dragonsbite

It was a wonderful scene. I loved that Jon was willing to forgive Theon for most of the things that he had done...which helped Theon get his figurative balls back. I also got hit by a lot of anvils regarding which way Jon should lean now that it's canon he's the heir to the Iron Throne. Like Theon, he's Ned's son...doesn't matter who his biological father was. He'll be both a Stark -- by training and love -- and a Targaryen by birth. That's a fabulous heritage.

Wasn't that The Mad King's M.O. before Jaime executed him?

Yes, I saw it as kissed by fire too. This episode got me wondering whether The Hound might actually use fire at some future moment to amazing effect. They constantly show The Hound flinching away from fire (which is surprisingly consistent character behavior for GoT). When Beric lit his sword and applied it to Thoros (both times), his aversion to gingers, and his fear of the bear once it was on fire. I'm hoping there's a payoff for The Hound's behavior.

Was the scroll addressed specifically to Sansa? Or to the KitN? If it came from King's Landing and they don't know that Jon is at Dragonstone, then perhaps it was sent to whoever is leading at Winterfell, aka KitN. And with Sansa serving as the regent, she received the scroll. With Tyrion / Dany knowing Jon is bringing the wight, why would they send an invite to WF?

The first time I saw the episode, I thought Beric said, "I met your mother." But on rewatch, Beric says, "I met your father. You don't look like him. You must resemble your mother."

Someone will just slip this note under her door: "Supreme executive power derives from a mandate from the masses, not from some farcical aquatic ceremony." </sneaks away>

So we had five live guys, a burned corpse and a wight on the island when the dragons show up. Here's my take on the proper reactions: Jon = yay! rescue has arrived. I've already seen the dragons so I'm not surprised by their size or anything. Jorah = yay! rescue has arrived. I've already seen the dragons so I'm not surprised by their size or anything. Tormund = yay! rescue has arri-- holy shit! Dragons! I mean, I know they're real and I've worked with giants. But I get to ride. a. dragon! Beric = yay! rescue has arrived. I'm pretty sure I knew this would happen. Let's just get the F outta here. Hound = about effin time we got rescued. So, dragon. Am I supposed to be impressed? Great, they breathe fire. Let's get the F outta here. Wight = what the F is going on? ow ow ow ow ow! Thoros = I'll just lie here and smolder.

Even if you can't convince Cersei, you can convince those who follow her and support her. Most people follow her out of fear. Those who don't fear her but support her (I'm eyeing you, Jaime) might be convinced to turn against her.

THIS. It shows that Jon is more likely to be the last king standing. With all the talk of Dany having the armies and the dragons, they're laying the groundwork for Dany to conquer Westeros and break the wheel. But she won't be the one carrying the torch in the end. It'll be Jon. He's the one who makes connections with people, who sees the real problem and does what it takes to resolve it - no matter the cost to himself. Yes, he makes some dumb decisions (like hunting a wight) and yet those decisions end up making more and more people loyal to him. Or at least getting those people to understand and believe in his cause. As for the discussion about the succession, it seemed like Dany wanted to know whether Tyrion was angling for being named as her successor. I doubt that he was, but you never know if deep down he might want that job. Then again, he knows how much of a problem it would be and is smart enough to avoid that headache. (I've always preferred to be the person behind the person in charge.) He's right to want her to think about these things, and she's probably justifiably ignoring it. No one wants to think that much about their death -- much less talk about it (unless they Jon or Beric). However, the purpose of the scene once again goes back to, if she can't have children, who will be her successor. With the foreshadowing being Jon. I should probably point out that I'm neither for nor against a Jon-Dany relationship.

Actually, it seems like they were setting up a confrontation between Jon and the Night King--pointing out that killing the NK destroys the entire army. Jon certainly considered it when having that stare-down with the NK.

I'm tempted to make a cosplay outfit: redshirt wight hunter.

Aired tonight in the USA! My thoughts as the show ran: The opening with Hardy just showing up at Clive's garage totally confused me...I'd forgotten how last episode ended and missed the previouslies. Thank goodness the DVR was active so I could rewind to the previouslies, then fast forward back to the live action. Don't miss the previouslies, people! Clive is creepy but I'm thinking it's the son instead. And Clive's covering. I believed his bewilderment about the sock. Wow! Ed's confession makes sense and is terribly sad. Millah for the win: "And that license plate belongs to...swaggery little shit!" Mark, just. go. away. What a waste of screen time. I don't understand how his angst has any relevance to the story line this season...other than showing the lives of people in the Broadchurch community at large. Meh. Just noticed that Hardy's beard is much more tame. Thank goodness. Much more attractive this way. Miller should be munching on fast food, not drinking energy drinks. Did they give Clive any rest and a chance to talk to his lawyer? Doesn't look like it. Woot! I was right about the son!!!! er, but wrong about Clive covering for him -- not sure now whether Clive knew. Good God, Leo's so much more than a swaggery little shit. Has his girlfriend take care of the son? Dick. Also? Were I the girlfriend, Leo would be castrated. Also also? I still don't know the son's name. What's on the flash drive? What's on the driiiiiiiiiiive? How many times have we heard that Primal Scream song this season? Leo planned it, but why? What's the motive? I don't think they have sold this behavior. We didn't see enough of Leo. Of course, if Leo is the serial rapist, he's training the son to be like him. Makes me think of a Criminal Minds episode now. Or else Leo is just sadistic. But Show didn't sell that characteristic either. Aaaannnnd we were all correct about the source of the light : cell phone. Oh, the son's name is Michael. Thanks, Alec. Ah, backtracking....Clive did know all this time. Hmmmm. Why would people keep incriminating evidence on a phone? I store my secret files in Google drive...much easier to access from multiple devices. ;-) Still not believing this part of Leo. We should have seen some of those statements, that attitude earlier in the season. The early swaggering attitude just doesn't lead me to the conclusion that he's a rapist so much as he's a jerk. Why would Leo's statements make Miller cry? She's tougher than that. I'm not invested in Paul or the newspaper editor, so I don't care what they're going to do next. Gah, BBC America -- what a horrible cut to commericals -- Miller barely completed her sentence about the boys going down for the rape. I really need to see this episode uncut. Paul's sermon = too sappy for a denouement. "Just ignore him. I do." = much more fitting for an end. Trish accepting her husband's overtures = okay. (truly, there's more drama happening on the TV downstairs where the family is watching the Astros play the Diamondbacks -- bottom of the 8th)

