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Posted: 2017-07-24 21:16:16

Updated July 25, 2017 08:59:49

Welcome back to another episode of violence and scheming.

Each week your Westeros correspondents, Peter Marsh and Dan Miller, will be unravelling prophecies and divining an episode of Game of Thrones Season 7.

We now know where all the characters are on the board and move onto Episode 2: Stormborn.

**SPOILER WARNING**

These recaps are dark and full of spoilers, so only continue reading if you've caught up on the latest episode of the show.

We won't be spoiling anything from the books if you haven't read them or any production leaks that have found their way onto the internet.

PETE: For a show that's felt like its characters were literal oceans apart from each other, this week everything *finally* began to come together.

And it started right where we left off at Dragonstone. Anytime Game of Thrones gives Varys (played by Conleth Hill) someone to trade barbs with is a treat, even if this week the Master of Whispers was under fire.

I've been a lapsed subscriber to the "Daenerys is the villain" theory over the years, but it looks like it took a hit this week when she set up some Varys-sized checks and balances to stop herself from turning into the Mad King Aerys once she takes the throne.

Another one of our big questions from last season was answered when Melisandre made her return.

The Red Priestess was bringing more than just some news about a hot new band from the North, she had some prophecies in her pocket (even if her translation was a little wonky … thanks Missandei).

The "Prince/Princess who was promised" is one of the most talked about theories among Game of Thrones fans.

Here's the TL:DR for you: it involves a hero who ended the Long Night (and the White Walkers) being reborn to defend the realms of men once the darkness comes again. Dany's other older brother Rheagar believed he was the promised prince (he wasn't) as did Stannis Baratheon (you guessed it, he wasn't either). So will a prince or a princess save everyone from the Night King this time? In this humble Westerosi correspondent's opinion:

How's our other Queen doing this week Dan?

DAN: Did you get a load of Balerion The Dread?! What a whopper.

You could see how Aegon the Conqueror took the seven kingdoms atop that beast. But Cersei and her Hand aptly pointed out that dragons, however fierce, can still be stopped.

It's tempting as a viewer to think that of course Dany will win and dethrone Cersei. But we mustn't be complacent.

She could lose one or all of her dragons before this season is out. We've only really seen Dany ride atop Drogon into battle once before.

And sticking with King's Landing, how much does Lord Tarly fancy being Warden Of The South?

Enough to betray the Tyrells? I can see him playing the role the Lannisters played during Robert's Rebellion.

Don't declare for anyone just yet and when the fight is almost overrun in on the side of the victors. He's cunning for sure.

PETE: The King in the North didn't quite convince his bannerman about riding south to meet Daenerys, but you get the feeling Jon's played a deft hand in making Sansa the Lady of Winterfell.

I've got to wonder though Dan, how long does Jon tolerate being reminded of old grievances before he brings a White Walker to these meetings and just says: "LOOK. THIS. THIS RIGHT HERE IS THE ENEMY."

With Sansa now holding even more power than she did before, it's not going to be long until Littlefinger begins scheming.

After their encounter in the Winterfell crypts, he knows how to get under Jon's skin, and you can bet he'll use it to his advantage. It's also not the first time he's been choked out by a cranky Stark:

How'd that work out for Ned Dan?

DAN: Those parallels keep cropping up for Jon, reminding us again and again that honour is his downfall.

He has literally been dispatched once for it. When's the next night of the knives?

Meanwhile, I didn't think anything could make me lose my lunch as much as Sam cleaning toilets last episode. I was wrong. Ouch, Jorah!

Sam decided he's going to play doctor and we had a very uncomfortable minute watching him peel skin and pus off his patient.

I'd wager this technical feat will garner Sam a little respect and gain him admittance to the restricted section of the library — he won't need to go looking for an invisibility cloak.

PETE: This week's episode could have been billed as the Arya Reunion Roadshow and, Dan, I hope you didn't give up on the gravy because HOT PIE IS BACK.

He's one of the few pure things left in Westeros.

Props to Maisie Williams in this scene, who did a wonderful job showing how Arya would feel at the prospect of finding her half-brother again.

Arya never looked down on Jon for being a bastard and in return Jon was the one to give Arya her Needle and teach her to stick 'em with the pointy end.

These two were probably the closest of all the Stark children. But don't get excited for a reunion yet.

