A Song of Ice and Hot Takes
Scene by Scene Analysis of GoT Season 7.02 “Stormborn”
It’s Like, What’s Your Deal, Man?

Episode two starts with both a literal storm outside the walls of Dragonstone and a figurative one within those walls. Dany is speaking to Lord Varys for the first time in the history of the show. You probably forget that when Varys arrived at Meereen, Dany was in Vaes Dothrak being held captive by the Dothraki, and when she finally returned to Meereen last season, Varys was in Dorne negotiating with the Sandsnakes and Tyrells. So this was really the first chance Daenerys had to ask Varys about, y’know, him trying to have her killed and all.
Long story short Varys says he won’t ever offer blind loyalty to any King or Queen and will use his eyes as long as he has them to keep power in check. He claims that his true loyalty is with “the people” not with the noble high born elite. He’s kinda acting like the Bernie Sanders of Westeros: man of the people who likes being independent as opposed to pledging blind loyalty to a party.
Varys remains one of the most interesting maybe the most perplexing character in the entire show because unlike literally every other character in the show, we don’t really know what he wants. What is his goal in all of this? Why is this eunuch from Lys (a free city in Essos) so invested in the politics of this foreign country? Why does he care so much about the common people that live on a continent he wasn’t even born on? Unless you believe that Varys is sincere in his altruistic devotion to the everyman, you have to think that there’s a big secret regarding this character that we have yet to discover. Could it be that he shaves his head to hide his silvery Targaryen locks? I can’t help but think that he has to have a motive, and this scene did a good job of using Daenerys and her feelings of distrust to express the general feeling of the viewer at this point… WHAT’S YOUR DEAL, MAN?
The Prince That Was Promised

I would argue that this was one of the most important scenes we’ve seen in the entire series to this point. It’s the true start to the convergence of the show’s pivotal plot lines. It’s the first time we hear Daenerys and Lord Varys mention the name “Jon Snow,” and it’s the first time we hear mention of the possibility that both Jon and Dany could together be the fulfillers of the ancient prophecy of a “Prince that was promised.” This prophecy will be talked about in greater detail later on this week in a mega-take I’ve been working on for a while now, but in short the prophecy says that a prince or princess will show up and essentially save humanity from a darkness that threatens to overtake it. It is said in the books that this prince will have a song and that song will be the song of ice and fire.
Jon gets some valuable character references from both Melisandre and Tyrion as soon as he’s mentioned, leading Dany to half-jokingly say that “this Jon Snow sounds like quite a man.” What Melisandre conveniently leaves out is the part about Jon being killed and resurrected at her own hands, (way to bury the lead there Mel) but she probably does this purposefully, since it’s raining really hard outside and she doesn’t want them all to think she’s a lunatic and throw her out of the castle. Bitch needs a place to crash. Odds are this will come up when Jon comes down for his visit and Dany makes him “bend the knee.” But could it be that when Daenerys says he’ll have to “bend the knee” she doesn’t mean he’ll have to swear allegiance to her as Queen? Could “bend the knee” in this occasion mean get married? If you’ll remember, in the season 6 finale she told Daario Naharis that he had to stay behind in Meereen because Dany was probably going to have to marry someone for political gain. Could Jon and the North be the dowry she seeks? Who else really is there for Dany that could prove to be as significant an ally?
The big questions regarding this theory are: will they ever find out that Daenerys is actually Jon’s aunt? Will that matter to either of them or will they still fuck? Will Jon Snow go to Jared? Does Jared The Galleria of Jewelry even exist within the Song of Ice and Fire universe?
“All Dwarves Are Bastards”

Jon receives a raven at Winterfell from Tyrion Lannister, who Jon had a real fondness for. If you remember, Tyrion accompanied Jon from Winterfell to the Wall when Jon was first riding up to join the Night’s Watch. As Jon said, Tyrion was the only person that was ever honest with him about what the Night’s Watch was like. Tyrion and Jon struck up a friendship, in many ways because of how similar they were, both being outcasts of great Westerosi families.
Tyrion finishes his note to the King in the North by referencing the first conversation he and Jon ever had: “All dwarves are bastards in their father’s eyes.”

