Well after the admittedly slow start of the first episode of the season, it is safe to say ‘Game of Thrones’ came back with a vengeance for the second episode of Season 7, with lots of plot movement, nudity, gore, and action, everything a true fan wants from the show. Throw in the deaths we also got and this was a pretty packed episode, and did a lot of work setting the stage for the rest of the season as well.
Starting off small, we have Arya’s storyline. We still have no idea if she killed off Ed Sheeran and his merry band (though based on the internet reaction, there are a LOT of people hoping for it), but she does encounter her old friend Hot Pie, who lets her know Jon and Sansa have taken back control of Winterfell, which forces our heroin to make a choice: continue on her dark quest for vengeance, or turn home to see the surviving members of her family. Despite my own wishes for her to do otherwise, Arya turns back to Winterfell, and along the way, has an encounter with a band of wolves, the leader of which turns out to be her old Direwolf Nymeria. Arya offers her old pet the chance to come home with her, but Nymeria is too wild to be Arya’s companion these days, and while Arya at first looks saddened at this fact, she accepts the fact that her Direwolf is similar to her, too independent and wild to ever be tied down in something so ordinary. So Arya continues on her way, and it is a little sad because she will not find everyone she wants to see at Winterfell.
Meanwhile, Daenerys discovers during a war council with her new allies that not everyone is as optimistic as Tyrion about their chances of taking the Iron Thrown without having to wreak havoc on Westeros. Despite a clever plan involving taking Casterly Rock from Cersei while the Tyrell and Martel armies blockade King’s Landing, Olenna warns Dany that sometimes men are too clever for their own good, and that Dany is a dragon, and should act as one, foreshadowing dark events later in the episode if Danny continues on the more conservative war path. Dany also has a long conversation clearing the air with Varys, who did once send an assassin after her, which not only sets their relationship straight but reaffirms for him that she is the right monarch for the throne when she asks him to let her know if he see her acting against the wishes of the people, and warns that if he betrays her she will burn him alive. 
Finally, after a visit from Melissandre who claims that Dany might be the chosen warrior of her prophecy, Dany is finally informed that she needs to meet with Jon Snow (and fans everywhere rejoiced to see the wheels finally turning) as the two need to work together to protect the kingdoms of Westeros. However, Dany is still proud, and has Tyrion send a raven to Winterfell asking the “king of the North” to come to Dragonstone and bend the knee, which does not sit well with Davos and Sansa once the raven is received by Jon.
In a scene sure to please many fans, and confuse many more, we finally get to see the romance fully blossom for Missande and Greyworm, as he prepares to got to war as Casterly Rock, and explains to her that he had no fear before meeting her, and now his love for her is his weakness. She wants to express that love before he leaves, but clearly he is still shy since he is missing the important bits that were cut off when he became an Unsullied, but she does not seem to care, taking off her clothes and encouraging Greyworm to strip, where we almost see that he is basically a Ken doll. They kiss, passionately, and fall onto the bed, where he performs the only sexual act he can on her, his head dropping out of frame, and we are left to wonder what he will get out of the situation. But I digress, at least they are happy, for now. Of course, this is ‘Game of Thrones,’ so their current happiness means one of them is probably about to die. And since Greyworm is the most likely candidate, I’m gonna say Missande will probably die because this show loves to mess with us.
Back in Winterfell, it is clear Jon sees that allying with Dany is not a terrible idea, especially since her dragons could be formidable weapons against the White Walkers, who are vulnerable to fire. And when Sam Tarly sends a raven informing Jon that Dragonstone has surplus of dragon glass, Jon knows he has to make contact with Dany, and tells his council as such. No one is happy, least of all Sansa, who it appears is still being spurred on by Littlefinger, even if she doesn’t realize it. However, she is silenced when Jon gives her the rule of the North in his absence, and we are left to wonder if she is strong enough to hold back Littlefinger now that Jon will be gone. Especially since Littlefinger is all too aware that Jon will not tolerate him much longer, as an encounter down in the crypts between the pair led to Jon choking Littlefinger and warning him to stay away from Sansa.
