Game of Thrones S7E4 – Review

Game of Thrones Season 7, Episode 4 is out and despite being the shortest in terms of run-time, it succeeded in providing just as much intense drama and quality of Thrones we’re so used to. Before we start, I have to say this season has been absolutely brilliant. For me Season 5 and part of 6 kind of lost its way a little bit and I’m delighted it’s got itself back on track with what we know and love from Game of Thrones. It’s clear we’re building up to a grand finale this season and the final season next year (sad face), but it’s definitely building in the correct way. Anyway, let’s get stuck in before I burst!

We start off in the Reach, kind of in-between Highgarden and King’s Landing. Jaime, Bronn and the Lannister army are marching back with all the Tyrell gold on board. We know from previous seasons that the Crown is in debt of the Iron Bank by millions, such a large sum of currency built up through years and years of unpaid interest. But Lannisters always pay their debts and with the Tyrells having been the richest House in Westeros, it’s safe to say that the debt is paid with their blood. Bronn and Jaime banter with regards to Jaime being so miserable and Bronn’s want of his own Castle; and Jaime explains the more you own the more it weighs you down. It’s an interesting comment and it makes a lot of sense. The same could be said of Dany, having liberated Meereen and Yunkai, has just made her miserable. The happiest she was was with Khal Drogo and the more famous and powerful she’s gotten, the less happy she’s become. Jaime is the same; all he wants is Cersei and if it were up to him they’d run away together forever. Power clearly makes men and women drunk on what they think is important, the Iron Throne.

In King’s Landing, Queen Cersei and Tycho Nestoris discuss the monies owed to the Iron Bank and Cersei informs the debt collector that’s it’s on its way. Tycho comments that the Iron Bank will be a little disappointed to be losing their business and of course they will, the amount of interest accumulated under King Robert’s reign would have been astronomical and I’m sure the Iron Bank will miss it dearly; but Cersei has further need for them yet.
Now this may have been missed by some viewers, as it was glossed over quite quickly, but when Cersei leads Tycho to the giant Westeros map she explains that she will need more ships (presumably for Euron’s fleet) and more soldiers as she’s lost thousands at Casterly Rock to the Unsullied assault. She says that her Hand, Qyburn is currently negotiating terms with The Golden Company in Essos. Now this is extremely interesting. The Golden Company are a very large band of mercenaries, around 10,000 strong and are considered the most famous, and most expensive sellsword company in the Free Cities. Tycho actually references that he’s used them in the past too to claim back debt, so it seems like a match made in heaven for Cersei. It makes a lot of sense, but is slightly hypocritical of her considering this season she’s been slagging off Dany for doing the same thing with with the Dothraki and the Unsullied. She says she wants them to “recover some things that belong to her” and what this means is unclear. Will she hire all 10,000 to fight for her? Will she take back Dragonstone or Casterly Rock? Who knows, but one thing is for sure she’s being backed by huge investment again.

Tycho offers Cersei the Iron Bank’s full backing.

To the North, Bran is back in Winterfell and we’re given in my opinion one of the most interesting set of scenes this season has had to offer. Littlefinger hands Bran the infamous catspaw which was used by the cut-throat in season 1 to kill Bran. He gives it to him as a gift, which Bran accepts. It’s worth remembering that this dagger started it all. It’s not clear but it’s very largely hinted at that it was Joffrey who stole it from Tyrion and hired the cut-throat to kill Bran. When Littlefinger tells Cat that it’s Tyrion’s dagger, she takes the Imp hostage and so starts the war between the Starks and the Lannisters. A shrewed move by Littlefinger to create chaos (we’ll get back to that).
What’s even more interesting, however, is the conversation between Bran and Littlefinger. In discussion, Littlefinger mentions the word ‘choas’ and Bran retorts with “Choas is a ladder”. Now this is gigantic, so bear with me…
In Season 3, Littlefinger and Varys are in the throne room and they discuss what it is each other wants. Varys explains that Littlefinger tends to create a pit of chaos with his lies and schemes, to which Littlefinger responds “Chaos isn’t a pit, chaos is a ladder”. What he means here is that whilst everybody is running around getting themselves killed in these pointless wars, Littlefinger waits in the shadows, ready to strike when the time is right. He wants the Iron Throne more than anything in the world and is prepared to lie and cheat to get it…
What’s important here is that Bran has seen him say this in his dreams of the past; he knows what it is Littlefinger wants and what he has done and will do to get it. This completely knocks Littlefinger for six, who quickly escapes the scene when Meera comes knocking.
Later at the Weirwood Tree, Bran gifts Arya the dagger. But why? Perhaps it’s just because he genuinely feels it’s wasted with him… or perhaps as it’s Valyrian Steel, Arya can use it in the war to come against the Walkers? OR perhaps Bran has seen Arya kill Littlefinger with it already? He can see what’s to come and wouldn’t it be poetic that the dagger used to start the War of the 5 Kings and manipulated by Littlefinger would lead to his demise? Further proof that Bran has seen more than he’s letting off is the fact that he tells Arya he knows about her list and he knows she planned to go South to kill Cersei. I can’t wait to find out what more he knows and the big reveal to Jon that he is fact a Targaryen.