This line is of significance for a number of reasons: it proves to Jon that it really is Tyrion writing the letter, it reminds Jon of the kinship and trust the two built when they rode together and got to know one another, but more importantly it is representative of the connective tissue that ties Jon, Tyrion and Daenerys to one another.
All three of them were outcasts amongst their families, not just Jon and Tyrion. Dany was the youngest daughter of the Mad King, she never met her father in the same way Jon never really met his. She was exiled from her home as a child, and as Varys mentions in the opening scene of this episode, “until your marriage to Khal Drogo I knew nothing about you, save your existence.” She was an afterthought. She was never the crown jewel of the family, Viserys was the one raised to rule in the same way Jaime and Cersei were and in the same way Robb and Sansa were. All three of these heroes, Jon, Tyrion and Daenerys killed their mothers during child birth. They are all bastards. And if my theory about Tyrion actually being a Targaryen bastard is true then not one of these three ever knew either of their parents.
They are three orphans who came to rule not because of their names, but despite them. Jon is a “Snow” not a “Stark” but was annointed King because of his actions. Tyrion has come to rule as Hand of the Queen despite being a Lannister, and Daenerys took over Meereen and built her army of the unsullied and Dothraki not because she’s a Targaryen, but because she had dragons and freed the slaves. In fact being a Targaryen has done nothing for her in life but put a target on her back.
This note reminded Jon that he can trust Tyrion because he and Tyrion are of the same breed. And the fact that Tyrion trusts Dany signifies that they are of the same breed as well. These are our unlikely heroes, our three heads of the dragon.
This Scene Made No Sense

You’ll rarely see me totally badmouth a scene or plot line in this show, and I’m not one to get hung up on plot holes and continuity errors because the scope of this series is just so huge, but this scene in which Samwell Tarly’s dad, Randyll Tarly and the other Lords of the Reach are being courted by Cersei and Jaime was just too strange to even comprehend.
Randyll Tarly and the other Lords present at this meeting were all sworn bannermen of House Tyrell, in the same way the Mormonts are sworn bannermen of House Stark.
Do these Lords not know that Cersei was the one who blew up the Sept of Baelor killing their Lord Mace Tyrell and all his heirs? They should be in total and unequivocal revolt of the crown, not taking meetings with them when called upon. The fact that Randyll Tarly, a man said to be stern but also a noble man who takes his vows seriously, would even think about betraying his vows and teaming up with the people who brutally murdered the Lord he was sworn to protect and fight beside is absurd.
There is one interesting irony within this scene however, and that is that Cersei is using the Mad King and Daenerys’ similarities to him to threaten and scare the Lords of the Reach into joining her. The irony being that she is actually the one who bears far more resemblance to the Mad King. Cersei is slowly deteriorating into the “Mad Queen,” killing all those around her with Wildfire, so the fact that she is using the Mad King’s legacy as a weapon against Daenerys is all the more interesting.
After Cersei is done with the Lords, Jaime asks for a word with Randyll Tarly to try and sway him to join their cause. My issue here is that everything Jaime is trying to entice Randyll Tarly with, like being the new Warden of the South and Ruler of the Reach, could and probably would be offered to Lord Tarly by Daenerys if he were to fight alongside her. The Tyrell’s and Martell’s are essentially extinct houses at this point, so the Tarly’s are the most powerful family south of King’s Landing no matter which side they choose to fight on.
SIDENOTE: Why would Randyll Tarly not once in all the time Sam’s been at the Citadel ride to Oldtown to get his precious Valyrian steel sword back? This whole Randyll Tarly sub-plot feels very hamfisted.
“Do You Know Who My Father Is?”

