Title: Game of Thrones Season 7 Episode 3: “The Queen’s Justice”
Genre: Adventure, Fantasy, Drama
Platform: TV – HBO
Director: Mark Mylod
Writers: David Benioff and D.B. Weiss
Rating: TV-MA
Release: July 30, 2017
Cast: Peter Dinklage, Nikolaj Coster-Waldau, Lena Headey, Emilia Clarke, Kit Harington
Feature image: Source
[SPOILERS]
“You’ll be ruling over a graveyard if we don’t defeat the night king.” Jon Snow – Game of Thrones
Dragonstone
Jon Snow (Kit Harington) and Davos Seaworth (Liam Cunningham) have arrived at Dragonstone. Tyrion Lannister (Peter Dinklage) and Missandei (Nathalie Emmanuel) come down to the beach to greet them. Tyrion and Jon playfully call each other ‘bastard’ and ‘dwarf”. After noticing how each looks, Tyrion comments, “It’s been a long road, but we’re both still here.” Davos asks Missandei where she is from, after she tells him, he comments on how beautiful it is. Missandei asks them to give up their weapons. They aren’t pleased about it but accede to the request. A dragon flies overhead, making Jon and Davos dive for cover. Tyrion: “I’d say you get used to them, but you never really do.” As they continue walking up to the castle, they discuss Sansa. Tyrion: “She’s smarter than she lets on.” Jon humorously responds: “She’s starting to let on.” From above Melisandre (Clarice van Houten) watches the group. Lord Varys (Conleth Hill) joins her and wonders why she didn’t go down to greet Jon. She admits she left on bad terms because of mistakes she made. Melisandre plans to go to Volantis. Varys suggests she never return to Westeros. Melisandre replies: “I will return dear Spider, one last time. I have to die in this strange country, just like you.” That leaves Varys speechless.
Jon enters the throne room and sees tiny Daenerys Targaryen (Emilia Clarke) sitting upon her throne. Missandei starts the introductions, “You stand in the presence of Daenerys Stormborn of House Targaryen, rightful heir to the Iron Throne, rightful queen of the Andals and the First Men, protector of the Seven Kingdoms, the Mother of Dragons, the Khaleesi of the Great Grass Sea, the Unburnt, the Breaker of Chains.” Davos realizes he has to introduce Jon, “This is Jon Snow… King in the North.” Not quite as impressive. After a few pleasantries, Daenerys wants Jon to bend the knee as his ancestors did to hers. Jon: “I am not beholden to my ancestor’s vows.” Daenerys accuses him of breaking faith. Jon heatedly responds, “Break faith? Your father burned my grandfather alive!” Daenerys diplomatically apologizes for her father’s bad acts. If Jon isn’t there to bend the knee, why is he there? Jon: “Your grace, everyone you know will die before winter is over if we don’t defeat the enemy to the north!” He tells her about the Night King; they all need to band together to fight the Army of the Dead. Daenerys looks at Jon as if he is insane. She sites all the hardships she went through, and the thing that kept her going was the faith she had in herself. Daenerys: “I was born to rule the seven kingdoms, and I will.” Jon: “You’ll be ruling over a graveyard if we don’t defeat the night king.” Davos comes to Jon’s defense pointing out Jon was named both Lord Commander and King. “He has no birthright—he’s a damn bastard! All those hard sons of bitches chose him as their leader because they believe in him.” He continues by telling how Jon unified the wildlings and the north men as Daenerys unified the Dothraki and the unsullied and brought both armies across the sea. Davos ends it by saying Jon took a, “knife in the heart for his people.” Jon stops him before he tells them he came back from the dead. Before they can continue, Daenerys gets a message. She sends Jon and Davos to their rooms like naughty kids.
“People’s minds aren’t made for problems that large.” Tyrion Lannister – Game of Thrones
Daenerys gets the news that she has lost most of her fleet and that Ellaria Sand (Indira Varma) and her daughters either were killed or captured, the same with the Greyjoys. Theon Greyjoy (Alfie Allen) is pulled out of the ocean by a surviving ship. They ask about Yara (Gemma Whelan). Theon tells them she is alive, and that he tried to rescue her. They know he is lying, because if he had tried to rescue her, he’d be dead.
