Small Council: What did we think of “Stormborn”?

“Stormborn,” the second episode of Game of Thrones season 7, has swept us away. What did we think of it? Did it get the season’s many storylines rolling? What did it reveal about the characters and their journeys, and how about that action scene? Read our thoughts below, and tell us yours in the comments!

COREY: I thought “Stormborn” was a fantastic episode, one that advanced the plot, set up some actual problems for Dany and her invasion, and left us with our jaws hanging open. After all the heartwarming reunions and couplings, we should have seen the massive downer of an ending coming, but either way, the episode did not disappoint.

I won’t say I was a fan of Dany’s overall grumpiness this episode, especially her sudden questioning of Varys’ loyalty after the Spider spent all of last season keeping Meereen together for her. If you excuse her attitude as a reaction to Varys’ throwback line about the commoners secretly hoping for her return, the whole sequence is a bit more understandable, but it still seemed petty of Daenerys.

But of course, my favorite part of the episode was Euron Greyjoy’s attack on his niece and nephew. Euron has talked a big game sine the moment we met him, so it was nice to see him unleash some maniacal rage on Theon and Yara. Euron jumping onto Yara’s ship by himself seemed a bit over the top, but murdering a couple Sand Snakes more than made up for it.

The episode had a bit of an Empire Strikes Back feel to it, as the bad guys clearly emerged victorious. Watching Theon abandon Yara after she’d taken him back into her life was especially painful, but at least we won’t have to hear the Sand Snakes bicker back and forth anymore. I’m willing to pay a steep price to never to hear that again.

RICHARD: “Stormborn” was a great-but-not-perfect episode, offering more of the strategic geopolitical chess game underway capped with a savage sea battle full of fire, blood and salt. Everything moved forward, though at a more leisurely pace than I expected. Nonetheless, all the ducks are now in a row for when season 7 hits its stride.

While a lot of people grumped about Dany’s interrogation of Varys, I felt it was appropriate. She doesn’t know him like we do. The guy has a shady reputation built over the course of working for several occupants of the Iron Throne, and had a hand in an operation designed to assassinate Dany while she was in Essos. I’d be wary of Varys, too, even with Tyrion’s blessing. Her direct questioning is a great example of how to properly vet potential members of one’s cabinet.

The first half of the episode was an intriguing insider’s view of the great game, but the most powerful scenes belonged to Arya. Her visit with Hot Pie showed us how much she’d changed since they first journeyed, while he seemed pretty much the same. That set us up for Arya’s encounter with Nymeria, who refuses to join her, because neither of them are the same creature they once were.

The sea battle was visceral and powerful, but I thought it suffered from rapid-fire cutting and blurry movement. I understand that the producers wanted to convey confusion, but sometimes I felt like couldn’t make head or tails out of anything, and I wanted to see more of the huge sets and physical effects. That is a small complaint, though — in the end, it was a good battle sequence.

Yay for Grey Worm and Missandei! Yay! Get it on, kids. Get it on. And I actually liked crazy-over-the-top berserker Euron and his kraken-axe. That character works best when he’s out of control, it seems.

Lastly, I am getting really annoyed by the sudden Jon Snow-Sansa Stark leadership incompetence streak. Why is Jon springing huge decisions on Sansa in public without discussing it with her beforehand? It makes them look like bumblers in a room of northern lords who don’t suffer fools gladly. They’re both smarter than this. They both would know to work out their conflicts beforehand. Acting this way makes Jon look like a misogynous, power-drunk ass and Sansa like a lesser partner so insecure and wounded she might actually turn to scumbag Littlefinger to feel appreciated. This makes the scenes where Jon and Sansa argue in front of the northern lords feel artificial and forced, because they are not the characters I just described.

DAN: Richard, I agree with you regarding Dany’s interrogation of Varys. I thought she had the right to be wary of him given his past and that he had the right to stand his ground and explain himself, which he did with aplomb. I didn’t see Dany as “grumpy” in this episode. I thought she was being a general — she was reading the room, making decisions, and vetting her team.

As y’all noted on the Take the Black podcast, Dany’s leadership style is different than Jon’s. She’ll listen during her council meetings, but she keeps the room under tight control. Jon’s meetings are more like a parliamentary debate, with everyone encouraged to stand up and speak their piece. I have to believe that Jon is okay with this, since he keeps holding this kind of gathering. I think it makes sense given what we know about him, too — he was always a man of the people, a bastard who worked his way up from the bottom rather than being born into the top. His meeting scene this week reminded me of the one from season 5 where Jon announced he was going to Hardhome over the protests of his Night’s Watch brethren.

And that ended badly, so maybe he should think about changing his approach, or at least hashing his ideas out with Sansa ahead of time. But if death couldn’t make him do things differently, I’m not sure what will.

I actually agree with you about pretty much everything, Richard — the sea battle was exciting but a little hard to follow, Grey Worm and Missandei consummating their relationship was terrific, and Arya had the episode’s strongest scenes. Man, it’s nice to have her back in Westeros! Her scenes feel alive and vital in a way they didn’t when she was hanging out at the House of Black and White.

