The Storm Is Upon Us
My 8 Favorite Scenes from Game of Thrones, Season 7
After seven seasons, winter has come. Yet the Seven Kingdoms remains as divided as ever. Dorne and the Reach are in revolt against the Iron Throne, which Cersei Lannister now controls. The North has declared its independence once more with Jon Snow as king, with the Free Folk and the Vale backing him. The Riverlands are in chaos. Daenerys Targaryen is about to make landfall. But the biggest issue at this long list of problems is that the Night King is marching on the Wall!!!
This season wasn’t as epic as the previous one, to be sure. But with only seven episodes this season, and six in the upcoming final season, it was more important that all the remaining pieces be put in place as the storm approaches. And now that they had moved beyond the books, the show was in uncharted territory. There was no telling what would happen now, but it turned out to be awesome.
With one day left before the final season, here are my eight favorite moments from Game of Thrones. That’s right, I’m going one up for this season!
#8- The Band of Seven Moves out, “Eastwatch”
When Jon realizes that he will be unable to convince Cesei and Jaime (or fully convince Daenerys) without proof, he comes up with the craziest plan ever. He will go beyond the wall, capture a wight, and bring it back as proof for Westeros that the threat is real. He won’t be alone, though. Six other battle-tested warriors join him in the Wight Hunt: Ser Jorah Mormont, Gendry, The Hound, Beric Dorrdarrion and Thoros of Myr from the Brotherhood Without Banners, and Tormund Giantsbane of the Free Folk.
Once upon a time, this team up was the kind of thing that only existed in fan fiction. Now, it’s making the fan fiction writers drool. Seeing them together isn’t even the best part, though. That happens in the next episode, where we see the seven of them talk about their experiences, both shared and separate, is amazing to listen to, and one of the best parts of this season.
#7- Daenerys arrives in Dragonstone, “Dragonstone”
Since the moment she was born, Daenerys Targaryen has been living in exile from her homeland. Making her way back to Westeros and taking back the Iron Throne has always been her objective, and at the end of Season Six, she set out with her massive army, her allies, and her dragons. In the final scene of the first episode, Daenerys arrives in Dragonstone for the first time since she was born.
This scene lasted for several minutes, but not a single word of dialogue was spoken. Instead, the actors let their bodies speak for them. From when Daenerys silently kneels down on the beaches of Dragonstone to feel the ground of her home, to her looking around her family’s castle (and tearing down Stannis’ banners), you can feel so much emotion behind it. All while not saying a thing, until the very end, when Daenerys looks at Tyrion and says “Shall we begin?”
#6- Gendry’s Back, “Eastwatch”
When we last saw Gendry, he was rowing all the way back to King’s Landing back in Season Three. After that, he just dropped off the map. It got to the point that people had made memes about Robert Baratheon’s last son.
Knowing that Jon needs all the help he can get, Ser Davos sneaks into King’s Landing to find Gendry, laying low and working as a blacksmith for the people who killed his father. When Davos mentions he has something planned up North, Gendry’s happy to come along… with his giant war hammer
Unlike Joffrey, Gendry is the spitting image of his father: he’s strong, brave, and a good fighter. And since he grew up a commoner, he doesn’t have his father’s vices. So it was disappointing to see him leave in Season Three. The fact that the show chose to bring him back so close to the end means one of two things: either they’re trying to tie up loose ends, or Gendry has a role to play in the Great War.
That said, I hope Gendry lives. After Jon and Daenerys, Gendry’s the person I want to see sit on the Iron Throne. At the very least, he can be legitimized and we can start calling Gendry Baratheon, Lord of the Stormlands. To be honest, I’ve been calling him “Gendry Baratheon” for years now.