Jon is brooding beside the cliff. Tyrion goes up there to brood himself about losing the fleet. Tyrion: “You look a lot better brooding than I do.” Jon complains about being a prisoner. He asks Tyrion if he believes him. He does, Mormont reported this before Jon, and he believes the truth if it comes from two honest men. Tyrion attempts to guide Jon by saying, “People’s minds aren’t made for problems that large.” He needs to start with something simple. What does he want from Daenerys? Jon tells him he needs dragonglass, which Dragonstone has, a large supply beneath it. Tyrion goes to Daenerys. Daenerys: “In the time since he’s met me, he’s refused to call me Queen, he’s refused to bow, and now he’s calling me a child.” Tyrion explains that the dragonglass is useless to them but they can use it to gain a new ally. Daenerys asks him if he believes what Jon is saying. Tyrion: “A wise man once said you should never believe a thing just because you want to believe it.” Daenerys: “Are you trying to present your own statements as ancient wisdom?” Daenerys goes up the cliff to tell Jon he can mine the dragonglass. Jon: “So you believe me then, about the Night King and the army of the dead?” Daenerys: “You better get to work, Jon Snow.”
King’s Landing
Euron Greyjoy (Pilou Asbaek) rides in with his prisoners. He has his niece Yara in chains walking beside him. Ellaria and her daughter Tyene (Rosabell Laurenti Sellers) are behind them. The unruly mob is throwing garbage and spitting at the women. They cheer Euron like a rock star. He tells Yara, “This is making me hard.” Euron rides into the Red Keep and presents Ellaria and Tyene to Queen Cersei Lannister (Lena Headey) as gifts. Euron asks for his reward. Cersei: “You shall have what your heart desires….when the war is won.” Euron whispers to Jaime Lannister (Nikolaj Coster-Waldau) that he would like to talk to him as brothers. “Does she like it gentle or rough?” Euron says. “A finger in the bum?” Jaime is ready to jump him but restrains himself since they are in public. Cersei praises Euron, and tells the court that with her navy led by Euron, and her army led by Jaime, they will crush their enemies.
“We all make our choices; you chose to murder my daughter.” Cersei Lannister – Game of Thrones
In the dungeon, Ellaria and Tyene are chained and gagged across the room from each other. Cersei describes in great detail how the Mountain crushed Oberyn’s skull. Cersei talks about how much she loved her daughter Myrcella, and the pain of losing her. Cersei: “We all make our choices; you chose to murder my daughter.” She describes how beautiful Tyene is and the ways she thought to kill her. Cersei kisses her and Ellaria screams. She had the same poison on her lips that killed Myrcella. Ellaria will have to watch her daughter die and “watch her beautiful face collapse to bone.” Cersei orders the guards to feed her so she doesn’t die soon, and keep plenty of torches there so Ellaria can see the rotting body. Ellaria and Tyene try to rush to each other but the chains restrain them.
Cersei feels exhilarated and goes into Jaime’s room to have sex. Jaime isn’t into it at first, but he cannot resist his sister’s charms. The next morning they lie in bed. There is a knock at the door. Jaime tells Cersei they can’t be found like this. Cersei gets out of bed naked and puts on a robe. She reminds him she is queen and answers the door. The servant girl’s eyes nearly bulge seeing Jaime in bed, but she maintains her composure. She tells the queen that a man from Braavos is there to see her. Cersei tells her the bed needs fresh sheets.
“Lannisters always pay their debts. Do former slaves? Or Dothraki? Or dragons?” Cersei Lannister – Game of Thrones
Cersei meets with the representative from the Iron Bank, Tycho Nestoris (Mark Gatiss). He congratulates her on being the Queen, and they would like their money. He points out that enemies surround them and that House Tyrell, the richest family in Westeros, is her enemy. Wars are expensive and they are careful about who they invest in. Cersei points out that Daenerys has cost them a lot of money by freeing slaves. She sees herself more of a revolutionary than a monarch. Cersei: “Lannisters always pay their debts. Do former slaves? Or Dothraki? Or dragons?” Nestoris appreciates her reasoning and says she is a credit to her father. Cersei invites him to say in King’s Landing for a fortnight, she’ll have his gold by then.
