SPOILERS: Don’t read this review if you haven’t seen or don’t want to know details from the latest episode of Game of Thrones.

10) Dragons are where our partnership ends. -Bronn explains to Jaime after rescuing him from drowning in a river.

Yasss, Jaime is OK (as MOST of the fans and GoT YouTubers guessed)! I wasn’t worried TOO long- maybe for a few mins after last week’s ep. Jaime is still an important character in this story, or game (as some like to say). Some viewers want Bronn to ally himself (yet again) w/ Tyron; I think that could happen (given this line re: dragons). I was a big fan of the Tyrion-Bronn friendship! 

9) Sometimes strength is terrible. -Dany explains to Jon upon returning to Dragonstone. 

Drogon let Jon touch him- WOW! This is a VERY crucial scene, as we get another hint into Jon’s true heritage, and see more of Dany’s interest in him. Dany knows that Jon doesn’t approve of how she went about defeating the Lannisters in battle, so she says this line (rather casually, I thought). Dany is comfortable in her role as queen; Jon is uncertain as King of the North (being more of a warrior than politician). Jon may NOT be Ned’s bastard son, BUT he was raised by him to be an honest, just, and peaceful kind of man.

8) Everyone in Westeros trusts and believes you. If you tell people the threat is real, they’ll believe it. -Sam tries to convince the council of Archmaesters. 

Poor Sam! His father (Randyll) and younger brother (Dickon) were burned to death by Drogon after the battle in The Reach, so he is now the head of his (old/respected/wealthy) house. Archmaester Ebrose doesn’t reveal this news to Sam though, feeling bad for him. Sam brings a bunch of books and scrolls into a room where the archmaesters happen to be having a meeting. They are debating the merits of a particular scroll which relates what Bran Stark/The Three-Eyed Raven has  seen beyond The Wall. Sam overhears and interrupts; he knows Bran and says the news is true. 

7) I haven’t given you permission to leave. -Dany says. / With all due respect, Your Grace, I don’t need your permission. I am a king. -Jon replies.

There is more Dany-Jon (burgeoning) romance stuff here; some viewers said that she was looking at him TOO much this ep. Come on showrunners, you don’t have to be SO obvious! Anyways, Tyrion’s idea of capturing a Wight to present at Cersei’s court is a clever idea. 

6) Daenerys is not her father. She is even willing to suspend the hostilities if Cersei agrees to certain terms. –Tyrion explains to Jaime when they are reunited in the dungeons beneath The Red Keep.

This was an emotional scene where BOTH actors did well. Though Tyrion has allied w/ Dany (“a foreign invader”), he can still reach out to his older brother, Jaime. As Ben Mankiewicz commented in the latest What the Flick? review: “Tyrion is friends w/ all the good guys: Bronn, Davos, Jorah, and Varys.”

5) Do you remember what father used to say about people? -Cersei asks. / The lion does not concern himself with the opinions of the sheep. -Jaime replies before embracing and kissing her. / Never betray me again. -Cersei commands, softly.

Hmmm… what do YOU think? MANY viewers are writing that Cersei is NOT pregnant; she is lying to get Jaime’s to follow her plans (no matter how bad). We know that Jaime is hopelessly in love w/ his twin (as Lady Olenna pointed out in E3, before dying like a boss). Cersei goes as far as to say that she’s NOT afraid of what people’s reactions; she will say that the baby is Jaime’s. 

4) Our fathers trusted each other. Why shouldn’t we? -Gendry asks Davos and Jon after he introduces himself to The King of the North.

Joe Dempsie was listed as part of the cast for S7, so observant viewers knew he was (finally) back! His hair is  quite short now and he looks taller and more mature. Gendry was hiding in plain sight, working as a blacksmith in “the street of steel” in King’s Landing. He is quick to leave (LOL), deadly w/ that big hammer (yikes), and eager to fight for Jon. Their fathers were best friends who fought together during the time of Mad King Aerys (Robert’s Rebellion). Gendry will be VERY useful in forging weapons out of dragonglass, some YouTubers commented. Some people were excited for he and Arya to be reunited; we will have to wait for that.  

3) Nobody mind me. All I’ve ever done is live to a ripe old age. -Davos comments to Gendry and Jon.

Davos has some of the BEST lines in this ep; that stuff w/ the “fermented crab” (or should we call it Westerosi Viagra?) was quite funny! Liam Cunningham has been doing a fine job in his role. I esp. enjoy seeing the father-son dynamic between Davos and Gendry.

2) What does “annulment” mean? -Gilly asks tentatively, reading from a book by High Septon Maynard. / It’s when a man sets aside his lawful wife. -Sam replies, not paying much attention. / Maynard says here that he issued an annulment for a Prince Rhaegar and remarried him to someone else, at the same time, in a secret ceremony in Dorne. -Gilly reads on.

Whoa, who would’ve imagined that Gilly would get to reveal such crucial info!? As pointed out on GoT Academy, the book she was reading was by a religious/priest-like figure (High Septon), NOT written my a maester. Septons can perform marriages and funerals (as we have seen in previous seasons); it turns out that annulment are ALSO permitted in Westeros. Rhaegar left his wife (Elia Martell), then legally married Lyanna Stark before Jon was born. Jon is BOTH a Targaryen and a Stark, and (most importantly) NOT a bastard! He is the rightful heir to the Iron Throne before Dany (his aunt) since he is male.

1) He’s [Beric] right, we’re all on the same side. -Jon says. / How can we be? -Gendry asks. / We’re all breathing. -Jon concludes. 

At Eastwatch (the castle closest to The Wall) we see Tormund again; he is STILL thinking of Brienne (LOL). Jon, Davos, Jorah, and Gendry go down to the dungeon where Wildling men locked up some strangers about a month ago. It turns out that these are the Brotherhood w/o Banners: Beric Dondarrion (brought back to life- like Jon), Thoros of Myr (who knows Jorah), and The Hound (who Jon saw once at Winterfell). Westeros (like DC) is SUCH a small world sometimes!