Game of Thrones season 7 - Episode 7

The Dragon and the Wolf

I know it feels too soon but that was Game of Thrones season seven. Three episodes shorter than what we've been used to and some way ahead of the books, this was a bold step forward from HBO and now it's time to see how they did. Full spoilers ahead.

Following last week's events with the death of one of the dragons and the capture of a zombie, the episode began with armies meeting in the south for the peace talks. Now by this stage of the show we're used to seeing plans fall apart into violence with the Greyjoy fleet attack and the botched siege at Casterly Rock earlier this season but, despite Cersei's instructions to the Mountain on who to kill if something should go wrong, there was not a single drop of blood.

The meeting began with even more reunions with characters old and new which was strange. This season has marked a shift from numerous plotlines to there only being a small few to follow now most were either present in King's Landing or Winterfell. It was surreal seeing so many faces together onscreen, not helped by Jon dressed in his winter uniform which was an odd choice, and the event was suitably complex with various ongoing feuds. It wasn't the most tense scene for the show so far but it did manage to capture the complexity of it all.

But the first slice of real drama from the scenes in King's Landing came from Cersei's hidden agenda to pretend to help the fight beyond the wall while letting Jon and Dany's forces do all the work. Throughout these scenes, it was interesting to see how she would react and it was then surprising to see her give in to Jon's request following a heated private talk with Tyrion. I then suddenly thought that season eight might display her in a different light but nope, she fooled them all, including Jaime. The scene between the two afterwards was great as he tried to reason before Cersei threatened him with the Mountain. It was fantastic and I look forward to seeing where he goes next, and how he will deliver the bad news.

Since Arya's return to Winterfell, these scenes had a foreboding tone which suggested that the sisterly rivalry would turn deadly following Littlefinger's subtle intervention. But somewhere along the way, the sisters and Bran worked together and then put him on trial in a shocking scene for his evil doings. Aidan Gillen has been one of show's best actors and it's impossible to imagine anyone else in the cunning role who had twisted so many to his advantage but his journey had to end. In someways with the undead marching closer, the show had little room for his character so his grisly end felt appropriate at this point, even it could have come a little sooner. Either way, Gillen goes out on a high capturing Littlefinger's vast array of emotions from powerful to almost pitiful in just a few minutes. Winterfell now seems safe for the time being.

Following these two major conclusions, Theon leaves Jon to rescue his sister as she once did for him, and then Jon has a steamy scene with Dany. We then learn that Jon isn't a bastard and his name is in fact Aegon Targaryen! This is made all the strange when we learn Dany is his aunt but I guess you could say there's something for keeping it in family as the Targaryens have done for generations.

Now for the final few minutes left of the show that had so far seen only one death, not counting the zombie, with Theon challenging his men which would seem rather light but The Dragon and the Wolf concludes with a surprise attack from The Night King on top of his undead dragon as he laid siege to Eastwatch. This carved a huge pathway for his army to plough straight-through and now the race against time begins. It was left unclear on the fate of Tormund and Beric but I assume they made it out in time.

So looking back on this season, I have seen a number of criticisms against season seven and I do agree with a few. The decision to cut the number of episodes was a mistake in my opinion when they should have been adding more/extending the length of certain episodes and this did feel rushed as a result as characters cheated time jumping between locations. If anything the events north of the wall could have been made into two episodes to really flesh out the grand scale of the journey. I have criticised shows for taking their time but Game of Thrones has so much rich material that it can afford to put on the brakes and fans would love it even more.  Overall, I can't wait to see what happens in season eight and I will give it the benefit of the doubt though as season seven has still impressed.