It’s so easy to cheer for Daenerys Targaryen when she shows up at Dragonstone making bold statements. But she is losing her allies one by one on Game of Thrones. Yara and the Sand Snakes were taken, and now Daenerys has lost House Tyrell. Could Cersei and the Lannisters actually win this war? Well, Daenerys could end up with a new ally. Jon Snow finally, finally meets the Mother of Dragons herself in this episode, titled “The Queen’s Justice.” But this is not an easy alliance. Jon won’t bend the knee, and Daenerys doesn’t believe in the army of the dead. They wind up warming up to each other a little, but can they really be true allies?
Cersei, meanwhile, is getting her own justice. She gets revenge for both Myrcella and Joffrey’s deaths during this episode. But could she end up pushing Jaime too far?
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The King in the North Meets the Mother of Dragons
“The Queen’s Justice” begins with Jon Snow and Ser Davos arriving at Dragonstone, finally. Tyrion greets them on the shore, and Missandei demands that they hand over their weapons before meeting Daenerys.
Jon and Tyrion catch up from the last time they saw each other, including Tyrion’s “sham marriage” with Sansa, how Jon Snow became King in the North and how a Lannister became the hand to Daenerys Targaryen. They also talk about how Stark men don’t fare well when they travel to the South, but Jon Snow’s not a Stark, so maybe that’ll help his luck. Then Jon and Davos officially see the dragons for the first time. It’s always a shock.
Melisandre, meanwhile, is watching from afar. When Varys asks why she’s not there greeting Jon Snow, she says she did her part by bringing fire and ice together. Varys isn’t buying it, though, so she admits that she made terrible mistakes and didn’t part well with Jon and Davos. Now she’s heading to Volantis, and Varys tells her not to come back. But Melisandre says she’ll come back. She has to die in Westeros, just like him. Very interesting.
Finally, it’s the moment we’ve all been waiting for: Jon Snow and Daenerys Targaryen come face to face for the first time. After Missandei announces all of Daenerys’ many impressive titles, Davos just says, “This is Jon Snow. He’s King in the North.”
Daenerys says the Starks swore their loyalty to the Targaryens forever, so Jon Snow has to bend the knee, but he refuses. Daenerys’ father killed his ancestors, but she asks for his forgiveness and asks him not to judge her by her father’s sins. Their houses were allies for a long time. She’s the last Targaryen (or is she?), and he should bend the knee so they can work together to save the country.
Jon says she’s not guilty of her father’s crimes, and he’s not beholden to his ancestors’ oaths, but they need each other’s help. Daenerys has dragons and the Unsullied, so she doesn’t think she needs Jon’s help at all. But Jon points out that she doesn’t want to kill thousands of innocent people. She has the strength to take over King’s Landing, but she needs a better way. But Jon says they’re playing a children’s game. What they really need is to defeat the enemy in the North: the Army of the Dead. Neither Daenerys nor Tyrion believe him, but he says he’s seen them, and if they’re just fighting amongst themselves, they’re finished.
Daenerys says Jon’s father’s best friend sent assassins to kill her when she was a baby. She’s been sold, betrayed, raped and more. All that kept her standing was her faith in herself. She brought the dragons back and brought the Dothraki across the sea, and now she’ll rule the Seven Kingdoms. “You’ll be ruling over a graveyard if we don’t defeat the Night King,” Jon Snow says. Tyrion points out that the war with Cersei has already begun, so they should focus on that.
Davos points out that Jon Snow did a lot of firsts just like Daenerys. He was the first to build alliances between the Wildlings and Northmen, be a Lord Commander and be King in the North despite being a bastard. He lists Jon’s accomplishments, including Jon taking a knife in the heart for his people. He almost says that Jon gave his own life for his people, but he stops himself.
They continue to bicker back and forth, and Jon ultimately says he doesn’t know Daenerys. Her only claim to the throne is her father’s name, and his father fought to defeat her father. Why would he bend the knee? Then Daenerys says that by declaring himself King in the North, Jon is in open rebellion. Varys shows up and whispers something to Daenerys, and she sends them away to their rooms. Jon asks if he’s her prisoner now, and she says, “Not yet.” After Jon and Davos leave, Varys tells Daenerys about Euron’s attack.
Later, Tyrion goes to talk with Jon Snow alone. Jon’s pissed that he’s a prisoner on the island and that the dead are coming for them all. He doesn’t understand why people don’t care or don’t believe him. Tyrion didn’t believe Jon about them before, but he believes him now. But how can Jon convince everyone else? Tyrion says it’s easier to confront something you believe in, like Cersei, than something like the White Walkers.
Jon wants to leave and help prepare his people for the war against the Night King. Everyone warned him not to be like his father by going down south, but he’s just a Northern fool. Tyrion says that Daenerys could have attacked King’s Landing, but she hasn’t yet because she wants to save people’s lives. Jon should talk to people to see what she’s really like. She’s not going to go north to fight something she doesn’t believe in based on a stranger’s word. It’s unreasonable. But Tyrion could help him if Jon asks for something more reasonable. He can get Daenerys to give over the Dragonglass.
So Tyrion talks to Daenerys about it. He believes Jon Snow’s story because he showed up in Dragonstone, even though it seemed like a dangerous and stupid thing to do. All of his advisers told him not to come, and Tyrion would have advised against it himself, but he came anyway. That means something. Plus, there’s really no harm in giving away the Dragonglass either way.
