Title: Game of Thrones Season 7 Episode 2: Stormborn
Genre: Adventure, Fantasy, Drama
Platform: TV – HBO
Director: Mark Mylod
Writers: Bryan Cogman
Rating: TV-MA
Release: July 23, 2017
Cast: Peter Dinklage, Nikolaj Coster-Waldau, Lena Headey, Emilia Clarke, Kit Harington
Feature image: Source
“You’re not here to be queen of the ashes.” Tyrion Lannister – Game of Thrones
Dragonstone
It is a dark and stormy night and Daenerys Targaryen (Emilia Clarke) gathers her council. Tyrion Lannister (Peter Dinklage) says to Daenerys, “On a night like this, you came into the world.” Tyrion wants to emphasize to Daenerys that they don’t need to destroy Westeros, “You’re not here to be queen of the ashes.” Suddenly Daenerys turns her attention to Lord Varys (Conleth Hill). She asks him questions about his service to her father and Robert Baratheon. She asks him about her worthless brother and did he know about her. He admits he didn’t know anything about her except she was beautiful. She questions his loyalty to her father, his response, “Incompetence should not be rewarded with blind loyalty.” He admits that Robert was a better king than her father. Daenerys asks about his loyalty now. “You wish to know where my true loyalties lie?” he continues. “The people.” Tyrion tries to keep things calm before anyone gets set on fire. Daenerys makes him pledge to tell her if she isn’t being a good queen to her people. He swears to do it. Daenerys: “If you ever betray me… I’ll burn you alive.” “I would expect nothing less from the Mother of Dragons,” Varys says with a relieved smile.
Melisandre (Carice van Houten) is announced. She goes into a long spiel about having once been a slave, and she appreciated Daenerys for freeing slaves. She continues, “The Long Night is coming. Only the prince who was promised can bring the dawn.” Daenerys smiles and responds, “I’m afraid I’m not a prince.” Missandei (Nathalie Emmanuel) politely interjects and says that in high Valyrian the noun is gender neutral so it could be prince or princess. After Daenerys asks her if she is the one the prophecy speaks of, Melisandre tells her she plays a part along with another, Jon Snow. This perks Tyrion’s interest and he adds, “I can’t speak to prophecies or visions in the flames, but I like Jon Snow, and I trusted him. And I’m an excellent judge of character.” From Melisandre’s description of him, and Tyrion’s trust, Daenerys asks Tyrion to write Jon a letter, to meet with his Queen and bend the knee. Tyrion doesn’t look too sure about the last part.
“Are you a sheep? No. You’re a dragon. Be a dragon.” Lady Olenna Tyrell – Game of Thrones
Daenerys holds a strategy session with her whole council. Yara Greyjoy (Gemma Whelan): “We have an army, a fleet and three dragons.” She wants to attack Kings Landing now. Daenerys doesn’t plan to attack King’s Landing. That gets Ellaria Sand (Indira Varma) and Olenna Tyrell (Diana Rigg) in an uproar. Ellaria and Tyrion argue about how to wage war and it gets personal since Ellaria and her daughters poisoned his niece. Daenerys tells them she isn’t there to be “queen of the ashes.” Lady Olenna tells her the people must fear her. Tyrion lays out his plan. The Dornish and Tyrell armies will lay siege to King’s Landing, cutting them off from food. Lady Olenna and Ellaria wonder why Daenerys bothered to bring her own army if she only plans to use theirs. Tyrion explains that his sister would use foreign troops attacking Westeros to rally the nobles. They will instead use the Dothraki and unsullied armies to attack Casterly Rock, the seat of power for the Lannisters. That seems to calm everyone down. Yara’s iron fleet will transport Ellaria and Olenna’s troops to Kings Landing. Before the council breaks up, Daenerys would like to speak to Lady Olenna alone. Daenerys understands Lady Olenna joined her to get revenge for her family. Daenerys promises her that she wants to bring peace to Westeros. Olenna scoffs, “Peace? Do you think that’s what we had under your father, or his father, or his? Peace never lasts, my dear.” Olenna offers advice concerning Tyrion, “Clever men—I outlive them all. You know why? I ignore them.” Olenna gives her opinion of the Westeros populous and how to handle them, “Are you a sheep? No. You’re a dragon. Be a dragon.”
Missandei and Grey Worm (Jacob Anderson) go to someone’s room to say goodbye to each other, since Grey Worm will be leading the unsullied troops to Casterly Rock. Grey Worm: “It is hard for me to say goodbye to you.” Missandei asks him why. “Y-you are my weakness.” She asks how. He explains that he wasn’t the biggest or strongest, but he was the bravest, now he feels fear since he met her. They move closer and Missandei steps out of her clothes. Missandei: “I want to see you. Please.” Of course, he is afraid, since he is castrated. She gently helps him undress and they move to the bed. They begin to make love.