No, Jorah doesn’t actually say that, but it’s his family name that does perk Sam’s interest when Jorah mentions that he’s a Mormont. Sam of course served in the Night’s Watch when Jorah’s daddy Jeor was Lord Commander, and Sam was with Jeor North of the Wall when he was murdered at Craster’s Keep. Long story short, Sam respects the Mormonts and probably feels a sense of duty and responsibility when he hears Jorah’s name. Jeor was a good man to both Jon and Sam and it’s now Sam’s time to repay that courtesy.
The Archmaester tells Jorah that he should think about killing himself tonight, without really telling Jorah, but we can see in Sam’s face that he refuses to let another Mormont die on his watch. To be continued in a few scenes…
These Fucking Fucks

Qyburn and Cersei mention to Randyll Tarly that they’re working on a plan to defeat Dany’s dragons, and now in the cellars of the Red Keep we see what it is they’ve been up to and compared to their past schemes like bringing the Mountain back from the dead as a zombie assassin and blowing up the city with Wildfire, this plan seems a bit benign.
Qyburn shows Cersei the giant crossbow-on-steroids he’s been working on demonstrates its power by having Cersei shoot it at the skull of “Balereon the Dread,” the Dragon that Aegon The Conqueror rode to Westeros some 300 years ago from Dragonstone when he first conquered and united the Seven Kingdoms. Suffice it to say there’s a lot of heavy handed symbolism in Cersei testing this weapon out on that skull in particular.
One interesting line from this scene is when Qyburn explains to Cersei that if a “dragon can be injured, it can be killed.” So much of the story that’s prevalent right now is about life and death in the literal sense: we have an army of the dead fighting an army of the living, we have Jon Snow and Beric Dondarrion being resurrected by fire, Benjen Stark being half dead but resurrected by ice, The Mountain being brought back to life by some dark magic, and so on. The line between life and death is a very blurry one at this point in the show, so to say so matter of factly that if something can be injured it can be killed seems to be missing the point a bit. They’re focused on fighting the living and bringing them death, when in fact they should be focused on the dead and protecting the living.
“He’s a Clever Man That Hand of Yours”

For the first time we see the leaders of Dany’s army in one room together: Tyrion Lannister, Olenna Tyrell, Varys, Ellaria Sand, Yara Greyjoy, Theon Greyjoy, Grey Worm, and Missandei. Naturally there is some bad blood in the room given Ellaria Sand murdered Tyrion’s innocent niece Myrcella and Olenna Tyrell murdered Tyrion’s nephew Joffrey and then framed Tyrion for it.
As the group is discussing their plan of attack we see a clear divide growing between the “haves” and “have nots.” When I say the “haves” I mean the people like Yara Greyjoy, Olenna Tyrell and Ellaria Sand who for all their lives have essentially ruled or been in power of major houses of Westeros. When I say the “have nots” I mean people like Tyrion and Daenerys who are the rejects of their houses, “all dwarves are bastards in their father’s eyes,” yadda yadda. The haves want to flex their muscle and torture their enemies. They want to take what’s theirs and fuck if they care what happens to the innocent people that get in the way. They lack the tact and the patience of people like Dany and Tyrion who have been waiting their entire lives to have this type of power.
Tyrion finally explains his plan to send the Unsullied to take Casterly Rock, which to many people watching makes no sense because Casterly Rock’s gold reserves are dwindling and the location of the castle itself serves no real strategic purpose. But what Tyrion knows is that war isn’t just about the battles in the field, it’s about the battles in the taverns and amongst the smallfolk who talk. If Cersei can’t be trusted to control and protect her ancestral home of Casterly Rock, how can she be trusted to control and protect all of the Seven Kingdoms. Tyrion knows that this will be the most crushing emotional and optical loss for Cersei and Jaime. It’ll be embarassing to them in the same way it was embarassing to Robb Stark when Theon took Winterfell. What kind of King or Queen can’t even control their home turf?
It’s also worth noting that as a child at Casterly Rock, Tyrion was put in charge of the sewage and drainage systems by his loving father. Why is this important? Because Tyrion is possibly the only person in the world who knows the ins and outs of the underground sewers in Casterly Rock. He knows the vulnerabilities of the castle beneath the ground and can use those vulnerabilities to sneak the Unsullied in undetected.
After the war council ends, Dany asks to speak with Lady Olenna alone. She tells Olenna that she will make Cersei pay for what she did to House Tyrell, to which Olenna abruptly changes the subject to Tyrion and how he’s clever but Dany shouldn’t listen to him. This could be Olenna simply trying to empower Dany to start thinking for herself and not relying too heavily on others, but it could also be the start of a smear campaign. She knows that if Tyrion discovers that she was the one who framed him for the murder of Joffrey and he has the ear of the Queen, well she’s probably fucked. Either way it’s a tactical move that closely emulates her old crime partner Littlefinger. Olenna is trying to drive a wedge between Dany and Tyrion in the same way Littlefinger is trying to drive a wedge between Jon and Sansa up north.
The Dickless Fuck Fest

