Game of Thrones fans have been told that Euron Greyjoy would be the next big bad during season 7. Pilou Asbaek even said Euron would be worse than Ramsay Bolton. And those are some huge shoes to fill. But we get a taste of what he was talking about during this episode, titled “Stormborn,” when he quickly boards Yara and Theon’s ship and slaughters nearly everyone, all while keeping a huge grin on his face.
This doesn’t bode well for Daenerys’ war plan. But another potential ally is already on his way. Jon Snow is going to Dragonstone, even though it could be a trick, and Daenerys could be as mad as her father. So will Jon Snow and Daenerys work together? And how will Jon’s parentage come into play?
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Can Varys Be Trusted?
“Stormborn” begins, aptly, with a storm at Dragonstone. Daenerys was born during a storm just like that. Dragonstone doesn’t feel like home to her, but they’ll be moving on soon. She wants to invade King’s Landing, but Tyrion advises her to get the other houses to ally themselves with her so there’ll be less bloodshed. She could take King’s Landing, but then she’d just be ruling ashes.
They have the Tyrells and Dorne on their side now thanks to Varys, but Daenerys is suspicious about Varys’ own loyalties. Varys favored her brother even though he knew how cruel, stupid and weak he was. Varys and his friends gave her to the Dothraki and had assassins hired to kill her. Varys says she shouldn’t want blind loyalty, but he’s smart and he’s always worked his way up. He knows what he’s doing. His true loyalties are to the people. If she wants his blind loyalty, she can have him killed. But if she doesn’t, he’s chosen to side with her and will work to get her on the Iron Throne because she’ll work for the people. She makes him swear to tell her if she’s failing the people rather than conspiring behind her back, and she swears she’ll burn him alive if he ever betrays her.
Will Jon Snow Meet Daenerys?
Melisandre comes to see Daenerys at Dragonstone. Varys tells Daenerys that Melisandre worked for Stannis, and things obviously didn’t end well, but Daenerys wants to listen to her. Melisandre says the long night is coming, but the Prince who was Promised will bring the dawn.
Daenerys points out that she’s not a Prince, but Missandei says that word in High Valyrian is genderless. It’s Prince or Princess! So Daenerys could be the Prince who was Promised. Of course, there are a ton of other theories about who it is, like Jon Snow, Beric Dondarrion, the Hound and more. Maybe it’s too obvious, but my money’s on Jon Snow.
Melisandre says Daenerys has a part to play, as does Jon Snow. He let the Wildlings in to protect them and united them with the Northern Houses. Melisandre advises her to summon him and talk to him. Tyrion likes Jon Snow, and he’s “an excellent judge of character.” Plus, Jon’s the King in the North and hates Cersei, so he’d make an excellent ally. So Daenerys has Tyrion send a raven summoning him and ordering him to bend the knee.
Jon Snow, Sansa and Davos get the note, and Jon Snow asks Sansa for her opinion. Sansa says Tyrion’s kind, but it’s too risky for them to team up with Daenerys against Cersei. However, Davos points out that fire-breathing dragons could really help with the war against the White Walkers.
Jon Snow later receives Sam’s raven from the Citadal saying there’s dragonglass at Dragonstone — and that has him convinced.
Jon gathers his people and tells them about the two messages he got from Sam and Tyrion. He announces he’s going to accept Tyrion’s invitation to meet Daenerys because they need the Dragonglass and allies against the Night King. Sansa reminds him that the Mad King invited their grandfather to King’s Landing and killed him. She thinks it’s a trap. Others agree that the Targaryens and Lannisters can’t be trusted. Lyanna adds that they need the King in the North in the North. Still, Jon says he’s the King in the North. He would never stop fighting for the North, but the odds are against them. None of them have seen the Army of the Dead, but he has and they need powerful allies.
Sansa argues with him and says he’s abandoning them. But he’s leaving them in good hands — hers. Does this mean Sansa’s Queen in the North? I’m totally on board with that.
Petyr Baelish goes to see Jon Snow later and talks about how Catelyn hated Jon, but she underestimated him. He’s still standing. Jon wants nothing to do with him, but he reminds him that he helped with the battle and that he’s not Jon’s enemy. He says he loves Sansa like he loved her mother. That totally sets Jon off, and he threatens to kill him.
Ultimately, Jon leaves for Dragonstone. Now Sansa’s in charge, and Littlefinger is right there to whisper in her ear. We’ll have to see if Jon and Sansa will continue to struggle for power when he gets back. I think Sansa knows better than to listen to Littlefinger, though, and wouldn’t betray Jon even if they fight.
Can Cersei Beat Daenerys and Her Dragons?
Cersei calls her allies and says the Mad King’s daughter has brought an army to their doors who will bring destruction. And the Tyrells helped her. She says Daenerys is no different from the Mad King. They have to stand together and stop her. Lord Tarly points out that she has three dragons, just like Aegon had when he conquered the Seven Kingdoms, but Qyburn says they’re working on a plan.
