Unsullied Recap—Game of Thrones, Episode 701—“Dragonstone”

Spoiler note: “A girl says nothing. A girl keeps her mouth closed. No one hears.” —Girls, boys, and everyone alike, Jaqen H’ghar has spoken, so please remember: This recap is primarily for non-book readers. If you’re a book reader, please avoid posting any spoilers here, and instead take those thoughts to our book-reader’s recap. Thank you!

Well, folks, here we are. After a grueling, longer-than-usual wait, Game of Thrones season 7 has arrived in a whirlwind of emotional resonance. If you listen closely, you can hear Barry Manilow’s “Looks Like We Made It” playing from every corner of the fandom.

This year’s cold open focuses on the Twins. Walder Frey is alive and well—a surprising feat for a man who had his throat slit last year—and he’s congratulating his men on their fortitude. The Red Wedding may be several years past, but the Freys are still unreasonably happy about it as Walder commends their courage during the slaughter of innocents and an ancient family—but, importantly, not the entire family.

“Leave one wolf alive, and the sheep are never safe,” Walder says. As if on cue, his men choke on the celebratory wine he had gifted to them. The women, who had not been permitted to drink, watch on in horror as the men fall, and Walder smirks. A moment later, he pulls away his face to reveal another: Arya Stark of Winterfell, who had killed him in the first place.

“When people ask you what happened here, tell them the North remembers,” she tells Walder’s fortunate widow, and I promptly burst into tears. “Tell them winter came for House Frey.”

By massacring the Freys, Arya joins the likes of Cersei and Daenerys on their vengeful stampedes. The notable difference is that Arya leaves the innocent untouched. She recognizes the true criminals of House Frey, and does not blame them all by association. Once again, Arya strikes a balance between homicidal urges and justice, and it’s this balance that keeps her tethered to her humanity. She retains a sense of Stark honor that can’t be swayed, a fact which we’ve seen in her remaining family’s arcs. This is threaded throughout her journey at the House of Black and White as well: Arya is incapable of killing for killing’s sake. She’s on a mission, and she won’t be led astray to darker waters.

Later, it seems as though Arya’s humanity will once again be tested when she comes upon Ed Sheeran and his boy band. Or, for the sake of the narrative, a group of Lannister soldiers sent to keep the peace in the wake of the Frey massacre. As any cautious young woman would do, Arya proceeds with care and suspicion, but thankfully no funny business arises. Instead, the group talks primarily of family, roles, and home—subjects that strongly resonate with Arya and her character arc.

While she maintains that she’s headed to King’s Landing to “kill the queen,” the audience has to wonder if she’ll continue on that path for much longer. Since being on the run, Arya has fought her own brand of war in the search for vengeance and what that means for her identity. Now, I think she’s coming to an impasse where she’ll have to choose between the two: The people she wants to hurt for justice, and the person she needs to be for herself if she ever wants to go home. Of course, Arya doesn’t know what’s become of her home at this point, so we can only wait and see.

Arya isn’t the only Stark on such a path. After being treated to a vision of the White Walkers (complete with three giants, which is promising), the audience is reunited with Bran and Meera. They’ve arrived at the Wall, where they’re given a lukewarm greeting by Lord Commander Edd and a handful of Night’s Watchmen. Love you to pieces, Edd, but how much of a threat does a clearly exhausted girl and her crippled companion really pose to you?

Bran isn’t having any of this nonsense, either. He’s been quite literally dragged from one corner of the North to the next and back again, and he’s had enough.

"You were at the Fist of the First Men. You were at Hardhome. You’ve seen the army of the dead. You’ve seen the Night King. He’s coming for us. For all of us."

In other words: Winter is here, and the wildlings are the least of your worries now. Leave it to Bran’s old soul to get everyone’s priorities straight.

