‘Thrones’ doesn’t need flame and folly to impress
Seeing the characters together is a treat
Spoiler alert! Game of Thrones Season 7 Episode 5, “Eastwatch.”
Now that was the Game of Thrones we love.
After a fiery, bombastic episode last week, Thrones showed it can still make a suspenseful and immensely entertaining hour of television without dragonfire and death.
“Eastwatch” was the best episode so far this season, zipping along, bringing characters back who we thought were rowing forever (hi, Gendry) and informing us that Rhaegar and Lyanna may have been married (thanks, Gilly). It focused on character and nudged the plot along without feeling slow.
It’s a thrilling and explosive series, sure, but Game of Thrones is also a drama about the folly of mankind, the cost of war and the ramifications of interpersonal conflicts that play out on a huge stage. “Eastwatch” reminded us of those themes and introduced a new one: the need for teamwork. Cooperation and compromise have almost never worked for the characters, if attempted at all. But the enemy of my enemy is my friend, and they’re all up against a giant frozen hoard of dead.
BURN THEM ALL
The series has posed questions about whether Dany inherited the cruelty or insanity of her fa-
ther, who loved to watch people burn. There’s no denying her recent coldness, exhibited as she burned Randyll and Dickon Tarly alive for refusing to bend the knee after the battle on the road. Her actions may have won her every other Lannister soldier, but it horrified Tyrion and Varys, who can’t control her. But the softness she showed when Jon played some How To Train Your Dragon with Drogon was promising.
WHERE ARE THEY NOW?
Reunion is the name of the game this season. The Dragon Queen melted a little seeing her old friend Jorah. Then at Team Dany’s meeting, Tyrion decided they should try to convince Cersei to join team anti-White Walker through a convoluted plan that involves Tyrion meeting Jaime in King ’s Landing and going north of the Wall to capture a wight and bring it to Cersei for proof.
When Tyrion and Jaime reunite, the loss of their brotherly
bond is palpable. Jaime is the only one who is rightly panicked by Dany’s firepower, and he listens to Tyrion because it might help him and Cersei survive ( along with their unborn baby).
But the most exciting development was the reappearance of Gendry, bastard son of Robert Baratheon. We last saw him rowing away from Dragonstone. Davos finds him in King ’s Landing and recruits him for Jon’s cause.
THE EXPENDABLES
It was immensely entertaining to see the characters together. Jon and Gendry, for instance, have a fascinating common history. Both are bastards of great men (at least Jon thinks he is). They speak to each other like brothers, and in a way they are.
Faster than a speeding bullet, they’re at Eastwatch-by-the-Sea, where Tormund thinks Tyrion’s plan is ridiculous, but gets on board. And he’s got The Hound and the Brotherhood in his dun- geon! They’re down for a little ranging beyond the Wall, too. Call them the Expendables, the Avengers or the Team of Rivals, but they’re a motley crew with the potential to do some damage.
GOOD INTENTIONS
Angered by the Citadel’s refusal to leave their ivory tower and accept that White Walkers are real, Sam steals a bunch of books and scrolls and absconds into the night with Gilly and Little Sam in tow. What he missed, though, could have consequences. If only Sam didn’t let his emotions get in the way of bigger work.
TO CATCH A SPY
Now that the emotion of their reunion is out of the way, Arya’s and Sansa’s old instincts are kicking back in. They’ve both changed but are still ideological opposites: Arya remains a hardened lone wolf, while Sansa prefers a pack. That may divide them.