Although season seven only finished yesterday it’s never too early to look at what we got. So join me as we look at the penultimate season of Game of Thrones.
This should be obvious but SPOILERS AHEAD.
The Starks and Winterfell:
What a season for the 4 Stark children. Jon, Arya, Sansa and Bran all returning to Winterfell under the wolf banner with barely anything going wrong for them. Must be the first time in the history of the show.
Some interesting new dynamics as Bran has fully embraced being the Three Eyed Raven, Sansa flexing her muscles as a leader and Arya continuing to be a badass. However, none more dramatic than their cousin Jon, or should I say Aegon Targaryen VII? It was confirmed in the final episode that not only is he the son of Rhaegar Targaryen and Lyanna Stark but he was born after they were married in a secret ceremony. This makes him the rightful king of Westeros.
I was hoping against hope that he and Daenerys wouldn’t get together but that Targaryen instinct kicked in without them even knowing. Let’s all pray that this stops the moment they find out that she’s his aunt.
Winterfell has never been truly safe ever since Theon took command and lost it to the Boltons. However, this season it seemed like the safest place to be. Unless you’re Petyr ‘Littlefinger’ Baelish that is.
The most dangerous man in Westeros was taken down by teenage girls who beat him at his own game, I was genuinely shocked by this. Not a lot gets past me but with Game of Thrones anything can happen.
Lannisters and Kings Landing:
Cersei Lannister, now she has nothing to live for is more vindictive, spiteful and evil than Joffrey ever was. Jaime remains loyal despite his many open objections to her plans. He eventually leaves the capital as snow begins to fall over Westeros. Also, she claims to be pregnant. I personally don’t believe her, because who would right?
The Lannister armies won two battles this season, at Highgarden and when Euron Greyjoy took out his nieces fleet. However, they were taken down a couple pegs after the Dothraki and a dragon riding Daenerys decimated a large section of their army in the now infamous Loot Train Attack. Preparing for the worst, Cersei has sent Euron away to gather an army of mercenaries known as The Golden Company.
It’s been up and down for the golden haired incest twins of the south. With victory and defeat in equal measure. It does seem like a matter of time before they both see the end, Jaime for betrayl and Cersei for literally everything she has ever done. The changes made to Euron Greyjoy from last season are drastic and amazing. He has my favourite line delivery of the whole season, ‘does she like it rough? A finger up the bum???’, there’s a cheekiness to every word out of his mouth and it’s a joy to watch him.
Targaryens and Dragonstone:
Ser Davos continues to defy expectations and is still alive and answered one of the shows most burning questions. Is Gendry still rowing? The bastard son of Robert Baratheon has returned to the fray and may yet prove a decisive thorn in Cersei’s side.
We have finally begun to see what kind of Queen Dany would be if she were on the throne. Surprisingly ruthless.
Without Tyrion by her side, she would be queen no question but Kings Landing would be very warm let’s say.
While the words ‘burn them all’ weren’t said out loud it was very clear Dany wouldn’t hesitate to unleash the full power of her two remaining dragons which leads us to…
Beyond The Wall:
Jon, The Hound, Thoros of Myr, Beric Dondaryon, Ser Jorah, Tormund and others went north to prove the existence of the walkers to Cersei. This expedition proved successful but at a great cost, the loss of Viserion to the Night’s King.
Undoubtedly the greatest threat is the army of the dead. This is true for a number of reasons but chiefly because of the ICE DRAGON he now has. With this tremendous power, a section of the wall is gone and the army is approaching the world of men.
The frozen lake will go down as one of the most important moments in Game of Thrones’ history. It’s a great achievement what the cast and crew achieved in episode 6 and I hope that isn’t forgotten amongst everything else from this season.
Special Mention: The Dragon Pit and Tyrion v Cersei
The opening section of the final episode saw what many fans have been clamouring for, multiple main characters just sitting around and talking to each other. There were different little exchanges from The Hound and Brienne/The Mountain, Tyrion and Podric/Cersei/Bronn, Brienne and Jaime etc. It really was a fantastic segment. Not to mention the reactions of the southerners to the Wigt that they had brought, Qyburn especially. Then being immediately followed by Cersei and Tyrion finally talking.
It’s refreshing to have a setpiece that didn’t rely on shock factor, special effects or character deaths. For me it was the best thing about this season.
Initial Thoughts
Comparing this season of Thrones to others is a bit difficult as there is a fundamental change as to how it was delivered to us. This is partly down to Benioff and Weiss only having an outline of how the books are going to finish as opposed to the detailed recreations we had in seasons 1-3.
This TV show is now more of a TV show than ever before, more specifically a soap opera with a considerably higher budget.
I don’t mean this in a bad way. Only that many soap tropes crop up here; characters meeting each other (finally), new romances, plot twists, character reveals etc. While you could say that this is how the show has always been, I would agree with you to a point. This whole season is built around moments and scenes instead of the intense political intrigue of the past.
I don’t believe in giving a season a number until we see what happens in the subsequent season. We can then truly determine if the set up was worth the payoff.
Having said that this was one of the most enjoyable seasons of Game of Thrones to watch, without question.
If you guys want to relive the penultimate season why not pre-order the show on Amazon? I always love getting the DVD’s to listen to the commentaries from actors/writers and the behind the scene content can often be better than the show! [amazon_link asins=’B073ZSP1P9′ template=’ProductCarousel’ store=’ticgn0a-20′ marketplace=’US’ link_id=’5f03b148-8cc6-11e7-a82e-fdd3bc2120b4′]
