Free Chat: Game of Thrones Episode 704, “The Spoils of War”

“The Spoils of War,” the much-anticipated fourth episode of Game of Thrones season 7, airs in just a few hours. We’re here to talk about it. (Note: THIS POST IS FOR PEOPLE WHO HAVEN’T WATCHED THE LEAK. If you’ve already seen the episode and want to discuss it, head here.)

Why is much anticipated? I give you Exhibits A through R, at least:

Look at that image. Look at it. That is Daenerys Targaryen, riding Drogon into battle alongside Dothraki soldiers and stomping little Lannister ant-men into the ground. The sea battle a couple episodes back was serious business, but it looks like this will be the main action set piece of the year.

But we’re getting ahead of ourselves. Here’s the fact sheet for tonight’s episode:

• Start Time: August 6, 2017, 9 p.m. EST
• TV Info: HBO
• Episode: Season 7, Episode 4, “The Spoils of War”
• Writers: David Benioff & D. B. Weiss
• Director: Matt Shakman
• Run time: 50 minutes
• Live Stream: Stream 1 – Stream 2 – Stream 3

This marks Matt Shakman’s first time in the Game of Thrones director’s chair. As cinematographer Robert McLachlan revealed not long ago, the job was originally supposed to go to Thrones vet David Nutter, the guy behind episodes like “The Rains of Castamere” and “The Dance of Dragons.” But he ran into medical issues, so Shakman — a man known mainly for his work on shows like Fargo and It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia, stepped in. Is he up the task?

We’ll find out shortly. The trailer, at least, looks pretty killer:

Dragons vs Lannisters is the big ticket item this week, but there’s some other juicy stuff in there. For example, did you see Arya Stark mounted on a horse outside Winterfell? The situation is ripe with possibilities.

And while it looks like the bulk of our time will be spent on Daenerys’ dragon-borne assault on the Lannisters, we will be visiting several other locations, as the official images go to show:

Helen Sloan – HBO

No one looks creepily down at courtyards better than Littlefinger. I have to expect that Brienne, Podrick, and Sansa would agree.

Helen Sloan – HBO Helen Sloan – HBO

There’s also a quick shot of Cersei showing off her bitching floor to Iron Banker Tycho Nestoris.

Helen Sloan – HBO

But the bulk of the images are set on Dragonstone, where Team Dany commiserates and Theon returns from his shameful performance in the battle against Euron’s fleet.

Macall B. Polay – HBO Macall B. Polay – HBO Macall B. Polay – HBO Macall B. Polay – HBO Macall B. Polay – HBO

But it all comes back to the shot of Drogon. Best of luck, guys.

Macall B. Polay – HBO

Chat about “The Spoils of War” here both during and after the show. We’ll be updating the site with reactions as analysis as it goes on.

Next: Is Varys going to die? Actor Conleth Hill weighs in on Melisandre's ominous prediction

Again, let me reiterate that the episode has leaked. This post is for people who are waiting to watch the official debut tonight, so please keep SPOILERS out of it. If you’ve already seen the leak and want to talk about it, head here.

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