Shea Reviews – Game of Thrones S07E01 – Dragonstone

NOTE: This review contains spoilers for “Dragonstone.”

It’s really hard to not freak out about the fact that Game of Thrones is back, but I’m going to do my best to remain objective. This is a review, after all, and there’s some expectation for professionalism. People that have been following my site for a while should know better, but here we are.

It’s fair to say that Game of Thrones season seven kicked off in fairly spectacular fashion with Arya’s scene at The Twins. The reveal was over-telegraphed and I thought things went on longer than necessary, but I won’t lie and say I wasn’t satisfied to see most of the Freys wiped out in one fell swoop. I’m not sure that spectacularity (no it’s not technically a word, refer to my above comment about professionalism) held throughout the rest of the episode, but the stage was definitely set for some fireworks in the future.

It’s a bit hard to look at this episode as an island. Game of Thrones premieres are rarely filled with “jump out of your seat” moments, and instead focus on bringing viewers back into the world. This is especially important in what has been named the penultimate season of the show, since there are many disparate pieces finally coming together and we’ve been on a longer break than normal.

I think “Dragonstone” was successful from this perspective. Probably my favorite scene was in King’s Landing between Cersei and Jaime, as they discussed their current circumstances and looked ahead. The visual representation of the Westeros map on the floor laid everything out pretty clearly. Smart decision by whoever came up with that. It’s obvious the Lannister twins have their work cut out, especially considering they don’t seem to see eye to eye on what comes next.

I’m curious as to what Euron Greyjoy’s “gift” for Cersei will be — the possibilities are endless. There’s been some scuttlebutt that he’ll bring Gendry back into the fold. I think this probably makes sense. Good writing and storytelling kind of demands that he pop back up at some point, since he just disappeared with no resolution several seasons ago. The poor dude might still be rowing.

For me, this would be kind of a lame resolution. First, I don’t think Cersei would really care to get Gendry on the chopping block. The War of Kings is long since over, and I don’t think she’d give a shit that there was some bastard out there carrying the Baratheon name. All of the real Baratheons are dead. So are the fake ones. Second, Gendry would undoubtedly get his little head chopped off. Not only would that bring him back only to write him off (like the writers did with Osha and Rickon to poor effect last season), but it wouldn’t serve a story purpose. Gendry doesn’t matter on Game of Thrones right now. Killing him off would make no difference, other than to tie off yet another loose end in a pointless way. Plus, there’s the whole point that Euron has no reason to know Gendry even exists, unless they concoct some reason for him to have landed at the Iron Islands.

Instead, I’d rather see Euron go after Dany directly. A dead rebel queen would certainly be a fitting gift. It could also be Ellaria Sand, who threatened and then killed Cersei’s only daughter…

A few more points on Cersei before moving on (told you her stuff was the highlight of this episode). I am absolutely fascinated with her character turn going into this season. Her children were the only thing that brought her joy before. Now they’re dead and she basically doesn’t give a shit about anything. My wife put it really well. “It’s just about winning, now. Doesn’t matter what comes next or how or why, it’s just ‘win, win, win’ at all cost.” The moment where Cersei said she only wanted to create the dynasty for her and Jaime was pretty haunting.

There have been theories floating around since the conclusion of last season about how Cersei will meet her end. It’s pretty obvious that she will die at some point, but how? Will it be Tyrion? Dany? Arya? Jon?

Well, what if it’s Jaime? He’s already stabbed one bad ruler in the back, and Cersei has been feeling very Mad King lately, what with her obsession with wildfire and deciding that she doesn’t need allies anymore.

As for the rest of the episode, not a whole lot happened. Dany finally touching Westerosi soil was definitely a highlight we’ve literally been waiting for since the show began. I’m more excited to see her plan actually come into effect, but it was a nice moment.

I also enjoyed Arya’s scene with the Lannister soldiers, despite the weird and unnecessary inclusion of Ed Sheeran. After her commitment to just straight up murdering fools at every opportunity, it was nice to see her really take in what this war means to the “little people.” Not everyone on the bad side is necessarily bad.

Jon and Sansa argued, and I’m already annoyed with this subplot. Sansa was all “I wasn’t undermining you!” literally minutes after OBVIOUSLY UNDERMINING HIM. She’s right about Jon needing to be smarter than Ned and Robb, though. The Hound revealed that the White Walkers are indeed headed to Eastwatch by the Sea, which is where Tormund and the Wildlings are headed. Sorry, free folk, I don’t think you’re going to make it to season eight.

Finally, we got a good amount of Sam and Oldtown, with the introduction of Jim Broadbent as the Archmaester. On a show that’s included rape, countless murders, a baby being fed to dogs, and a little girl being burned alive at the stake, is it crazy to say that Sam’s shit-cleaning montage was the most awful thing I’ve seen? Because I honestly had to look away more than once. I’m super pumped that we’ll be getting more history and knowledge on things through his eyes, though. The fact that Dragonstone was built on an entire mountain of dragonglass seems a little convenient, but it is a television show. Also, doesn’t look like poor Ser Jorah was able to find his cure.

Overall, this was a much quieter episode than I think most people expected, myself included. But it also contained some really powerful moments for characters like Arya, Dany, Cersei, and The Hound. I’m guessing things are going to pick up sooner rather than later.

I’m also going to increase my final score by .1 to account for the absolutely rad as hell costuming in this episode. Euron’s black leather outfit, Cersei’s armored dress, Dany’s feather-winged pantsuit with the hint of red. And the new King’s Landing Queensguard armor is dooooope.

9.0/10

So, what did you think of season seven’s premiere episode? Let me know in the comments below, and check out my ranking of the Game of Thrones seasons thus far!