Psychotic seadog Euron does a stand-up job in the first few episodes, but quickly disappears. While the show does an excellent job of blurring the lines between the ‘good and bad’ Houses, it leaves us without a true, standout villain like Ramsay Bolton or Joffrey.
One of season 7’s greatest flaws is its lack of a decent villain. To a lesser extent, Theon is on the same journey, and his attempt to rescue his sister Yara is likely to be one of the most touching and tragic plotlines of the finale. In fact, Jaime may very well be the most interesting character in the whole show right now, as his redemption from arrogant, child-crippling Kingslayer to decent, do-the-right thing human being looks to conclude itself in season 8. It’s great seeing these two relationships as mirrored opposites, and the end of episode 7 where Jaime leaves King’s Landing as his sister’s enemy, perfectly coincides with Jon and Dany climbing into bed together. In amongst it all, the romance between Dany and Jon, and the breakdown of Jaime and Cersei are perhaps the strongest, most compelling parts of season 7’s story. While her interactions with Jon and Arya are very watchable, they’re unlikely to be the scenes you remember when the show has wrapped up. Sansa, meanwhile, has clearly developed into a stoic and worthy ruler of Winterfell but - and it pains me to say this - she has always been more interesting as one of the show’s victims. Tyrion is undermined as a savvy strategist by his military failings, and his inability to make Dany truly listen to his advice, and his title as King of the One-Liners is similarly called into question by the fact that loads of other characters get to reel off tiny, amusing nuggets of wisdom because they don’t have time for proper conversations. Oddly, some major characters like Tyrion and Sansa feel as if they’re in a holding pattern. Jon Snow might think there's only one war, but, if this ominous trailer suggests anything, it's that he'll be fighting a few different battles next week.13 questions we have after watching Game of Thrones season 7 These parties have a tendency of ending in a brutal, bloody fashion. If last year's explosion-filled finale taught us anything, it's that we should never bet against Cersei Lannister, especially when it comes to ceremonial gatherings of leaders. The dragonpit is also an ideal location for some betrayal. (Though, it's worth pointing out that we don't see Dany in this clip - just a now recovered Jon Snow saying, "There is only one war that matters and it is here.") As the Game of Thrones Wikia notes, it was "destroyed during the civil war known as the Dance of the Dragons, 170 years before the War of the Five Kings." With no more dragons around, it hasn't exactly been a major infrastructure project for more recent leaders and it's one part of King's Landing that the show hasn't shown us. No, it's the dragonpit where House Targaryen would store their winged beasts back in the day, making it the perfect, history-rich location for Queen Cersei to stage a negotiation with Daenerys, the Mother of Dragons herself.
That's not just an ordinary ruin-like structure that Cersei is organizing her not-at-all-nefarious get-together at. Theon to the rescue? The Dothraki?Īnd, oh, yeah, there's a dragonpit. There will be a bunch of ships, if you're into that. We'll also finally get to see how Grey Worm's life has been going since he had sex, sailed off to Casterly Rock, then wound up in a trap set by Euron Greyjoy.
What exactly is this new trailer teasing? Well, for one thing we know Sansa will be feeling moody and isolated, staring out at Winterfell in one of her many coats while she decides how to deal with her sister and that bag of face-masks. Weiss have had their foot on the gas for all of Season 7 - much to the occasional frustration of continuity and map obsessed fans - and it's unlikely they'll be slowing down for an episode of quiet character beats any time soon. Of course, this is unlikely, and if the trailer HBO just released is any indication, the finale is going to be as crammed with conflicts, schemes, and bloodshed as the previous six hours of television. Maybe the 81-minute finale will mostly consist of Dany and Jon getting to know each other on that boat? Something low-key. After six episodes filled with scorched-earth dragon battles, wild revelations, and hints of romance, we could all use a breather. The second to last Game of Thrones Season 7 episode was so action-packed that we'd understand if you wanted the finale to be a little more reflective.