GoT Season 7, Episode 1: Dragonstone
Warning: thar be potential spoilers in these here waters; if you're not up to date with GoT, sail with caution.
GoT Season 7, Episode 1: Dragonstone
Well, that was quite the opening to a season, wasn't it?! Episode 1 usually just sets the scene for the coming season, giving us more of a lay-of-the-land, than really getting anything done. It is effectively the food preparation before the real cooking. But in this truncated season, there's no time to dither about with land laying or ingredient chopping.
Whenever an episode does a "cold opening", you know you're in for a treat; everything that happens before the opening credits is always great. And, well flip, it sure was.
We've seen glimpses back in time, but when Walder "proper git" Frey began toasting his whole family, we could safely assume something was about to go off. Especially with Arya and her face switching antics last seen decorating the room with old Walder's inside blood. But successfully culling the entire family in one go, even I was amazed. I think we can consider the Red Wedding to finally and properly be avenged now, cheer Arya!
After the credits, things went a little more as expected, pretty much just checking in on people, to see what they're all getting up to.
Cersei clearly hasn't upset Jaime too much yet and he is still willing to listen to her crazed ramblings about keeping power and building a dynasty. Although, he does point out that now they are the only remaining Lannisters (because Tyrion doesn't count now), so it'll be a brief dynasty at best.
Exploding all of her current enemies at the end of season 6, hasn't proven to be the trump card she was hoping for, instead she just has different enemies and one less fancy building. But she does have an extra trick up her sleeves in Euron Greyjoy, King of the Iron Islands, last spotted preparing to chase his niece and nephew across the oceans.
This guy obviously has his sights set on the throne and, I reckon he's about to become our new "baddy". I mean, he's promised to get Cersei some epic present or another and what would be better than, say Tyrion's head? No-one is safe any more and we can expect something awful to happen, so maybe [please no though, please, please, please].
Heading north, Jon is having to adapt to his new role a King of the North and it is causing strain between himself and Sansa. Their conflicting ideology will probably be brought up a few more times this season and I cannot predict if they will remain strong allies, or be split apart by it all. Especially with Little Finger kicking about, he really is a dislikeable sod, hanging around Sansa like a bad smell. Thankfully, she seems to be able to read his games all to easily now (let's face it, she's spent enough time around schemers and psychpaths to know how they work) and wants nothing to do with him. She is effectively tolerating him, until either her debt for saving them against Ramsay is repaid, or he pushes his luck and is told where to go.
A little further north again and Bran has been hauled all the way to the wall. He's now chilling in Castle Black, but what could this mean? Now that he's through, does this mean that the White Walkers can pretty much just follow him through? That would be horrid, seeing as how we've seen their new, expanded army, replete with giants [in case you're panicking, that last one can't be Wun-Wun, he's not been dead long enough, he died on the wrong side of the wall and Jon knows better than to have not burned him. It's just some other undead giant instead]. Based on what The Hound saw in the flames it looks like they aren't heading for a known doorway, so perhaps not.
Whenever an episode does a "cold opening", you know you're in for a treat; everything that happens before the opening credits is always great. And, well flip, it sure was.
We've seen glimpses back in time, but when Walder "proper git" Frey began toasting his whole family, we could safely assume something was about to go off. Especially with Arya and her face switching antics last seen decorating the room with old Walder's inside blood. But successfully culling the entire family in one go, even I was amazed. I think we can consider the Red Wedding to finally and properly be avenged now, cheer Arya!
After the credits, things went a little more as expected, pretty much just checking in on people, to see what they're all getting up to.
Exploding all of her current enemies at the end of season 6, hasn't proven to be the trump card she was hoping for, instead she just has different enemies and one less fancy building. But she does have an extra trick up her sleeves in Euron Greyjoy, King of the Iron Islands, last spotted preparing to chase his niece and nephew across the oceans.
This guy obviously has his sights set on the throne and, I reckon he's about to become our new "baddy". I mean, he's promised to get Cersei some epic present or another and what would be better than, say Tyrion's head? No-one is safe any more and we can expect something awful to happen, so maybe [please no though, please, please, please].
