What I’m Watching: Game of Thrones (Season Finale)

Game of Thrones: Season 7, Episode 7 “The Dragon and the Wolf” (B+)

As usual, the second-to-last episode of the season was the most exciting, but I made sure to plant myself in front of my TV right at 9pm to watch this episode as soon as it premiered to avoid anything being spoiled. Last year, I waited a full two weeks after the finale aired to watch it, and I didn’t get anything ruined, and there was plenty that could have been revealed to me and affected my experience. The intensity of the shocking moments in this episode weren’t as crazy as last year’s, but they’re still quite notable. The opening shot of the army marching on King’s Landing conveyed the grandeur of what we’re experiencing, and Cersei shooting daggers at Tyrion when she first saw him was a signal that this wasn’t going to be easy. Euron also tried to sabotage things by focusing on humiliating his nephew rather than helping the cause, and it seems that Theon finally found his courage when he stood up for Yara and rallied his army to go find her. Bringing the white walker back definitely worked, and it’s just a shame that Jon is such an honorable guy that he won’t swear falsely. Brienne pushed Jaime, but it was ultimately Tyrion who, begging for execution, won Cersei over - only he didn’t. She’s so selfish and eager to win that she’s thinking only of her child and not its father, who she didn’t seem to have any problem ordering her bodyguard to kill him. Jaime’s response was formidable, and I think he’s going to be noble and go fight alongside those he’s pledged to serve, whether or not that means he’ll reveal Cersei’s duplicity. With new allegiances proven to be false on one front, it was reassuring and satisfying to see Sansa and Arya team up to turn the tables on Littlefinger, who couldn’t talk his way out of a swift execution by Arya. It’s good to see the Starks united, especially with the reveal, or confirmation, I guess, that Jon is actually a Targaryen, which means that he just had sex with his aunt. I suppose there’s not enough incest on this show just yet, and that long-awaited hookup now can’t be nearly as celebrated as it should have been. More importantly, that zombie dragon wasted no time in bringing down the entire wall, which means a whole new game is about to be played against the human race in the show’s eighth and final season, which will be back sometime in the future. I think that this was the show’s best season since its second, and I’m eager for its return, whenever that may be.

Season grade: A-
Season MVP: Peter Dinklage as Tyrion