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Tuesday, August 8, 2017

Game of Thrones season 7 episode 4 The Spoils of War

***SPOILER WARNING: This is all about the TV show Game of Thrones, season 7 episode 4.  Had to watch it a few times before I could start writing this so if you haven't watched it yet, even once... are you sure you want to proceed?  You likely won't understand anything if you haven't.  =P




The first 3 episodes of this season were great.  I must say I like those better than this one.  =P  Maybe partly because I have more questions after this episode than answers.  The first 3 were more or less straightforward for me.  =)

So I'll just get my one nitpick and one confusing thing out of the way first before I proceed with the rest of the review/reaction.  =)

My one nitpick:
On first viewing, it looked to me like Drogon appeared out of thin air during the attack on the caravan.  It took a few more viewings to convince me that it's supposed to look like he emerged from the clouds in that scene.  =P

The one confusing thing:
What do the wagons carry anyway?  Since Tarly said that all the gold has reached King's Landing, I was expecting that the last wagons were carrying food and supplies.  Why then was Drogon incinerating them?  Shouldn't Dany target the soldiers instead of the wagons?  Maybe I'm just seeing things wrong...

Anyway, on to the rest.  =)

I'll start off with Winterfell...

First, Littlefinger gives Bran the dagger used in his assassination attempt.  I guess the reason why he did that is because he's trying to get on Bran's good side.  Apparently, they just know that Bran has visions but Littlefinger doesn't know the extent of it.  He doesn't seem to know that Bran 'sees everything'.  In fact, he was startled when Bran suddenly quoted him saying "chaos is a ladder".

I also wonder how much Bran knows.  This past week I have been adamant in saying (in YouTube comments and stuff) that Bran is not emotionless or heartless, but instead, is suffering from some sort of information overload.  I even went so far as to say, I think he's more in shock, rather than cold.

You see, the way I take it is that he has all these visions in his head - visions of things in the past and things in the present... perhaps, even possible things in the future - but he still doesn't understand it all.  He even said that he sees in pieces and fragments, and that he needs to learn to see better.  So I somehow don't think that just because he 'sees everything', that automatically means he knows and understands everything.  It's all still unclear and, accompanied with the pressure he must be feeling regarding the approaching White Walkers, that must be frustrating.  So I thought that somehow, his apparent lack of emotion (and tact), is a result of the pressure and frustration he is feeling.

Case in point, I'm not sure if he knows all there is to know about Littlefinger.  Maybe he suspects him but can't quite put a finger on why yet.  Maybe he knows the bits and pieces but hasn't figured out how it all fits together.  In words that only Harry Potter fans would understand, I'd say Bran needs a Pensieve to organize the very many thoughts in his head.  =P

When he asked Littlefinger if he knows who the dagger belongs to, he may either have been testing Littlefinger to see if he will tell the truth, or perhaps Bran was trying to trigger memories of visions that will help him see the whole story better.  When Littlefinger said the word 'chaos', that seemed to trigger in Bran the memory of Littlefinger's speech to Varys.

In any case, Bran did seem a bit tactless with Meera as well.  And he tells her that he's not really Bran anymore.  But I wonder if he really means that or if he's just saying it.  Later in the episode, there is a part where Davos asks Jon what he thinks of Daenerys and teases him about staring at her, but Jon brushes it off saying there's no time for that.  Could it be that Bran, in his desire to focus on the task at hand (the White Walkers), is also trying to put aside his feelings and emotions?  Could it be that he actually feels that Meera is better off with her family and is trying to do everything that will make her go away, for her sake?  Bran says that he remembers what it felt like to be Bran, but remembers so much more now.  I somehow still don't buy that just because he remembers more now, that means that the old Bran is gone.  He said himself he remembers what it felt like to be Bran.  Something (a lot of things) was just added, but the old Bran must remain in there somewhere, maybe deep inside.

Next, Arya arrives in Winterfell!  =D  It's funny how she gets turned away at the door again, just like back in King's Landing...

Sansa finds her in the crypts.  It's a little awkward at first.  Understandable since they weren't really on good terms when they last saw each other.  Sansa's happy from the start to see her sister, but I'm not sure about Arya.  However, the hug Arya later gives to Sansa tells me that she forgives her.  =)  Arya also mentions her list to Sansa, but like the Lannister soldiers, Sansa laughs thinking Arya is only joking.  

