Game of Thrones Screencap Breakdown: “The Spoils of War”
By Corey Smith
Not far away, Arya crests a snow-capped hill. Dreary, but beautiful. Winterfell is in the distance.
Arya gazes on her home for the first time in years. Maisie Williams nails it.
Homecomings are never easy, especially when these two are blocking your path.
Arya is undeterred, though, and calmly explains to the guards who she is. There’s very little emotion on Arya’s part, not like the last time she had to convince guards of her identity back in season 1 when she was locked out of the Red Keep.
The duo find it rather funny.
One guard attempts to clap Arya on the ear, but it’s not season 1 anymore, and she talks them into letting her in.
Arya sits in the courtyard and surveys her home, which has been burned down and rebuilt while she was away.
Arya sees the Stark banner, the music swells, and our hearts begin to stir.
Arya is stirred so much that she vanishes from the courtyard, leaving the doofus guards at a loss.
They run to tell Sansa, who instantly realizes where Arya disappeared to.
Naturally, Arya went to visit Ned’s statue in the Winterfell crypts. It’s the second time a member of the family has done that this season.
Sansa turns up. Seeing her sister, she hangs back, perhaps not wanting to interrupt her.
We love these two shots, as Sansa goes from uncertain to happy in just a few seconds.
Another Stark reunion and another Stark hug. And we all know Stark hugs are the best kind of hugs.
The sisters are all smiles, and so are we.
Seeing the two of them gazing at their father keeps tugging at our heart strings. Ned would have been proud.
This smile is what we refer to as Arya’s “just kidding” face. Arya busts this out every time she tells someone she has a list of people to kill.
One last hug. One last tear from the audience.
If you thought we were down with the family reunions, you were mistaken. Bran sits alone in the Winterfell godswood, looking eerie as ever.
Although he does have a spiffy new wheelchair.
Bran seems slightly more happy to see Arya than Sansa, as the new Three-Eyed Raven cracks just the slightest of smiles.
The three Stark children catch up. It’s surreal to see them in the same shot.
Sansa’s looking rather regal as she tries to puzzle out why Littlefinger would give Bran the Valyrian steel blade — she’s in full-on Lady Stark mode.
Bran gives the Catspaw dagger to Arya, arguing that “it’s wasted on a cripple.”
Outside in the courtyard, people can’t help by stare as the three surviving Stark children walk through the Winterfell courtyard.
Brienne, who’s happy to see Arya home safe and sound, is among them.
She’s in such a good mood that she even lets it slide when Pod calls her “My lady.”
Littlefinger seems concerned, though. One Stark he could handle, but three could be tricky.