If there’s one thing we know about Game Of Thrones it’s that it knows how to do a season finale.
Sure enough ‘The Dragon And The Wolf’ was not only GoT’s best yet but arguably the most dramatic, spectacular, ever. In hindsight, by comparison, the likes Dallas just didn’t cut it.
Part of the show’s genius is that even when fans’ expectations are so great it delivers. And not just that, it goes beyond.
Dramatic: Sure enough ‘The Dragon And The Wolf’ was not only GoT’s best yet but arguably the most dramatic, spectacular, ever. In hindsight, by comparison, the likes Dallas just didn’t cut it
‘The Dragon and The Wolf’ had even bigger ‘WOW’ moments than previous series’ highs – the previous week’s ‘Beyond The Wall’ and ‘The Spoils of War.’
Even though we knew Viserion had been re-animated not many of us would have foreseen the Night King swooping in on his back and using its blue flames to obliterate The Wall.
After all, The Wall had been the central premise – the main battle line – for all this entire season, and part of all the others.
After all that time, it was gone.
It was unfortunate that Jon Snow – the man who had spent the entire series warning/bleating to everyone about the need to defend The Wall and the danger the Army of The Dead represented – had missed it.
Awkward: And even more awkward that Jon Snow (aka Aegon TARGARYEN) was shagging his auntie (Daenerys) at the time
Night: Even though we knew Viserion had been re-animated not many of us would have foreseen the Night King swooping in on his back and using its blue flames to obliterate The Wall
And even more awkward that Jon Snow (aka Aegon TARGARYEN) was shagging his auntie (Daenerys) at the time.
Oops…
Wait ‘til he finds out – about her and The Wall. You wonder which he’ll be more upset about.
Of course, we already knew that Jon was not really a Stark after all, and therefore the rightful heir to the Iron Throne – unlike Bran. So much for being the 3-Eyed Raven who can see everything that everyone has ever done.
‘He needs to know the truth,’ he told Samwell Tarly. ‘No one knows. No one but me.’
Heir: Of course, we already knew that Jon was not really a Stark after all, and therefore the rightful heir to the Iron Throne – unlike Bran. So much for being the 3-Eyed Raven who can see everything that everyone has ever done
Information: ‘He needs to know the truth,’ he told Samwell Tarly. ‘No one knows. No one but me’
We did. So did Gilly, Samwell, the High Septum who confirmed it in his diary.
Neither had Bran mentioned seeing the Night King re-animate Viserion, or Cersei deceiving Jon Snow and co, or that he was busy shagging Dany.
Maybe he should just be called the Two-Eyed Raven?
The revelation about Jon and destruction of The Wall were the headlines. Game-changers.
The Dragon And The Wolf was a superb episode throughout though, unsurprisingly with so many important characters re-united or finally meeting.
Deceit: Neither had Bran mentioned seeing the Night King re-animate Viserion, or Cersei deceiving Jon Snow and co, or that he was busy shagging Dany
Enemy: When Daenerys made a point of arriving fashionably late to her historic encounter with her enemy in King’s Landing, Cersei’s greeted her by remarking/carping: ‘We’ve been here for some time…’
When Daenerys made a point of arriving fashionably late to her historic encounter with her enemy in King’s Landing, Cersei’s greeted her by remarking/carping: ‘We’ve been here for some time…’
Miaow !
Lena Headey stole the show with her performance as Cersei.
The whole episode was full of subtle detail, poisonous barbs, and unexpected cutting humour, even from the Stark children – Arya, Sansa, and Bran the Three-Eyed Raven.
Whatever next?
Unexpected: The whole episode was full of subtle detail, poisonous barbs, and unexpected cutting humour, even from the Stark children – Arya, Sansa, and Bran the Three-Eyed Raven
Humour: Stark sisters Arya and Sansa shed some unexpected humour during the series finale
The best 15 brilliantly chilling, witty, moments from the season seven finale.
1. The chilling image of the Night King riding Dany’s beloved, dead, dragon Viserion
Bizarrely, it hadn’t occurred to Jon Snow, Tormund, Beric, The Hound, or anyone else that the Night King might retrieve the corpse of Dany’s beloved dragon Viserion and turn it into the Army Of The Dead’s most lethal weapon yet. Now we realised to our horror that he had also taken her place – swooping out of the grey, snowy, sky, riding him as she did Drogon. Well not quite like Dany. He lent forward, hunched over like Nosferatu.
2. The stunning sight of the Night King using the dragon to destroy The Wall
The perennial question remained how could the Army of the Dead scale The Wall – a vast, sheer, mountain of ice? Answer: with a dragon. All those centuries and seven series…Gone in sixty seconds.
Chilling: The chilling image of the Night King riding Dany’s beloved, dead, dragon Viserion
Army: Bizarrely, it hadn’t occurred to Jon Snow, Tormund, Beric, The Hound, or anyone else that the Night King might retrieve the corpse of Dany’s beloved dragon Viserion and turn it into the Army Of The Dead’s most lethal weapon yet
Destroy: The stunning sight of the Night King using the dragon to destroy The Wall
3. Bronn’s snappy assessment of Tyrion siding with Dany’s army of eunuchs
‘Your brother has chosen to side with the cock-less !’ Bronn concluded to Jaime Lannister.
4. Cersei’s pithy put downs of Daenerys
‘If anything goes wrong kill the silver-haired bitch first,’ Cersei instructed Ser Gregor. Later she hissed to Tyrion ‘I shouldn’t be surprised. She’s your kind of woman. A foreign whore who doesn’t know her place.’ Miaow !