Littlefinger and Varys discuss what it is Petyr really wants. This is the infamous scene everybody is referencing.

After Bran’s scene we get this amazing shot, complimented with a beautiful bit of music (honestly go watch it again) where we see Arya atop a snowy hill with Winterfell in front of her, in the distance. This can’t be understated, as Arya hasn’t been here for years and she’s been through so much and lost so many people in her time away. The same can be said for the rest of the Stark children of course. But she’s back and after slipping the guards, heads straight down to the Winterfell Crypts where she stands in front of the statue of her fallen father Ned Stark. Sansa catches up with her and they have this fantastic reuniting moment. It would have been lazy to have had the two sisters cry and embrace, because it’s simply not them. Sansa and Arya have always been rivals, whilst Sansa was knitting and dreaming of marrying Princes, Arya was chasing cats and sword fighting. It meant that they both squabbled a hell of a lot and was the bane of Ned’s life. Arya’s line of “Do I have to call your Lady Stark now” and Sansa’s retort “Yes” was the perfect set of dialogue for them both; Arya ever defiant and Sansa ever bossy. None-the-less they are sisters and it’s touching when they hug and discuss their father’s death at the hands of Joffrey. They talk about the horrible journey they’ve both faced and they’re right, no child should have to go through what they’ve both been through, but the Stark blood in them is what’s got them through and you almost get a hint that whilst standing in front of his statue, Ned would be extremely proud.

Bran handing Arya the same dagger used to kill him, which will most likely be used to kill Littlefinger.

Back at Dragonstone, Jon has something to show Dany. He’s found a rich vein of dragonglass and claims it’s all he’ll need to start making weapons to fight the Walkers. But that’s not all he’s found. He shows Dany ancient engravings on the inner walls of the the cave which gives away a symbolic statement to them both. The Children of the Forest created the White Walkers to fight the First Men when they first invaded Westeros, but once shit got out of hand and the Walkers turned on them, they were forced to unite with men to fight the common enemy. The engravings show this and it really does mirror Dany and Jon’s dilemmas, two proud leaders who will eventually have to come together to fight the long night. Dany asks Jon for the 400th time to bend the knee and says she will fight for him. Without an answer they leave the cave to be greeted by Tyrion and Varys with bad news. Tyrion explains what happened at Casterly Rock and more importantly at Highgarden, to which Dany is furious. She has put all of her trust into Tyrion’s “clever plans” and each time they seem to have failed. She threatens to fly to King’s Landing and end it all, but luckily Jon persuades her otherwise, explaining that if she does it, she’ll be no different to her father, the Mad King.

