Rate/Review 7x07: The Dragon and the Wolf

Woah. I agree with some of your other criticisms (like LF's death being somewhat anti-climactic) but I couldn't disagree more with this. I think Kit and Emilia have great chemistry and they have had it since their first scene together (when they're alone on Dragonstone). If their scenes don't ever work - which imo they didn't really - it's down to the writing and not the actors.

Cersei left alone standing over the map of Westeros was a great visual.

Chemistry is the most subjective thing in the world. And it depends a lot on who you ship from my experience.

Jonerys fans are over the moon and think Kit and Emilia have amazing chemistry, Jonsa fans think they looked wooden and distant.

I think they were ok, but they don't have a ton of chemistry.

While I think the two had great chemistry, I absolutely agree that more time would have helped the love story feel more natural. I can understand some people thinking it was rushed or needed more time.



Also this was the track I was talking about in the promo thread. Give Djawadi his Emmy for fuck's sake. This is GLORIOUS

That PA behind them looks exhausted.

Cersei bought an army of fucking elephants I love this show

(^I made that gif and didn't think I'd use it so soon) Well all right, here it is. The finale to a flawed masterpiece of a season. Like season 6 I think we've had some of the highest highs coupled with the lowest lows of the series.  I'm on the fence about this episode so I'm rewatching it before writing my review.  We start with an epic shot of Grey Worm and the audience struggling to remember when we saw him last, and where he was.  I wanna say he was in Casterly Rock with Euron's navy just outside.  Now he's standing tall outside a castle with an army.  I was excited to see new castles like Highgarden and The Rock this year but we saw them so briefly they didn't leave a big impression.  Bronn is overseeing Lannister troops working on the new formula for Dr. Pepper.  Basil will find it too sugary.  

Tywin Lannister's greeting ritual



Ok it's pitch apparently but my idea would have been awesome.  Bronn looks fabulous in this scene btw.  After the Spoils of War he decided he'd die looking pretty, and he's determined to steal a scene from Jaime.  Jaime, by the way, is brooding this episode as much as Tyrion or Jon Snow.  The Dothraki reveal was kind of weird.  Like, I didn't have an opinion one way or the other for this battle so we just have 20,000 Dothraki screamers run in.  I didn't know this battle was coming so a twist does nothing for me.





Tyrion and gang are headed to the Dragon Pit? Something outside of King's Landing we've never heard of before. A lot of characters are intersecting for the first time in years. Tyrion and Bronn, Tyrion and Pod, Sandor and Brienne! There's a lot of shifty eyed glancing going on and it won't be the first time tonight. Tyrion and Pod have more chemistry in their brief reunion than Jon and Dany sadly. If Tyrion seduced Pod on the boat tonight it would have felt right. The one thing the show does really well is handling the supporting characters like Sandor and Brienne. Their scene together feels genuine, they seem to have a shared respect and The Hound has a more humble air while speaking to her. His reaction to the news of Arya's well being is pretty heart warming.



Tormund is freaking out about this moment of bonding


The most exciting part about this scene is seeing Tyrion and Cersei back together after a very tumultuous parting in season four.  Tyrion's identity crisis is getting a little more attention this year after being comedic relief since season 5, and Peter does a good job with it.  He has to play it mostly through reaction shots but he's so expressive that we know exactly what Tyrion is thinking.  Sandor's first action in the Dragon Pit is to get an A capella version of Shit City going, originally written by Oberyn Martell.  And so begins the HYPE of this season.  The soundtrack bursts into a tense string melody as the shifty eye glancing increases by tenfold.



And seeing Sandor strut right up to the Mountain, who looks like a cross-eyed zombie eggplant, for the first time since season 1 had me britches tighter than a duck's butt.  The funniest thing about this scene and the way it plays out is that Sandor, with a life long vendetta against the brother that scarred him as a child chose to show restraint and walk off, for the integrity of the negotiations.   About four minutes later Jon Snow ruins that shit because he cannot tell a lie.  So Sandor Clegane has better political savvy than Jon Snow now.  Just putting it out there.  Gregor is one card short of a deck and tries to remember why this angry burned guy is threatening him.  





Dragon screeching sounds ensue and Jaime is SHOOK as he leaps to attention and tries to see where the fuck they are coming from. Dany has a fantastic moment as she swoops in and lands in the stadium seating with Drogon.  The thing I love about Lena's performance is how regal she looks during this moment, she doesn't flinch as everybody around her is rushing forward and gasping at the dragons.  She sit perfectly still with her crown perfectly poised on her head, but there is the slightest hint of stress in her eyes as Dany lands in the Pit.  Euron looks extremely aroused by the commotion.  I'm calling it now that he tries to seduce her next year.  More glancing!




I love how Euron interrupts Tyrion immediately with his own business.  But it's pretty weak how Yara gets captured back in episode two and trotted out as a plot device in the finale.  Why are we not following Yara and what she's going through in captivity?  It doesn't make sense that Cersei would keep her alive as a bargaining chip, so we can assume Euron convinced her to keep her alive for his amusement, but just to taunt Theon who has no real power?  It's weird and feels a bit convenient that Yara kind of disappeared for the chunk of the season.  But the crowd's reaction is pretty funny and overall Euron's characterization is bizarre enough that it kind of works.  Finally Cersei puts him in his place and Nuncle sits down.



