Chaos is a ladder." Game of Thrones has always been known as the show that can turn an episode from a quiet, banter-filled discussion into an unprecedented sea of blood. This is one of those episodes that you won't want to miss. Not only are there revelations, reunions and the return of a notorious dagger, but a great big dragon causing mayhem to the Lannister army. At first, it seems like one of the happiest episodes in a long time, until the final fifteen minutes as we are plunged into an infernal chaos. Perhaps not as consequential as Hardhome was back in Season 5 or as intricate as Blackwater and The Watchers on the Wall, but it says a lot about Game of Thrones when I consider this to be the fifth best battle sequence in its history. Battle of the Bastards unequivocally is still number one.
The Winterfell storyline has reached an interesting stage in its development as not only Bran has arrived to his home, but Arya now as well. Reunions are left right and centre - there's just one more significant one to look forward to and that's Jon and Arya. Indeed, the Stark children once scattered to all four corners of the world are now trickling back together again, but not everything is entirely content. The writers are continuing to address Bran's emotionless state, giving us a sad departure for Meera as she receives no gratitude for the gruelling period she spent looking after Bran. Whatever and wherever she goes next, let's hope she hasn't been completely disheartened by Bran's uncharacteristic lack of emotion. But, it's clear, as Bran meets Arya and Sansa, that this state is brought on by exposure to the Three-Eyed Raven's powers - a tool that has given him immense foresight. With it, he is able to nicely quote Littlefinger's perception of chaos, mention Arya's list of names and even perhaps see the future of Winterfell as it stands. It's testament to the character development that we now see how Arya has grown. No one or not, her wisdom and training has brought her through thick and thin - a killing machine, yes, but not a heartless one at that. Her meeting with Sansa in the crypt is an emotional one, giving us a chance to see the difference between the sisters and the transformation that has happened since they were separated all those years ago back in King's Landing. When Jon returns to Winterfell, we won't know what's hit us considering the amount of Starks now populating their home. It was also great to see Brienne meet Arya properly, both giving each other a hard time in a duel. Arya certainly seems to equip that Valerian dagger with surprising skill. There's still the old problem of sorting out Littlefinger however, who continues to impose his greedy eyes on Winterfell and its inhabitants. At Dragonstone, political proceedings are ongoing as Jon still refuses to bend the knee for the sake of his people. However, he does get a chance to convince Daenerys of the truth of the White Walkers. Firsthand, as an audience, we get to see the caves in which Dragonglass is mined, and a whole host of carvings made by the Children of the Forest and the First Men. This is a clever way of showing us the origin of the alliance that brought the Children and men together against the White Walkers, but it also gives Jon a chance to make Daenerys see that all he has been saying is true and the greatest danger is to the North. The Mother of Dragons remains stubborn, however, as the news is broken that Casterly Rock was taken, but to the detriment of Lady Olenna Tyrell and the Reach. Naturally, Daenerys feels that her only alternative of finding some foothold in the war, would be to use her dragons. However, most of her advisors seem against this decision, which is interesting considering the fact that she's not endangering any innocent civilians. Jon himself does feel that using dragons at all is bringing the past back into the present and using fire as the Mad King once did to strike fear in the enemy. The singularity of the episode, in superlative quality, is the consequences of the sacking of Highgarden. Now that the Lannisters have acquired the gold to repay all debts to the Iron Bank, Jaime, Bronn and the Tarlys are on the verge of getting around the Blackwater Rush when disaster strikes. In a wide angle shot that could rival the charge made in Battle of the Bastards, a Dothraki horde heads at breakneck speed to slaughter the Lannister forces. Every image counts as we see the foot soldiers organise themselves into rows and Daenerys appears riding on the back of her largest dragon, Drogon. In the following minutes, I don't think we've seen so much fire before. The production does not hold back as countless soldiers are set alight by Drogon's deadly fuel and with the ruthless Dothraki on horseback, the Lannister army is quickly guttered before they have a chance to breathe. The masterstroke of Thrones battles is that it's not all individual soldiers battling it out one by one - we get to see the full picture as the leaders make decisions during the battle that could turn the tides. Jaime makes one of these decisions as he orders Bronn to take control of the sole scorpion the army had brought with them. Bronn is a fascinating character - always known as the joker of the show - a dear friend of Tyrion and a man who has more wits than he lets on. In the amount of sticky situations he's been caught in, this could perhaps be the worst, but it doesn't phase him as he deftly avoids a Dothraki soldier and still manages to catch Drogon in its neck mid-flight. His resilience is unmatched. But it's his relationship with Jaime that is most important in this situation and I think both Bronn and Tyrion had the same idea when they witnessed Jaime stupidly charge Daenerys as she attempted to pull the arrowhead from Drogon's skin. Ever since Bronn started training Jaime's left hand after his misunderstanding with a group of Boltons, they have grown a rapport in which the former sellsword is almost his right-hand man. That's why the final moment of Bronn knocking Jaime from his horse and falling into the lake is such a defining moment. This is what we've been waiting for in terms of their mutual agreement. Despite continuously demonstrating a flaw in following Cersei as the new ruler of the Seven Kingdoms, Bronn still has great respect for Jaime no matter what. Those finale fifteen minutes may outshine the rest, but it's testament to the build-up that allows us such an outstanding payoff to the beginning of the war. Cersei seemed pretty much sold as the winner until Daenerys makes this blow that could be the end of the Queen's best Generals, including her brother. Even though Tyrion may be looking on in despair as his brother and great friend could be on the verge of death, he'll be content in knowing that Cersei has received an almighty blow to her rule. We've had so much exchange in the south that I think it's time to look north again. The Wall beckons and I'd like to see how Tormund and Edd are coping with the winds of winter and a potential onslaught of White Walkers and their loyal dead. 9/10
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |
AuthorA very passionate Welsh nerd... Archives
October 2017
Categories
All
|