5. Cersei’s humiliating nickname for Jon Snow and his relationship with Daenerys
She admonished Tyrion: ‘you bring her here ! With her pet Northerner !’
Ouch !
Snappy: Bronn’s snappy assessment of Tyrion siding with Dany’s army of eunuchs
Put down: Cersei instructed Ser Gregor: ‘If anything goes wrong kill the silver-haired bitch first,’ Cersei instructed Ser Gregor
6. The look of fear on Cersei’s face when the screaming wight charged towards her
In all these years I don’t think we’ve ever seen the ice queen look terrified, even when she was humiliated and beaten by the Sparrows’ Septa Unella. She was human after all. Well, almost.
7. Cersei callously cutting dead Tyrion’s attempts to defend or explain killing their father – the lifetime of cruel rejection and persecution the dwarf had suffered
‘Oh poor little man ! His papa was mean to him !’ Cersei mocked when Tyrion pleaded for understanding. ‘Your feelings don’t matter. I don’t care why you did what you did. I don’t care about ‘checking my worst impulses’ or ‘making the world a better place.’
The icy rage in her voice and eyes meant no one would doubt it.
Cutting: Cersei callously cutting dead Tyrion’s attempts to defend or explain killing their father – the lifetime of cruel rejection and persecution the dwarf had suffered
Icy: Cersei’s wonderfully stirring speech, announcing the Lannisters would join the alliance after all. Well seemingly…
8. Cersei’s wonderfully stirring speech, announcing the Lannisters would join the alliance after all. Well seemingly…
‘A darkness is coming for us all. We’ll face it together,’ she declared to Tyrion, Jon, Dany et al.
‘I will march my armies North to fight alongside you.’
Her voice certainly had an impressive, imperious, authority but it transpired she might as well have finished with ‘just kidding !’
9. Cersei’s derision at Jaime’s naivety – when he believed her agreement to fight the Army of the Dead had been genuine
‘I always knew you were the stupidest Lannister,’ she scoffed. ‘Are you a traitor or an idiot?’
And this to the man she loved.
Stirring: Cersei’s wonderfully stirring speech, announcing the Lannisters would join the alliance after all. Well seemingly
Genuine: Cersei’s derision at Jaime’s naivety – when he believed her agreement to fight the Army of the Dead had been genuine
10. Cersei’s indifferent, dismissive, attitude to her subjects
‘A million people in this city are about to become a million more soldiers in the Army of the Dead,’ Jon Snow warned its ruler.
‘I imagine for most of them it will be an improvement,’ Cersei quipped.
11. Sansa Stark channelling her inner Cersei when she cross-examined Littlefinger
‘Sometimes when I try to understand a person’s motives I play a little game,’ Sansa told Littlefinger, coldly quoting back at him one of the manipulative mantras he had used to turn the Stark sisters against each other. ‘Thank you for all your many lessons. We’ll never forget them,’ Sansa concluded dryly – the signal for Arya to add him to her list with one swift slash his throat.
Cross-examining: Sansa Stark channelling her inner Cersei when she cross-examined Littlefinger
Awkward: Sansa and Arya Stark’s awkward sibling bonding
Strong: ‘You’re the strongest person I know,’ Sansa told Arya, assuring her sister she could have survived the ordeals Sansa had suffered
12. Sansa and Arya Stark’s awkward sibling bonding
‘You’re the strongest person I know,’ Sansa told Arya, assuring her sister she could have survived the ordeals Sansa had suffered.
‘I believe that’s the nicest thing you’ve ever said to me !’ her sister beamed.
‘Well don’t get used to it,’ Sansa muttered wryly. ‘You’re still very strange and annoying.’
I swear she almost smiled.
13. The way Bran Stark simply sealed Littlefinger’s fate
‘None of you were there to see what happened !’ Littlefinger reiterated at the Starks’ kangaroo court, assuming the absence of any absolute proof that he had killed their father Ned would spare him.
We can only imagine his horror when Bran promptly piped up: ‘You held a knife to his throat and said: I did warn you not to trust me!’
‘A bloody Three-Eyed Raven!’ Baelish must have been crying inside. ‘What are the odds?!’
Warning: We can only imagine his horror when Bran promptly piped up: ‘You held a knife to his throat and said: I did warn you not to trust me!’
14. The droll double-act that was Bran Stark and Samwell Tarly
‘I wasn’t sure if you’d remember me !’ Sam grinned.
‘I remember everything,’ Bran commented with brilliant understatement.
‘What happened to you beyond The Wall?’ Sam asked eagerly.
‘I became the Three-Eyed Raven,’ Bran said simply.
‘Oh !’ Sam gasped. ‘I don’t know what that means…’
15. The weird, worrying, transformation in Bran’s appearance when he had one of his visions
Bran, the Three-Eyed Raven, was outside in the snow, in his wooden wheelchair, by himself as the massed ranks of wights and White Walkers approached The Wall, echoing and book-ending the immaculate formation of The Unsullied at the start of the show. Whether Bran was watching it happen wasn’t clear but he was seeing something. Were his cloudy blue eyes significant – and a sinister parallel – as maintained by fans who believe in what we can only call ‘the Night King Conspiracy’?
We’re going to have a long wait before we find out. But also at least long time to speculate…
Visions: The weird, worrying, transformation in Bran’s appearance when he had one of his visions
Tense: Bran, the Three-Eyed Raven, was outside in the snow, in his wooden wheelchair, by himself as the massed ranks of wights and White Walkers approached The Wall, echoing and book-ending the immaculate formation of The Unsullied at the start of the show