Regretfully, we don’t see Bran and Meera make it to Winterfell by episode’s end. But as it happens, there’s quite enough going on at Winterfell without them. I’m overstimulated enough without Bran hitting Jon with the results of his paternity test for the time being. There’s quite a lot to unpack here, as the North prepares for the war against the White Walkers. All the while the rumored Starkbowl is stirred for a rousing handful of minutes before it’s put to rest.

The finer points include the need for dragonglass and Tormund’s agreement on behalf of the Free Folk that they will serve as guardians at the borders, much like the Night’s Watch. Jon also decrees that not only will Northern men be required to train and fight, but the women as well. Lyanna Mormont backs him on this because she doesn’t have time for patriarchal values.

"I might be small, Lord Glover, and I might be a girl, but I am every bit as much a Northerner as you. […] And I don’t need your permission to defend the North. We’ll begin training every man, woman, boy, and girl on Bear Island."

Considering her willful and outspoken nature, Lyanna has gained much notoriety since her introduction last season. But there is a more subtle moment here as well, when she gives a small but solemn nod during Jon and Sansa’s argument over how to punish and reward the Northern houses who had risen up alongside the Boltons. Lyanna and Sansa both value loyalty, whereas Jon would allow those faithless houses to restore faith once more. While Jon and Sansa bicker over technicalities, the assembled Northerners murmur amongst themselves, wondering if the pair of them are about to start making out right there at the head table. They don’t, but everyone privately agrees that it’s only a matter of time before all this belligerent sexual tension comes to fruition—or so they can hope, as they’re all wildly uncomfortable at the moment.

In the interim, Jon allows Ned Umber and Alys Karstark the opportunity to re-pledge their houses’ loyalty to the Starks. They do so readily, which is a relief to all, despite Sansa’s disappointment that Jon still isn’t taking her counsel. Petyr looks smug about it, but he always looks smug, so that means absolutely nothing.

He would perhaps be pleased that Jon and Sansa continue their disagreement, if it weren’t for all the accidental but nevertheless shameless flirting. The barely repressed smiles are evidence enough, but throw in Sansa grabbing Jon’s arm and Jon’s sharp intake of breath, too, and you know the boy is shooketh. Even more telling is this exchange:

"SANSA: “Joffrey never let anyone question his authority. You think he was a good king?”JON: “Do you think I’m Joffrey?”SANSA: “You’re as far from Joffrey as anyone I’ve ever met.”JON: “Thank you.”"

Cue Jon’s hurt puppy dog eyes that turn to yet another grin when Sansa continues to bolster his confidence. For all their bickering, she’s proud of him, she believes in him, and she wants to protect him. More specifically in this case, the verbal line in the sand drawn between Jon and Joffrey in this scene is a rather direct correlation to Ned’s discussion with Sansa in season 1. He declares that she won’t wed Joffrey at all, but instead, “When you’re old enough, I’ll make you a match with someone worthy of you. Someone who’s brave and gentle and strong.” At least, it’s as direct as it’s going to get until Jon and Sansa exchange vows beneath the heart tree. Some food for thought, and I’d like to have the receipts if I’m proven right in the end.

Until then, Jon and Sansa have wars to fight, and not only against the Night King. The glaring reality of their situation hits anew when they receive a raven from King’s Landing. Cersei has thrown down the gauntlet, demanding that the North bend the knee or be tried as traitors. As she did in regards to the Battle of the Bastards, Sansa tells Jon that he might know his military tactics, but she knows the enemy. “I learned a great deal from [Cersei],” Sansa says, indicating that she’ll do anything to protect her loved ones, by any means necessary.

And that includes giving Petyr one hell of a smackdown. While my darling Podrick has his ass handed to him in the training yard by Brienne, who is in turn admired by Tormund, Petyr sidles up to Sansa in his usual To Catch a Predator fashion.

"PETYR: “Why aren’t you happy? What do you want that you do not have?”SANSA: “At the moment, peace and quiet.”"

