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Game of Thrones
Season 7, Episode 2
By Garrett Yoshitomi
Last week’s episode of Game of Thrones literally broke the
internet. Well, maybe not the entire internet, but at least HBO's little corner
of the world wide web. HBO.com
crashed during the first half of the seventh season premiere of its most popular
show ever. And yes, that's most, with an ‘m,’ popular, with a ‘p,’ and ever,
with an 'e.' Despite these website issues, Game of Thrones shattered the
record for its most watched single episode, with
10 million viewers. And, if you include live streaming, last Sunday's
"Dragonstone" was watched by approximately 16
million people- a pretty solid turnout for the devout fandom that made Game
of Thrones HBO’s most watched series, ahead of The
Sopranos, back in 2014. For all
this record breaking, you'd expect the season premiere to have been packed to
the gills with action, but it was a relatively slow episode that got off to a hot
start, with Arya wiping out the Freys, but then reduced itself to a simmer for
the remaining fifty-five minutes.
“Stormborn” picks up
roughly where last week’s “Dragonstone” left off, as Daenerys and her council finally
get to work on devising a plan to take back Westeros. It’s not all peaches and
creams for the Mother of Dragons; however, as Daenerys quickly learns that her
constituents have a very strong, and different, opinion on what her first steps
of conquest must be. It’s good that Daenerys faces some push-back on her
decisions. It would be boring if her storyline was devoid of internal strife, her
supporters unquestionably falling in line behind her every decision. Plus, it’s
fitting that Ellaria Sand and Olenna Tyrell are the ones dissenting, since
they’re the newest additions to the crew, and motivated more by their thirst
for vengeance against Cersei, rather than a firm belief in Daenerys as a ruler.
There is a balance that needs to be struck, however. It will get old pretty
quickly if Daenerys is being challenged at each and every turn. We’ve waited
long enough for the young Targaryen to make her move on Westeros, and to have
her progress stalled by contrived, unnecessary infighting would be incredibly
disappointing.
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To a certain degree,
it makes sense that Daenerys would question Varys’ intentions- after all, he
did send an assassin after her, on Robert Baratheon’s orders, back in season
one. But still, it’s a little weird that she’s having this conversation with
him now, as opposed to two seasons ago, when he first joined her cause. For
casual fans, and most non-book readers, Varys has always been a difficult
character to peg. His scenes are brief, and filled with double talk and
metaphors that tend to muddy their relation to the plot. But, for all his
convoluted Master of Whispers babble, he’s remained a reliable ally to Tyrion,
and by extension, Daenerys, as well as unwaveringly consistent with his goal of
getting a Targaryen back on the Iron Throne. Overall, I find Varys’ explanation
for why he will remain loyal to Daenerys, despite his disloyalty to previous
kings, to be satisfying. Plus, his desire to find a ruler for the common folk
rings consistent with his own rags to slightly-nicer rags story; though, it’s
clear that Dany will continue to hold a healthy, and arguably necessary, dose
of skepticism towards the eunuch.
Last week, I
talked about Euron Greyjoy, and how he'd have to prove himself
in the coming episodes to be considered anything more than early season dragon
fodder. Surprisingly, (to me at least), the King of the Iron Islands came
through, delivering a bad guy performance that would make even Cersei Lannister
proud. It was easy to be skeptical of Euron, given that his list of nefarious
on-screen accomplishments had been limited to overpowering an old man, and
threatening to murder his niece and nephew. Plus, it's a little strange to see
this character suddenly arise from obscurity and exile, only to become a major
player in the war for the Iron Throne. Regardless, the only thing that matters,
when you play the game of thrones, is your final score, and after this week,
Euron certainly finds himself towards the top of the standings. It will be
interesting to see how his role, and relationship with Cersei, continues to
evolve, though I still don't feel like he'll last past this season.
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Cersei
spends this episode trying to rally some of the bannermen of House Tyrell
against their own Queen of Thorns, Olenna. Notable amongst them is Randyll
Tarly, who initially declines Cersei’s offer, and manages to come across as
rather noble in the process, despite a long history of mistreating his son, Samwell
Tarly. Although initially, Cersei appears to be outgunned against Dany’s set of
dragons, it’s easy to see the writers forging a bit of plot armor to even
things up in her favor. Jaime’s comments last week, about how the Lannister’s
are firmly on the losing side, certainly ring true, but it would be an
incredibly boring season if Daenerys and co. steamrolled through King’s Landing,
as they realistically should.
For
all the excitement that's going on in other parts of Westeros, I think Sam
currently has the most interesting individual storyline. He's fairly isolated
from the rest of the major players, but he does cross paths with Jorah Mormont
for the first time. Despite the two never meeting before, Sam shares a strong
connection with Jorah, through the latter’s father, Jeor Mormont, former Lord
Commander of the Night’s Watch. I think it's pretty likely that both Sam and
Jorah top most people's list of most adored supporting characters, so it's
quite enjoyable to see Sam's bravery shine through, as well as the prospect
that Jorah might live to fight another day by Daenerys’ side.
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This season is shaping up to be an all-out war between Daenerys and
Cersei, with Jon Snow, and the rest of the North, finding themselves roughly in
the middle. As semi-omniscient bystanders, we know that Daenerys and Jon, as
the protagonists, are destined to join forces and kick Lannister, as well as
White Walker, butt. However, to those in-show, Jon’s choice seems less clear. Everybody,
from Sansa to Lyanna Mormont, raises a good point regarding the riskiness of
Jon abandoning the North to negotiate with the unknown daughter of one of
Westeros’ most tyrannical kings. However, the alliance between Daenerys and Jon
Snow is something that both casual fans and book readers, alike, have been looking
forward to for years, and even though the scene features well-balanced
arguments from both sides, there’s little doubt that Jon will set off for
Dragonstone, with the goal of bolstering his forces.
While
it’s easy to feel invested in Jon’s storyline, Sansa is the character I’m most interested
to see develop in the aftermath of her brother’s decision. Before heading
south, Jon leaves the North to Sansa, as the only Stark in Winterfell. For the
past season or so, Sansa has been skirting around the edges of leadership, but now
her time has finally come to take the reins of House Stark. Sansa’s come a long
way from the naïve and childish girl she started as, back in season one. She’s
faced her fair share of adversities and horrors since then, and just like her
siblings, ultimately emerged stronger for it. Of course, the potential for
Littlefinger interference will always loom as long as Petyr Baelish, and the
need for the Knights of the Vale, hang around. But, it appears that Sansa is
aware of his untrustworthiness, and she ultimately might have enough savvy to use
this for her own gain.
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