Game of Thrones season 7 episode 3 review: Jon & Daenerys; Olenna’s lament
Tonight, Game of Thrones season 7 episode 3 wasted almost no time at all giving us the moment that we’ve been the most excited for: Jon Snow meeting Daenerys. He reunited with Tyrion, had a chance to experience Dragonstone, and eventually, he made it into the throne room to see the Mother of Dragons for the first time.
How did this go? Well, not great. Jon didn’t bend the knee, and wouldn’t submit to many of her requests. He was there for a larger, very-specific purpose, and that was to warn her about the White Walkers and the larger war to come. The trouble here is that Daenerys isn’t afraid of any White Walkers; she cares more about the Iron Throne. That’s what has motivated her for the vast majority of her life, and that’s what she is fighting for. Jon clearly came off as the voice of reason here, mostly reminding everyone that if they don’t bind together, they’re all going to be dead when the dust settles.
The bad news for Jon was that he found himself stuck in Dragonstone without all that much of a recourse in terms of an escape. He couldn’t get back on his ship, and that led to him having a conversation with Tyrion with the waves crashing against the rocks. Tyrion did believe him about the White Walkers, but also made it clear to him that he is being unreasonable. With that, he encouraged the two parties to come to a compromise. Jon Snow got his dragonglass, which is what he needed in order to fight the White Walkers. In turn, the two were able to forge some sort of agreement. Daenerys doesn’t need to believe him to know that he could be valuable in the future, all thanks to this one favor.
Back in King’s Landing
Well, Euron Greyjoy had himself quite the victory lap, running around while keeping his chained prisoners nearby: Yara Greyjoy, Ellaria Sand, and one of the remaining Sand Snakes. (Hey, we did lose one last week.) He brought them to Cersei, and made it clear precisely what it was he wanted: The Queen’s love. She promised him that he would have everything that he wanted in the event that they end up winning the war.
After bringing her captures in and imprisoning them, Cersei went down to enjoy a little bit of taunting — which also included leaving Ellaria without any children. It was the perfect revenge, for her, for what happened with Myrcella. She decided to use the exact same poison on Ellaria’s daughter that was used on Cersei’s daughter, which is probably one of the cruelest ways to murder someone possible.
The one thing that made this whole sequence stranger was Cersei going from using poison-lips to murder someone to going back to her quarters in order to have sex with Jaime. Obviously, this is one thing that hasn’t changed about the two. One thing that has? Cersei really doesn’t care if anyone knows that she’s sleeping with her brother anymore.
The battle at Casterly Rock
Cersei was apparently tipped off that the Unsullied were coming, and what that meant was that this was going to be a tough battle. Luckily, Tyrion was able to advise the soldiers on a key advantage: The sewers, which he built himself. There was a secret passageway that he could send many soldiers into. This was enough for him to send the soldiers through the Lannsiter stronghold.
Also, they succeeded! Grey Worm and the rest of his men managed to take Casterly Rock, and were surprised about the lack of soldiers who were present there. As it turns out, Jaime and the rest of the Lannister army had a plan of their own. They were off in Highgarden, where Cersei was getting revenge on another one of her rivals in Lady Olenna Tyrell. The two sat down for a conversation, an intense, fascinating one given that Olenna knew that she was going to die from the jump. This was a discussion that was largely about final words and closure. She was poisoned, a far more humane death than what’s happening back in King’s Landing. There was death, but it was a simple one.
Sansa’s good at this!
We got her first glimpse of her operating as the ruler of Winterfell with Jon gone, and we have to give her heaps of praise. She was awfully good at it! She was smart, resourceful, and she listened to those close to her — even if one of those people was Littlefinger.
Oh, and the biggest teary-eyed moment of the night came courtesy of Bran, who turned up to Winterfell and shared a really lovely embrace with her. Of course, at that point things started to get freaky when he started to recount to her anything and everything that she went through. The moment he started to share memories of her wedding … well, that’s when she was ready to walk away.
Over in the Citadel
Ser Jorah found himself a free man! Meanwhile, Samwell Tarly proved himself successful in his efforts. He was still punished for this in the form of massive busy-work, but he did
Our final take
This episode was sensational, much in the way that the first two were this season. While we’d argue once more that things got a tad slow in the King’s Landing part of the story, there were so many delightful reunions that we perpetually had a smile on our face from start to finish here. Grade: A.
What happens next on Game of Thrones?
You can read a little bit more on that subject if you choose to by heading over to the link here right now! Remember that we’re going to have even more news and reaction when it comes to the show and what’s next over the coming days. (Photo: HBO.)