Winterfell
The kids are training and taking target practice. Jon Snow (Kit Harrington) is reading the letter he received from Tyrion to both Sansa Stark (Sophie Turner) and Davos Seaworth (Liam Cunningham). He definitely knows it is from Tyrion because he wrote in the letter, ‘All dwarfs are bastards in their father’s eyes’. He said that to Jon when they were going to the Wall together. The letter says Daenerys would like to meet him at Dragonstone but Tyrion left out the part about bending the knee. Jon tells Davos that Sansa can verify that Tyrion isn’t like the other Lannisters. Both he and Sansa don’t want Jon to go because it could be dangerous. Davos then realizes that they may need dragon fire to defeat the wights.
“Winter is here your grace. We need the King of the North in the north.” Lady Lyanna Mormont – Game of Thrones
A raven arrives from the Citadel. It’s a letter from Samwell Tarly (John Bradley). Jon goes to address the northern lords. He informs them the letter he received from Sam says there is a load of dragonglass buried there. Jon also mentions the letter he received from Tyrion Lannister inviting him to meet with Queen Daenerys Targaryen at Dragonstone. The room goes into an uproar hearing those two names, Lannister and Targaryen. No one wants him to go. Lady Lyanna Mormont: “Winter is here your grace. We need the King of the North in the north.” Sansa thinks it’s a trap. Petyr ‘Littlefinger’ Baelish (Aidan Gillen) smirks against the wall, he couldn’t be happier. Jon is forced to break it down to his subjects. They need the dragonglass, more important, they need allies. They can’t beat the Night King alone. Daenerys has an army and dragons. He is the only one there who has seen the Night King in person and he know how dire their situation is. He knows it is a risk, but he’ll do anything to defend the North. He and Davos will leave Winterfell to meet with Daenerys and he will leave Sansa to rule in his absence. That seems to calm Sansa down. Later, Jon goes down to the family crypt. Littlefinger joins him. Jon clearly isn’t pleased by the company. Littlefinger wants to have a little chat. He was the one who brought Ned Stark’s bones back to Winterfell for his beloved Cat. He’d like Jon to say hi to Tyrion. He thinks Jon should thank him. Jon asks for what. Littlefinger tells him he should thank him for bringing the cavalry at the Battle of the Bastards. Jon isn’t feeling thankful. Littlefinger foolishly whispers to Jon, “I love Sansa and I loved her mother.” Jon throws him against the wall and warns him, “Touch Sansa and I’ll kill you myself.” Jon and Davos ride out the next day as Sansa watches them leave as Littlefinger watches her. (What a freaking creep!)
Do you fight with us, or with foreign savages and eunuchs?”Jaime Lannister – Game of Thrones
King’s Landing
Cersei Lannister (Lena Headey) is holding court with the House Tarly, spreading propaganda about how evil Daenerys is. Cersei: “You remember the Mad King. You remember the horrors he inflicted on the people, she crucified thousands of noblemen in Slaver’s Bay. When she grew bored of that, she fed them to her dragons.” She asks for their help to stop this madwoman. Jaime Lannister (Nikolaj Coster-Waldau) privately talks to Randyll Tarly (James Faulkner) and his son Dickon (Tom Hopper). Jaime would like Randyll to be his general and pledge his allegiance to Cersei. “I’m a Tarly,” Randyll says. “I swore an oath to House Tyrell. I’ve known Olenna since I was a child.” Jaime counters with, “She brought the Dothraki to our shores. The Dothraki! In Westeros, for the first time in our history. Do you fight with us, or with foreign savages and eunuchs?” To sweeten the deal, Jaime causally mentions, “When the war is won, the Queen will need a new Warden of the South.” Tarly looks interested.
Cersei goes down into the dungeon, or somewhere in the castle with Qyburn (Anton Lesser). He has been working on a weapon to kill a dragon. He unveils a giant crossbow. There are skeletal remains of dragons down there, Robert had kept them as trophies. Qyburn has Cersei shoot one of the huge arrows at a large, thick dragon skull. It penetrates it. This pleases her majesty.
The Citadel in Old Town
Speaking of House Tarly, Randyll’s other son Sam, is with Archmaester Ebrose (Jim Broadbent) and Ser Jorah Mormont (Iain Glen). The Archmaester is telling Ser Jorah there is nothing they can do for him. Sam mentions that Shireen had greyscale as a baby and was cured. The Archmaester points out that the progression of the disease on a child, from that of an adult is different. Ser Jorah could live up to twenty years, but he’ll lose his mind in about six months. The Archmaester asks if he has any family he would like them to contact. He thinks he is already dead to his family, the Mormonts. This grabs Sam’s attention.