This scene served very little purpose in the grand scheme of things, other than to show that even the fiercest of warriors have vulnerabilities. It’ll be interesting to see the Google Analytics regarding searches at 9:27pm on Sunday for: “Can you get an erection if you don’t have balls?” Also, for those interested the answer is a resounding YES!
“You Don’t Like the Title?”

“I‘m not writing ‘A Chronicle of the Wars Following the Death of King Robert the First’ so it can sit on the shelf unread… What? You don’t like the title? What would you call it then?” The Archmaester asks, to which Samwell Tarly replies: “Maybe something a bit more poetic?”
Something more poetic, like maybe “A Song of Ice and Fire”? This interaction made it clear to me that the books that makeup this series are meant to be chronicles written by Samwell Tarly of the “wars following the death of King Robert the First.” George R.R. Martin has said many times that “if he were in Game of Thrones, he’d probably be Samwell Tarly,” which could be his way of saying Samwell Tarly is the author of the books themselves.
After this informative banter, Sam tells the Archmaester that he read about a possible way to cure Jorah Mormont’s greyscale, but the Archmaester says it’s too risky and refuses to try it because it’s too dangerous…
But Sam Isn’t Scared

Sam sneaks into Jorah’s cell in the middle of the night as Jorah is writing a suicide note to Daenerys and tells him that he served Jorah’s father at Castle Black and refuses to let the only son of Jeor Mormont die tonight. Sam tells Jorah that he was with his father the night he died, and it is clear that this still haunts Sam. He has a debt of gratitude he needs to repay to Lord Commander Mormont, and I think in his mind curing his son would do just that.
Jorah and Sam also represent at this point the two most trusted and loved people of both Dany and Jon, which gives this scene all the more meaning as we look towards the future. Jorah and Sam will be connected for life if Sam can save Jorah’s life, and this could serve to be a useful friendship for Jon Snow if Jorah returns to Daenerys and can help convince her to turn her attention to the North.
Thank God For Hot Pie

He’s baaaaaaaccckkkk. And his pies are tastier than ever. Arya almost looks like a zombie for the first half of this scene as she talks to her old friend whom she hasn’t seen in years. She shows literally no emotion upon seeing him, doesn’t hug him, doesn’t say anything other than a monotone “Hi Hot Pie.” In this moment she is no one. She is a shell. She has no identity. She’s focused on her mission to the south in King’s Landing, and it’s not until Hot Pie tells her that her brother Jon Snow is King in the North and holds Winterfell that Arya perks up.
As soon as Hot Pie says that, Arya becomes human again. She becomes Arya Stark of Winterfell. Her identity comes rushing back to her. This “friend” from her past reminds her of who she is and it’s not until Hot Pie tells her “friend’s don’t pay” when Arya reaches for her coin purse that she realizes the value of her past. The value of having friends and family and people that love you and care for you. She’s been a lone wolf ever since her father was beheaded, and now she’s remembering the words of her father: “the lone wolf dies, but the pack survives.”
Arya leaves the inn and faces a literal crossroads. Does she go south to kill Cersei like she’d been planning to, or does she turn and head north, to her pack.