Over at Oldtown in the Citadel, Sam and his Maester master examine Jorah, and the Maester informs the disgraced knight that he has only a matter of months till the greyscale takes his mind, chiding him for not cutting off the arm as soon as he contracted the disease. After speaking with the Maester about some experimental cures that he is told are “too dangerous,” Sam decides to help Jorah anyway and for the second week in a row we get some truly disgusting Sam scenes as he proceeds to cut the greyscaled flesh off of Jorah, with puss and ooze gushing out of the man’s wounds, all hoping that this might due the trick and save the man. The scene is gross, and we cannot help but wonder if it is all for naught, as I cannot believe the cure for greyscale is simply to cut off the offending skin. Has Sam risked everything for a cure that doesn’t work for a man he barely knows?
In King’s Landing, Jaime recruits Sam Tarly’s father to the Lannister cause, asking him to be the general of the Lannister armies, which could make for some nice drama of having Sam and his father on the opposite side of the war. Cersei meanwhile, is working with Qyburn on a “solution to the dragons” which seems to be a massive crossbow that fires vicious looking pikes through the air. The weapon has enough force to break through the bone of one of the ancient dragon skulls they have in the basement of the Red Keep, and could spell certain doom for at least one of Dany’s children, if used properly. Definitely not something Dany will be expecting, and could lead to some very sad scenes should the dragons attack King’s Landing.
Lastly, we have the Ellaria, the Sandsnakes, Yara and Theon heading back to Dorne to pick up their army to attack King’s Landing, with Ellaria and Yara getting a little frisky on the ride over, much to Theon’s chagrin. Their good times do not last long however as they are ambushed by Euron’s Iron Fleet, which tears into Theon and Yara’s ships, literally, ending with all of these characters battling for their lives against the terrifying might of Euron and his forces. The sandsnakes are dispatched (killed) by Euron (with one dying trying to protect Ellaria, who contributes nothing to the battle), and Yara is beaten by her uncle, leaving Theon their last hope. However, Theon is still a broken man, and instead of facing his uncle and dying honorable, he flees, still the coward, leaving his sister and Ellaria captives of his maniacal uncle, who strings up the bodies of the sandsnakes on the bow of his ship to show his dominance.
GAME OF THEORIES:
I suspect Arya is going to be pissed that Jon is gone and it is only Sansa at Winterfell with Littlefinger. Personally, I’m hoping Arya is the one to finally kill Littlefinger, but not before he lays down some nonsense about how she “owes him” for not ratting her out to Tywin Lannister years before when he spotted her pretending to be a servant girl at Harrenhal.- There’s a theory out there (supported by a passage from a screenshot of one of Sam’s pilfered books) that the cure for Greyscale is consuming dragon glass, an idea supported by the fact that Stannis and his daughter lived on Dragonstone, the isle with lots of dragon glass, and she survived the disease. Will Sam have to take Jorah to Dragonstone to truly save him? Or himself if Sam contracts the disease from his close contact with Jorah?
- Will Dany throw out Tyrion’s plan now that she has lost Yara and Theon’s fleet? Will Dorne still support her with Ellaria no longer in control?
- Does Qyburn have more tricks to kill Dragons that we have yet to see, or is it just the giant crossbow?
- Will Dany and Jon Snow not get along, ending with her dragons trying to burn him alive, only for Jon Snow to prove immune to fire like a true Targaryen as some fan rumors are suggesting? Or will it be love at first site for the niece and nephew?
Where to go now? A lot happened in this episode, and while I was disappointed that the sandsnakes were so easily taken out by Euron, I suppose it needed to happen to show his battle skills, and to thin the character ranks, as we still have a lot of people to follow, and only 11 episodes left of the series. Definitely looking forward to next week to see how Dany reacts to what happened, as well as Tyrion, and to finally see the big Jon Snow and Dany meet up! See you back here next week!