Sam and the Archmaester are in the library, talking about the Archmaester’s book on the last few wars. He thinks his book needs a catchy title so people will read it. Sam informs him he might have found a cure for Ser Jorah. The Archmaester says the procedure is forbidden, because the man who found the cure caught greyscale trying to administer it. Ser Jorah is in his room writing a letter to Daenerys when Sam enters. Sam is going to administer the treatment to Ser Jorah in secret. Ser Jorah is Jeor Mormont’s son, the man who was the Lord Commander of the Night Watch before Jon, he had saved Sam’s life. The treatment is flaying off the skin with greyscale and applying a special made ointment. Only with rum to kill the pain, and a stick to keep him from screaming, they begin. It is as painful and nasty as you can imagine if you skipped this part.
“I’m heading north, girl, back to Winterfell. I’m finally heading home. Come with me.” Arya Stark – Game of Thrones
Riverland
Arya Stark (Maisie Williams) is at a tavern, people are discussing current events. Hot Pie (Ben Hawkey) spots her. It has been awhile since they have seen each other. Arya doesn’t want to chat, she’d like some of his meat pies and ale. He asks her where she is going. She tells him to King’s Landing to see Cersei. He is surprised she isn’t going back to Winterfell. She asks why she should, it’s controlled by the Boltons. He informs her that Jon Snow came down from Castle Black with a wildling army and took it back in the Battle of the Bastards. Jon was named King of the North. For the first time in ages, Arya has a home to return to. Hot Pie won’t let a friend pay for her meal, and tells her he didn’t notice before that she is pretty. “Take care of yourself, Hot Pie,” Arya says. “Try not to get killed.” He assures her that he is a survivor like her. When she walks out of the tavern, she hesitates for a moment about which way to go, she decides to head north.
Arya sets up camp. Her horse begins to get spooked. Soon they are surrounded by wolves. A large direwolf approaches Arya, it is her pet, Nymeria. She is the leader of the pack. Arya: “I’m heading north, girl, back to Winterfell. I’m finally heading home. Come with me.” Nymeria stops growling at her but decides to leave with her pack. Arya sadly says, “That’s not you.”
The High Seas with the Iron Fleet
The Sand Snakes: Obara (Keisha Castle-Hughes), Tyene (Rosabell Laurenti Sellers), and Nymeria (Jessica Henwick) are below deck arguing about who will kill whom. They have no idea. Up in the upper deck, Ellaria and Yara flirt, to Theon Greyjoy’s (Alfie Allen) discomfort. Right after they kiss, and before it can get more interesting, Euron Greyjoy (Pilou Asbaek) and his fleet attack. He quickly boards Yara’s ship and the fight begins. Say what you will about Euron, but in a fight, he is a beast. It is a great sea battle. Euron kills Obara and Nymeria. Tyene was sent to protect her mother, Ellaria, but they are captured. Uncle Euron calls for his niece, and Yara doesn’t disappoint. She is a great fighter too, but not as good as her uncle and he overpowers her. Theon is fighting and sees Euron holding Yara. Euron mocks his nephew and tells him, “I have her. Come and get her.” Looking at the other acts of violence on the ship, PTSD strikes Theon and he quietly freaks out and jumps overboard. Euron cackles with glee while Yara looks disappointed and abandoned. Theon floats to the surface and watches his fleet burn while his Uncle’s ship sails off.
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Hot Dog, Jon Snow and Daenerys Targaryen are going to meet. Of course, it might be a little awkward when Daenerys expects Jon to bend the knee. I hope they get along for the sake of Westeros and humanity. Arya is heading back home to Winterfell. Will she get there before Jon returns? Will she kill Littlefinger before he returns? Bran is in Castle Black, so maybe a Stark family reunion is on the plate. Bring out the tissues for that one. With Arya running into Nymeria, will the Starks have a wolf pack at their disposal?
Usually when people have sex on GOT, it isn’t very romantic, or consensual. KBear – Nayah Sci Fi
Usually when people have sex on GOT, it isn’t very romantic, or consensual. We got a romantic, consensual love scene between Missandei and Grey Worm. It was a tender and romantic moment between the two. Grey Worm doesn’t have any equipment to work with, but as he was heading down Missandei’s body, he appears to have a clue what to do.
You can’t eat dinner during the Citadel parts of the show. In the first episode, we are forced to watch Sam clean bedpans and serve soup that looked a lot like the contents of the bedpans. This episode, we had to watch Sam flay Ser Jorah. I don’t even want to imagine what they have planned for the next episode.
The episode ended with a great sea battle. That was feature film quality. They did a good job of showing that Euron is a real threat to Daenerys plans, and that Cersei has a real chance of winning this war. It is not a slam dunk like everyone thought it would be at the end of last season. Tyrion is really going to have to step up his game to make up for losing the fleet.
I can’t wait for the next episode. Not only will we have Jon and Dany meet, we get our first major land battle of the season, the assault on Casterly Rock. I hope Grey Worm getting some loving doesn’t spell his end.
Film School Rejects did a fascinating article about how GOT filmed the epic sea battle.
Grade: A
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