So Daenerys and Jon meet up again, and Daenerys decides to put aside their differences and let Jon mine the Dragonglass. But when Jon asks if that means she believes him about the White Walkers, she just says he better get to work.
Cersei Gets Her Revenge
Well, Theon survived Euron’s attack. Another one of his ships drags him up, and he tells them that Euron captured Yara. They don’t believe that he tried to save her. Otherwise, he wouldn’t have survived.
Euron meanwhile, is taking a victory ride through the streets of King’s Landing, dragging Yara, Ellaria and the Sand Snake behind him.
Euron delivers Ellaria and the Sand Snake to Cersei. He’s giving her justice for Myrcella. Cersei says Euron deserves a reward, and he says there’s only one thing he wants. Well, Cersei promises to marry him once the war is won. For now, Euron and Jaime will defend their country together. They totally hate each other, though, and Euron continuously provokes Jaime.
Later, Cersei says she understands what Ellaria did because she was there when Oberyn died and Ser Gregor survived. Cersei talks about how it felt to lose her daughter and actually gets pretty emotional. And now Ellaria’s going to know how it feels. Cersei kisses the Sand Snake with the same poison Ellaria used, and now Ellaria has to wait and watch her die and rot. It’s so messed up.
Cersei then goes to see Jaime and sleeps with him. The next morning, a woman shows up to announce that their visitors from Braavos have arrived. Tycho Nestoris, from the Iron Bank, has come to say that the Lannisters are in debt and they want their gold back. He says Cersei’s on the losing side of the war, but Cersei says she drew first blood and Daenerys’ dragons aren’t inevitable. She adds that the Iron Bank lost money when Daenerys freed the slaves and that Daenerys and her people likely wouldn’t pay back their debts if he sided with her, but the Lannisters always do.
A Stark Reunion
With Jon Snow gone, Sansa’s in charge at Winterfell, and she’s getting worried about running out of food. They need to build up their grain stores from every keep in the North. They’ll give it back afterwards if they don’t use it up. She also points out that the breastplates being made should be covered in leather.
Petyr, meanwhile, is really pleased that Sansa’s in charge. He tries to warn her that Cersei’s dangerous, but Sansa obviously knows that already. Petyr says to fight every battle. Everyone’s your enemy and everyone’s your friend. Anything can happen. She needs to live that way, so nothing will surprise her.
Suddenly, Sansa’s called to the gate. It’s Bran and Meera! Sansa points out that Bran’s the last true Stark son and is Lord of Winterfell now, but Bran says he can’t be a Lord because he’s the Three-Eyed Raven now. He can see everything that’s happened and is happening. He needs to learn to see better so he’s ready for the Long Night. Sansa does not get it. He apologizes for everything that happened to her and talks about her wedding night, and she gets super uncomfortable since he obviously wasn’t there and shouldn’t know these things and leaves.
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Is Jorah Cured?
Samwell brings the Archmaester to look at Jorah after he’s removed the Greyscale. It looks like the disease is inactive. They don’t say that Sam saved him, though. The Archmaester says Jorah can go and asks to speak to Sam alone later. Now Jorah’s going back to Daenerys. He and Sam say they hope their paths will cross again, and Sam even shakes his hand.
The Archmaester accuses Sam of treating Jorah, despite him forbidding it. He put himself and others in danger, but he was actually successful! How? “I read the book and followed the instructions,” Sam says. The Archmaester says Sam should be proud of himself and puts him back to work.
The Unsullied Takes Casterly Rock
Daenerys meets with the council and says she wants to take Euron down but not on ships. She wants to take her dragons and find Euron, but the others say it’s too dangerous. The Unsullied, meanwhile, are almost at Casterly Rock, but the Lannisters know they’re coming. And the Lannisters are ready for them. Luckily, Tywin gave the lowest man the job of building the sewers. Who was that? Tyrion, of course. And he built a secret passage in there.
So the Unsullied arrive at Casterly Rock and storm in. They’re outnumbered and have less armor and weapons. But they’re fighting for something they believe in: freedom and Daenerys. Greyworm and the Unsullied win, but they expected more soldiers.
Jaime Arrives at Highgarden
So where are the rest of the Lannister soldiers? Marching to Highgarden with Jaime. The Lannisters completely slaughter them, but Olenna’s not surprised. Tyrion and Cersei thought he was going to Casterly Rock, but Jaime wasn’t worried about Casterly Rock. The Unsullied have it, but he doesn’t think they’ll be able to keep it, so he went somewhere more valuable. He used the same strategy Robby Stark had used against him.
Olenna admits she did unspeakable things to protect her family, but they were necessary. Cersei, though, has done things she wasn’t capable of imagining. She’s a monster. Jaime says that once they’ve won and people are living peacefully, nobody will care about that. He loves her. “You poor fool. She’ll be the end of you,” Olenna says. She says Jaime will regret helping Cersei.
Jaime says Cersei had some brutal ideas for Olenna’s death, but he talked her out of them and just poisons her drink. Olenna admits to killing Joffrey, but she didn’t realize how brutal it would be. “Tell Cersei. I want her to know it was me,” she says before she dies.
Do you think Jon Snow will ever bend the knee? Will Daenerys believe him about the Army of the Dead? And will Cersei push Jaime too far and force him to become the Queenslayer? 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
