Game of Thrones Season 7 Episode 2
Quack Review brings a quick recap of episode 2 of the seventh season of Game of Thrones, titled “Stormborn”. Read them all. Valar Morghulis!
The second episode of Game of Thrones season 7, titled Stormborn, has answered a few questions and opened up many more. With this season being 8 episodes long, we have already gone through one fourth of the season already, and the show is running at a frantic pace now, which makes sense given that they have to wrap up all the story lines set up in 62 episodes in the next 15 episodes (counting Season 8 as well).
Here is a quick recap of the episode that aired this weekend, and the major points fans have noted from this episode.
- Focus on Westeros: After watching episodes one and two, it seems clear that Season 7 will focus majorly on the internal politics of Westeros and not about the looming threat of the night that is about to come. We have seen the Night King and his army only once in these two episodes, and the same goes for the wall. With almost five to six different, individual storylines progressing in the show, maybe the show runners felt the need to conclude them.
- A Reunion (of sorts): With Jon Snow headed to Dragonstone to meet Dany and Tyrion, the Stark reunion isn’t about to happen anytime soon now. Bran is still at the wall, and wasn’t featured anywhere in the second episode. Arya Stark had a reunion of her own, with her wolf Nymeria. It was a brief one, however, as she refused to come along with Arya to Winterfell. Arya realizes that Nymeria is not a wolf that wants to be tamed, and so lets her leave with the words “It’s not you.”
- Regaining strength: It is looking good for the Lannisters, with all their enemies having minor squabbles amongst themselves. Jon and Sansa are still not on the same page about their way of ruling, and Jon leaves Sansa behind in Winterfell to rule in his stead. Sansa has no prior experience of ruling and it will be interesting to see how she counters the threat of the long night and the Lannister army simultaneously. At the same time, Daenerys and her team have a difference of opinions over their plan of attack, with everyone having a mind of their own. Tyrion warns Dany that she wouldn’t want to be the Queen of the Ashes, while Olenna Tyrell wants her to be the dragon amongst the sheep.
Also, Qyburn reportedly also has discovered the way to counter the threat of Daenerys’ dragons, stating that the same way was used earlier to kill dragons before them. For now, it looks as if Cersie will be sitting on the Iron Throne for a long time.
- Loopholes: Adamant fans have started noticing flaws and loopholes from the first two episodes. For instance, if Arya Stark sneaked into the castle of Freys at the Twins and massacred their entire family, how didn’t she hear of the Battle of the Bastards and the victory of Jon Snow? How come she lived among the allies of the Boltons and had no idea of their loss? And if Arya didn’t know about the war, why didn’t she go to rescue Sansa from Ramsay instead of going south?
The passage of time in Game of Thrones is also getting confusing. It took Bran an entire episode but he is still stuck on the wall, but in the same time, Daenerys sent a message to Winterfell, Jon debated about it, and made his decision to head to Dragonstone. Even Samwell Tarly’s message came to Winterfell from the Citadel, then what is taking so long for Bran?
- The Greyjoy War: This is the most important point of discussion, and will have a huge impact on the character plotlines in the show. The “gift” that Euron Greyjoy had promised to Cersie was pretty simple – capturing her strongest enemies. Euron attacked the fleet of Yara and Theon, which also had the Dornish armies and the Sand Snakes in them, along with Elleria Sand.
The Sand Snakes are killed, and Euron captures Yara and Ellaria, most likely to bring them to King’s Landing in front of Cersie. It is a huge blow for the armies of Daenerys, while Euron has supposedly proved his faithfulness by taking out the enemies of the Crown.
The battle showed two major points: Euron Greyjoy just might be worse than Joeffrey and Ramsay. Joeffrey was a cruel ruler with an iron fist, while Ramsay was a sadist, along with being an expert in war tactics. Euron is all of those, and also has the strength of being a strong fighter, given that he killed the Sand Snakes almost single handedly. With such a strong character in the mix, the balance has shifted to the Lannisters now.
Secondly, it showed that Theon still has Reek in him. When faced the task of saving his sister, he looked around and got mortified with the bloodshed, and was fear struck. As a survival reflex, he left the field of battle and his sister, and jumped into the water. Theon still has PTSD, and it is doubtful if the damage done by Ramsay will ever be reversed.
Winter is approaching fast, and the bloodshed has started. This episode put in some interesting character development, along with some unusual porn. (Hint: Grey worm)
The war has officially begun, the lines are drawn, and the casualties have begun. It won’t be long before more blood is shed, and the ruler of the Iron Throne is decided. And then, there is the largest threat to be dealt with – the army of the dead, rapidly growing in number, approaching the wall.
Valar Morghulis – every man, and even woman, shall die.