She turns and goes north, for “when the winter comes, the lone wolf dies and the pack survives”… And winter has come.
Jon Snow: Feminist

Jon receives a raven at Winterfell from Sam telling him about the mountain of Dragonglass that exists beneath Dragonstone. That combined with his invitation to Dragonstone from Tyrion and Dany is enough to get him to call a meeting of the Lords of the North and the Vale.
SIDENOTE: This is a major plot hole because how does Sam know Jon is at Wintefell? Does he know Jon died and was resurrected? When he gets to the Citadel in the finale of Season 6 he refers to Jon as the “Lord Commander of the Night’s Watch.” If he still thinks he’s the Lord Commander of the Night’s Watch why would he send his raven to Winterfell? Also, wouldn’t Davos have known about the Dragonglass on Dragonstone since he lived there for years with Stannis? I digress.
Jon tells the Lords of the North that he plans to accept this invitation to Dragonstone because they need both the Dragonglass and the allies that are on that island. Lord Royce from the Vale tells Jon that he’s making a mistake because “a Targaryen is not to be trusted” which is meant to be a bit of dramatic irony, because we the audience know that Jon himself is actually a Targaryen and all the men in that room trusted him enough to proclaim him King in the North.
Which leads to Jon explaining that he never asked to be King. It was bestowed upon him by the Lords of the North because of his valor and bravery on the field of battle. Jon earned the title of King like we discussed earlier. That is the difference between him and every other King in the North that has ever existed. They were born into that role. They became King in the North because of their names, while Jon became King despite of his. Sansa mentions what happened to their grandfather Rickard Stark when he rode south to bend a knee to a Targaryen King, and was then burned alive by the Mad King using Wildfire along with his son Brandon. But I can’t help but think that Jon thinks that he is going to face a different outcome than his grandfather Rickard (burned), “father” Ned (beheaded), and “brother” Robb (betrayed). Why? Because he isn’t a Stark. He’s Jon Snow (which I only noticed this episode resembles that of John Doe, the name given to people whose identities can’t be determined. Fucking George R.R. Martin.)
Jon hopefully buries the animosity between himself and Sansa by leaving the North in her control which she seems to be touched by. He is handing her an olive branch so to speak. He trusts Sansa, and all we can do is hope that this is the moment that she truly starts to trust him too.
He Choked a Bitch

This was the scene I was most looking forward to heading into the episode. Jon and Littlefinger have never spoken before, which Littlefinger makes note of, but these two have been central to so much of the action of the series. It is in many ways a mirror image of the Daenerys/Varys scene that began the episode.
Littlefinger begins the conversation by talking about none other than Ned Stark, the man he betrayed, the man whose death he essentially caused. He says to Jon that he loved Ned which is an absolute lie and one that Jon can clearly see through. Littlefinger is attempting to create an ally in Jon by reminding him of the fact that Jon would be dead if Littlefinger hadn’t come North with the Knights of the Vale. He wants Jon’s thanks and appreciation, but Jon can see through Littlefinger’s games. And while The Hound is likely riding to Winterfell where he’ll see Sansa, Jon is now heading to Dragonstone where he’ll see Tyrion. And both The Hound and Tyrion were witness to Littlefinger’s crimes against House Stark. His crimes that led to the death of Ned Stark.