#5- Jon Snow and Daenerys First Meet, “The Queen’s Justice”
After Melisandre tells Daenerys and Tyrion about Jon Snow being the King in the North, Daenerys decides to ask him to come to Dragonstone and recruit him in her fight against Cersei. Jon goes to recruit her in the fight against the White Walkers, because she has her dragons, and Dragonstone has a mountain of dragonglass. Their first meeting is awkward and filled with tension, and while the Dragon Queen isn’t convinced about the White Walkers, she does let him mine for dragonglass.
Another moment that once existed only in the annals of fanfiction, this is a major moment for the show. Unknown to all but the audience, Jon and Daenerys are the last members of House Targaryen, and thus blood-related. Which makes the romantic tension growing between them all the more regrettable..
#4- Jaime Finally Leaves Cersei, “The Dragon and the Wolf”
Cersei Lannister doesn’t care about anyone except herself, her children and Jaime. So when Jon and Daenerys ask her to join forces with them, she refuses, then seems to agree when she thinks her unborn son is at risk. Later, Cersei reveals to Jaime that her real plan is to let Jon, Daenerys and the Nigh King exhaust themselves, then fight the winner using her new army of mercenaries.
Just when I thought I wouldn’t find any more reasons to despise Cersei, she pulls this off. She’s willing to let Westeros be destroyed if it means keeping her throne. She’s selfish, short-sighted, spiteful, and worse. Everything that I despise in a ruler. Disgusted at his sister’s willingness to let Westeros die, Jaime finally abandons his sister and rides north by himself to fight in the Great War.
The Jaime Lannister we met in Season One would never have done this, but he’s been through a lot since then. Being captured by Robb Stark, losing his sword hand, and traveling with Brienne have changed him into something better. He finally realizes that his sister has become as evil as the Mad King and wants nothing to do with her anymore. I hope he lives through the Great War.
#3- Jon Proves the White Walkers are Real, “The Dragon and the Wolf”
For years, the Lords of Westeros scoffed at the idea that the White Walkers were real, let alone a threat. If they knew the truth, then maybe they wouldn’t have exhausted themselves in the War of the Five Kings. Jon Snow silences those doubts for good at the meeting in King’s Landing when he presents a captured wight to the Lannisters and Euron Greyjoy.
I will never forget the look on Cersei and Jaime’s faces when they first saw the wight charge at them. When Jaime asked them how many there were, I could tell that this was the most terrifying thing that he had ever seen. Then Euron Greyjoy, who we’ve never seen be scared of anything, pretends to run back to the Iron Islands and hide. Ploy or not, I think that he was truly terrified by what he saw.
This moment makes everyone in the Seven Kingdoms realize that they are facing Armageddon. Regardless of how much they’ve hurt each other over the years, if they don’t fight as one, then there will be nothing left for anyone. Yet Cersei still refuses to help because she’s an idiot.
#2- Battle on the Goldroad, “The Spoils of War”
After her attempts to use her Westerosi allies to take the Seven Kingdoms falls flat, Daenerys loses patience. Forgoing clever plans, she decides to take the late Olenna’s advice and be a dragon. She launches an all-out attack on the Lannister-Tarly army using her Dothraki and Drogon. The result is a total rout of the Lannister-Tarly forces.
I had thought that the Battle of the Bastards was impressive, but this was one of the most amazing feats in the shows history. Dozens of actors, world-class cinematography, and the fact that this is the first true battle that the dragons have been in, all made for one of the best scenes in the entire show, a personal favorite of mine. Years from now, film students will study how they pulled of this scene.
#1-Jon Snow’s Not a Bastard, “The Dragon and the Wolf”
Last season confirmed that “R+L=J” was true: Jon Snow is actually the son of Rhaegar Targaryen and Lyanna Stark. Bran never anyone this, vowing only to tell Jon when he returned. Then Samwell remembered what Gilly read in the High Septon’s diary: Rhaegar had his marriage to Elia Martell annulled. All Bran needed to do was confirm it with his greensight.
Lyanna was never kidnapped: she and Rhaegar fell in love and ran away together to get married in secret. That means that Jon, whose real name is Aegon Targaryen, is legitimate. All this time, all this fighting over who should be on the Iron Throne, and the rightful king has been under everyone’s noses.