Stopping back at Winterfell just briefly, Brienne and Pod continue to practise their fighting, when they are interrupted by Arya. Try as she might, Brienne was unable to convince Arya to come with her when she finally caught up with Arya and The Hound; and after beating The Hound senseless, lost Arya in the wilderness. It’s nice to see both Sansa and Arya back in Winterfell and for Brienne to see it herself. Brienne swore Cat Stark an oath to look out for her daughters, and with them both safely back at Winterfell it feels like job done for the Lady Knight.
Anyway, Arya explains that she wants to train with the woman who beat The Hound and they both battle, Greatsword vs Needle. It’s brilliantly crafted moment as Sansa and Littlefinger oversee it from the balcony above; Sansa shocked at her sister’s newfound skills and Littlefinger absolutely shitting himself. The fight plays out as a draw and displays to Brienne that this young lady is more than what she seems. The shot of Brienne showing no chill and booting Arya across the mud is especially brilliant. And before we leave this scene, the nod to Arya’s dancing master Syrio Forel is a great one. Despite what Arya has learnt from the faceless men and he time on the road, she’s never forgotten his teachings to be swift and say “not today” in the face of death.

Once again we see Jon and Ser Davos walking down the long winding steps of Dragonstone before they greet Missandei. Davos has provided some hilarious lines this season and his correction of Missandei greeting “Lord Snow” by saying “King Snow, isn’t it? No that doesn’t sound right, King Jon?” to Jon’s embarrassed “It doesn’t matter”, is delivered perfectly by both actors. They continue to question Missandei’s true feelings towards Dany and her birth place Naath, which is interesting after that blog I posted about her recently… go have a read if you haven’t yet; when they are interrupted by a docking Greyjoy ship. Theon.
After coming ashore, Jon and Theon come face to face for the first time since Season 1. Now for me, my initial reaction was edge of my seat. I really thought Jon might kill him. Let’s remember that it was believed for years that Theon killed Rickon and Bran, but of course Jon knows that not to be true after seeing Rickon killed by Ramsay at the Battle of the Bastards; but none-the-less this was the man who betrayed the Starks, took Winterfell and lead to it being burnt down. You may also remember that Theon beheaded the very loyal Rodrik Cassel, sworn to the Starks when he took Winterfell (and if you do remember that, well done, you’re as much a loser as me). So there’s a lot of water under the bridge here; but Jon lets him live having known what he did for Sansa when they escaped Ramsay.
Anyway, as predicted, Theon wants help to bring back Yara, captured by his Uncle Euron, but Dany has bigger fish to fry… literally.

Theon beheads poor Stark bannerman, Sir Rodrik Cassel in early Game of Thrones.

We then come to the final scene of the episode and personally one of my all time favourites in Game of Thrones. Wow. You know what’s coming… so here we go.

After rounding up as much provisions from the farmers in The Reach as they can, Jaime and the Lannisters continue their march back to King’s Landing. Randyll Tary approaches them to inform them that the gold is safely through the gates and suggests they leave some of the wounded behind before they get stretched too thin. The now honourable Jaime insists that his men are given fair warning before that happens. Jaime, Bronn and Rickon (I mean Dickon – how funny was Bronn laughing at that by the way?) speak about the war at Highgarden and Dickon Tarly explains how bad it felt to destroy the men he once served, when suddenly they are distracted by some strange thunderous noises coming from over the hills. Instantly Jaime and Bronn start instructing the Lannister men to get in line and brace their shields, as they wait for whatever the hell it is coming from the distance.
The sound in this scene is absolutely terrifying, which the Dothraki hordes pride themselves on; and it and it truly works as we see a shot of a Lannister guard literally shaking in his boots before he can even see them. Louder and louder the Dothraki horde gets until we finally see them coming over hill in this powerful Cowboys vs Indians moment. Bronn tries to get Jaime to head back to King’s Landing but Jaime insists he won’t leave his men and says “We can hold them off”, before his face turns to fear as you hear the giant roar of Drogon; descending from the clouds towards him. This entrance of Drogon with Dany riding him has to be in my top 3 all time moments in Game of Thrones; as the music kicks and she orders Drogon to rain fire. “Dracarys”.
Hundreds of Lannister men engulf in flames whilst the fearless Dothraki tear through standing on horse back firing arrows. Dany burns their carts of food, cutting off the provisions stolen from the Reach to be taken to King’s Landing. Some of the wide shots of Drogon are up there with the best I’ve ever seen on TV.

