Could everyone unite against the White Walkers on Game of Thrones? That’s the question that this episode, titled “Eastwatch,” poses. The Army of the Dead is coming, so Jon Snow and the gang come up with a plan. Jon and some others will head north to catch a wight. They’ll use it to prove to Cersei that the threat is real, and they’ll all work together to defeat the White Walkers.
That sounds promising. Daenerys even proposes a truce to Cersei via Tyrion. And Jon Snow, Jorah, Gendry (yes, Gendry’s back), the Hound, the Brotherhood and Tormund all band together to head north of the Wall, despite all having something to hate about each other. Maybe they can all work together and defeat the army of the dead! Of course, things will never be that easy on Game of Thrones. Cersei and Daenerys, in particular, aren’t going to just give up their war, especially now that Cersei’s pregnant.
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Can Jaime Convince Cersei to End the War?
Game of Thrones‘ “Eastwatch” answers our most important question right away. Yes, Jaime’s alive, thanks to Bronn. Bronn thinks Jaime was a pretty big idiot for trying to kill Daenerys with a dragon around. I’d have to agree. Only Bronn gets to kill Jaime until he gets what he’s owed. Of course, they have more important things to think about, like vicious dragons. And Bronn’s not sticking around if Daenerys brings all three dragons to King’s Landing. “I have to tell Cersei,” Jaime says. “Might as well jump back in that river,” Bronn replies. Truth.
Jaime rushes back home to see Cersei. She suggests that they buy mercenaries, but Jaime says the Dothraki can beat any army and Daenerys’ dragon did so much damage. That was just one dragon. And she has three. He wants to end the war and hope they can make a deal. They can’t win. Cersei has a good point, though, that there’s no way Daenerys would make a deal with them. They have no choice.
Then Jaime delivers the shocking blow: Tyrion didn’t kill Joffrey. Olenna did. Cersei doesn’t buy it at first, but Jaime points out Olenna wanted Margaery to marry Tommon, not Joffrey. It would have given her so much more power. You can see the exact moment everything falls into place in Cersei’s mind. And she gets so pissed that she let Jaime give Olenna an easy death. Jaime says they need to find a way out of the war. But Cersei would rather fight and die than submit or die, and she thinks Jaime should too.
Will Daenerys Become Her Father?
Jaime’s not the only one who’s facing a harsh reality, though. Little brother Tyrion is horrified while walking through the aftermath of the battle. And he looks so worried when Daenerys declares that the soldiers have to bend the knee or die, while Drogon roars in the background. Daenerys declares that she doesn’t want to kill anyone; she wants to destroy the wheel that only benefits the Cerseis of the world. If they work together, they can make the world a better place. If they refuse, though, they die. Some do kneel, but others remain standing.
Many more kneel when Drogon lets out a ferocious roar. Lord Tarly, Dickon and some others remain standing. Tyrion points out that Cersei killed Lord Tarly’s true queen, so he shouldn’t be loyal to the Lannisters. But Lord Tarly says Tyrion murdered his father and is supporting a foreign queen. Tyrion suggests that Daenerys send him to the Wall rather than kill him, but Lord Tarly says she can’t send him since she’s not his queen. So the Dothraki grab him, but Dickon steps forward. He also refuses to bend the knee. Tyrion pleads with Daenerys, but she says they made their choice.
Tyrion argues against beheading people, but she’s not. She has a much nastier death in mind: death by Drogon. And so the Tarlys go hand in hand. It’s absolutely brutal, and it has to worry some who see fire and think of Daenerys’ father. Quickly, everyone’s kneeling down low.
Back at Dragonstone, Tyrion and Varys discuss Daenerys’ behavior. Tyrion tries to defend Daenerys and says she gave the Tarlys a choice and she had to follow through on her threat. And he can’t control Daenerys. He didn’t kill them. Varys says he told himself the same thing when Daenerys’ dad killed so many people. But Daenerys won’t turn into her father with the right council. “You need to find a way to make her listen,” Varys says.
Jon Snow Finally Meets a Dragon
Daenerys comes home to Dragonstone, and Jon Snow gets a much-anticipated meeting. He comes face-to-face with Drogon. And he actually pets him! Their immediate connection could be so important. There are tons of theories about what Jon getting along with a dragon means: he’s a Targaryen, he’s one of the three heads of the dragon and he’s a dragon rider. Either way, this surprisingly friendly meeting is absolutely huge.
