GoT S7E2 Recap — That’s Not You

Samit Sheth
Jul 27, 2017 · 11 min read
“Possibly something a bit more… poetic?”

Hello! 62 episodes down, 11 to go. This is a recap for Season 7 Episode 2 of Game of Thrones, “Stormborn.”

Disclaimer: I try and write the majority of these before taking in any other recaps/reviews, though some things in here I either heard from friends or saw on twitter. I’ll call those out when they come up. I will make some predictions though, so beware! Also, I’ll keep the “Next On…” trailer stuff in the last section for those of you who avoid the previews/trailers. One thing I’ve noticed is images & GIFs may not load properly on mobile, so if possible I recommend reading these on desktop. If you like it and/or have thoughts, feel free to recommend it (❤ it) at the bottom and share like crazy!


Preliminary/Broad Episode Thoughts

  • Man this was exciting. Several of our favorite characters seem to be advancing rapidly towards their endgame.
  • There were more callbacks to scenes from early seasons within “Stormborn” than in any episode I can remember. I’ll highlight many of them below.
  • This had a little bit of everything that people love about GoT: payoffs to long-held fan theories & open questions, subtle winks to the book readers/analyzers, sex, & an action sequence for the surface-level fans.
  • The theme that ran through this episode to me (and my GoT Godsister Palak, h/t) was identity, and specifically, head faking away from your identity before barreling back towards your true north.
  • In (maybe) exciting news, George RR Martin says “The Winds of Winter” could come out in 2018 (!), along with “Fire and Blood”, a history of the Targaryen family.

Dragonstone — Daenerys Targaryen, Tyrion Lannister, Varys, Melisandre, Missandei, Grey Worm, Lady Olenna Tyrell, Yara Greyjoy, Theon Greyjoy, Ellaria Sand

“The lords of Westeros are sheep. Are you a sheep? No. You’re a dragon. Be a dragon.” — Lady Olenna Tyrell

“The Unsullied will sail for the rock, and take it.”
  • The show opens with a callback to events 17 years before the show ever began, a storm on Dragonstone similar to the one that gave Daenerys Stormborn that moniker.
  • Tyrion and Dany affirm that she’s “not here to be Queen of the ashes.” This calls back to season 2, when she had this vision:
  • Finally some tension between “allies.” Varys is on #TeamDany even though he sent an assassin after her in Season 1? Also, Tyrion and Ellaria are on the same small council even though Ellaria murdered Myrcella and Tyrion’s family is responsible for Oberyn & Elia Martell’s deaths? With the limited screen time they have remaining, I’m glad the showrunners didn’t gloss over these relationships.
  • Dany shows a hint of Targaryen madness, threatening to burn Varys alive if he betrays her, though he holds her off with a brilliant & genuine defense of his actions and an explanation of his allegiance to the realm.
  • “Incompetence shouldn’t be rewarded with blind loyalty.” — Varys. Someone tell these guys.
  • Melisandre is back on Dragonstone, where she was burning bodies at the beginning of S2. This time underlining the Azor Ahai, Prince Who Was Promised prophecy. She originally thought this was Stannis Baratheon, then was convinced it was Jon Snow after she successfully resurrected him. Now, with more humility, she is wondering aloud what role Dany has within this prophecy.
  • This gets even more interesting when Missandei, all-star translator, corrects both Melisandre and Dany’s High Valyrian. “That noun has no gender in High Valyrian, so the proper translation for that prophecy is the prince, or princess, who was promised will bring the dawn.
  • Part of the prophecy is that the prince/princess who was promised will be born under a bleeding star. Dany was reborn in Khal Drogo’s pyre under the red comet at the end of S1. Jon was born on a bed under the bleeding sword “Dawn”, forged from a fallen meteorite at the beginning of S2…
  • Dany head fakes away from her identity as a conqueror, a dragon, and opts for Tyrion’s more prudent siege strategy* before Olenna reminds her who she is. Let’s see how Euron’s attack affects that strategy.
  • “I liked Jon Snow. I trusted him. And I am an excellent judge of character.” — Tyrion. He’s mostly correct, but he has made some missteps (Shae, the slavers). I wonder if this quote will come back to bite him if there’s a traitor in their midst.
  • Tyrion has wanted Casterly Rock his entire life. We could see him take it as soon as next week.
  • Missandei and Grey Worm are wonderful and really good looking and, yeah… about damn time. Good for both of ’em. I hope it’s not their last encounter.

