Knee-Jerk reactions to “The Dragon and the Wolf:” Five Best and Worst Moments

VALYRIAN STEEL FIVE: The Hound and Brienne make up

It was fun to see the two big bruisers with hearts of gold making up. Brienne almost killed the Hound back in season 4, but he’s not the type to hold a grudge, apparently. They bonded over protecting Arya, and that was cute.

VALYRIAN STEEL FOUR: Jon and Dany get jiggy with it

I was thinking Jon and Daenerys wouldn’t get it on until season 8, so Jon’s arrival at Dany’s door surprised me a little. They had been sharing those hot, yearning stares throughout the episode so I should have seen it coming. Good for them. As for the potential for children, their heroic genetics will surely overcome any curses that may or may not lay on Dany’s womb.

VALYRIAN STEEL THREE: The world is Cersei’s violin

You’ve got to hand it to Cersei: when that lady hatches her plots, nothing is gonna stop her. In the end, she had laid out every twist in the Dragonpit in advance, including Euron being on his way to collect the Golden Company. Tyrion is still alive only because Cersei had enough self-control to realize she needed him alive to make negotiations appear successful. Jaime is still alive because, well…he’s the last tiny warm spot left in her ice-cold heart.

VALYRIAN STEEL TWO: Littlefinger, meet Sansa Smart and Arya Armageddon

So the Stark girls were playing Littlefinger all along. I’m not sure why they kept up their feud when he wasn’t around, but so what? It was so much fun watching them spring the trap and listening to his silver tongue fail him that it didn’t matter. Dropping to his knees to beg just gave the diminutive Arya a better angle to finish him off.

VALYRIAN STEEL ONE: Wight dragon, blue fire and melting Wall

This episode was full of moments that could occupy the number one spot, but I’ll go with the sensational finale that sets up season 8. It was both exhilarating and agonizing to see wight-Viserion, controlled by the Night King, roast the Wall at Eastwatch-by-the-Sea. Game of Thrones is a fantasy show, and the blue flames and undead army spilling south sure stamped its genre ticket.