Winterfell
Sansa Stark (Sophie Turner) is doing a good job in Jon’s absence. She is very good with the administrative part of preparing Winterfell for the upcoming war. Everyone seems impressed with her, especially Petyr ‘Littlefinger’ Baelish (Aidan Gillen). He tries to give her some advice about the threat from the south since he knows Cersei better than anyone else does. Sansa sasses back, “The woman who murdered my mother, father, and brother is dangerous? Thank you for your wise counsel.” He doesn’t let Sansa’s attitude keep him from continuing with his advice. Baelish: “One of two things will happen. Either the dead will defeat the living, in which case all our troubles come to an end. Or life will win out. And what then? […] Don’t fight in the North, or the South. Fight every battle, everywhere, always. In your mind. Everyone is your enemy. Everyone is your friend. Every possible series of events is happening, all at once. Live that way, and nothing will surprise you. Everything that happens will be something that you’ve seen before.” Someone shouts that someone is at the gate. To her surprise (and mine, I thought it was going to be Arya) it is Bran Stark (Issac Hempstead Wright) and Meera Reed (Ellie Kendrick). Sansa is visually happy to reunite with her brother. Bran shows no emotion.
“The woman who murdered my mother, father, and brother is dangerous? Thank you for your wise counsel.” Sansa Stark – Game of Thrones
They go to the white tree with a face drawn on it to talk. Sansa tells him since he is the lone remaining Stark male heir; he is the Lord of Winterfell. Bran declines it, “I can never be lord of anything—I’m the Three-Eyed Raven.” Sansa doesn’t understand what that is and asks him to explain it to her. “I can see everything,” Bran says. “Everything that’s ever happened to anyone, everything that’s happening right now.” That’s confusing to her but he continues by describing her wedding night. Bran: “I’m sorry for all that happened to you…You were so beautiful in that white wedding dress.” It shakes her up and she leaves.
The Citadel in Oldtown
Archmaester Ebrose (Jim Broadbent) examines Ser Jorah Mormont (Iain Glen). Ser Jorah looks raw, but the greyscale is gone. He pretends he doesn’t know how it happened. The Archmaester declares him cured and tells him he can go. Ser Jorah thanks Samwell Tarly (John Bradley). Sam tells him his father saved him many times. Sam asks Ser Jorah where he is going. He plans to meet up with Daenerys. Sam extends his hand to say goodbye, this is the first time in ages that Ser Jorah has touched another human being and he is touched. They share a hardy handshake and a great moment. The Archmaester wants to see Sam. He asks him who told him he could do this. Sam admits no one did, and that the Archmaester told him not to try. Ebrose explains why he told Sam not to do it, because the last person who attempted the procedure was infected by it. He compliments Sam for his skill and for saving Ser Jorah’s life. The Archmaester: “You should be proud.” He orders Sam to make copies of a pile of old books. He asks did Sam think he’d get a reward. His reward, he’s not expelled for not following orders.
Casterly Rock
Back at Dragonstone, Daenerys wants to take the dragons to destroy Euron’s fleet. Varys, Missandei, and Tyrion persuade her not to do it. They don’t know where his fleet is and one arrow could kill her. Tyrion points out that Casterly Rock is their objective and he starts narrating what he thinks is happening there. Grey Worm (Jacob Anderson) is on his ship with his troops. Ten thousand Lannister troops are waiting for them. Tyrion has a trick up his sleeve to win this battle. Since his father saw him as the low man in the family, he was in charge of the sewers. He had a passage built in to sneak in his whores. The unsullied use this passage to sneak into Casterly Rock. The small taskforce opens the front gate to let the rest of the unsullied troops inside the stronghold. They quickly wipe out the Lannister force. Grey Worm realizes there should be more troops. He looks towards the sea and watches Euron’s fleet destroy the ships that brought them.