Heading north, Jon is having to adapt to his new role a King of the North and it is causing strain between himself and Sansa. Their conflicting ideology will probably be brought up a few more times this season and I cannot predict if they will remain strong allies, or be split apart by it all. Especially with Little Finger kicking about, he really is a dislikeable sod, hanging around Sansa like a bad smell. Thankfully, she seems to be able to read his games all to easily now (let's face it, she's spent enough time around schemers and psychpaths to know how they work) and wants nothing to do with him. She is effectively tolerating him, until either her debt for saving them against Ramsay is repaid, or he pushes his luck and is told where to go.
A little further north again and Bran has been hauled all the way to the wall. He's now chilling in Castle Black, but what could this mean? Now that he's through, does this mean that the White Walkers can pretty much just follow him through? That would be horrid, seeing as how we've seen their new, expanded army, replete with giants [in case you're panicking, that last one can't be Wun-Wun, he's not been dead long enough, he died on the wrong side of the wall and Jon knows better than to have not burned him. It's just some other undead giant instead]. Based on what The Hound saw in the flames it looks like they aren't heading for a known doorway, so perhaps not.
Speaking of The Hound, he's still knocking about with the Men Without Banners and it looks like he's going to be having quite the journey this season, both physically and emotionally. I mean, he's already had to revisit the scene of one of his worst crimes, where he effectively sentenced a kind man and his daughter to death because they were "weak". Well, guess who's knocking at the door now... consequences. Since he was left for dead by Arya, he is going through something of a spiritual renaissance and seems to care more about this kind of thing now, burying the bodies of the man and his daughter. Not only does he not instantly dismiss the beliefs of his new companions as before, he is now willing to investigate them himself, looking into a fire and seeing the dead walking past the wall and a mountain. Based on this, the dead are exactly where Jon has predicted, so we can expect to see them fighting the Wildlings before long. But that mountain, what if it isn't just a mountain, but rather The Mountain, Ser Gregor (or what's left of him)? Could we have just been forecast Cleganebowl?
Elsewhere, we have discovered that Sam has been doing very little learning about killing the undead masses and has instead been cleaning up poo. A lot of poo. Oh and he's doing his best impression of Tom Riddle with the one and only Professor Slugorn. Lie he's going to fall for the old restricted section ploy again Sam! I mean, either way, he's pilfered himself some reading material from the restricted section, so he's got what he anted. I suppose it is easier to ask for forgiveness than permission. And what has he learned? Well, that there is a whole heap of dragonglass beneath Dragonstone. Which surprised literally no-one. In fact, that's where I'd have gone to find some before he had even found that out. Especially seeing as how Stannis, the chap who had spent a good few years living there, had literally told Sam this already! But oh well, confirmation is always nice. As is being grabbed at by a clearly unwell Jorah. his hunt for a cure to greyscale has gone well and he's wound up quarantined at The Citadel. I'm reckoning he's going to find a friend in Sam here, perhaps they will hep each other out?
Other than dragonglass, what is there at Dragonstone? Well a mess. And now a queen. Daenerys has finally come home. It may not have been as grand as we'd have hoped for, clearly Stannis was too busy planning rebellions and committing adultery in the war room to bring out a duster. But she's home now and it was a wonderfully emotional moment, being left to experience it on her own, without her companions interfering. There's going to be so much happening here this season, I'm sure.
And now briefly, the elephant in the room. Ed flipping Sheeran. He's already on every radio station indefinitely, now he's permeated my TV. He is everywhere. Like a human form of glitter. everyone seems to thinks he's great, but really he's just making a mess and is impossible to get rid of. Now, he wasn't especially bad in his scene, but the scene itself was and it didn't need to be. For a show that works so well because of its subtlety (just look at the understated nature of The Hounds scenes in this very episode), this was about as explicit as the full screen infected peen, which was used to balance out the gender gap in GoT nudity. Constant shots of his smirking face did nothing but detract from a scene where the aim was to soften up Arya again. With a cast of normal actors, this scene would have worked beautifully, but the constant Sheeran shooting ruined it. It was like the director was so awestruck they needed to get in as many shots of him as possible. Let's face it, GoT has had a few cameos from celebrities before and never done this, so why now. Perhaps the previous stars weren't quite as recognisable, but een so. I mean Star Wars Episode VII: The Force Awakens (2015) had plenty of superstar cameos and we never even knew. Why? Helmets. On the lot of them. It's not like there aren't helmets available in Got. I guess Oberyn and Ed have something in common here. Although with Oberyn, this would have been to help us see more of him, not less.
Overall, a good start, with so much more promised. I can't wait!
Oh and a hat-trick of C-Bombs already, well played!
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