Game of Thrones – Winterfell

By: Paige Zinaman

Arya (Maisie Williams) and the rest of Winterfell gather in town to watch the arrival of Jon (Kit Harington) and Daenerys (Emilia Clarke). As Jon and Daenerys ride along the path they notice more and more people do not approve of Daenerys and her army being there. Jon tells her that “the Northerns don’t approve of outsiders.” Daenerys continues to ride as her dragons start to fly over the kingdom. Both she and Arya seem amused by this as the rest of the people run fearful of the dragons. Sansa (Sophie Turner) and Bran (Isaac Hempstead Wright) await Jon at the palace. When Jon spots Bran he immediately jumps off his horse to greet his brother, which is not the reunion he was hoping for as Bran is less than enthused to see him. Jon quickly turns his attention to Sansa as he greets her with a hug and introduces her to Daenerys, who is polite as can be given the nature of her welcome. Sansa and Daenerys’ talk is interrupted by Bran who informs them that they don’t have time for talking because the Night King has one of Daenerys’ dragons and knocked out the wall.

Sansa, Jon and Daenerys go inside where Sansa has gathered all the members of Houses in the North. They discuss the arrival times of other troops and lend out horses and supplies to those in need to arrive. As Jon is giving orders for the Night Watch to come back he is interrupted by Lyanna Mormont (Bella Ramsey) who is upset that he left and came back with Daenerys as Queen. After hearing what Lyanna had to say the rest of the people in the hall state their displeasure as well. Jon tells everyone that he will always be grateful for being named King and that he told them when he left they needed allies before they all die and that he brought them home to fight with them. He says, “I made a choice, keep my crown or protect the North. I chose the North.” Tyrion (Peter Dinklage) tries to ease people’s minds telling them that if they survive the war they’ll have Jon to thank. He further explains that Jon risked his life to prove that the threat was real and that it took courage so with that they brought with them the greatest army the world has ever seen, including two dragons. He ultimately tells them that the Lannister army will soon be arriving to join them, which sets the hall in furry all over again. Tyrion warns them that even though the two houses have never been friends in the past that they must work together or they’re going to die. Sansa questions how she’s supposed to feed the greatest army and dragons then asking what dragons eat to which Daenerys says anything they want.

Tyrion and Sansa talk as they watch groups of men unloading the dragonglass. They talk about how Sansa’s title has a nice ring to it and that the last time they spoke was at Joffery’s (Jack Gleason) wedding. Tyrion calls it a dreadful affair only for Sansa to say that it had it’s moments. Sansa apologizes for leaving the way she did, telling Tyrion that even though it was hard they both survived. He tells Sansa that many underestimated her and that many of those are dead now. He also tells her that her feelings about Cersei (Lena Headey) are perfectly normal and that she has every right to feel so. Sansa asks if he truly believes that Cersei and her army will show up to which Tyrion tells her, “She has something to live for now. I believe she wants to survive.” Jon is off on his own when Arya sneaks up on him. They embrace after being away from each other for so long comparing swords and catching up. They talk about where Arya was before because he could’ve used her help with Sansa. Arya knows right away and states that Sansa didn’t like his Queen to which Jon tells her that Sansa thinks she’s smarter than everyone else. Arya’s response is, “She’s the smartest person I’ve ever met.” Arya tells him that she herself is defending their family and so is Sansa.

Qyburn (Anton Lesser) comes to Cersei bringing her grave news. He informs her that the dead have broken through the wall to which Cersei replies “good” and walks away. Meanwhile on the ship Euron (Pilou Asbæk) still has Yara (Gemma Whelan) still tied to a pole talking to her about if he lets her go who would he have to talk to since they are the only Greyjoys left. Yara tells Euron that he picked the losing side to which he tells her that he’ll just move the Iron Fleet somewhere else but not before he screws the Queen. Euron and Captain Strickland (Marc Rissmann) meet with Cersei in regards to their fleet and horses that made it only disappointing Cersei when told they couldn’t bring elephants. Cersei welcomes Captain Strickland and his men to stay in Kingdom as they fight for her. Euron asks Cersei if they could talk in private regarding the deal they made to which Cersei tells him, “You want a whore? Buy one. You want a Queen? Earn her.” Before walking away they exchange a few more words and then she ultimately allows Euron to follow her. Qyburn comes to Bronn (Jerome Flynn) with news of what Cersei wants him to do to Jaime (Nikolaj Coster-Waldau) should they service the war and hands him a cross bow.

Back on the boat arrows are being thrown as Theon (Alfie Allen) comes to Yara’s rescue. Yara tries to convince Theon to go home where the dead can’t reach them but knows he wants to go fight with Daenerys and the people of Winterfell. At Winterfell we see Tyrion, Davos (Liam Cunningham) and Lord Varys (Conleth Hill) discuss the relationship between Jon and Daenerys. Davos proposes a proposal between Jon and Daenerys telling the other two, “If we survive the Night King, what if the Seven Kingdoms for once in their history were ruled by a just woman and an honorable man?” Lord Varys tells Davos and Tyrion that the young keep them at a distance so they don’t learn the truth which is nothing lasts. Meanwhile, Jon and Daenerys talks about how Sansa doesn’t respect her and before they can continue with their talk two of Daenerys’ men come riding up informing her that the dragons are barely eating. She and Jon go to the dragons where she tells him that they don’t like the North and they end up taking a ride through Winterfell only to stop by a waterfall and share an intimate moment..

Arya brings a sword design to Gendry (Joe Dempsie). As they talk she hands him the piece she wants the blade to be attached to. He tells her that he knew she was another one of the rich girls to which she replies that he doesn’t know any other rich girls and walks away, but not without a teasing look. Sansa is reading a message that she received from one of their people telling them that he wasn’t coming to their aid. This leads them into an argument over Daenerys and Jon abandoning his crown for her. He asks if she has any faith in him to which she responds that he knows she does. He tells her that Daenerys will be a good queen and that she is not like her father. Sansa states that she is much prettier than her father and then asks if Jon bent the knee for the North or because he loves her.

Daenerys meets Samwell (John Bradley) who seems shocked to see her there. She talks to him with great pride about the events that happened and tells Sam that he should be rewarded. He tells her that he could use a pardon and then proceeds to explain what he had done. When he mentions his father Daenerys is quick to change her demeanor and informs him that his father and brother refused her offer to keep their land and bend the knee which ultimately caused for their deaths. Sam is shocked to hear the news and thanks her for being honest. He then excuses himself. He runs into Bran who tells him that it’s time to tell Jon the truth about who he is and that he will listen to Sam over him. Jon is in the tunnels when he hears a noise and discovers Sam. Sam, still upset about what Daenerys did, has no problem telling Jon the truth about who he really is. Jo,n who is having troubles processing it, fights the truth before ultimately standing stunned in front of Sam. Tormund (Kristofer Hivju) and his men find a boy on the wall dead with a symbol surrounding him. They know just by looking at him that it’s a sign. Jaime arrives in Winterfell and finds himself face to face with Bran.