Bronn and Jaime watch in horror and Daenerys Targaryen flies in on Drogon.

The conflict of emotion is so high, I literally didn’t know what to do. Please don’t kill Jaime, please don’t kill Drogon, please don’t kill Bronn, please don’t kill Dany. The conflicting feeling of which side you want to win is the most prominent I’ve ever experienced and this comes from 6 seasons of pure character building, which not many other TV shows or films could dream of boasting. But it’s a bloodbath and it’s as massacre and you can’t help but feel sympathy for these Lannister soldiers who are just fighting for their Queen. I will reference back to the Lannister scene earlier in the season where we saw Ed Sheeren and his Lannister mates, which really made me appreciate the scene a lot more. Game of Thrones was trying to show you that these soldiers are just the powerful men/women’s playthings. Most of them have wives and children at home and are forced to fight in this war, putting their life on the line for a Queen they’ve never met, just because she was born into the right house. I guess a lot of people would have enjoyed this massacre from Dany, especially as the Lannisters have just done the exact same thing to the Tyrells, just one episode ago. But I couldn’t help a feeling of regret as you see literal ashmen blow away in a gust of wind, whilst Jaime watches in horror and sadness. These are his men, his Lannister men, fighting for a cause they barely even know. Rumours of Dothraki hordes and giant dragons coming to life to destroy their existence is happening right before their eyes and some shots are very sad to see.
Anyway Jaime and Bronn fight gallantly and Jaime tells Bronn to get to the scorpion, which he obliges. He unleashes one gigantic arrow which misses Drogon and both dragon and dragon Queen set sights on him. As they descend on the cut-throat, he takes aim with the scorpion and once again we’re conflicted, not Drogon, but not Bronn either. I can’t watch! Bronn looses the arrow which strikes Drogon in the upper wing, sending him down to the ground. The shot of Drogon landing is another phenomenal piece of work as he roars and completely obliterates the scorpion, not before Bronn escapes to safety.
And then we have Tyrion… oh Tyrion. If anything was to make me blub like a baby it was the deliverance from Peter Dinklage as he watches on from afar whilst a portion (despite being quite a small portion) of his house is wiped out in dragon fire. The look on his face is one of regret, the same regret I was feeling personally, something I really connected with whilst watching this scene. I have no doubt that he is 100% behind Dany but seeing his men, Lannister men, being burnt to a crisp clearly doesn’t sit right with him and why would it? He’s grown up a Lannister, all he’s known his whole life is being a Lannister. Of course he hated his father and hates his sister, but does that mean he hates his whole heritage? No. And especially not his beloved brother Jaime.
Tyrion watches on as Jaime spies Dany unmounted attempting to remove the spear from Drogon herself. She looks like a child in this shot, so small and insignificant but Jaime has the opportunity there and then to end the war, just like he did when he stabbed her father in the back as the Mad King was attempting to “Burn them all” at King’s Landing. Flee or fight, and of course the valiant Jaime speeds on horse back grabbing a spear en route with the intent to ending it all and killing Daenerys Targaryen. Tyrion watches on and his line “You fucking idiot” is extremely powerful, not out of any love for Dany, but love for his brother’s safety. As Jaime approaches, Dany turns and braces for her end, but Drogon in the nick of time turns and breaths fire towards the Kingslayer. Certain death? No, as Bronn jumps to Jaime’s aid and they both plunge into the depths of the adjacent river.
The last shot we see is Jaime sinking to the bottom of the river as black descends and the credits roll in silence…

Wow… I didn’t expect to write that much about that final scene, but how couldn’t I? It has literally everything, and so did the entire episode in fact; a true masterpiece.

Of course there are some unanswered questions but large build up to some big plot lines in a truly remarkable episode. Is Jaime alive? He has to be surely, but what does this mean for him if Dany captures him? And will Littlefinger wriggle his way out of whatever the reunited wolf pack have in store for him back at Winterfell? We’re over half way through this season now and the closer it gets to the end the better it’s getting. I can’t bring myself to admit it, but let’s continue to enjoy this amazing show whilst it’s still on screens.

I’ll sign off with this unbelievable shot of Dany atop Drogon.