And thus, the “YOOOOOOOO!” that was heard ‘round the world is born. Brienne catches Sansa’s “Hey girl, come cockblock this clown” signal, successfully disrupting any further unwanted sexual advances. Sansa tells her number-one gal pal that she knows what Petyr wants, and Brienne’s expression tells us that she’ll make sure he doesn’t get it. If Game of Thrones has given us any finer mirror to our modern era of girl power, I haven’t seen it. Petyr of the House Bae-less has really earned that nickname by now.

In King’s Landing, Cersei and Jaime convene on that impressively painted floor map. Cersei is out for blood and has no qualms with admitting it. She doubts that Daenerys’ proclaimed allies will be keen to fight beside a horde of Dothraki and Unsullied foreigners (I assume this is going to come into play later, so it’s worth mentioning now). Despite the odds stacked against her, Cersei has a tremendous amount of faith in her own power, and yet she acknowledges the fight ahead of them.

"Enemies to the east. Enemies to the south, Ellaria Sand and her brood of bitches. Enemies to the west, Olenna, the old cunt, another traitor. Enemies to the north. Ned Stark’s bastard has been named King in the North, and that murdering whore Sansa stands beside him. Enemies everywhere. We’re surrounded by traitors."

She’s so eloquently evil. I don’t agree with the woman’s methods by any means, but I do appreciate how honest she is about herself and what she’s after. Every one of these cast of characters may be a hero in their own mind, but Cersei has no desire to play at heroism. She is who she is, she wants what she wants, and she’ll do whatever she must to get it without feeling the need to justify it to anyone else. In this way, she’s something of a breath of fresh air.

But there is one thing she won’t speak of, and that’s her grief over Tommen’s suicide. When Jaime presses, Cersei insists that “There’s nothing to say […] He betrayed me. He betrayed us both. Should we spend our days mourning the dead? Our mother, father, all our children? I loved them, I did, but they’re ashes now and we’re still flesh and blood.”

Oof. Methinks Cersei hasn’t properly grieved, or come to terms with her part in Tommen’s death. She plays the tough love card on Jaime, but as the woman whose purpose has revolved around protecting her children, it’s clear that Cersei has lost herself with the death of her last child—a death that she was on some level responsible for, so it’s no small wonder.

On Cersei’s invitation for the sake of making alliances, Euron Greyjoy arrives in King’s Landing with his fleet. Jaime is openly skeptical of any advantage the Ironborn might lend to their cause. Euron spends his visit talking lowkey shit about Jaime to Cersei, much in the same way Petyr has been about Jon to Sansa, so Jaime’s reluctance to join forces is understandable. It’s like watching a one-man pissing contest because the other refuses to fully participate.

In the end, Euron proposes marriage, which Cersei declines because she’d rather have Jaime’s one good hand at her disposal than Euron’s two likely inept ones. Ever persistent, Euron vows to win her favor with a “priceless gift”—likely one of her enemies. Tyrion was pronounced “the gift” in the season 5 episode of the same name, so mayhaps we’ll see him back at his sister’s mercy within the next several weeks?

Elsewhere on the map, the Hound and the audience are treated to a blast from the past when we return to the farm where the Hound and Arya found refuge in season 4. The father and daughter who had shown them such kindness are long dead, and the Hound momentarily masks his grief by mocking Thoros’ topknot. (Nobody tell him about Jon’s manbun yet.)

But the past catches up with the Hound, as it so often does. I wouldn’t say that the man ever finds redemption, but he is haunted by ghosts that never seem to leave him. Naturally, this—coupled with the fact that the Hound is on a spiritual quest with a gang of religious zealots—leads to a conversation about life, death, and what it all means, man. And what’s a spiritual quest without a vision in the flames? With Thoros’ encouragement, the Hound looks into the fire and sees a vision too coherent to be blamed on shrooms:

"Ice. A wall of ice. The Wall. […] It’s where the Wall meets the sea. There’s a castle there. There’s a mountain, looks like an arrowhead. The dead are marching past. Thousands of them."

According to Thoros, this is what it all means, man.