“You love her… you poor fool. She’ll be the end of you. She’s a disease. I regret my role in spreading it. You will, too.” Lady Olenna Tyrell – Game of Thrones
Highgarden
The large Lannister army Tyrion thought would be defending Casterly Rock is invading Highgarden instead. They quickly defeat Lady Olenna Tyrell’s (Dame Diana Rigg) troops. Jaime walks into her home where she is waiting for him. Jaime tells her he stole this military strategy from Robb Stark, he learns from his failures. Lady Olenna tartly responds, “You must be very wise by now.” They continue to talk. “I did unspeakable things to protect my family,” “But your sister has done things I was incapable of imagining,” she says. “She’s a monster.” Jaime tries to defend Cersei by saying he can understand how people can think that. Lady Olenna realizes, “You love her… you poor fool. She’ll be the end of you. She’s a disease. I regret my role in spreading it. You will, too.” She sees Jaime’s sword and realizes it is Joffrey’s old sword. She asks him what Joffrey named the sword. Jaime says Widow’s Wail. Lady Olenna: “He really was a cunt, wasn’t he?” Jaime has to suppress a smile. She asks how she is going to die. Jaime tells her the ways Cersei wanted her dead, but he talked her out of it. He has a quick acting poison that will kill her with no pain. He puts it in her wine and she drinks up. “I’d hate to die like your son, clawing at my neck, foam billowing from my mouth, eyes blood-red,” Lady Olenna says. “Must’ve been horrible for you. A shocking scene, not at all what I intended.” Giving Jaime a cold stare, “Tell Cersei. I want her to know it was me.”
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It was a night of meetups and reunions. Daenerys and Jon, Tyrion and Jon, Cersei and Ellaria, Sansa and Bran, and Jaime and Lady Olenna. Some were introductions, some were good-byes, some were good, some were bad and some were somewhat weird, (thanks Three-Eyed Raven). Jon and Daenerys met for the first time. I know shippers were hoping for fireworks, with Dany and Jon riding a dragon together at the end. Instead, they didn’t really like each other. It wasn’t hate at first sight; it was mostly not quite connecting. Daenerys was formal and cold, expecting Jon to bend the knee for no good reason. She won’t be Queen of the Seven Kingdoms until she defeats Cersei. While Jon came across as a raving lunatic, talking about Armies of the Dead. He expected Daenerys to drop everything and join him. At their last meeting, they seemed to warm up to each other a little. Maybe once they know they are family, everything will be cool. As Targaryens, you can send out those wedding invitations at any time. The Jon and Tyrion reunion went much better. It was like seeing an old frat brother again. Tyrion gave him some good advice about asking for something simple. The concept of an army of the dead marching towards us in a concept too big for most people to conceive of. Start small and build some trust. For Cersei, being with Ellaria went swimmingly. She got to avenge her daughter’s death and make Ellaria suffer the worst punishment imaginable. For Ellaria, she has had better days. The second reunion of Stark kids happened, between Sansa and Bran. It didn’t go that well, as the Three-Eyed Raven, Bran would not be fun at parties. Describing your sister’s wedding night when her husband raped her isn’t the way to start a touching family reunion. I can’t wait for Sansa to get a load of her homicidal little sister. She is really going to appreciate Jon now. Last, but not least was Jaime and Lady Olenna. For someone who just defeated her army and gave her poison to kill her, it felt like Lady Olenna handed Jaime his arse. The old lady went out like a boss. She cleverly insulted him, and after he gave her the poison and couldn’t do anything else to her, she let him know she killed his son. Bye Felicia.
It was a very good episode. The different meetups were quite entertaining. I’m sure most people were looking forward to Jon and Daenerys, but the Lady Olenna and Jaime scene stole the show. The big battle scene in this episode only seemed to be there to lead to the Lady Olenna-Jaime meetup. Compared to recent battles, it wasn’t memorable. I did enjoy the Tyrion voiceover when the unsullied captured Casterly Rock. Since this is only a seven-episode season, next week’s episode is the mid-point of the season. This episode sets that up because with the recent defeats Daenerys has suffered; it feels like all hell is going to break loose.
Grade: A-
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