Series Issues: Winter starts in GoT with Dragonstone

Shall we begin?

Oh yeah, spoilers. Look out for those. It’s time to bring winter to Westeros. Even more important is that the very popular series starts its seventh season which means some promises have to be delivered upon to keep the show relevant.

I think the fall of House Frey was to be expected. This scene is pretty much by the numbers, though. There are no surprises. Arya just poisons the whole lot. I’m pretty sure there’s guards and knights and such, but the bureaucratic lineage is extinct or at least severely crippled to do anything of note. Whoever’s left is just not going to matter and will keep their heads down. The thing is, the show had to make this happen to explain the absence of the Freys, and it’s definitely not something that works as a finale since everyone called it already. That being said, it does work as a cold opener.

Jon Snow and Sansa Stark hit a rough patch as there’s some disparity of the castle and the homelands of House Umber and House Karstark. Jon believes his leniency and the oath of the young lady and lord for loyalty will be enough. Sansa would prefer to man those castle with proven faithful houses. Jon has proven himself in battle, not in planning one. Sansa was too generous saying he’s got the military experience. Yes, Jon has the heart to lead men into battle. He doesn’t have much of a tactical mind. He can be fooled way too easily into trusting people. You still know nothing, Jon Snow.

Jon must defer to Sansa in all political strategy if you want the North to survive for more than one skirmish. Sansa’s had that plus loads of cunning ruthlessness ingrained upon her from the suffering years at King’s Landing under the Lannisters. Specially, one Cersei Lannister – now Queen of the Seven Kingdoms.

Or three at most, if you believe Jaime. Cersei is not stupid, she is the furthest person away from being a fool than anybody else in the Kingdom. Okey, one person might have a chance to outsmart her but let’s not go there yet. Currently Cersei invites the might of the Greyjoy Armada – and a glorious armada it is. Euron himself proposes to the Queen, but he’s turned down. Not that he minds, he promises her a gift fit for her.

And yes, Daenerys lands on Dragonstone, her place of birth. She takes possession of the castle and the giant map room. She’s got the one person in all the Seven Kingdoms and beyond by her side that might have the brains to outsmart Cersei (yes, Tyrion, who else?). In the words of a particularly savvy rabbit, of course you know this means war.

Highs/Lows/ThatsEdSheeran:

• Yes, I skipped over Sam at the Citadel. He discovers there’s a mountain of Dragonglass in Dragonstone. You know, the place that has the word “Dragon” on it. You can almost picture it as the tall mountain that Daenerys walks by when she disembarks. I’m not saying that it is, but it just might be.
• Oh, and Jon Mormont is at the Citadel and apparently a recluse. Was he made a prisoner or did he voluntarily asked to be locked up? Based on the fact that it’s the Meisters running the place I’m going to opt for the latter.
• The Hound returns to the farm that once upon a time he visited with Arya and where he took the last silver coins that would have protected the farmer and his daughter from starving. It’s karma time as he feels obliged to bury them. It’s also the place where he has a vision in the fire about the Great Wall and one of the castles by the sea.
• Cersei is having a giant floor map made for her upcoming military campaigns by a painter. We’ll call him Mr. G. Oogle if he comes up on screen again.
• Ed Sheeran plays a soldier and makes a visit to the Riverlands. His squad runs into Arya of all people. It was ok for a cameo, but let’s not make this a thing. Meaning, no more cameos. DO NOT MAKE THIS A THING.
• The Pirate King, Euron Greyjoy, looks completely different than I pictured him from the books. I expected a larger than life figure when he first was to show up, and so far it has been a bit disappointing. I guess giving him the eyepatch would have been too much on the nose for a pirate, but he can’t be called Crow’s Eye without it.
• I want Jon to take smarter decisions, and one of them should be to defer to Sansa for any political advice. Sansa on the other hand, is trying her best to prevent her brother to fall into traps. The proper outcome of the whole Umber & Kastark homelands should have been a talk between siblings before the meeting with all the Northern houses. I don’t want Jon and Sansa to lose the relationship they just regained, but I don’t see how that could be stopped. Littlefinger is not helping. The moment that Jon and Sansa turn on each other, Baelish is going to jump in.
• Tyrion needs to watch his back. Euron might be trying to kidnap him to use as a present for the Queen.
• This one was suggested by a friend of mine. Daenerys arrives at Dragonstone, abandoned by Stannis’ army a long time ago. It should be buried in dirt, dust and cobwebs. Where’s all the dust?

That will do for now.