I don’t know about you guys, but I’m still catching my breath from last week’s battle scene. Last Sunday’s “Beyond the Wall” episode was spellbinding with it’s prolonged, tension-filled battle between a handful of the good guys and the mega-horde of slow-moving night walkers.
Although we knew Daenerys (Emilia Clarke) was on her way with her dragons, it didn’t make her fiery rescue any less heroic. While Dany mowed down the night walker army in dragon fire (So. Much. Symbolism.), the Night King (Vladimir Furdik) was able to pull off one heck of a shot and nab a dragon for himself. Things JUST got interesting.
Even the earlier scene with the bear attack was so well shot and edited, you HAD to cringe and scream, despite the ridiculousness of the situation. Cause zombie bears.
Epic battle scenes notwithstanding, this season feels decidedly different. Suddenly, the plot is hurtling forward, making for a very disorienting experience. For example, the Hound (Rory McCann) and Co. are roaming around when suddenly, episodes later, they reappear trapped in a jail, ready to go “Beyond the Wall.” Jon (Kit Harington) wants to meet Dany and mine the dragongla… BOOM. He’s already knocking on the castle gates.
There are also major revelations firing off in rapid succession: Cersei (Lena Headey) is pregnant with Jamie’s (Nikolaj Coster-Waldau) baby, Sam (John Bradley) can cure Jorah’s (Iain Glen) greyscale, Jon’s parents were married…. But these bombshells lose their effectiveness in the speed and “glitchiness” of this story.
The Stark children are back at Winterfell this season, something we didn’t think was possible. Now that they’re all together, we realize that they’re barely recognizable from their former selves. Especially Bran, now promoted to Three-Eyed Raven, is stepping further and further away from sweet, vulnerable “Bran.” Arya doesn’t seem much like herself from just last season, falling for Lord Baelish’s (Aiden Gillen) tricks and taunting her sister. It’s behavior that seems beneath the clever fighter we knew in Season six.
Sansa (Sophie Turner) seems to be holding her own as Lady Stark, although creepy Lord Baelish is closing in, with all his whispering and wall leaning. Although Sansa knows not to trust him, she isn’t helping herself by continuing to fight with Arya, and sending bodyguard Lady Brienne (Gwendoline Christie) off to King’s Landing with a vague invitation.
In the war for the throne, the adversaries are mapping up and plotting their next move: Cersei with her floor map and Dany with her table map.
Although Dany has said she won’t be “Queen of the Ashes,” that’s certainly what she’s accomplished so far. Tyrion (Peter Dinklage) has been a lame “Hand,” and Camp Dany has been making a lot of missteps as we move toward the finale.
Meanwhile, Cersei is backed into a corner. She has no family (yet) to leave the crown, and few allies. The only suitor that’s come a callin’ is raunchy pirate Euron Greyjoy (Pilou Asbæk). However, she’s been dressed for battle all season and isn’t backing down.
What does the future look like for both sides? It certainly looks incestuous no matter which way you look. Cersei is pregnant with her brother’s baby, just in the knick of time. And Dany says she can’t have children, but she and Jon have been making heart eyes at each other, so, there’s some potentially incestuous children happening there as well.
On Sunday’s season finale, we’ll watch the longest episode yet, clocking in at a whopping 79 minutes. It looks like we’ll finally get the meeting we’ve been waiting for between Jon, Dany and Cersei. With dynamic duo Jon and Dany, it’s hard to have any hope for Cersei.
But regarding the battle against the night walkers, will the Night King be defeated in this episode? And will Jon be the hero for the job, like Melisandre’s (Carice van Houten) prophecy?
What do you think will happen?
Grade: A-
