What’s on TV: The Battle Continues in Game of Thrones Season 7

After months of anticipation Game of Thrones is finally back into the battle for control of Westeros.  The early episodes are full of tension and suspense but has the jockeying for position given us any clues as to who will take to the Iron Throne?  Who is making strong alliances and who will fall short?  It is fascinating.

In the capital Kings Landing, Queen Cersei Lannister is running scared.  Brother Jaime is by her side but all is not rosy in House Lannister.  Her tyrannical reign has left her desperately seeking allies and more importantly, allies she can trust.   Cersei is used to ruling through fear and domination and Jaime struggles to get her to accept the situation they are in.  She dismisses the threat of Daenerys Targaryen and her dragons, not to mention Jon Snow in the North.

Finally responding to Jaime’s pleading, she assembles lords sympathetic to her cause.  These include Euron, recently installed as King of the Iron Islands.  He immediately sets out his own plans which include marriage to Cersei.  She declines, saying she cannot trust him.  At this, he storms out, promising to return with a “gift” for the queen.

While this is unfolding in Kings Landing, Daenerys has arrived at Dragonstone in the east of Westeros.  The castle, once occupied by Stannis Baratheon, lies idle and Daenerys quickly makes it her own.  Supremely confident, the “Mother of Dragons” has Tyrion Lannister by her side, as well as some trusted lieutenants.  Headstrong, she sends the fleet of Yara Greyjoy, along with the warriors of Dorne, to besiege Kings Landing.  At the same time, her loyal army is sent to Casterley Rock, ancestral home of House Lannister, to take the castle.  Daenerys is completely focused on becoming Queen of Westeros.  Everything she has touched so far has turned to gold but she must now learn to take counsel from those with knowledge to impart.  There are encouraging signs, particularly when she listens to the wisdom of Tyrion but there is a long way to go.

Fight for Westeros

Far away, in the land where winter has arrived, sits the reluctant King of the North, Jon Snow.  He too faces a battle to gain and keep allies.  Families that have previously opposed him and House Stark are asked to plant their banners behind his.  This causes friction, including from the most loyal places as Sansa speaks out against some of Jon’s decisions.  One of these is to meet Daenerys in person to discuss a possible alliance.

Jon knows that together they could topple Cersei.  He should also know that Daenerys will not budge in her quest to rule Westeros and would not relinquish the throne once she had it.  Sansa senses this and advises against the meeting but Jon sets off anyway.  This leaves Sansa on her own with the man who professes undying love for her but is surely one of the most deceitful and untrustworthy characters in all of Westeros.  Petyr “Littlefinger” Baelish worships the ground Sansa walks on and yet his sly nature and love of intrigue means he has to be watched.  All the time.

As always with Game of Thrones, there are crucial characters hovering in the background.  Tyrion provides wise counsel to Daenerys and seems to have left behind his drinking and womanising.  Young Samwell Tarly, now an apprentice Maester, is helping Jon Snow from afar, particularly when he discovers a potential reservoir of dragonglass at Dragonstone.  That is the main reason for Jon’s trip to meet Daenerys and it remains to be seen if he will be successful.

The tension is building brilliantly.  There have been some brief and brutal battles, and some poignant moments.  If you want to see how a eunuch unsullied soldier consumates a relationship then watch episode two!  Game of Thrones is a soaring epic that sucks the viewers in, refusing to spit them out.  Daenerys seems to be in the strongest position but her unshakeable faith in her own way of doing things may well lead to her downfall.  Roll on the rest of the series!

 

Game of Thrones – Sky Atlantic, Mondays

 

by Ian Hine

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