There are no books to work from on Game of Thrones this season — even George R.R. Martin might be surprised with what’s happening on the HBO series — and things could get confusing. To help you out, after every new episode, two resident Thrones experts will answer your five most pressing questions.
1. Will Jon Snow willingly bend the knee to Daenerys?
Ryan: Everyone is always so focused on making others bend the knee. It’s probably the cause of half the bloodshed in Westeros. A nice invitation to come together and discuss the crushing of mutual enemies would have gone over much better, but Daenerys is in full conqueror mode and couldn’t help but include a demand for knee bending. I suppose it had to be mentioned sooner or later… I doubt Dany is interested in ruling six kingdoms rather than the full seven, but still. Her letter to the Starks didn’t exactly inspire a lot of confidence that they suddenly had a fervent ally ready to team up.
You get the feeling that if Daenerys wasn’t sitting on a phat stack of dragonglass, Jon Snow wouldn’t even go down to visit her. Alas, it was made quite clear: the road to defeating the White Walkers leads right through Dragonstone, setting up the long anticipated meeting between Snow and Targaryen — who happen to be related. Maybe Jon Snow won’t have to bend the knee. Maybe he’ll end up bending… her heart.
Josh: Here’s a sentence I never thought I’d say: there’s such a thing as too much incest. In this episode alone, we got Yara and Ellaria making out in front of Theon, which, ew. Now, to be fair, Jon Snow and Daenerys don’t know they’re related, but the news is eventually going to come out. (This, of course, assumes there’s even an attraction between the two; maybe he mentally hasn’t left the cave, and she’s still hot for Daario #2.) For a half-second, I thought Littlefinger, who knows more than he lets on about Rhaegar and Lyanna, was going to drop the J bomb to Jon Snow in the crypt. But he didn’t. Instead, he just creeped on Sansa, which, also ew. The only other person who knows Jon’s true lineage is Bran, and there’s no telling when Meera will drag him back to Winterfell. (Meera: the Sherpa That Was Promised.)
Anyway, a Jon and Daenerys meet-up is inevitable, but they have different agendas. The Mother of Dragons has her sights set on the Iron Throne, while that Know-Nothing knows something about the real threat from the North, and how important the trove of dragonglass surrounding Daenerys is. A deal can be reached — he gets the dragonglass, she gets his allegiance — but any predictions on how their relationship will progress beyond the introduction?
R: Their meeting doesn’t exactly scream Successful First Date on the surface. Daenerys is clearly hyper-focused on wrecking people in the field, not the bedroom, while Jon Snow is in full “you’ve never seen the army of the dead, I have” mode. These two seriously need a layover at a romantic destination before they seemingly teleport back to Winterfell later in the season if we’re going to believe any romance that blooms.
2. Who was that guy Jaime was discussing war strategy with?
R: That was Lord Randyll Tarly of Horn Hill, known to show watchers as the father of Samwell Tarly and book readers as one of the more casually evil dictators brutalizing the lands of Westeros. But for all his terrible fathering abilities, Randyll is an experienced and hardened battle leader whose skills were so renowned that Robert Baratheon kept him around despite Tarly’s support for the Targaryens during Robert’s Rebellion. His ability to command an army (and hang anyone who displeases him) will come in handy for the Lannisters, should Randyll decide to stick with them.
As for Dickon, that’s Randyll’s other son and the main reason his brother Samwell ended up on the Wall. For years Lord Randyll tried to toughen up his soft son in hopes that he could continue to run Horn Hill with an iron fist, but Samwell was always more content hanging with his mother and sisters. Once Dickon was born, Randyll gave up on Samwell and spent all his time on his new son, who grew up to be exactly the kind of manly man Lord Tarly desired. Once Tarly was sure Dickon wasn’t another dud, he gave Samwell an option: renounce his claim to the lordship of Horn Hill and join the watch, or suffer an unfortunate accident while hunting.
It hasn’t been made explicit whether Dickon Tarly is as big of a douche as his father Randyll (he does, however, live up to his first name). With Samwell’s new home of Oldtown being a stone’s throw from Horn Hill, I imagine Dickon’s nature comes into play soon as all the lands end up having to pick between Targaryen or Lannister. And eventually, the living and the dead.
J: If Dickon looks different than you remember, that’s because, in the grand tradition of Myrcella Baratheon and Gregor Clegane, he’s being played by a different actor. In season six, it was Freddie Stroma. But when the Harry Potter alumnus left to star in ABC’s failed Time After Time, he was replaced by (the much taller) Tom Hopper. Expect Bobby Draper #2 to fill in next season.
3. What is Samwell’s connection to Jorah and why is he was willing to risk his life treating him?
J: “My name is Samwell Tarly, sworn brother of the Night’s Watch, training to serve as maester at Castle Black. I knew your father; I was with him when he died. You are not dying today, Ser Jorah.” It was Samwell’s Inigo Montoya moment (well, reverse Inigo Montoya moment), but why does he care about some schlub with flaking skin who’s probably going to die soon, anyway? Before he passed the time starring in poop montages, Samwell Tarly lived an equally terrible life: he was a member of the Night’s Watch. But at least his Lord Commander, Jeor (or as he was known, the “Old Bear”), was just and fair.
He was also Jorah’s father.