I'm really starting to worry about New Orleans and Louisiana. Last week it was pirate zombies-? and the Queen of England. Now it's the president and nukes. Should I warn Cafe du Monde that they need to move the restaurant out of state? ;-)

It could also be setting up conflict for Jon being crowned king as a Targaryen heir: Gendry is a Baratheon heir. So now we could have a war of kings all over again. EXCEPT Jon's too smart for that. He'd walk away.

ooooooooo! totally forgot that Sansa said "no one can protect me"

Exactly! And when they loaded the wagons at The Reach, I'm pretty sure there was a discussion about farmers not wanting to give up the rest of their harvests -- what's still in the fields and their barns. And that Jaime said something about getting it from them.

I didn't catch the callback to that earlier episode. BUT...LF's reaction* told me that Bran had scored a point. So I immediately paused the show to look up that phrase to find the source of it. *When Bran said "Chaos is a ladder," LF's raised eyebrow and a slight movement backward showed that it totally threw him. Then he was about to come back with a smarmy response, but Meera interrupted him. You can see LF's annoyance in his eye flutter at the knock on the door -- he clearly was getting to something significant (his mind) in his chat with Bran. He wanted to score points with Bran (probably to fool him into thinking LF is on his side).

I used it that evening in a Facebook response to a friend. </ostentatiously polishes nails on sleeve>

I think he saw that Arya needs it. The look on his face and the way his hand paused as both she and he held the dagger during the hand-off made me think some vision hit him at that moment. Perhaps he saw some of the things she's done. But perhaps he saw some future event that she'll do with the dagger.

So the show made a point of Jaime carrying Widow's Wail -- the other sword made from Ned's Ice (Valerian steel sword). Are they foreshadowing his killing of Cersei (a loved one), at which point the sword bursts miraculously into flames and he becomes the PtwP? Or are they simply hinting that he'll be fighting the WWs too by the end?

Also, how is it possible that EVERYONE got somewhere they needed to be between last episode and this one...EXCEPT ARYA? This season (really, all the seasons) needs to have titles at the beginning of each scene so we know what day it is.

Was I the only one cheering for Arya's return, only to be disappointed that it was Bran? (Not that I mind Bran's appearance since he can get in Littlefinger's way.)

I'm hoping that her reunion with Bran completely wipes Littlefinger's advice from her mind.

Oh wow! I totally failed to register the connection there. Jon being a walking dead man himself. In an early comment I was hoping that Jon's death and return to live would be exposed to Dany/Tyrion. And yet, there Jon is, telling them that an army of the dead is coming for them. Won't they look at Jon and wonder "do they look like you?"

My initial thoughts: Awesome scene between Jon and Dany. Neither yielding. Sad that Jon still looked uncomfortable while Davos spoke his praises. Modesty, I know. But he needs to start asserting himself. In the discussion for last week's episode, someone commented that he always looks like a kicked puppy: I’m definitely coming to that conclusion too. However, I’m extremely happy that he refused to bend the knee. Too bad that Dany didn’t pursue the question about Jon taking a knife to the heart for the North. Perhaps Varys and Tyrion need to have a longer conversation with the Red Priestess. And at this point, perhaps Jon should just own up to the story. Especially once he talks to Dany’s people and learns that she can walk through fire. She shouldn’t be surprised about his coming back from the dead. Littlefinger’s speech to Sansa was damn good, and quite convincing, particularly about knowing what’s going to happen so that nothing ever takes you by surprise. Except for two things: He himself had just been startled to hear that Maester Kuwin kept a copy of every message that came to Winterfell (and now I’m trying to remember which ones would implicate his treachery!) AND that just as he finished, something entirely surprising interrupts his lecture. Bran has returned. And doesn’t that put a spanner in Littlefinger’s plans? A Stark who supersedes Sansa’s claim to Winterfell. Hah! It’s good that Bran knows what happened to Sansa so that he can explain how he knows things. However, couldn’t he have picked a less traumatizing moment? Maybe her escape from Winterfell or her taking Brienne as her knight? No, Bran, it’s not difficult to explain. “The previous Three-Eyed Raven trained me. Then he died. And now I’m the Three-Eyed Raven.” So Sam’s punishment -- to transcribe all those moldering scrolls -- will lead to great discoveries about defeating the White Walkers! My only hope regarding Cersei’s continued triumphs is that she gets an almighty comeuppance. And I won’t be satisfied if it is as simple as Jaime killing her. Olenna, nooo! But right on! for owning up to poisoning Joffrey. I like that Dany mentions her brothers to start the second conversation with Jon. Nice parallel there to talk about family when she's unknowingly speaking to the son of one of those brothers.