ThisGame of Thronesreview contains spoilers.
Martin song are meetingand it looks like its going to be a duet.
The moment where fire meets its chilly counter is likely the scene that has already launched a thousand gifs.
And the vast differences of these monarchs are most contrasted by the simple way they are each introduced.
Davos, in perfect deadpan, replies, This is Jon Snow.
Hes King in the North.
After that juxtaposition, even Team Danys Tyrion can barely manage to suppress a smile.
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Ice and fire, indeed.
One wrapped around a gauntlet of iron.
Like the ones that got him a knife in the heart.
Obviously, it doesnt go over too well.
Still, the scene is built on both misjudging their audience.
Jons mistake was not bringing any actual proof; Danys is her constant pride.
For someone who wishes to break the wheel, shes already being consumed by its hypnotic cycle around Westeros.
Neither made a convincing sales pitch, and it is hard to believe either would budge anyway.
In a different life, perhaps this bromance could boil over.
In the meantime, it stays relatively cordial with Tyrion asking ever so faintly about Sansa Stark.
Which just further illuminates how skeevy Littlefinger is to everyone he meets.
He understandably remains fairly prejudiced against magical folk.
But Melisandre curdles Varys blood by smirking she will return soon (probably in season 8).
It will be on Westeros where she dies.
You make me feel like Im failing at brooding over failing.
Hence, Daenerys dismissively signs off on giving Jon Snow the right to mine Dragonglass from her new keep.
She and Jon even share a moment near sunset by a windswept cliff in Ireland.
And the way Daenerys looks back at Jon?
Well the Lannisters arent the only ones who keep it in the family.
Personally, it would be fascinating to learn what the smallfolk in the capital really think about recent events.
(Though theyre being awfully glib about these dragons).
But Cerseis big moment is her vindictive vengeance on Ellaria, and the seeming conclusion of the Dornish subplot.
And some of it is pretty brilliant.
Tyrion going after the Rock is just a long-winded No, screw you, daddy!
move, and one that Cersei and Jaime long expected.
His apparently not-so-secret way into Casterly Rock proved pointless since the Lannister army was vacant.
Daenerys and Tyrion are prudent to not unleash the dragons on Kings Landing, slaughtering thousands of smallfolks.
Yet the mostly militant Casterly Rock could have been razed to dust, and Tywin Lannisters legacy left smoldering.
Yep, weve finally reached Highgarden.
Without Highgardens aide, Stannis Baratheon might now sit on the Iron Throne.
So yes, this is expedient writing that is questionable at best.
And still, I cant totally fault Benioff and Weiss.
Words cannot express how sorry I am to see Diana Rigg written out of this series.
For Jaime, it is the rare victory of him getting to kill an enemy without mercy.
And unlike Cersei, he does so with a degree of grace and tact.
When the time came, Rigg was in top form, and Benioff and Weiss were at their sharpest.
Jaime at first appears amused to be part of the Queen of Thorns final conversation.
But still, Olenna gets the last laugh.
It must have been horrible for you as a Kingsguard, as a father.
It was horrible enough for me, a shocking scene, not at all what I intended.
You see, Id never seen the poison work before.
Tell Cersei, I want her to know it was me.
But theyd all be impotent and needlessly cruel, much like the ugly boy who previously owned the blade.
So as The Rains of Castamere plays, he has to swallow the hollowness of his victory.
They won a war of attrition before they had cause, and it just makes everything so meaningless.
It also confirms for Jaime that Cersei and Tywin wrongfully accused and condemned Tyrion to death.
As such, Tyrions hatred for their father just has a little more vindication and comprehension.
Sansa Stark has taken to power well in her first episode with complete control.
But the real point of the scene is another long overdue Stark reunion.
Instead it turned out to be Bran and Sansa who embraced.
And thats nice too… And that includes bringing the wolf clan together.
And two Starks are in Winterfell with a third on her way.
The narrative knots are tightening, and overall, this week has done so with extreme precision and satisfaction.
Some logic gaps aside, every scene in this episode sang.
And when it was a song of ice and fire?
It was damn near perfect harmony.
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Rating:
4 out of 5