R: A quick note on how Jeor and Jorah lived on opposite ends of Westeros. Unlike most lords that end up on the Wall, Jeor wasn’t sent there because he backed the wrong wannabe king in this or that war. Rather, he willfully abdicated his seat on Bear Island so his son Jorah could take control. Unfortunately, the son wasn’t quite as honorable as the father. He fell in love with a southern lady and bankrupted his tiny desolate holding trying to keep her happy. In the end, he sold some poachers into slavery, earning the ire of Eddard Stark. Rather than lose his head, he fled east to Essos and the court of Daenerys Targaryen, earning a broken heart and funky skin condition to boot.
J: In season one, Jeor picked Jon Snow as his personal steward, which initially upset the now-King of the North until Samwell reminded him that the Lord Commander was grooming him for command. He even gave Jon a Valyrian steel sword, Longclaw. Unfortunately, Jeor was killed by a member of the Night’s Watch, that Rast bastard, during a mutiny in Craster’s Keep. But Samwell hasn’t forgotten that Jeor was a respectable leader, and even though he couldn’t help the father, he can try to save the son. But is he in danger?
R: He definitely is, as noted by the maesters of Oldtown. But Sam also happens to think he’s found a cure for greyscale, which was included for eagle eye watchers in the corners of a book he was reading in the season seven premiere. Step one seems to be cutting off the flesh infected by greyscale. Step two: ingesting dragonglass. Is there anything this miracle substance can’t do?
J: Dragonglass is truly the donut of Westeros.
4. Why is Casterly Rock so important?
R: Casterly Rock isn’t just the capitol of the west, it’s also the seat of House Lannister and sits atop one of the largest deposits of gold in Westeros, even if those reserves ain’t what they used to be. Before Tywin took a crossbow bolt to the privates from Tyrion, he admitted that the mines weren’t producing the kind of profits a Lannister expects, potentially creating a problem with the (currently-forgotten-like-Gendry) Iron Bank of Braavos.
Regardless, Casterly Rock is an important strategic location for Daenerys to lock up. Tyrion might be interested, too. Back in season three, Tyrion asked his father to give him Casterly Rock, a legitimate demand considering Jaime had renounced all claims to lordship when he became a member of the Kingsguard. Lord Tywin responded by calling him “an ill-made, spiteful little creature full of envy, lust, and low cunning” that may not even be a true Lannister. And we wonder why his son shot him on the toilet.
J: Casterly Rock has been mentioned so many times on the show that it feels like we’ve already been there. But we haven’t! We’ll experience it the same way as the Unsullied: with fresh eyes. It shouldn’t be difficult to attack, either. All the important Lannisters are either dead, distracted, or hanging out with dragons. It’ll be like taking candy from a (not-shadow) baby, which of course means something will go terribly wrong. It was nice knowing you, Grey Worm.
At least you went out on top (literally?). Speaking of going out…
5. Did the Sand Snakes get the ending they deserved?
J: Looking past the improbability of Euron building enough ships (on an island with few trees, mind you) to catch up with Yara’s flotilla, and the ridiculousness of Theon’s Tommen-esque jump, and an armada sneaking up on the Iron Fleet, this… yeah, it wasn’t one of the show’s best battles.
It looked neat, especially with the fire falling like snowflakes, but the stakes weren’t as high as they should have been. Remember how invested you were in the Red Viper vs. the Mountain showdown? Not only was Oberyn fighting on behalf of one of the show’s most popular characters, he was also lovable and charismatic. “Stormborn” got the first part down (the Greyjoys and Sand Snakes are #TeamDaenerys), but not the second. I’ve watched this episode twice, and both times I forgot who died. (I just played it again: it was Obara and the Nymeria who isn’t a giant wolf; they were both killed by their own weapons.) It’s obvious that David Benioff and D.B. Weiss never knew what to do with the Sand Snakes — what they lack in agency they more than make up for in petty bickering — so they decided to move right along onto more important characters. Like Yara! Is she the gift Euron promised?
R: There are times this season where the show seems to be conscientiously trimming down the cast, not in the typical “all men must die” way Game of Thrones has done in the past, but in the “we only have like 10 episodes left to wrap this whole thing up” way. It certainly makes battles more interesting. As this particular melee between the Greyjoys and the, um, Greyjoys ensued, I realized it was completely possible that Euron and his entire plot arc could get wiped out with one swing of a Sand Snake’s whip. Alas, it was the Sand Snakes who ended up getting pared down, from three to one. Now only Tyene (of “you want a good girl, but you need the bad p*ssy” fame) remains along with her mother Ellaria to represent Dorne and the vengeance of Oberyn.
Handing over Yara Greyjoy to Cersei certainly seems like a worthy gift. Just the fact that Euron smashed the fleet of his relatives seems like a pretty convincing loyalty pact, better than any random head could convey. If he hadn’t promised to “present” Cersei with a gift, I’d say this battle was gift enough. But it’s much more dramatic if Euron presents his niece to the queen (and her Zombie Mountain) to do what she will with. Given my previous statements about Game of Thrones being in serious character downsizing mode, things don’t look good for our favorite bi-sexual pirate captain.
J: Meanwhile, the biggest development this episode might have to do with everyone’s favorite eunuch. No, not Grey Worm. Or Varys. I’m referring to Theon, who reverted back to Reek form by jumping off the ship after Euron captured Yara. Honestly, though, it may have been his smartest play. He escaped and can send for help before his uncle can do any more damage. Of course, he wasn’t thinking three steps ahead: Theon was having a severe PTSD flashback. It was a nice moment of Game of Thrones putting character before plot (and certainly better than the deadly history between Ellaria Sand and Tyrion being tossed off after a few barbs). In a season stuffed with Big Moments — in terms of both epic (and expensive) battles and long-awaited reunions and introductions — it’s nice to have one of those occasionally.