I guess I could talk about the King’s Landing scenes, but the gist is that they were fine. I’d rather talk a little about Euron Greyjoy, cause I know he’s polarizing people. Personally, I loved the madcap energy Pilou Asbæk brought to his scene — I am incapable of not smiling when someone crushes a dude while riding a kraken gangplank. They’re going over the top with him and I think it worked here.

No, the character isn’t subtle, but neither were Joffrey or Ramsay, and since I know this is the last time the show can introduce this kind of character, I’m happy to embrace Euron as the new psycho baddie de jour. And he did what a good villain is supposed to do: drive the characters we care about — in this case, Theon and Yara — to new places. How will Theon deal with his backslide into Reek? Will Yara be able to forgive Theon when she (fingers crossed) frees herself or is freed? I thank Euron Greyjoy for giving me these questions to chew on.

RAZOR: Yes, the Sand Scrubs died as we all cheered. Yes, Euron is as batshit crazy as we thought he would be this season. And yes, Theon hopped overboard because of his PTSD. All of this pales in comparison to Daenerys Targaryen — titles, titles — actually saying Jon Snow’s name.

For fans of the books and show, simply hearing Dany utter Jon’s name has been a long time coming. And, during this Sunday’s “The Queen’s Justice,” we will finally see the two meet. It’s all a bit surreal considering the show is all about these two characters: Jon (Ice) and Dany (Fire). In the show’s penultimate season, we will finally get to see them interact.

I was also very impressed with Maisie Williams’ acting during the Nymeria reunion scene. My heart literally broke when she realized Nymeria was too wild and would never find a home at Winterfell as a domesticated animal. “That’s not you.”

KATIE: Maybe I’m thinking too far ahead here, but if not, the foreshadowing is strong in this one. I have a feeling we’re going to see a lot of the dialogue come into more active play later on, if not in this season, then in the next.

Razor indicates above that Jon is the “Ice” and Daenerys the “Fire,” a sentiment I largely disagree with. I’m of the opinion that the title refers to the White Walkers and the dragons: two opposing yet equally destructive forces that, when pitted against one another, will both be obliterated in the fight. While I can humor the notion that the series’ title refers to Jon and Daenerys, it certainly doesn’t spell teamwork or camaraderie for the pair. Ice and fire are not complementary elements—they’re contrary. And I think the first two episodes of season 7 really hone in on the differences between these characters.

While “Stormborn” sees Jon acknowledging Sansa’s counsel and importance, the episode first focuses on Olenna’s advice to Daenerys—which is, essentially, to not listen to her advisors. I don’t think this would have been included if it wasn’t eventually going to cause a problem. What’s the point of having advisors if you’re just going to ignore them? Daenerys needs their counsel—Varys’ especially. He admits that his loyalty is to the realm, which is where Daenerys’ should lie if she means to rule it. She needs Varys in a way I initially thought she needed Barristan and Tyrion, but they were blinded by loyalty to her name and love for her, respectively. Olenna may have been referring specifically to Tyrion in this case, but Daenerys already has a bone to pick with Varys that might further influence Olenna’s advice to her.

As for Jon, we see him actively seek Sansa’s counsel this episode. And while I agree with the above that Jon should confide in Sansa privately before their meetings with the northern lords, I think his public declaration of passing power to her is more effective. He openly supports her claim when all these men had declared him king.

Does Sansa want this power? I would argue no, not really. I think she wanted her home, and she wanted to be treated fairly and acknowledged for her role in their victory against the Boltons. But more than that, she doesn’t want Jon to ride south to potential death—just as Catelyn warned Ned in season 1 (and major kudos to Sophie Turner’s acting chops in this scene, because the range of emotion is written plainly on her face). As of now, Sansa has Jon, and Jon has Sansa, and that’s the end of it. This scene encapsulates their importance to one another: Sansa wants to keep Jon alive, safe, and home, and Jon puts his faith and trust in her that she’ll keep their home strong and standing in his absence, and waiting for him when he returns. Starkbowl who?

And I wouldn’t be me if I didn’t point this out, so… Dude gives her a kingdom, then bodily harms and threatens another man for expressing romantic interest in her. I mean, if Jon wanted to confront Littlefinger about selling Sansa to the Boltons, he could have done so before Littlefinger played the love card. Pardon me while I look into the camera like I’m on The Office. I think we’re going to see this moment reflected in Littlefinger’s machinations now. How, I’m not sure, but this wasn’t a one-and-done scene, and I’m looking forward to how it plays out up North.

I would also like to take a moment to express my love and support for Theon Greyjoy, who has endured far too much to be branded a coward because of his post-traumatic stress disorder. I’m rooting for him and his recovery.

What did you think of the episode? Vote in the poll below and tell us in the comments?

What did you think of “Stormborn?”