They find Bran at the weirwood tree.  When Bran mentioned Arya's list, Sansa realizes that Arya is not joking.  They also find out that Littlefinger gave Bran the dagger and Sansa knows that Littlefinger would not give that to Bran unless he wants something in return.

Again, I wonder what Bran knows about the future.  The past in written, the ink is dry.  The present is happening right now.  But the future... perhaps the future is still just many different possibilities.  As Littlefinger advised, think of all possibilities and nothing will surprise you.  The peculiar thing is: Bran is in a unique position, or has the unique ability of, not just imagining the possibilities, but maybe seeing them.  And maybe, what he's doing now, or what he's trying to do, is to pick the future that he wants to happen, and setting up events to go in that direction.

So perhaps the reason why he gave Arya the dagger is that, one of her possible futures is using that dagger for some reason that Bran wants to (or thinks should) happen, and so he's setting things up to lead to that particular future.

Later, Arya asks to train with Brienne.  Sansa and Littlefinger sees how skilled she is at fighting.  I'm still trying to figure out what Sansa thought when she saw that.  There's a point where she looks like she's surprised and proud of Arya's skill.  But at the end, she looks like she might be worried about something.  After all, Arya hated her at one point, and she looks like she can beat Brienne who's sworn to protect Sansa...

Littlefinger, for sure, is worried.  He's wary of Bran now, who might know things he doesn't want anyone to know.  And now, he's wary of Arya, too, seeing her fight.  All the more he will try to get close to Sansa, put a wedge between her and her siblings, so that perhaps, he can use her as his shield.

Meanwhile, in Dragonstone...

Aside from girls having girl talk, and guys having guy talk...  =P  Jon shows Dany petroglyphs in the caves where they will be mining dragonglass.  They show that the Children of the Forest and the First Men fought together against a common enemy (White Walkers), and Jon reiterates the need for them to fight together once more in order to survive.  Dany says she will help the North when Jon bends the knee.  She says that the survival of his people should mean more than his pride.

But I don't agree with Dany's assessment that it is pride that keeps Jon from bending the knee.  He wants to do right by his people.  I don't see that as pride.  In fact, it seems to me that Dany is the one who is trying to hold on to her pride.

Tyrion and Varys tells Dany that they have taken Casterly Rock.  But this doesn't turn out to be good news because Euron has destroyed the fleet, and Highgarden and the Reach has been taken.  Dany wants to bring her dragons to the Red Keep, Tyrion insists that they should continue with their plan to blockade King's Landing.  But Dany doesn't want to listen to Tyrion.  She asks Jon what he thinks she should do.

It's interesting that we once thought Tyrion would be able to keep Dany in check, and he has to a certain point.  But now, it seems, it is Jon who is able to make Dany listen.

Theon later reaches Dragonstone in the hopes of asking Dany's help in taking Yara back from Euron.  Jon restrains himself from killing him only because of what he did for Sansa.  Dany, meanwhile, has gone to...

The caravan from Highgarden to King's Landing is being overseen by Jaime, Bronn, and the Tarlys.  After the gold has safely reached King's Landing, Dany (on Drogon) and the Dothraki attack them.  Jaime orders Bronn to man the ballista which they apparently named Scorpion (it must be poisoned then?).  Drogon is shot in the shoulder but destroys the ballista and lands safely nonetheless.  As Dany tries to remove the spear from Drogon's shoulder, Jaime charges them, but Drogon sees him and fires.  Bronn pushes Jaime into the water.

So the question now is: is Jaime dead?  I think not.  Someone will scoop him out of the water, probably the enemy.  He will probably become a prisoner again, this time, of his brother.  I still expect Jaime will be the one to kill Cersei.  Or will Tyrion kill Cersei because she caused the death of Jaime?  I still think the former, for now.

The other important question is: will Drogon die?  Because surely, a weapon called Scorpion is poisoned.  It's interesting when you remember that Khal Drogo, after whom Drogon was named, died from a shoulder wound that turned septic...
















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