The Seven Blessings of 707

[Cron]

In Westeros, 7 is a good number.  A lucky number.  So Episode 7 of Season 7 should be equally good, and sure enough, I think, it was.

Which is good, since it is now going to have to hold us over for, I’ve heard, somewhere around 18 months or thereabouts.

So, with that in mind, and in honor of the 7, here are the 7 blessings, or 7 best moments, bestowed upon us by 707 in 2017:

7.            Long awaited reunions. Brienne and Sandor:  Been waiting a long time, and they delivered.  Also, Bronn and Tyrion.  Witty repartee, as per usual.

6.            The gathering at the Dragon Pit. Fantastic scene, probably the greatest gathering of characters in the history of the series

5.            The presentation of the wight.  He was scary, he was whacked out, and maybe, just maybe, that snippet made the entire Wight Hunt worth all the trouble.  Maybe.

4.            Tyrion’s meeting with Cersei.  A+  work by Peter and Lena.  Great, great stuff.

3.            Jon’s real name is revealed.  Aegon it is.  Not my first choice, but this has been the subject of much debate and speculation, and it’s a blessing to finally have the question answered.  Also noteworthy, in connection with this, Rhaegar makes his first appearance on-screen.

2.            Jaime leaves Cersei. This time for good???  Yeah, I think so. Next time Jaime sees her, he’s gonna cross her off, in my opinion.

And the NUMBER ONE blessing of 707 was…

1.            Three Starks gang up on Littlefinger and cross him off.  JUSTICE IS SERVED!!  For all the reasons recited by Sansa, in a sequence made possible by Bran, with Arya doing the deed.  So satisfying.

All told, I’d say those things made the episode a smashing success.  Personally, I gave it a “10.”  Hopefully you agree, and did NOT rate the episode a 7 (HAR!).

Tell me what your favorite moments were, and SEVEN BLESSINGS TO YOU!!!

[Bran's Tourney]

I'll add 7a...

theon's lack of balls saving him for once!

[Cron]

6 minutes ago, Bran's Tourney said:

I'll add 7a...

theon's lack of balls saving him for once!

Interesting.  I believe Theon will be fully redeemed by the end of the series, but frankly I have trouble drumming up sympathy for him, even now.

What he did at Winterfell was just horrendous.

Now, that does not mean I think he "deserved" what Ramsay did to him, but I don't feel sorry for Theon about the fact that he's been a coward far more often than not ever since..

[falcotron]

1 minute ago, Cron said:

Interesting.  I believe Theon will be fully redeemed by the end of the series, but frankly I have trouble drumming up sympathy for him, even now.

What he did at Winterfell was just horrendous.

Now, that does not mean I think he "deserved" what Ramsay did to him, but I don't feel sorry for Theon about the fact that he's been a coward far more often than not ever since..

I like where Jon's lecture to him is leading. My ideal story for Theon would be that he kills Euron, places Yara on the throne, doesn't die a heroic death in doing it, and then has to figure out what to do with the rest of his life. His redemption doesn't make up for everything he did, any more than his torture did. The Starks may still never forgive him, and he has no right to demand that they do. He has to come to terms with all of that, and he has no glorious purpose left to distract him. That would be a great ending to his arc.

[Bran's Tourney]

11 minutes ago, Cron said:

Interesting.  I believe Theon will be fully redeemed by the end of the series, but frankly I have trouble drumming up sympathy for him, even now.

I think you are right... his redemption will involve saving some Starks later down the line. Just like Jamie ...?

ps- My 7a wasn't really a blessing, more of a groaner, but I still enjoyed it. Good to know there are still plot loops that can be found. 

[Cron]

7 minutes ago, falcotron said:

I like where Jon's lecture to him is leading. My ideal story for Theon would be that he kills Euron, places Yara on the throne, doesn't die a heroic death in doing it, and then has to figure out what to do with the rest of his life. His redemption doesn't make up for everything he did, any more than his torture did. The Starks may still never forgive him, and he has no right to demand that they do. He has to come to terms with all of that, and he has no glorious purpose left to distract him. That would be a great ending to his arc.

Well, maybe Theon can continue to try to balance out the scales a little more, but I think he's still got a LONG way to go.

And it doesn't help that he's got the snivelling personality of a wet paper towel.

(Having said that Alfie Allen does a GREAT job playing him, and always has.  I could never imagine Theon any other way now.)

[Cron]

5 minutes ago, Bran's Tourney said:

I think you are right... his redemption will involve saving some Starks later down the line. Just like Jamie ...?

ps- My 7a wasn't really a blessing, more of a groaner, but I still enjoyed it. Good to know there are still plot loops that can be found. 

Yeah, that would help, if he continued to save more Starks directly, like he did with Sansa.

And oh, did I miss something in the show?  Did that guy hit Theon between the legs to no effect or something?  If so, I missed that, but now I get what you meant!

[falcotron]

2 minutes ago, Cron said:

Well, maybe Theon can continue to try to balance out the scales a little more, but I think he's still got a LONG way to go.

That's exactly why I'd like to see him not die, and spend the rest of his life trying to balance the scales, with no guarantee anyone will ever recognize him for it, and the show just ends his story with him at the start of that journey.

If he goes out in a heroic blaze of glory, the only way to interpret that is that he's 100% redeemed, by the conventions of fiction.

[Cron]

4 minutes ago, falcotron said:

That's exactly why I'd like to see him not die, and spend the rest of his life trying to balance the scales, with no guarantee anyone will ever recognize him for it, and the show just ends his story with him at the start of that journey.

If he goes out in a heroic blaze of glory, the only way to interpret that is that he's 100% redeemed, by the conventions of fiction.

Which would be an interesting contrast with what I see happening with Jaime.