Daenerys and Jon Snow then debate whether the dragons are beautiful or beasts, but in the end, they’re really Dany’s children. When Jon asks about the battle, Daenerys says she has fewer enemies now, and Jon’s pretty conflicted about it. He killed during the Battle of the Bastards too, though, so he’s not one to talk.
Daenerys also asks about Ser Davos saying Jon took a knife in the heart for his people, but Jon doesn’t really answer. They can’t talk about it long anyway, though, because a Greyscale-less Jorah has shown up! And Dany’s ready to take him back with open arms.
The Army of the Dead is Coming
Bran wargs into a raven and sees the Army of the Dead — and it’s huge. The Night King notices the group of ravens, though, and they scatter. Bran immediately announces that they need to send ravens now. The question is: will anyone listen?
Gilly Stumbles Over Some Interesting Information
Sam is still working away at the Citadel. The Maesters received Bran’s raven and don’t buy that he saw the Army of the Dead. But Sam knows him. He let Bran through the Wall years ago and argues that if a crippled boy survived years beyond the Wall when nobody else could, they should probably listen to him. Sam says everyone in Westeros trusts the Maesters. If they say that the threat is real and they need to send men north and study the Army of the Dead, they could get it done. The Archmaester thinks it’s more likely that the note is really a ploy from Daenerys to send people north so she could take over. He says he’ll look into it, but he’s pretty flippant. After Sam leaves, the Maesters reveal that they haven’t told Sam about his father and brother.
Later, Gilly and Sam read together, and Gilly’s talking about all the notes in High Septon Maynard’s diary. Sam’s not really paying too much attention because he’s preoccupied and frustrated with the Maesters. But Gilly stumbles over some game-changing news. Maynard annulled Prince Rhaegar’s marriage, and he secretly married someone else in Dorne! Could Rhaegar have married Lyanna Stark? Is Jon Snow a legitimate Targaryen? Is he the heir to the Iron Throne?
Still, Sam and Gilly don’t know the significance of this note. And Sam’s pissed that the Maesters aren’t doing anything to help defeat the Army of the Dead, so he leaves, goes into the restricted section and steals some books. He’s always wanted to be a Maester, but he’s totally disillusioned with the Citadel at this point and is taking Gilly and Sam away. “I’m tired of reading about the achievements of better men,” he tells Gilly.
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Daenerys and Jon Form a Plan
Varys receives a sealed scroll for Jon, which, of course, he reads. It’s the note Bran had sent. Jon finds out that Arya and Bran are alive and that Bran saw the Night King and his army marching past Eastwatch by the Sea. Jon needs to go home and fight.
He asks Daenerys for some men, but she can’t or she’ll lose to Cersei. Tyrion has an idea, though. They can prove to Cersei that the Army of the Dead is real. He tells Jon to bring a wight to King’s Landing and show her the truth. Then they could all work to gether to defeat the Army of the Dead. Tyrion could talk to Jaime about it, who would at least listen to him, and Ser Davos could smuggle him in.
Of course, they need a to find a wight to pull this off. That’s where Jorah and Jon come in. When Daenerys says she didn’t give Jon permission to leave, he says he’s a King and he came to Dragonstone knowing she could kill him, but he trusted her and she needs to trust him now. Finally, they’re working together.
Will Arya and Sansa Face Off?
Things aren’t going so well in Winterfell, though. The Northerners are debating whether Jon or Sansa should lead them and whether Jon was wrong to abandon them. Sansa says Jon’s their King and he’s doing what’s best, but she doesn’t really defend him. Arya’s pissed that Sansa is letting them insult Jon like that. She thinks Sansa should cut off their heads, but Sansa says they all need to work together. Arya accuses her of planning for Jon not to come back. She needs them to be united with her. What she really wants is to lead Winterfell herself.
