Game of Thrones season 7 - Episodes 1 & 2

Following the explosive conclusion of season six that shattered alliances and reduced many key characters to pieces of ash, Game of Thrones has returned and I couldn't resist writing about the penultimate season whilst speculating on what's to come so spoilers ahead people!

Dragonstone

Season seven began with completely knocking me off balance with the supposedly dead Walder Frey raising a toast to the Red Wedding. Was this a flashback, a way to introduce a key character following season three's most shocking event or has the old bastard returned somehow? Thankfully not as we learn the wine was poisoned and that it was Arya Stark in disguise. This was a great little twist and showed how the youngest of the Stark daughters has changed since her time with the Hound.

Meanwhile, we learn that the Lannisters are running short on friends and now must turn to the crazy Euron Greyjoy for support if even they're not so keen on siding with the man who started a failed rebellion. Jaimie isn't too happy with the idea and the Greyjoy is left to prove himself a useful ally. Pleasing those who had read the books while those learning for the first time, one of the best things about Game of Thrones as the story has progressed has been watching characters collide in various ways with one another. Sometimes we've seen two narratives join such as Stannis' and Jon Snow's but here we learnt more about old enemies meeting again following pre-show events. It can sound a little nerdy but the show has always excelled at this knowing to only use flashbacks sparingly while leaving the rest to our imagination.

Jon and Sansa's scenes were relatively stationary but there's an undoubtable sense of tension in the air as we know this peace they've found for now cannot last. There is also a theme here that the Starks have always had trouble when they leave home and there is a fear of leaving which would reduce the headcount on the home they fought so hard to take back. Thinking of Starks, there is of course Arya's scene with Ed Sheeran who has probably suffered more than Oberyn ever did. To keep this short; if his character was played by anyone else, we would assume that they're important to the story but this is just a cameo. As a result, it felt forced and was the only weakness in the episode but I didn't mind too much.

Going from the weakest part of Dragonstone, the best part was the Hound travelling in the winter scenery with The Brotherhood Without Banners. While still a cynic to the Lord of Light, he's no longer the hardened killer as the gang take shelter in a house where he once tormented the now dead residence. Here he tries to make amendments by giving the owners a burial and witnesses the White Walkers in a fire raising even more questions. When the Hound saw a building in the shape of an arrow, I thought of the Eyrie but it's still too ambiguous for now.

The first episodes concludes with Daenerys and crew (copying and pasting all their names would take too long) and it was great to see Stannis' headquarters again, not to mention finally seeing her step into Westeros. This was a neat conclusion and is a perfect way to setup what we can expect next. Hopefully that isn't more cameos and then we can all be happy.

Stormborn

Episode two kicks off with a storm while Daenerys puts her plan of attack on Stannis' old map and this scene is rich with great moments. Tyrion confronts Ellaria about the cruel death of his niece, Daenerys to Varys over his history of betrayal and attempt at killing her all the way back in season one and Melisandre's arrival to bring an alliance with between the Mother of Dragons and Jon Snow. Making this episode even stronger, Daenerys is quick to action and sends the Greyjoy siblings with Ellaria and the vicious daughters to aim for King's Landing while Greyworm is to strike at Casterley Rock upon Tyrion's suggestion. Automatically it's clear the show isn't messing around with the seven episode season but will we see these plans get anywhere close to their destination?

When the raven for Jon arrives, Sansa and Davos become concerned but Jon sees no other way as he knows that dragon glass is under Dragonstone. So, following a few heated words to a lurking Littlefinger, he does as his ancestors once did and leaves home with the hope of securing a brighter future. This is all we get and it will be interesting to see if Sansa's words of caution will help the man who once died because of his leadership.

Now I thought witnessing Samwell's duties were grim enough as he served the Maesters but that was before he took the challenge of curing Jorah Mormont's nasty case of greyscale. Needless to say the makeup department really outdid themselves here and that transition was excellent. But what will become of Jorah remains to be seen. Other highlights include seeing the dragon skulls again and how King's Landing prepares to defend itself, Arya learning of the Bolton's defeat and finding her direwolf after so long. The little pups we saw at the start sadly died as the story went on and maybe this scene was to remind Arya of her lost childlike innocence. If she goes home, she'll miss Jon who she was close to and only find Sansa instead who may not even recognise her now.

Going back to the quick nature of Stormborn, episode two concludes with a bang as Euron drives his armada into the Daenerys' Greyjoy fleet in an effort to prove himself to Cersei and protect her. Daenerys' best laid plans are quickly thwarted as two of Ellaria's daughters are killed at the hands of the rebel and a stunned Yara is captured while Theon escapes. The scene was thrilling to watch and really captured Euron's psychotic nature as he took hits but struck back twice as hard.

So now Euron has proven himself and has his niece as hostage, Daenerys will soon learn of the mighty blow her team has taken while Cersei grows stronger and Jorah will need some bandages fast. How quickly news of the battle between the Greyjoys reaching Daenerys remains to be seen as it may cast a shadow on Jon's mind if he is join her but, as the Lannisters once felt, he'll need support wherever he can find it.