*This strategy has sound logic, and he is spot on about Cersei stirring nationalism within the Westerosi nobles, but is it also Tyrion wanting to spare his brother from a fatal attack? I’ll be looking out for Jaime’s line to Bronn in S5 on a “Previously On…” — “He murdered my father. If I ever see him again I’ll split him in two.”


Winterfell — Jon Snow, Sansa Stark, Ser Davos, Littlefinger, Lyanna Mormont, Yohn Royce, Brienne

“You’re abandoning your people. You’re abandoning your home!” — Sansa Stark
“I’m leaving both in good hands.” — Jon Snow
“Whose?!” — Sansa Stark
“Yours.” — Jon Snow

  • Ser Davos once again is all of us in pointing out the obvious: “Hey Jon… those dragons would be pprrreeetttyyy useful in the fight against the army of the Dead.
  • Jon originally seems to agree with Davos & Sansa that it is too dangerous to go to Dragonstone himself, but Sam’s letter regarding the dragonglass persuades him otherwise.
  • “You’re the only Stark left in Winterfell.” — Jon to Sansa… not for long I hope! Arya and Bran are both potentially on their way.
  • Queen in the North!
  • Jon & Davos on the road together continues the tradition of excellent traveling duos in Game of Thrones.

King’s Landing — Cersei Lannister, Jaime Lannister, Qyburn, Randyll Tarly

“In Essos, her brutality is already legendary. She crucified hundreds of noblemen in Slaver’s Bay. And when she grew bored of that, she fed them to her dragons.” — Cersei Lannister

  • Cersei Trump effectively stoking fear and xenophobia against foreign savages and eunuchs, exactly as Tyrion planned for.
  • Randyll Tarly, a fearsome military commander and a xenophobe, seems to be particularly susceptible to this type of foreigner fear-based propaganda. #TeamCersei is evening the once overwhelming odds against #TeamDany in dramatic fashion through this episode.
  • Jaime attempts to solidify Randyll’s allegiance to Cersei and the throne, by offering Randyll the title of “Warden of the South” after the Tyrells are defeated. Knowing the Tarlys are proud oathkeepers, Jaime resurrects an old argument:
  • That Dragonbow will absolutely take down a dragon, maybe sooner than later. In Meereen, we saw Drogon get wounded from spears the Sons of the Harpy were throwing. Will a dragon die in the presence of the Night King? Are we going to see an Ice Dragon?
A creature of fiery ice

The Citadel (Oldtown) — Archmaester Ebrose, Samwell Tarly, Ser Jorah Mormont

“You are not dying today, Ser Jorah.” — Samwell Tarly

Mmm, pot pie. (Everyone noticed this transition, but you may have missed the equally clever one between Dragonstone [Missandei / Grey Worm] & The Citadel)
  • There is some heavy-handed allusion to a long-held fan theory here, as Archmaester Ebrose is writing “A Chronicle of the Wars Following the Death of King Robert I”. This is, essentially, the show that we’ve been watching since 2011. Sam thinks it needs a more poetic name… “A Song of Ice and Fire” perhaps?
  • My guess is, although it may never get confirmed, Ebrose dies before finishing this story and Sam writes it as GRRM within his own world. This would be an an obvious homage to Tolkien, the father of modern high fantasy.
  • Jorah is in the midst of writing a suicide note to Dany, when Sam shows up with an offer to cure the greyscale. The first part of this “cure” seems excruciating, but I’m down for whatever keeps Jorah on the show.
  • Sam tells Jorah “you are not dying today,” as Jorah’s father Jeor once told Sam I forbid you to die. (h/t Nerds of Westeros)
  • Prediction: Jorah eventually takes Heartsbane with Sam’s permission, and uses it in the war against the White Walkers to save Dany once again before finally dying.
  • ^Interestingly, if he does take Heartsbane, look at how many ancestral Valyrian steel swords will belong to other families: Jon Snow has Longclaw, the Mormont sword. Brienne & (it seems) Jaime have Oathkeeper and Widow’s Wail, the two pieces of Ice, the Stark sword. Jorah will have Heartsbane, the Tarly sword.

The Inn at the Crossroads — Arya Stark, Hot Pie, Nymeria(!)