Meanwhile, at the Citadel, Sam is just as preoccupied by the threat of the White Walkers. He’s playing lackey, which we can ascertain from his montage of book-shelving and chamber pot-cleaning, the latter of which makes me wonder who lost what bet for this to be included in the final cut. Despite the cold open’s massacre, perhaps the episode’s gross factor just wasn’t up to par?

I can’t say, but eventually I’m put out of my misery when Sam’s dialogue with Archmaester Harold Zidler distracts me from their dissection of a human body. Jim Broadbent’s presence notwithstanding, the Citadel is no Moulin Rouge, so everything’s far less glamorous than expected. Still, Sam tries to curry favor and permission to use the Citadel’s restricted area for research purposes. He had, after all, made the trip to learn how to combat the White Walkers, and instead he’s been the guinea pig assigned to all the gross tasks.

The trouble is, the maesters don’t necessarily believe that the White Walkers are real, let alone pose a threat to the Seven Kingdoms. The Archmaester explains to Sam that they’ve heard it all before: “The end is near. How will we survive?” but they have survived all the same. Probably because someone believed in someone else’s claims and allowed them to do the research they’d come to do, but… Hey, whatever. Sam doesn’t have time for these mind games, so he straight trespasses in the library for the good of the realm.

Lucky thing, too, as Sam and Gilly hit the jackpot almost immediately. They turn to a map of Dragonstone, where a veritable mountain of dragonglass—the choice weapon against the White Walkers—is buried in the ground. “Jon needs to know,” Sam declares for exhibition’s sake, and he sets about saving the realm some more.

Back at the Citadel, Sam isn’t yet busted for trespassing, but he is accosted by Jorah Mormont. He’s locked in a cell, presumably being treated for his greyscale, and asks after Daenerys. Sam hardly knows who she is, let alone whether she’s arrived in Westeros, but indeed she has.

The final scene of the premiere is Daenerys and her cohorts’ arrival at Dragonstone. All is silent but for the accompanying music—a rather ominous mix of drums and horns—as Daenerys makes her way into her ancestral home. The Dragonstone scenery is seriously breathtaking, and Dany’s Loki cosplay adds to the ambiance in its vaguely menacing but admittedly stylish flair.

In a characteristic show of power, she tears down what remains of Stannis’ banners. She enters the audience chamber but does not yet sit upon her throne—it’s not the one she’s after, after all—and moves to the tabletop map her ancestor, Aegon Targaryen, had fashioned. The scene is subtle but telling all the same: Daenerys is in Westeros, and fully immersed in her Targaryen ancestry from the start. But is it a triumphant return to her birthplace, or a sign that she might give in to baser Targaryen instincts once and for all?

Time will tell. For now, Daenerys says only “Shall we begin?” and the credits roll.

This episode has left me with a sense of hopefulness that—despite the show’s often bleak tone—does not undermine the dire nature of the characters’ situations. This, I think, is what Game of Thrones’ bittersweet theme is all about: There may be enemies on all sides, but as long as you’ve got something worth fighting for, you stand a chance in this frozen hell. As the Archmaester says to Sam, “Every winter that has ever came has ended.” They just have to survive it first.

What say you, fellow fans? How will Daenerys proceed? Will Arya continue on her way to King’s Landing, or will she change course for home? Will her arrival jive with Bran’s, or will we be waiting even longer for a proper Stark reunion? What repercussions could Sam face for his impromptu B&E? How will Euron attempt to win Cersei’s hand, and what could possibly entice her to give it? And, much as I want Petyr to just bite it already, how many different ways can Sansa tell him to get rekt before he finally does for good?

Next: I’m a Firestarter, a Twisted Firestarter—The Cersei Lannister Story

Remember—speculation is encouraged, spoilers aren’t! Please refrain from posting book spoilers here! Feel free to discuss the episode in the comments or Tweet me @kattymaj, but don’t ruin any surprises for the viewers who haven’t read the books. While the show has largely diverged from its source material, you never know what details will crop up later. Thanks, and see you next week!