Game of Thrones Season 7 Episode 7
And so it is then. The long night is upon us. Winter has arrived. And so have the dead.
Game of Thrones recently concluded its seventh season with an episode longer than an hour, and it was all we could have wished for. Every character now has a resolved plot line, and we know the intentions of every major player of the game. Or do we? We know what to expect in season 8, but how Benioff and Weiss will wrap another season remains a mystery.
Since this was such a major episode and so much happened, this time, here are the seven major talking points from the season finale of the shortest season ever of Game of Thrones:
1. Many. Reunions: The opening sequence showed us the meet at Dragonpit between the armies of Daenerys and Cersie. And it had almost all major characters at the same place at the same time, except for Arya and Sansa. There were so many happy, and awkward, reunions, that it is easy to forget all of them, but to name a few – Theon met Euron for the first time since the battle, Tyrion met Podrick, Brienne of Tarth met Jamie Lannister, Brienne also met the Hound, the Hound met the Mountain (Cleganebowl, anyone?), Cersie met Tyrion and most importantly, this was the first time Daenerys, Jon and Cersie were together – the three major powers vying for the throne. This encapsulates all major characters that will come into play in season 8, it seems.
2. The Lannister Betrayal: You really expected Cersie to care about someone else? Nope, she isn’t fighting with the Northern men and Daenerys, she will wait her enemies to fight within themselves and then deal with whosoever survives. This infuriates Jamie, and he sets off to North all by himself. Cersie is pregnant, and alive. However, the fate of the unborn child is not known yet. Jamie now despises Cersie, it seems, and will help out Jon in his fight, but what good can one man do? You could make him a Valyrian steel hand and he could just slap the hell out of the white walkers…
3. And The Finger is Cut Off: It was about time, as well. After Season 5, Petyr Baelish wasn’t doing much other than just, well, being there. His recent plotting against Sansa and Arya did remind us of his old self, but with the long night coming and the battle between the Lannisters and Targaryens inevitable, his character was bound to be removed sometime. And what cooler way to do it, than let Arya slit his throat with the dagger he used in an attempt to kill Bran? Sansa finally grew up to be smart enough to understand all tricks of Littlefinger, and for once even Bran helped out, telling how Petyr betrayed Ned and Catelyn.
4. Bran and Sam Know: So, Jon Snow will henceforth be Aegon Targaryen, a name dating back to Aegon I, the first Targaryen king who ruled the Westeros. Jon isn’t even a bastard, as he is the trueborn son of Lyanna Stark and Rhaegar, as they were married and Rhaegar’s previous marriage annulled (so Sam did pay attention to Gilly), which means he has a more legitimate claim to the throne than Daenerys. The thing is, Bran saw it in a vision, and there is no official record of Jon being born to Lyanna. The only person who knew this was Ned Stark, and he will have difficulty explaining it to others given that he is dead now. How Bran and Sam will convince it to everyone is yet to be seen, but given that Jon could pet the dragons with ease does give an indication.
5. What of Jon: To further complicate matters, Jon and Dany finally did it. We all saw it coming after all. Incest is okay in the Targaryens, but the shock on the faces of Jon and Dany after knowing the truth will be, well, hilarious, in all honesty. It is already not known if Jon will have the support of the Northern houses after bowing down to Dany, and him being a Targaryen as well as bringing a Targaryen to North might further strain things and create tensions up North. Also, he is no longer Ned Stark’s son, and might have to vacate his throne in the north for a true Stark. Jon is a man of honour, like Ned, and he is about to face a lot of dilemmas once he reaches home, not even counting the larger threat. For someone who knows nothing, Jon sure has a lot to deal with, when he reaches Winterfell, the only good thing being reunited with Arya once again.
7. Theon Fights His Demons: Theon Greyjoy, who left his sister Yara on the boat and ran away, has finally defeated his PTSD, it seems. He is now about to find Yara and rescue her right from where Euron is. While Euron himself may not be in the Iron Islands, given that he has to escort the Golden Company to Kings Landing, the kingdom is still under his control, and Theon and Yara are still the enemies of the crown. It seems Theon’s storyline for the moment will be fixated on the family issues rather than concerned with Westeros or the Great War.
8. The Ice Dragon: The wall is down. The Night King comes along, riding a dead Viserion, which breathes blue fire. It burns down the entire wall, and presumably most people on the wall as well. The dead and the white walkers then cross the wall, along with the Night King high up in the air. This is the beginning of the end. Let us just leave it at that.
And now we have to wait for two years? And the next season will be the last? So for two years, we’ll have to re-watch all previous seasons, and read fan theories, and maybe hope George RR Martin finishes Winds of Winter once and for all. And then, we will have the finale of the most epic television show ever made – When the living collide with the dead. When the dragons fight the dragons.
Now, we wait for 2019. For the rise of Azor Ahai, for the fight for the living, for the new ruler of the Iron Throne, and for the war to put an end to this Game of Thrones.