The Women of Winterfell

Can we just ignore the many momentous things that happened in “Spoils of War” and talk for a moment about that beautiful scene at Winterfell?

I don’t even mean the reunion in the crypts …

I mean Brienne and Arya sparring while Sansa watches on. Both Brienne and Arya had always suffered for not being appreciated for being true fighters. Seeing the two of them have a friendly duel and exchange a smile at the end was an absolute delight.

I appreciated the look of amazement on Podrick’s face and the glare both Brienne and Arya gave Littlefinger as he looked on. They’re not too fond of him.

It’s a delightful happy little scene (rewatch it here). It harks back to the days when Winterfell was a training ground for Arya’s brothers.

On a different note, I strongly suspect that Littlefinger’s offer to serve Bran ‘in any way possible’ was a veiled suggestion that Littlefinger would be happy to kill Jon Snow if Bran asked for it. But Bran is not interested in worldly matters anymore (to the extent that he almost behaves like a cyborg) and he doesn’t work within the framework of Littlefinger’s calculations . Though Littlefinger is an incredibly astute player, he is not at King’s Landing anymore, and the motivations that drive many of the Northmen (loyalty, frienship…etc) appear to be somewhat beyond his understanding. I worry he might start scheming something with Cersei if Jon Snow grows too strong.

Lannister Family Drama

I have always been worried about the family tragedy potential between Jaime and Tyrion. Those two still truly love each other (see The Daily Telegraph for ahistory of their TV series friendship), despite Cersei and Tywin doing their best to separate them, and Tyrion was distraught to see Jaime riding towards certain death.

I am not sure what Jaime would have done if he had seen Tyrion as Daenerys’s side. Would he still stand by his sister?

But as he is the man who is best known for murdering Daenerys’s father, I don’t really see there being a happy ending for Jaime, even if he survives his fully armed swim in the lake.This episode has confirmed my Lannister family fears, and I feel truly sorry for both Tyrion and Jaime.

 

That Poor Dragon…

I also feel sorry for both Drogon the dragon and Bronn – to see two of my favourite characters pitted against each other like that was heartwrenching. I hope Drogon recovers from his wound quickly…. Could Daenerys please work on training her other dragons, so she doesn’t present all archers with a single target? I would prefer them to be distracted by three different targets zooming at them from all directions. I have serious dragon safety concerns.

Though Tyrion was somewhat saddened to see his family’s bannermen burn (Ed Sheeran’s character presumably among them?) in the Game of Thrones the Lannisters are currently trying to occupy a throne that doesn’t really belong to them – all of Ceresei’s claim to the throne was through a regency for her children, but they’re all gone now and she still wants to rule. Tough luck. Her bannermen are not going to have a good time. The Targaryen dynasty is back. Fire and Blood are their words.

 

Image credits: http://www.telegraph.co.uk/tv/0/tyrion-vs-jaime-history-game-thrones-lannister-brothers-relationship/

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/tv/0/game-thrones-drogon-fears-easily-can-dragons-killed-could/

The Brienne and Arya image was created by me using screenshots from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9bI6h_9K4s0