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Winter is here and sh*t is real: ‘Game of Thrones’ season 7 episode 2 recap
Last night, Game of Thrones’ second episode of season 7 aired on HBO and it was glorious.
From beginning to end, the tension was present throughout the show.
Let’s begin in Dragonstone. And as always, a huge spoiler alert is in order!
Daenerys Will Take No One’s Sh*t
For those unfamiliar with what “Stormborn” means, it is Daenerys’ personal sobriquet that she uses throughout the show.
However, the meaning behind the name is significant. Towards the end of King Robert’s rebellion and the sacking of King’s Landing during the reign of the “Mad King,” King Aerys II Targaryen, Dany’s mother was sent to Dragonstone Island to find refuge.
She died giving birth to Daenerys during a storm so strong it wrecked the remainder of the Targaryen fleet. Ever since then, that is the name that Dany uses: Stormborn.
At Dragonstone, during similar weather like the day that she was born, Daenerys has a meeting with her advisors and supporters.
She is surrounded by the likes of Tyrion, Varys, and Grey Worm, who are advising her that she has the support of more than half of Westeros. Varys points out that Queen Cersei does not control much of the Seven Kingdoms.
They convince her not to use violence, but instead use the support of Westeros to take down Cersei, since most of Westeros despises her.
Later on, along with Yara, Olenna, and Ellaria, Dany takes in their advice but decides to go against everything they propose, which is sacking the city and turning the city into ashes. Instead, she comes up with an alternative plan.
They are to surround the city on all sides, leaving Cersei and her followers to starve.
The Unsullied will take Casterly Rock, which is the “seat” of the Lannister’s power.
Olenna lends her advice to Dany on being ruthless and not letting anyone get the best of her, not even her advisors.
Varys’ loyalty comes into question by Dany since he used to serve her father and then switched his allegiance to Robert. He was also in charge of murdering Dany under Robert’s rule. Tyrion assures her that Varys is a reliable person to trust.
Varys tells her that his loyalty does not lie with any king or queen, but “with the people.”
As assurance, Dany makes him swear that he will not conspire behind her back if he ever thinks she is failing the people but instead confront her. He agrees to do so.
Here’s to hoping that his loyalty will be more useful under Daenerys than the other kings he has served.
Melisandre also comes into the picture. She warns Dany about the Long Night.
She explains to her the prophecy of the “prince who was promised” and how she has a role to play in the fight against the Army of the Dead.
She wants her to seek out Jon Snow, the King in the North, so that they may help each other. Dany agrees to have a raven sent out to him, telling him to come to Dragonstone and “bend the knee.”
Tensions Still Continue in Winterfell
Jon Snow receives the raven from Tyrion and asks for Sansa’s advice. Sansa is not fully convinced that Tyrion can be trusted.
Ser Davos thinks it’s best to meet with Daenerys, especially since she has her dragons. He recalls Jon mentioning that fire can defeat the army of the dead.
Jon also receives the information that Sam sent to him in the last episode concerning dragonglass, which can slay white walkers, in Dragonstone. He mentions both letters at a hearing, with the other lords of the North. He has made up his mind and accepts Dany’s invitation.
He convinces the lords that they do need all the help they can get, even though most of them are opposed to the idea, especially after all the Mad King, Daenerys’ father, had done.
Sansa makes sure to help him remember what the Mad King did to their grandfather, burning him alive with wildfire.
She completely disagrees with Jon, as do the other lords. They do not trust a Targaryen. However, Jon mentions the time he fought the Army of the Dead and how unprepared they are to go against them. He leaves Winterfell in the hands of Sansa.
After questioning every move Jon makes, will Sansa prove herself worthy of being the leader of Winterfell?
Down in the crypt of Winterfell, Petyr Baelish and Jon have a brief conversation about Ned and the love he had for Cat.
However, Jon is not all too convinced that Littlefinger is in the North entirely out of devotion. Littlefinger reminds him about the battle against the Boltons and how he is responsible for the victory.
Jon loses his grip when Littlefinger mentions his new love for Sansa and physically threatens him that if he lays his hands on Sansa, he will kill Littlefinger himself. Jon finally rides with Ser Davos on their way to Dragonstone.
Before the scene ends, we see Littlefinger keeping his eyes on Sansa. What kind of mischief will he scheme this time?
Time for War
“Do you fight with us or with the foreign savages and eunuchs?”
