involved is nothing short of outstanding. Brienne's surprise that Arya can fight as well as her did, enough to be a worthy opponent to a long-standing knight like her, to the enjoyment at finding another lady warrior, to Sansa and Littlefinger's "wait... what?" expressions as they stand watching.... most awesome is the scene when Brienne, clearly not pulling any punches other than the lethal kind, kicks Arya in the gut and drops her like a brick, causing her and Pod to gasp collectively... and then Arya just ninja-jumps back up? That was amazing. It ended with a draw, but shit, what an awesome fight that was.
Add that to the choreography, perfectly showing the different fighting styles. It's a bit similar to the Mountain-vs-Oberyn fight from a couple seasons ago, but not really? Brienne's a larger knight who relies more on brute strength and powerful swings, and it shows. Any hit from Brienne is disastrous to Arya, as shown by the gut kick, but Arya's faster, with her combination of the Braavosi water-dancing and whatever she learned from the Faceless Men making her able to dodge and parry the shit out of Brienne's sword slashes. It's just an amazing fight to watch.
Which brings us to our last Stark, Bran. Bran gets to be the creepiest character in the show, but as he himself notes, he's more "the man who used to be Bran" and less "Brandon Stark with new powers". His meeting with poor, underused Meera Reed is absolutely well-done, where Meera is livid and brings up how practically everyone -- Jojen, Hodor, Summer, the original Raven, the Children of the Forest -- all died for him, yet all he can muster is an apathetic 'thank you'. Meera, who leaves to be with her father (who, by the way, knows all about Jon's parentage), notes how Brandon Stark died in that cave, a fact that Bran himself, or rather, the new Three-Eyed Raven, does not refute.
Littlefinger gets the next brunt of Bran's creepiness (Arya, no stranger to creepiness herself, more or less accepts it at face value) where he gives Bran the High Valyrian Steel dagger that was used by the assassin in season one (a.k.a. Summer's Snack) to kill him, a mystery that is actually not resolved in the first season and book thanks to, y'know, Ned Stark's head rolling off the block and Robb and Catelyn raising an army and all that jazz. I just read the first book, and... yeah. There was some investigation about the dagger originally belonging to Tyrion or Jaime or something, but no real confirmation as to who hired the assassin. Hell, for all we know, it might be Littlefinger. Bran, however, shuts it down with a simple "I don't give a fuck" and quotes Littlefinger's "chaos is a ladder" line to him. Some great acting on the woefully-underused Aiden Gillen's part, by the way, when he has a brief moment of WTF-ery when he hears that line, but it doesn't linger long enough before he brushes it off with one of his normal smug replies before beating the hell out of dodge from that room. Littlefinger's been a character whose usage has been weirdly handled in this season, and I'd argue all the way back to season five, which is a shame because I really like Littlefinger as a character and would love to see him be a political antagonist somewhere, somehow, but we'll see. It's certainly a great scene he got with Bran this episode.
Overall, a masssive triumph of an episode. There are so many huge payoffs in this episode -- Sansa and Arya's reunion chief among them -- but so, so much more awesome action scenes and acting scenes. I feel like I could go on and on about this episode, but I've harped on long enough. It's awesome. I'm sad there are only three more episodes left this season.
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