So the plan was to go beyond the wall, capture a wight, survive, bring it back to King's Landing to convince Cersei that their war is meaningless with the impending threat.  Sandor says what we're all thinking in how stupid this plan is.  Yet Cersei seems intrigued by the crate he lugs in like a pack mule.  I hope he's getting overtime for this shit.  I love how Sandor opens the crate like we open a box of Christmas decorations from the attic that we're pretty sure has some spiders in it by now.  For all the talk of Valonqar it's ironic that the little brother Sandor is who saves Cersei from the wight.  Jaime, or even the Mountain don't move until it would have been too late.  And as the dismembered wight crawls on the ground, everybody recoils in horror, except for Qyburn, who can't wait to run up and examine the creature's arm.  You can tell how shook Cersei is, and Euron is studying her reactions closely.  



It's amazing that after all of the boasting and mad showmanship that Euron admits his terror and is the first to flee from the White Walkers.  It's a game changer for Cersei's demeanor from here on out.  And all ready Euron is trying to grab a side chick.  Dany isn't biting but Cersei is damn sure condemning.  Euron the coward.  Cersei throws us a curve ball and accepts a truce, something that only seems possible because she's carrying a child.  There won't be a legacy if humanity is destroyed.  And here we have it, the moment that Jon Snow ruins the freaking season because he can't smile and wink at the Queen.  It is beyond frustrating and yet Jon Snow does a good job justifying his stubbornness.  Tyrion says 'hold my wine' as he volunteers to meet privately with his sister.  Jesus, what is with every plot event being a suicide mission this year?

Tyrion checks his strategy guide



The scene between Cersei and Tyrion is fantastic.  Finally the familial drama that we have been waiting for!  Tyrion realizes that Cersei is pregnant after just a few intense close-ups of her belly.  Cersei doesn't deny it, I would have been like "free burrito day at Chipotle, dude, back off!"  Jon and Dany share a scene and it's okay.  I like the fact that Jon says that the witch who told Dany she'd never have children might not be trustworthy.  Emilia is actually really good here.  She's really trying to create some chemistry but Kit is just like 'let my mustache do the talking, babe.'  Cersei shoots ice daggers at Jon as she announces her truce.  Jon and Dany are shook, Cersei has more regal presence than anybody on the show right now.



And for all the people that bitched about flight times last week we get a touching shot of a hard working raven that gets no credit from this fandom.  We never celebrate when a raven delivers plot material when we need it the most, but we're quick to talk shit when we think it happened too quickly in one episode.  Shame on us.  



For all the hate on Littlefinger he is talking straight sense to Sansa right now.  Jon is knee deep in dragon pussy and nobody else seems to recognize that.  As sleazy as he is, Petyr is bringing up some real truth in how complicated Jon's loyalty just became.  And as polarizing as this story line has become, Aidan Gillen is doing a fantastic job toying with the audience.  I also think Sophie has done a great job this year, I think she and Maisie are dong the best they can with a pretty flimsy story line and they've made it work at moments but a lot of us are still scratching our heads.  

Trying to piece together Arya/Sansa motivations


That moment when Sansa calls "Lord Baelish"



I'm not thrilled with this scene because the writing didn't make much sense leading up to this moment.  Petyr should have hightailed it out of Winterfell when Bran started dropping chaos ladder bombs.  Then Sansa and Arya had to be dumbed down for the entire season just for tonight's payoff.  It was a pretty impactful scene.  But it was kind of heavy.  Can you imagine if Tywin ever executed a Lord in court without a trial?  It would send political tremors all throughout Westeros.  It's a bit conflicting that the Starks are pulling off some shady kills, it isn't totally in line with the father's sense of justice.  For better or worse.  I know this is a high light for most of you, but I think villains like Litltefinger always make the show more interesting, and I will miss the chaos he brought to the story.  Good night sweet prince.




As frustrating as Theon's arc can be, this moment was really moving:


What can I say about the moment I was dreading.  Littlefinger got punked by some crazy writing.  At its core it seems a bit intense that the Stark kids just executed a Lord without any sort of trial.  It's awfully convenient that the three eyed raven wound up on the good guys side.  It makes you wonder about the real meaning of justice.  But Cersei has a wildcard and it's the Golden Company thanks to a dank loan from Tycho.  We're talking Elephant army.  And can we take a moment for how beautiful the scene of winter coming to the capitol was? Maisie and Sophie just kill it here when they talk about the pack, it really got to me and I wish we got more scenes like this throughout the season.

Let's check in on Gendry



This is the moment we've all been waiting for, apparently.  So let's enjoy it in all its glory.  Behold dat ass:



I've upgraded my score to a 9.  My beef lies more with the writing leading up to tonight, which had almost perfect execution.  The final scene is perfect and elevates the episode instantly.  Just about every scene was beautiful.  How about that amazing score?

DaveyJoe, great review as always.

Some great points you brought up: Petyr was giving Sansa sound advice about Jon. And once Bran was all "chaos is a ladder..." Petyr should have been like, "Yeah, hit me up on raven if you all need anything but me and my Vale lords gotta bounce on back on the Vale. Peace."

Maisie and Sophie have done heroic work in a mess of a storyline.

While I am glad Littlefinger is dead, I 100% agree with you that killing him without a trial is something that Ned Stark would not do (it's the same reason why Ramsey's death felt hollow to me) and I do think at the very least Tyrion Lannister should have been present to hear Littlefinger's crimes. Granted the Starks paid dearly for what he did but honestly the whole realm was effected. I also wish we found out what was his motivation for starting all of this.

TheMadQueen, now I am going to be disappointed if Cersei does not ride an elephant next season.

Littlefinger really DENNIS'd Sansa