Game of Thrones: The Queen's Justice

We start again this week at Dragonstone, and amidst the pounding surf we have the arrival of Jon Snow- the King in the North- to meet with Dany. It's all staged very well, with Jon and Davos Seaworth coming ashore and being met by Tyrion and Missandei. Jon agrees to relinquish his weapons and he and Davos are escorted up the long walk to the fortress. It was nice to see Tyrion and Jon reunited, and I rather like Davos as Jon's spokesman. They're both plainspoken and not given to airs, and with Tyrion on the other side of the conversation, the narrative possibilities are endless.

Spoilers for this episode of Game of Thrones, and for the books as well.

The Jon/ Tyrion moments are done well here, including Jon commenting on the scar Tyrion has picked up since they last spoke. It's been a long road for both. It was nice too to see them discuss Sansa briefly, with Tyrion indicating his respect. There was a bit of humor too, as Tyrion reflects on his being drunk throughout his long road, and Jon diving for the ground when one of the dragons flies by. Speaking of which, the dragons- again- looked phenomenal.

The meeting between Jon and Dany was handled well, neither budged from their position, and it was interesting to see Tyrion a little uncomfortable, as he clearly cares about both Jon and Dany. How to serve both? Jon doesn't have proof of his claims about the walkers or the army of the dead, so it's not hard to imagine his hosts being skeptical. But Tyrion knows Jon is an honest man, so there must be something there. And indeed he prevails upon Dany to allow Jon to mine dragonglass underneath the keep, so at least we're making progress in the battle against the walkers.

This episode was a mixed bag for me in several ways . First of all, I think the Jon/ Dany interactions were done well. I must confess I was hoping for a dragon to come by and take to Jon, but that didn't happen. The parts that didn't work for me were in Kings Landing. Euron returns with Yara, Ellaria and Tyene in tow and parades them, through the city, to the cheers of the throng. That scene just felt wrong. As a book reader it's been made abundantly clear how much the common folk despise Cersei- remember her recent walk of shame?- and to see them cheering for Euron, who frankly they wouldn't even know, was jarring. Part of the problem too is Euron is so small minded here- the Euron Crows Eye of the books is a legitimately dangerous, terrifying figure, especially given recent developments, and the Euron of the show suffers in comparison.

Also would Cersei really let him ride his horse into the throne room, and approach within touching distance of the throne? It's just ridiculous. That whole scene was awful, and Euron taunting Jaime? I can't see Jaime of the books tolerating that, one hand or no. And that brings us to Jaime- still defending Cersei, still onboard with her mad scheming. So disappointing to see a character like that written so badly. The scenes with cersei and Ellaria, while acted well, were hard to watch and too long. We already know Cersei is horrible, and that Ellaria is due for some payback, but the sadism of it, as so often on this show, just makes me irritated.

It was disconcerting too to see the Iron Bank representative so impressed with Cersei, given the fact that in the books the Iron Bank seems to have washed its hands with her, financing Stannis and treating with Jon, etc. And Cersei being rather open about Jaime in her bed- why do that? Of course people will talk and she's validating all the rumors, including of Jaime being the father of her children. Seems reckless, which is a Cersei trait, granted, but it could bring her down. She's reckless, not stupid.

Melisandre and Varys meeting was nice, on the windswept cliffs. Mel indicates she's going to Volantis- anyone guess why?- but that she'll return. Varys doesn't seem to like her does he? She tells him she brought ice and fire together- a nice moment. And we end on a high note, relatively speaking, with the Lannisters taking Highgarden (after losing Casterly Rock, which they didn't defend very vigorously) and Jaime meeting with Olenna Tyrell. Nicely done conversation, with Jaime giving her a painless way out, but after she takes the poison she admits to him that she had Joffrey poisoned. She tells him she wanted Cersei to know.

Random Thoughts

"She's letting on," says Jon wryly when Tyrion remarks that Sansa is smarter than she lets on. 

"I'd say you get used to them," says Tyrion to Jon, "but you never really do." 

Is this the first time we've seen Melisandre and varys interact alone? Varys really came after her, intimating she wouldn't be safe if she returned to Westeros, but she had the last word. She tells him it's her destiny to die in Westeros, as it is his. That throws him.

"Terrible mistakes," she admits making to Varys. 

Nice Torrhen Stark callback when Dany reminds Jon that his ancestor bent the knee to Aegon the Conqueror all those years ago. But Jon stands his ground. 

"This is making me hard," Euron tells Yara as he drags her through Kings Landing. Oh can they write Euron any worse? How childish. The looming threat he poses in the books- wasted. 

Did anyone else think Bran was a bit creepy? Especially in the godswood. No wonder Sansa walked away.