Game of Thrones Season 7: Dragonstone

So Game of Thrones has returned for a shortened season seven. It's been a long wait, with the show starting about two months later than usual, but I'm sure it will be worth the wait. A lot of things are in play as we get to the endgame here, not least of which is the fact that we are beyond the books now. Book readers no longer have the advantage of knowing how things will turn out . For the next seven weeks I'll be sharing my thoughts on each episode, comparing and contrasting with the books, and just basically fanboying out along with everyone else. There will be spoilers for each episode and potentially the novels as well.  

So we start out with Arya pretending to be Walder Frey, hosting a feast for his male family members. It was obvious what was happening but no less satisfying, to see most of the Frey family taken off the board in one fell swoop. This is a much more simplified version of what's happening in the books, the Brotherhood Without Banners has been hanging Freys left and right but here they seem to have a different destiny. As we see later in the episode, the Brotherhood (along with The Hound) are heading north, to confront the threat there. I think that's an interesting route to take with them- the idea of the Brotherwood fighting alongside Jon and Sansa is very appealing. 

There were a lot of great moments visually in this episode- a fine beginning to the season. The army of the dead marching south was pretty awesome, and they have- giants! The greatest moment for me was the arrival at Dragonstone- very impressive. They did a great job with Dragonstone by the way- and the shot of the dragons flying ahead to wheel and cavort around the towers was one of the most impressive shots I've seen on this show ever. I think they absolutely nailed it with Daenerys' arrival, and it was especially gratifying for me since the Dragonstone segments in A Clash of Kings were some of my favorites.  

Bran is at the Wall and maybe we'll see his reunion with Sansa and Jon next week? Speaking of Jon and Sansa, they're not exactly seeing eye to eye, and their dispute over what to do about the Umbers and Karstarks made things a little uncomfortable. Littlefinger, of course, enjoyed that. It was nice to see Alys Karstark though, as I liked her in the fifth book. Of course her story is going to be somewhat different here, but it was nice to see her and the Umber heir declare their fealty. As uncomfortable as the dispute was, it was gratifying afterwards to see Jon and Sansa talking. If they can keep it together...

 Did anyone else love it when Sansa had exactly no patience for Littlefinger? I love that she's a player in the game now, and no longer his to manipulate. And the fact that she's learned from Cersei... I think Baelish had best watch himself.  

The only real weak spot for me this week was the Cersei/ Jaime conversation. I've never approved of the casting for either of them though, and there was nothing wrong with it, it just didn't feel right. Cersei has lost three children and is just over it? Not buying that. And touching back on the Brotherhood Without Banners for a sec- how about the character development there with the Hound? I thought him burying the dead mother and child was a nice callback to A Feast For Crows, where many fans suspect the gravedigger is really Sandor. A little Easter egg for book fans there! He and Thoros had a nice moment. 

Biggest revelation for me: there is a mountain of dragonglass under Dragonstone. We know this of course from A Clash of Kings, as I believe Stannis may have even had men mining it, but I think this might be the first time it has come up on the show. How convenient that Dany is there now. 

Random Thoughts

Does anyone else think the Greyjoys built their thousand ship fleet and then sailed it to Kings Landing awfully quickly? This show though lately has had a hard time with plausible travel times. Just go with it I suppose. 

Speaking of the ironborn, what do you suppose Euron has in mind for his gift to Cersei? 

The North Remembers. Nice. 

Who are the soldiers Arya encounters? I didn't think it was too smart for her to hang with them, but she seems pretty confident. My prediction... if she gets in trouble with them, Nymeria and her wolf pack will come to the rescue. 

Sam is not having a glamorous time at the Citadel. 

The moment when Thoros has the Hound look into the flames, and he saw the Wall and the army of the dead- well done. 

Shall we begin?