Back in King’s Landing, Cersei is attempting to rally the bannermen of House Tyrell by playing fear against them.
She cautions them about the danger of having a Targaryen on the throne, helped by the “mindless” Unsullied soldiers and Dothraki “heathens.”
She also recalls the crucifixion of noblemen in Slaver’s Bay. One of the lords present, Lord Randyll Tarly, asks how they propose to fight against dragons.
Jaime Lannister has a private conversation with Lord Tarly about joining their cause. He offers Tarly to be the ranking general for the upcoming war and swear his allegiance to the Queen.
However, Tarly does not seem to be keen on betraying the house he serves, the way Jaime did. Jaime insists that when the war is won, the Queen will even name Tarly the new Warden of the South.
In the crypts, Maester Qyburn shows the skulls of the dragons that once terrorized the capital to Cersei. He recalls Dany’s dragon, Drogon, and how he was injured in the fighting pits in Meeran.
He shows Cersei a weapon that has been restored by blacksmiths. It can launch spears at a powerful speed, which will prove useful against dragons. This will not end well.
Sam and Jorah
We finally see Jorah Mormont and how bad the greyscale has gotten. Archmaester Ebrose states that the disease has spread too far throughout his body.
Ebrose gives him an estimate of about 10-20 years before the infection kills him but he will lose his mind in about 6 months, “maybe sooner.”
However, that does not stop Samwell Tarly from trying to help Jorah. He believes that there is a way to save the knight. He tells the archmaester about the late Stannis Baratheon’s daughter, Shireen, who contracted greyscale as a baby but survived. The archmaester is not interested in Sam’s claims.
He gives Jorah one more day before he ships him off to Valyria to live out his life with the Stonemen.
Sam continues his studies along with Archmaester Ebrose. However, he realizes that as much as he tries to convince the archmaester to help Jorah, it is useless.
Sam remembers that there are two recorded cases by Archmaester Pylos that have cured advanced greyscale but Ebrose turns him down.
In the evening, Sam makes his way to Jorah’s room with supplies. He tells him about the time he served Jorah’s father, the late Jeor Mormont, when he was a Sworn Brother of the Night’s Watch.
Sam refuses to watch the last son of Mormont succumb to the disease. He takes out a book titled Archmaester Pylos on Rare Diseases and begins the painful process of removing Jorah’s greyscale. Hopefully, we will see if the procedure worked in the next episode.
Arya and the Direwolves
While stopping at Inn at the Crossroads, Arya reunites with Hot Pie. She makes a remark about the pie that she made once, one that wasn’t as good as Hot Pie’s.
Hot Pie asks if she met with Lady Brienne and what has happened since the last time they saw each other. Arya refuses to speak on the matter but does let out that she is going to King’s Landing.
Arya has not learned that Winterfell has been retaken by Jon until Hot Pie mentions it to her. She quickly leaves her plans to go to King’s Landing and decides to return to her home.
While resting in the woods, she encounters direwolves that surround her. Their leader seems familiar to Arya.
She thinks it is Nymeria, the direwolf she once had. The last time they were together was all the way back in the first season when the former King Robert ordered his men to kill the direwolf that attacked Joffrey.
Though Arya asks for her to accompany her to the north, Nymeria leaves with the other wolves and Arya becomes skeptical that it was indeed Nymria.
Arya needs to get back to Winterfell asap!
The Kraken Strikes
As usual, the last bit of the show is always the most intense and this last scene was no exception.
As the Greyjoys and Ellaria ride to Sunspear as commanded by Daenerys, they are attacked by Euron and his fleet.
Euron’s time in the sea proves to be effective. With burning projectiles aimed at Yara’s ships, they realize that it might be the end. Two of Ellaria’s daughters are killed fighting Euron.
Finally, Euron goes up against Yara but she is defeated. Euron taunts Theon to attack, even though he has Yara.
Theon begins to show how weak he is and seeing the massacre that just unfolded proves to be too much for him. He has yet to become whole and decides to retreat. Ellaria and her remaining daughter are also captured.
It’s interesting to see how this will affect Daenerys’ plan to defeat Cersei. Her plan was to have foreigners from Sunspear invade King’s Landing.
However, that will obviously not be the case.
The next episode of Game of Thrones will show the aftermath of the fight.
We also get a glimpse into what will be the most memorable scene, Daenerys and Jon Snow meeting for the first time. Let’s pray that they’re on the same page.