“That’s not you.” — Arya Stark

  • Arya has a strangely emotionless interaction with her long lost friend Hot Pie, though she does drop a great line about having baked one or two pies.
  • Hot Pie drops the bombshell on Arya that Jon is alive, has won the Battle of the Bastards, and is the King of the North in Winterfell. Arya’s bond with Jon is unlike hers with anyone else in the world, and she resolves to go to Winterfell. Jon, of course, is about to leave for Dragonstone, because D&D and GRRM love to give us near-miss meet-ups between characters we desperately want to see reunited. Please let them come together at some point!
  • Though she may not run into Jon, I wonder if she’ll run into Beric, Thoros, and the Hound. They’re traveling in the same direction.
  • As we learn from the “Inside the Episode,” Arya’s “that’s not you” callback signifies that she understands Nymeria is no longer her domesticated direwolf. Similarly, Arya is no longer the rebellious Stark tomboy she once was. They’re both forces of nature now, capable of great destruction, and perhaps more. The question is did this interaction cause her to change her mind about going back to Winterfell. I’m hoping not, as the more Stark reunions we get, the better.
  • The direwolves, their names, and their connection to the Starks & their storylines is really fascinating:
Left to right: Robb / Grey Wind || Jon / Ghost || Sansa / Lady || Arya / Nymeria || Bran / Summer || Rickon / Shaggydog
  • Robb & Grey Wind — Failing to keep his word, and attempting to straddle the conflicting mandates of leading his army at war and following his heart, Robb was stuck floating in a gray area and died accordingly.
  • Jon & Ghost — Being stabbed to death before fulfilling his life’s purpose, Jon is resurrected to life.
  • Sansa & Lady — Sansa’s young dreams of being a lady in a noble house with children and servants died young, as did her direwolf.
  • Arya & Nymeria — Arya’s direwolf is named after a warrior queen who led refugees from Essos into Westeros and discovered a new land, Dorne. Arya is certainly a formidable warrior, could this be a hint as to Arya’s endgame?
  • Bran & Summer — Is there a more powerful or integral weapon in the war against the White Walkers and the winter that comes with them than Bran?
  • Rickon & Shaggydog — Maybe the most spot on example, check out this definition of a “shaggydog” storyline from google:
No further explanation needed

Blackwater Bay — Obara Sand, Nymeria Sand, Tyene Sand, Ellaria Sand, Yara Greyjoy, Theon Greyjoy, Euron Greyjoy

“He’ll be my advisor. My protector.” — Yara Greyjoy, about Theon

  • Yara and Ellaria could’ve been a lesbian power couple.
  • Obara and Nymeria Sand (yes, also named after the same warrior queen), both manage to repeatedly pierce Euron with their weapons before he finishes them off. Knowing what we know about the Sand Snakes and poison, could Euron’s days be numbered?
  • Theon head fakes towards being Ironborn and his sister’s protector, but ultimately recoils and flees into the water.
  • Euron has now captured Cersei’s gift. Ellaria Sand and Tyene Sand, along with Yara Greyjoy. Tyene was the only one of the Sand Snakes who was actually Ellaria’s daughter. I shudder to think at what Cersei will do to Tyene in front of Ellaria as retribution for Myrcella’s murder. But I don’t think Tyene & Bronn will have the happy ending no one was hoping for.
  • Euron’s maniacal laughter was pretty terrifying. The heir apparent to Ramsay, I’m sure we’ve only seen the tip of the iceberg of his depravity.

Lingering Thoughts / Questions / Predictions, “Next On…”

  • Could Gendry possibly show up and rescue Theon? We literally last saw him 4 years ago rowing away from Dragonstone, right around where Theon now lies. What role may he still have?
  • What’s left of Dany’s fleet? This is certainly a blow but will it change anything?
  • For those of you who have seen the season-long trailer with Sansa saying “the lone wolf dies… but the pack survives,” any further idea as to what to the context of that line will be? Will Arya show up in Winterfell? Will Bran? How much of the Stark pack will survive?
  • Episode 3, “The Queen’s Justice” — Daenerys holds court; Cersei returns a gift; Jaime learns from his mistakes. Sneak Peek E3 Trailer
  • Will Jon bend the knee? What’s Davos going to do when he sees Melisandre back at Dragonstone? Will Tyrion take Casterly Rock? Will Tyrion have to face either Bronn or Jaime? I can’t wait.

I am the storm,

Sam

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