To be fair, I disagree with Bran when he says that “Robert’s Rebellion was built on a lie”. I consider it a tragic mistake. I doubt that Rhaegar and Lyanna meant for it to get so out of control. It’s the Mad King’s fault for starting a rebellion. Whether or not this will affect who gets the Iron Throne has yet to be seen. I do know this, though: if Jon and Daenerys keep sleeping with each other, they’re repeating the mistake that brought down the Targaryens in the first place!
Agree with my picks? Ready for the Final Season? Let me know what your favorite moment from this season was.
Click here to see my favorite deaths from this season
One of The Most Hated Characters Dies
The 6 Biggest deaths from Season Seven of Game of Thrones
If the first three seasons of Game of Thrones were the first act, and seasons four through six were the second, then Seasons Seven and Eight are the final act. With the Great War upon the Seven Kingdoms and all who live in them, Season Seven was about putting all the remaining players and pieces of the game into their roles. It also meant clearing away the pieces that weren’t needed for the war to come.
One day remains until the final season of Game of Thrones, and we are going to look at the six biggest deaths of the penultimate season to this legendary show.
#7- House Frey, “Dragonstone”
In the opening scene of Season Seven, there appears to be a flashback of Walder Frey meeting with his sons to discuss House Frey’s plans for the winter. After a quick toast, he then reminds them how they murdered Robb Stark, his army, his wife and unborn child, and mother at the Red Wedding. One by one, the Freys fall to ground, spewing up blood from drinking poisoned wine. It’s then that we see that “Walder Frey” was, in fact, Arya Stark wearing Walder’s face.
While I was already satisifed with the masterminds behind the Red Wedding dead, Arya took it a step further and wiped out everyone who took part in the massacre. The fact that it’s not revealed until the end that it was Arya in disguise was a very satisfying twist. What makes this even cooler, though, is what Arya tells the women who witnessed what happened: that the North remembers, and that winter came for House Frey. That last line’s turns House Stark’s words into not only a warning of bad times will eventually come, but a threat to anyone who incurs House Stark’s wrath.
#6- Olenna Tyrell, “The Queen’s Justice”
After her entire family is killed when Cersei blew up the Sept of Baelor, House Tyrell’s was doomed to extinction, and Olenna Tyrell knew it. So, she decided that she would take Cersei down before she died, allying with House Targaryen to get revenge. Sadly, Jaime Lannister is one step ahead of her, and marches the Lannister army on Highgarden before she can rally her forces, then allowing her to commit suicide by poison.
Olenna Tyrell was one of my favorite characters in the entire show, and I was really sad to see her go. She dished out the best insults! But my sorrow turned to joy when Olenna used her final moments to troll Cersei one last time. She let Jaime and Cersei know that she was the one who killed Joffrey. She may have died, but she got the last laugh!
#5- Randyll Tarly, “Eastwatch”
Despite claiming to be a man of honor and loyalty, when Jaime offered House Tarly the chance to become the new Wardens of the South, Randyll Tarly turned on Olenna Tyrell. Forutnatley, he didn’t get to live long enough to enjoy his new status. After being capture by Daenerys’ army at the Kingsroad, Daenerys burns him and his son Dickon for refusing to bend the knee
This one’s on here less because it helped drive the plot forward, and more because of personal feelings. From the moment I saw Randyll Tarly, I hated him and his Q-ball hairdo. He was a cruel and abusive father who constantly bullied his son Sam because he couldn’t fit his idea of what it means to be a man. He even went so far as to tell Sam that if he didn’t join the Night’s Watch, he would make sure he would “accidentally” die on a hunt.
What’s more, he was also racist, deriding Gilly once he found she was a wildling, and calling her “a thing”. If I were there, I would walk right up to him, punch him square across the jaw, and tell him “Sam may not be perfect, but whatever his faults, he’s more of a man than you’ll ever be”. I’m only sorry that Dickon died with him.