Later, Arya spies on Littlefinger. She notices Littlefinger whispering to someone and paying her money, and Littlefinger almost catches her watching. She’s constantly keeping an eye on him and his discussions. She overhears a man saying he “found it.” It’s a scroll from the archives and is the only copy in Winterfell. Littlefinger takes it and says Lady Stark thanks him for his service. He locks the scroll in his room and leaves, but Arya breaks in. She searches the room and finds it in his mattress. And it’s a note signed by Sansa! It’s the letter Sansa had to write her family back in season 1, and it really upsets Arya. Of course, Littlefinger knows she’s in there the whole time; he set this whole thing up.
Will Cersei and Daenerys Form a Truce?
So Tyrion makes his long-awaited journey back to King’s Landing with Ser Davos, but Ser Davos has his own business to attend to.
Bronn takes Jaime to see Tyrion under the guise of a training session. Jaime’s not exactly happy to see him, but Tyrion defends killing Tywin and talks about how much Tywin hated him. Jaimie doesn’t want to hear it. He demands to know what Tyrion wants, and Tyrion says Jaime has to know that Daenerys will win the war, but she’s not her father and is willing to make a deal. She has some requests, though.
So Jaime goes to see Cersei about Tyrion and Daenreys’ deal, interrupting a meeting with Qyburn. He says Daenerys wants a truce because the Army of the Dead is coming and they’ll have proof. They need to work together to defeat the White Walkers.
Cersei, though, asks Jaime if he’ll punish Bronn for betraying him. That’s right. Cersei knew about the meeting with Tyrion. She let it happen. Why? She wants to agree to a truce for now so she can play smart in the war with Daenerys. They need to win against all their enemies, Cersei says, because she’s pregnant. And she’s going to reveal that Jaime’s the father. Jaime’s overjoyed. “Never betray me again,” she ominously says.
Gendry Makes It Out of the Boat
Ser Davos, meanwhile, is wandering King’s Landing, obviously looking for Gendry. And there he is! At long last! Honestly, I’ve been waiting for this all season. I knew it was coming. And it’s perfect. “Thought you might still be rowing,” Davos says.
Davos warns Gendry that “bad things are coming.” He wants Gendry to come with him, and Gendry’s ready. He doesn’t want to make weapons for the family that killed his father and tried to kill him. He’s been ready, even if he didn’t know what he’s ready for. He even has his own weapon: a hammer.
Just as they get back to their boat, though, they’re approached by two Lannister soldiers. Luckily, Davos just buys them off. Then they look in the boat, but Davos just shows them some fermented crab. He even gives them some. It’s hilarious. Of course, Tyrion shows up just as they’re leaving. So Gendry kills them. “He’ll do,” Tyrion says. Yes, he will. He, of course, has his own claim to the Iron Throne.
When they get to Dragonstone, Davos tells Gendry not to reveal who he really is to Jon when they meet. He, of course, does the opposite. Their fathers fought together and won, and Gendry wants to do the same. He can’t use a sword, but he likes his hammer. He needs to fight, and despite Davos’ protestations, Jon agrees. So Jon, Jorah, Gendry and the others leave. But Jorah has an emotional goodbye with both Tyrion and Dany first, and Dany and Jon even have a pretty sweet goodbye too. The romantic tension is real.
Jon Heads Back North
Jon and the others make it to Eastwatch, and Tormund isn’t that impressed with Jon’s plan to catch a wight and get the two queens to fight together. Jon didn’t even bring “the big woman.”
They want some of Tormund’s help getting a wight. Well, Tormund says they’re not the only ones who want to go out past the Wall. He’s captured the Hound, Berric Dondarrion, and Thoros of Myr. They want to go beyond the Wall, but Gendry says not to trust them because they tried to sell him to a Red Witch. Tormund’s also not happy to find out that Jorah’s a Mormont.
With all the insults being thrown around, it looks like this is going to fall apart before it starts. At the end of the day, though, these enemies all need to become unlikely allies and go north of the Wall. With the War coming, they’re all on the same side. “We’re all breathing,” Jon says. So they all head out together. It’s all very ominous.
Will the group catch a wight? Will Cersei and Daenerys work together? Will Arya and Sansa fight? Let us know your thoughts in the comments section below.
Game of Thrones season 7 airs Sunday nights at 9/8c on HBO. Want more news? Like our Game of Thrones Facebook page.
(Image courtesy of HBO)
Contributing Writer, BuddyTV
