Game of Thrones: Eastwatch

Last weeks episode was going to be tough to match- after all, how do you top  a fire breathing dragon laying waste to armies? Plus all the other fun stuff- Arya vs. Brienne! This week we have something a bit different- a reminder that the true threat is still on the way. The army of the dead is marching on Eastwatch- the outpost that anchors one end of the Wall. And by the end of the episode some of the major players- and a few minor ones- are going to come together, to venture north on a suicidal mission to prove that the dead are on the march. But before that a lot of other things happen- two in particular that are very important, or could be, for book readers. In that sense this may be one of the most consequential episodes ever.

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

I think one of the big debates coming out of this one will be about Dany. Is she a hero? A villain? Neither? Book readers have been debating Dany for years, and there are all sorts of theories that she'll succumb to the Targaryen madness, like her father did. Here she offers the Lannister prisoners their lives if they bend the knee- Drogon convinces more than a few to do so, which was hilarious- but when Randyll Tarly refuses to bend the knee, Dany has him barbequed. Tyrion is horrified and tries in vain to dissuade her, but she's committed.  

Later when Tyrion is discussing the turn of events with Varys, he seems to be trying to convince himself she was justified in what she did. Varys too is skeptical. When Tyrion and Varys are debating Dany's ethics you know there's a problem. This was an absolutely critical conversation to see these two having- her two most influential advisors, concerned that Dany could emulate her father, the Mad King.

Dany returns to Dragonstone and meets Jon overlooking the sea. Drogon comes right up to him- a terrifying sight- and Jon oh so tentatively reaches out to touch him. Even Dany didn't know what was going to happen there. The fact that Drogon allowed Jon to touch him sure seems to add credence to theories about Jon being a Targaryen. And afterward Jon and Dany got to know each other a little more, and she asked him about what Davos said- about Jon taking a knife to the heart- but before they can get further into that Jorah returns. 

Dany's happy to see him, and it was interesting to see him and Jon size each other up. And later when he accompanies Jon to the north we have two people who Dany cares for a great deal- for let's be honest she's got a thing for Jon already- going into danger together. It'll be interesting to see if Mormont makes it back.

Jaime and Cersei disagree about the war but Jaime appears to be all in when Cersei reveals she's pregnant. There's been debate on this score as well, with eagle-eyed book readers noticing some hints, but this is the first confirmation that she is pregnant. Whether the books will follow this route remains to be seen. At this point the Jaime redemption arc that many of us are waiting for seems to not be happening, or at least not this season?

One of the biggest revelations in the show to date is a little nugget that Gilly gives to Sam, as she's reading through old maester accounts. Turns out a maester annulled a marriage for Prince Rhaegar and remarried him somewhere in Dorne. Fans have long wondered if Rhaegar married Lyanna Stark or just ran away with her, and also what happened to his marriage to Elia of Dorne? Well at least on the show we know. Rhaegar got an annulment and married Lyanna Stark. Why does that matter? Because it means Jon Snow is a Targaryen/ Stark and not a bastard at all. This has never been shown in the books, and this alone makes this revelation huge.

Littlefinger has been rather unremarkable this season, but here he is spotted by Arya doing some plotting. Paying off a servant girl, talking to Lords Glover and Royce, then getting a message from maester Wolkan that looks shifty. Arya steals into his room to find it, but it looks like Littlefinger has one up on her, planting the wrong message for her to find? A message sure to inflame tensions between her and Sansa.

My biggest issue with this episode is the idea of taking a dead thing to Cersei. It's been made abundantly clear that Cersei has no real army left. Cersei has Kings Landing and that's it- so why do they care if she's onboard for the war in the north? She doesn't have much to offer. The King in the North is going to risk his life trying to bring proof south, when all the important players already believe. Seems like a waste of time. And we know it's going to have big consequences, so it matters.

So...after almost an hour we finally get to Eastwatch! This is where Jon and company plan to head north- and they're going to have some company, as the Hound is there along with Thoros and Beric. Tormund is also in the group, as well as Gendry, so we have a pretty capable band of seven heading into the north.  

Random Thoughts

"Dragons are where our partnership ends," says Bronn to Jaime. Spoken like a true mercenary! 

So long Dickon Tarly! The actor who plays him, Tom Hopper, just came into the role and he's already gone. But he took the honorable way out (at least to his thinking) by standing with his father at the end. He was of course also Billy Bones from Black Sails- it would have been nice to see him do more. I guess now Sam is heir to House Tarly? 

Drogon looked amazing. The scene where he landed and came up to Jon, and later when he and his brothers were wheeling in the sky over Dragonstone- just an amazing visual. 

The Bran sequence with the ravens going north was amazing.

Best exchange of the night:Tyrion and Varys discussing the message to Jon Snow. Tyrion asks him if he's read it.  

"It's a sealed scroll for the King in the North."

"What's it say?"

"Nothing good."

"I haven't given you permission to leave," Dany tells Jon when they discuss going north of the Wall.

Jenny of Oldstones reference! During the maesters' meeting one of them mentions the woman who claimed to be descended from the Children of the Forest. Also a prophet is mentioned who predicted the Drowned God would rise to defeat Aegon the Conqueror. This is interesting given the theory out there that Euron Crows Eye is going to raise some creature from the deep, perhaps a manifestation of the Drowned God, in the books.  

Jon finds out that Arya and Bran are alive.

 "Thought you might still be rowing," Davos tells Gendry when he finds him. A little nod to the fans there. And speaking of Gendry- nice moves with the warhammer. Nice to see a bastard of Baratheon and a bastard (at least for now) of Stark fighting together, just like Robert and Ned.