In my concerted effort to Finish A Thing this week, I managed to forget to write lovely words about last week’s Game of Thrones. It’s Doctor Who all over again! (I will finish writing about last season, I WILL.) Anyway, here we are now. And IIRC correctly – it’s only been a week so I bloody well hope I do – Book of the Stranger was pretty darn nifty. Mostly because of Sansa. OH SANSA. Two whole scenes and it’s entirely possible I was sobbing a bit at both. When the gates of Castle Black opened and – goshdarnit, I’m welling up again, this is silly, stop it, eyes! – she and Jon saw each other and there was hugging and teasing and apologies and reminices, oh, ALL I EVER WANTED AND HOPED FOR. And another person who actually properly cares about her; collect them all, Sansa! And then make a big army and fight for stuff! Which is, marvellously, exactly what she wanted to do. “I’ll do it myself if I have to.” *LOVE*
I’m only *slightly* worried about Petyr sending knights to Castle Black. I like to assume they will turn up, decide Sansa is great, and maybe shove Petyr over the top of the wall. I know that seems terribly optimistic, but so far the Sansa storyline this season is just perfect, and they surely wouldn’t want to ruin that with complications or bad stuff happening, would they?
Speaking of bad stuff, Tonks aka Osha cops it almost exactly as I dreaded, alas. Still, at least she had the knife in her hand and was totally going to kill him. More yayful was Yara and another reunion, less full of hugs, but still. Could have been worse – no-one got stabbed. And when Theon said Yara should rule and he wanted her to take the throne of the Iron Islands (not the Iron Throne, which is in King’s Landing..heh, I see this show could be confusing to new people!) I may have cheered a bit. Obv Yara should be queen. And Sansa can be Queen in the North. And Dany can have the rest of it. EVERYONE’S HAPPY. Well, not everyone. I’d be happy.
But what of Margaery, the current actual queen of something? She’s been stuck in a cell under the care of the High Sparrow all season, but this ep it was less boring and more a little heartbreaking when she got to see her brother, locked up under similar conditions, and turns out he’s not coping at all well. Seeing her hold her brother as though she were trying to impart some of her strength to endure just through the power of touch, gah! Sod my political sympathies, I am REALLY LOOKING FORWARD to some Tyrell and Lannister burning of stuff soon.
Meanwhile, Dany did burn things down, yay! Flames! I do like Dany, and I do quite want her to have the Iron Throne, but the storyline still has the major problem that you really can’t get away from the White Saviour stuff, and heh, now she’s killed all their leaders and everyone in that world is literally bowing down before her! SOME WINCING THERE. While, yeah, I appreciate the character growth we’ve seen over the past six years and her reaction to this situation and there were lots of pretty flames, it’s still very awkward.
What else? Oh, Tyrion. That. Yes. I really very much hope this is being set up as him being too clever for his own good or something like that because otherwise it seems like well dodgy. He’s basically taken Dany’s place in Meereen and thinks he knows and understands the situation better than Missandei and Grey Worm. MARVELLOUS. Maybe it will be fine. So long as he doesn’t get Missandei killed, that would be unforgivable. (It doesn’t seem like anything like that will happen, but of the characters love, I worry for Missandei the most as she’s very much a supporting character, and extra vulnerable to a sudden, unexpected death.)
And there’s a whole new ep out in the Americas already, I believe! Ours arrives tomorrow, or today actually as it’s technically Monday. (That’s right, I’m up at 1am writing about Game of Thrones. SHUSHT. Great life choice.)
Lizbeth Myles 