'Game of Thrones' Recap: "The Spoils of War"

August 8, 2017

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Sophie Turner as Sansa and Maisie Williams as Arya. Photo courtesy of HBO.

Kyra Power ’19 / Emertainment Monthly Contributor
This week went from what seemed to be a slower episode to a crazy intense battle scene fast. But what ties it all together is family reunions: I’m talking Starks and Lannisters, and also a surprising amount of comedy. A breakdown of the highlights:
1. A three way Stark reunion. Even though technically Bran (Isaac Hempstead Wright) doesn’t consider himself a Stark, we see him, Sansa (Sophie Turner), and Arya (Maisie Williams) back together in the godswood. The Stark sister reunion is nothing like I wanted it to be, but everything I needed. My favorite part is Sansa finding Arya’s list mildly amusing. Nothing like sisterly bonding over wishing you’d killed Joffrey, am I right, ladies?
Things are brewing at Winterfell with all of them there now, but it’s hard to say what. Littlefinger (Aidan Gillen) preached last week about expecting every possible outcome, but he seems shocked when Bran repeats his famous “chaos is a ladder” line to him after Littlefinger gives him the knife. This leads to another question: if Bran sees everything, he must know who ordered him killed after he had been pushed in season one. Is it Littlefinger? I firmly believe Littlefinger is behind it all, but why hasn’t Bran said anything?
We then see Sansa and Littlefinger watching Arya train. Sansa seems impressed in her aloof way, but Littlefinger seems concerned. I love Arya, but Littlefinger is Sansa’s to kill. More drama to unfold on that front next week for sure.
2. The comedy. Despite being one of the darkest shows on TV, GoT is surprisingly funny. Ranking at joke of the week was the return of fewer. This joke started with Stannis in season five when he corrected someone’s grammar under his breath. It seems Davos (Liam Cunningham) has learned from his former king and corrects Jon (Kit Harington). Dany (Emilia Clarke) and Missandei’s (Nathalie Emmanuel) girl talk about Grey Worm was great until Jon rudely interrupts it for a solid five minutes of awkward sexual tension with Dany. While the Jon and Dany conversation isn’t funny, it’s enlightening. Dany is driving me crazy with her demands that Jon must bend the knee, but something does seem to be brewing there, which Davos has picked up on. The entire Arya and the guards scene is funny in retrospect, but I could not deal with the suspense of her reunion; I was convinced she wasn’t going to make it in.

Emilia Clarke and Nathalie Emmanuel in ‘Game of Thrones’. Photo courtesy of HBO.

3. Most importantly: the battle scene. Game of Thrones has reached the point where all of our favorite characters are coming together. Which means I have no idea who I should root for. I obviously want Dany to overthrow Cersei (Lena Headey), but not like this. (Brief side note: none of the timelines in this show really make sense anymore and I’ve just decided to accept that). This week I find myself rooting for Jaime (Nikolaj Coster-Waldau), Bronn (Jerome Flynn), and Dany all not to die, but I don’t want any of them to win. Dany going against what everyone advised and burning a desperately needed supply train is infuriating. Jon says she has a good heart, but there seems to be no good in burning foot soldiers alive. While I want Bronn to live and applaud his leaving his gold behind to continue the battle, I fear for Drogon every time Bronn shot at him.

Jaime and Bronn assess the battle in ‘Game of Thrones’. Photo courtesy of HBO.

But this battle scene really came down to Jaime: it was not looking good for him, but he stuck by his men. I don’t think Tyrion (Peter Dinklage) expected him to be there and you could tell even he was conflicted. His whispering to Jaime to flee from across the battlefield was everything I needed when it comes to their relationship. Now, I know anyone can die in Game of Thrones at any time, but it’s been a long time since they’ve killed a main character (I’m defining that as a character that narrates in the books) and this episode tested that. In a five minute span, I was certain Jaime was going to kill Dany and then certain that Drogon was going to burn Jaime alive.

Daenerys Targaryen atop Drogon in ‘Game of Thrones’. Photo courtesy of HBO.

So, how did it end? Jaime is knocked into the water, presumably by Bronn, or maybe Dickon (Tom Hopper), but will either of them make it? What purpose does burning a supply chain serve Dany? She needs all the food and supplies she can get. Why is she making me hate her? Girl, I’ve been rooting for you since season one.
As always, next week can’t come fast enough for these questions to be answered.

August 8, 2017

2 0