Afterwards, Jaime thanks Lord Tarly for coming. Lord Tarly says he knows what Cersei does to those who defy her. Jaime wants him to swear allegiance to Cersei, become a general and destroy Cersei’s enemies, including Oleanna Tyrell. The problem? He swore an oath to House Tyrell, and he’s known her since he was a child. Jaime argues that Oleanna brought the Dothraki to their shores. He has to pick a side. Plus, he’ll be rewarded after the war. So will Lord Tarly betray the Tyrells? It sure looks like it.
Qyburn later takes Cersei down to see the dragon skeletons. He tells her that one of Daenerys’ dragons was wounded, and if dragons can be wounded, then they can be killed. He shows her a weapon he’s had made to kill dragons. They test it out on one of the skeletons, and it works.
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Is There a Cure for Greyscale?
Jorah meets with the archmaester and Sam. The archmaester says he has about 10 years to live and about six months until his mind goes. Sam points out that Shireen was cured from greyscale, but Jorah’s greyscale is too far advanced, so he’s being sent to live with the stone men. Sam asks if they should send word to his family, but Jorah’s been dead to them for years.
While Sam helps the archmaester with his research, he says he found a procedure to cure Jorah. The problem? According to the archmaester, the author of the textbook died from greyscale, and the procedure’s far too dangerous.
Still, Sam goes to visit Jorah. He was with Jorah’s father when he died and refuses to let Jorah die too. So he does the super dangerous procedure anyway. He’s removing the entire layer of infected tissue and putting medicine on, and it’s brutally painful.
Arya Finally Heads Home
Arya overhears some of Cersei’s allies talking about Daenerys and her dragons while she sits in a pub. Then she meets up with Hot Pie! She jokes that she’s been making some pies too but doesn’t mention that they were Frey pies. She tells him she’s going to King’s Landing, but he thought she’d be going to Winterfell since the Boltons are dead and Jon Snow’s King in the North. She, of course, had no idea! Could there be a change of plans? Is the Stark reunion happening? You bet it is.
So Arya heads North. She makes a camp for herself, but her horse starts getting restless. Suddenly, she hears a noise. Arya finds herself surrounded by wolves. But then Nymeria approaches! I’ve been waiting for this reunion forever. Nymeria’s pretty wild and aggressive at first. Arya reminds her who she is and tells her she’s finally going home. She asks Nymeria to come with her. Instead, Nymeria turns and leaves with her new wolf friends. Nymeria’s changed. She’s wild now — just like Arya. It’s absolutely devastating.
The Iron Fleet Arrives
Back at Dragonstone, Yara and Ellaria argue to Daenerys that they need to hit King’s Landing now and that casualties are a part of war. Daenerys doesn’t want to be “Queen of the ashes,” like Tyrion said before. Olenna says Margaery was beloved by the people, and now she’s ashes. Daenerys need to be feared.
Ultimately, they come up with a plan to surround King’s Landing. They want that army to be Westerosi because the people won’t like foreigners invading. Meanwhile, the Unsullied will take Casterly Rock.
Daenerys then talks alone with Olenna and promises that Cersei will pay for what she’s done and that there will be peace in Westeros. Olenna says that peace never lasts. She says that Tyrion’s clever, but Daenerys should basically ignore him. The Lords in Westeros are sheep, but she’s a dragon. “Be a dragon,” Olenna says.
Missandei goes to see Greyworm to say goodbye since he’s leaving for Casterly Rock and doesn’t know when he’ll be back. He says it’s hard to say goodbye because she’s his weakness. When the Unsullied are young, the masters learn their fears and make them face those fears. He had no fears and was always the bravest one until he met her. They get together, and Greyworm lets her see him naked for the first time.
On their way to King’s Landing, the Sand Snakes bicker over who gets to kill who, while Yara and Ellaria flirt upstairs. Yara talks about how she’ll be the Queen of the Iron Islands, while Theon will be her protector. She and Ellaria are about to hook up when there’s a big crash. Euron has found and attacked their ship!
He boards their ship and just maniacally laughs. Then a huge, bloody, fiery naval battle ensues. It’s an absolute slaughter. Euron manages to kill two of the Sand Snakes, while Ellaria and the third Sand Snake are taken hostage below deck. Euron grabs Yara and tries to goad Theon into trying to save Yara. But he freaks out, becomes Reek again and jumps ship. As he floats in the water, with the ship burning around him, Theon watches his uncle’s ship leaves with the hostages.
Will Cersei accept Euron’s hostages as his gift? Will Yara forgive Theon? Can Jon Snow trust Daenerys? And will a Stark reunion really happen? Let us know your thoughts in the comments section below.
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Contributing Writer, BuddyTV