#4- Ellaria and Tyene Sand, “The Queen’s Justice”
When we first met Ellaria, she was Oberyn’s lover and the mother of their children, the Sand Snakes. After the Mountain killed Oberyn, Ellaria became filled with hatred and became determined to destroy Cersei, even killing her innocent daughter, Myrcella, and Oberyn’s brother and nephew to seize power in Dorne. This comes back to bite her when she and her daughter are captured by Euron Greyjoy. Cersei then sentences Ellaria to life in prison, watching as her daughter dies from the same poison used to kill Myrcella.
I may have felt genuinely bad for Ellaria and the Sand Snakes for Oberyn’s death, but that turned to disgust when they murdered Myrcella and their own family. Ellaria was so consumed by her hatred for Cersei that she became that which she hates the most. Ellaria may not have died, but her character’s been written out of the show, so she’s basically dead. And personally, I think that she and her daughter got what they deserved.
#2- Viserion, “Beyond the Wall”
After Jon leads an expedition beyond the Wall to capture a wight as proof of the threat of the Night, they are cornered by his army. Somehow, Daenerys gets word of it in time, and, through the magic of plot convenience, shows up with Drogon, Rhaegal, and Viserion to rescue Jon’s group. Before anyone can react, though, the Night King wields a icy javelin, takes aim, and pierces Viserion straight through the chest.
I knew for a long time that the three dragons were going to be a major factor in the war against the White Walkers It’s probably why they hatched when Daenerys’ family failed so many times. But I never thought that the White Walkers would be able to kill a dragon so easily. I shared the look on the group’s faces: shock, then howling rage, and then sadness.
The worst part is that even though he’s dead, Viserion’s not gone. The Night King brought him back as a wight, and it seems he’s more powerful than he was in life. If Drogon and Rhaegal were to fight him now, they could end up losing. I hope that they do not.
#1- Littlefinger, “The Dragon and the Wolf”
Given everything that has happened since Season One, it’s easy to forget how the entire show started with the death of one man: Jon Arryn, King Robert’s Hand and Lord of the Vale. The mystery of his death didn’t even get solved until Season Four when Lysa admitted to poisoning her husband on Littlefinger’s command. And that was before the show even started.
Since then, Littlefinger continued to work in the shadows to amass more power, but all his schemes come undone when he tries to turn Arya and Sansa against each other. With their knowledge, and the fact that Bran can use his greensight to see everything, they finally corner him for everything:
- Getting Lysa Arryn to murder Jon Arryn
- Getting Lysa to lie to Catelyn and Ned, saying that the Lannister’s were behind Jon’s murder
- Betraying Ned Stark and letting him be wrongfully executed
- Murdering Lysa Arryn to gain power in the Vale
- Trying to turn the Stark children against each other.
With the overwhelming evidence, Arya then executes the snake using his Valyrian Steel Dagger, avenging the tens of thousands of deaths that he brought about.
Littlefinger has been on my “GOT Hate List” since I started watching the show, and next Cersei and Euron, he was the one I wanted to see die the most in Season Seven. When I saw the stunned look on his face as Sansa and Arya outed him, I grinned from ear to ear. When he finally died, I wanted to shout out, “YES!! HE’S GONE! HE’S FINALLY GONE!!! I’M SO HAPPY RIGHT NOW, I DON’T EVEN CARE THAT CERSEI’S STILL ALIVE!!!!”
That was one of the best moments of my life. The only thing that can top it is seeing Cersei Lannister bite it in the final season.
Do you agree with my picks? Were you as happy as me to see Littlefinger die?
Click here to see my favorite moments from Season Seven
If you guys want to see which characters have the best odds of survival in the final season, click here. It will take you to a website featuring an advanced algorithm that predicts who survives.
Putting the “Pop” in Pop Culture!