As Arya rides north, Jon will be on a boat heading south to Dragonstone. At least we need not worry about Hot Pie. Because he not gon' give up, he not gon' stop, he gon' work harder, he's a survivor.

The other big surprise for Arya came with the return of her direwolf Nymeria, who she chased off all the way back in season one after it bit Joffrey.

After the rough treatment the direwolves have received on the show, seeing Nymeria in all her glory was enough to melt this book reader's cold heart.

And don't worry about Arya's "that's not you" line.

The Nymeria of legend was a fiercely independent warrior queen who founded Dorne (Oberyn and the Martells are her descendants), and her wolf namesake looks to have those same characteristics. Just because Nymeria turned down Arya's offer of a partnership for now doesn't mean we won't see her again.

There's just no way the showrunners used up a big chunk of the CG budget for nothing.

DAN: I like to think that Arya's "that's not you" quip was meant not just for Nymeria, but as a reflection on herself.

This is Arya, who has trained and mastered the assassin arts and is hell bent on ticking names off her revenge list.

I have a hard time imagining that she'll turn her back on that just for a cosy reunion at Winterfell … perhaps she's done a 180 and gone back south to King's Landing after all?

But Pete, I don't think we can make it through this episode without mentioning …

EURON 'The Storm' GREYJOY has entered the arena!

As much as I hated his character last season, I'm loving that he's such a loose cannon (boat humour).

Euron just comes in from nowhere and wrecks up your plans, showing why he is indeed the most feared pirate on the seas.

Legend goes that the Ironborn have no fear of death after their near-drowning baptism, and Euron looked like he was filled with battle rage that entire time.

When he came up against Yara, I was gripping my seat with white knuckles. Such violence.

He dispatched two of the three Sand Snakes (they did give a good fight though), captured Ellaria and Yara and sailed off into the fog to deliver his prizes to Cersei no doubt. Good show Euron.

And of course we end on an important lesson: not everyone gets a redemption story.

The battle was too much for one particular person to bear.

Best quote

PETE: "One or two" — Arya Stark telling Hot Pie she's been doing some baking of her own …

DAN: "A foreign invasion is underway" — Ellaria Sand plotting her attack on Yara Greyjoy. Sometimes writing can be so bad it's fantastic.

Bastard moment

PETE: Poor old Theon deciding to go for a swim rather than take on Euron and save his sister. Ouch.

DAN: I'm not sure who Theon is Pete. I'll have to go with Reek's cowardice this episode. He's now floating away with the other detritus. Maybe he'll be rescued by Gendry in his rowboat?

Who we lost this week

Plenty of Greyjoys met the Drowned God … as did two Sand Snakes.

What you missed

Sam's brother Dickon Tarly was recast in the off-season, though it wasn't as dramatic as the time we got a new Daario.

He was played by Freddie Stroma in that awkward dinner conversation last season, but Stroma signed on to another TV show.

Dickon is now played by Tom Hopper. Jamie's struggle to remember his name was a nice little nod at the change by the show.

What we missed in the last episode

Believe or not, your Westeros correspondents aren't infallible, so we sometimes pick up on new details when we re-watch the episode later in the week.

If you think we've missed something, come tell us how wrong we are on Messenger.

In episode one, we missed something potentially monumental. Bran walked past the wall.

Doesn't sound like a big deal? Consider this:

  • The Night King was able to bust through the magical protections of the Weirwood Tree (and kill the Three-Eyed Raven) because he put a mark on Bran during vision
  • Uncle Benjen told Bran he couldn't take him through The Wall because of its own magical protections keeping the Night King and his armies out
  • Bran, now marked by the Night King, was dragged through The Wall and is now at Castle Black

Did Bran just bust a thousand-year-old magical protection on The Wall and open up the door for the Night King to invade Westeros?

Best of the Web-steros

If you want to take a deep dive into the prince/princess who was promised prophecy from this week, look no further than this video from Alt Shift X.

It does a fantastic job bringing together an incredible amount of threads from the books about the prophecy:

Olenna Tyrell, our Queen of Thorns (and shade), had another great moment this week. Over at The Verge, they've put together a pretty compelling argument that she's the show's greatest hero.

Topics: arts-and-entertainment, television, australia

First posted July 25, 2017 07:16:16

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