Littlefinger must know that Jon is going to find out about this from Tyrion when he mentions to Jon: “Do give Lord Tyrion my best when you see him.” Littlefinger has to know that by even mentioning his name to Tyrion, Jon is likely to learn the whole truth, which means Littlefinger has some sort of plan in place to ensure that he and Jon Snow never meet again face to face. That or he’s being incredibly reckless, which doesn’t seem consistent with the Littlefinger we know and hate.
“That’s Not You”

On her way up North, Arya is reunited with her old direwolf Nymeria, who she released into the woods as a puppy after Nymeria bit Prince Joffrey on the arm. Since she last saw Nymeria, the direwolf has grown into the pack leader of a fearsome pack of wolves that roam the riverlands. At first it seems both Arya and Nymeria are confused as to whether the wolf/person they’re seeing is in fact their old friend, but as we see Nymeria’s expression change it becomes clear that she knows it is her old friend Arya.


Which added confusion to Arya’s line at the end, the line she utters to Nymeria as the direwolf turns and leads her pack away from the young girl. She says “that’s not you.” On the surface I thought that this line meant that both Arya and Nymeria had been away from each other for so long and had both changed in such incredible ways that neither of them could really, truly recognize the other. But after rewatching this scene it is clear they both recognize one another. Arya asks Nymeria to come with her to Winterfell, and “that’s not you” is a follow up to that request. Following a human pack leader isn’t what Nymeria is about anymore. She’s no longer a domesticated direwolf loyal to her human, she is the pack leader, loyal to her pack. That’s her, now.
The Storm Arrived

I don’t know how Euron Greyjoy knew exactly where Yara and Theon’s ships were sailing, but he did. It could be that he has a spy on the inside, or it could be that he has some sort of sorcery on his side that is reminiscent of Melisandre’s ability to see the future in the flames. The latter would fit very well with Euron’s character in the books who is known to be into very dark magic.
It seems that the gift Euron was deadset on bringing to Cersei wasn’t Tyrion’s head, but instead Ellaria Sand and the Sand Snakes, the culprits who murdered her innocent daughter Myrcella. My guess is that he’ll deliver the remaining living Sand Snakes to Cersei who will have them brutally tortured and/or murdered which will make sense of her line in the trailer for next week’s episode: “the war has begun, I drew the first blood.” My prediction is that Cersei will make Ellaria watch as she kills her only remaining daughter, similar to what the Mad King did to Sansa and Jon’s grandfather Rickard Stark prior to the start of Robert’s Rebellion (which Sansa coincidentally mentioned earlier in this episode). This would be yet more proof of Cersei’s transformation into the “Mad Queen.” She may even go so far as to use Wildfire to kill Ellaria and her daughter which would be yet another common thread between her and Aerys.
The most significant moment of this battle came at the end once it had become clear that the battle was lost for Theon and Yara.

Euron has captured Yara and holds his badass axe up to her throat. Theon watches, gears churning in his head. “What do I do? What do I do? What do I do?”

After seeing all the people being captured around him and tortured, Theon momentarily retreats back to his old identity “Reek.” You can see the transformation in his face.

He is Reek. He’s afraid of being held captive again, of being tortured mercilessly. At least that’s what we’re led to think when he drops his sword and jumps ship.

But it could also be that he simply knew he had no chance and was cutting his losses. He knew if he attacked Euron, Yara would be killed immediately. He cares for his sister and knows that the only way of keeping her alive is to forefit this battle, regroup and create a plan to rescue her.
This battle scene marks the first time we see Euron in full madman mode. He’s brutal and terrifying and kinda funny — he sort of reminds me of the Joker, a man who just wants to watch the world burn, which is truly the most terrifying type of villain.

I mean look at him, he’s laughing maniacally while killing his kin. And then once he’s done, he displays the dead Sand Snakes on his ship like trophies.

The Sand Snake who fought with a whip is being hung from the ship with her whip, while the Sand Snake who fought with a spear is impaled with said spear. This is meant to be a warning to any and all who dare stand in Euron’s way. He won’t just kill you, he’ll humiliate you and flaunt your dead body like a trophy.