Ever since I first read Storm of Swords, probably about 12 years or so ago, I would guess, I've believed Jaime WILL die a hero in the end, but will NOT be recognized as a hero by the vast majority of people.  Probably the only two people who will really understand will be Tyrion and Brienne (lots of people believe Brienne will be pregnant with Jaime's child in the end, and I'm starting to lean pretty heavily that way myself)

I've read some great theories that, in the end, Brienne will also be Captain of the Queen's Guard in King's Landing, filling in Jaime's pages in the White Book.

[Hoo]

1. Breach of the wall.  Plot moves finally.

2.  The gathering of characters at the pit.  

3. Jon/Aegon reveal, finally.

4. Jon and Dany are a couple, and may have a baby.

5.  Cersei is alone, just as Eurone suggested.

6.  Sansa and Arya have Cersei left to deal with

7. The winter has come to KL.

[TheMachine]

I could have done without the Theon scenes, but besides that Good episode 8/10. I just think they wasted too much valuable screen time on that part of the story. 

[falcotron]

15 minutes ago, Cron said:

Which would be an interesting contrast with what I see happening with Jaime.

Ever since I first read Storm of Swords, probably about 12 years or so ago, I would guess, I've believed Jaime WILL die a hero in the end, but will NOT be recognized as a hero by the vast majority of people.  Probably the only two people who will really understand will be Tyrion and Brienne (lots of people believe Brienne will be pregnant with Jaime's child in the end, and I'm starting to lean pretty heavily that way myself)

I've read some great theories that, in the end, Brienne will also be Captain of the Queen's Guard in King's Landing, filling in Jaime's pages in the White Book.

Yeah, it would be a great contrast to show their two endings adjacent to each other.

Especially if Jaime's redemption ends in him killing Cersei, accepting that he's become a Kingslayer again (and a kinslayer too now), and everyone will revile him for it, after he's (unexpectedly) managed to live down the first time, and that's all fine because he did the right thing.

[Apoplexy]

I'm so glad LF's gone. Good riddance! And at the hands of the Starks.

[Orphalesion]

2 hours ago, Cron said:

7.            Long awaited reunions. Brienne and Sandor:  Been waiting a long time, and they delivered.  Also, Bronn and Tyrion.  Witty repartee, as per usual..

Not really. While I have to say I never found Bronn and Tryion "witty", in this episode particular they flapped their mouths a lot without saying anything at all.

Quote

6.            The gathering at the Dragon Pit. Fantastic scene, probably the greatest gathering of characters in the history of the series

Not really, again. The whole Dragon Pit tangent was annoying as can be. I'm just glad Cersei wasn't sincere with her truce, that's the one saving grace about it all. The purple wedding had more great characters in one place. 

Quote

5.            The presentation of the wight.  He was scary, he was whacked out, and maybe, just maybe, that snippet made the entire Wight Hunt worth all the trouble.  Maybe.

Not by a long-shot. And we have seen enough wights by now, so this one wasn't special.

Quote

4.            Tyrion’s meeting with Cersei.  A+  work by Peter and Lena.  Great, great stuff.

Of course they are good actors, the scene itself however did really nothing. With Cersei we are exactly where we started, with the sole exception that Jaime left, so a scene with Tyrion and Jaime might have been better.

Quote

3.            Jon’s real name is revealed.  Aegon it is.  Not my first choice, but this has been the subject of much debate and speculation, and it’s a blessing to finally have the question answered.  Also noteworthy, in connection with this, Rhaegar makes his first appearance on-screen.

Well we already knew that he's the son of Rhaegar and legitimate, all we have now is the name, which is nice I guess. Plus the wedding scene was nice to have. And the confirmation that Lyanna went on her own free will.

Quote

2.          Jaime leaves Cersei. This time for good???  Yeah, I think so. Next time Jaime sees her, he’s gonna cross her off, in my opinion.
 

Oh hopefully, now we'll just have to see if it wasn't too little to late.

Quote

 

1.       Three Starks gang up on Littlefinger and cross him off.  JUSTICE IS SERVED!!  For all the reasons recited by Sansa, in a sequence made possible by Bran, with Arya doing the deed.  So satisfying

This was pretty well done, it reinterpreted some of the more batshit scenes this season.

However it had the immense  flaw that a lot of great stuff between the three Starks had to happen off-screen this season just so that this scene can be "surprising". Good to see Littlefinger dead, finally.

 

Now my "seven graces"

7. Snow in King's Landing. Winter has finally come. (Though it was a bit weird to go from pleasant Mediterranean sunshine in one scene, to dark snowy winter the next.) Judging from Cersei's wardrobe we perhaps are meant to deduce that it has been chilly for the whole season, but that would make all the open windows and galleries (and lack of fires for warming) a bit strange.

6. Cersei's truce not being sincere. For a moment I was ready to smash something valuable against a wall, but thankfully the writing isn't that stupid and won't force us to watch an alliance between Daenerys and the woman who blew up hundreds of her own subjects. 

5. The Wall collapsing. Yay. Finally! Pity it was at Eastwatch and not at Castle Black, would have loved to see the remnants of the Night's Watch decimated and buried under their own penal colony.

4. Jaimie leaving Cersei. Plus a very small part of me kind of hopes that the emphasis on his golden hand during his last scene means that  he has strangled Cersei. I know that's probably not it, but I can dream, can't I? Maybe it's foreshadowing that he will?

3. The Wedding between Rhaegar and Lyanna and the confirmation that Lyanna went with him on her own accord. Of course the book purists who fantasize about their perfect Robert/Lyanna pairing and Rhaegar the Deatheater  won't accept that, but who cares?

2.Littlefinger's demise. Beautiful, even with the flaws it had. He was entertaining once, but he has been rather dull and pointless ever since they chose to combine Sansa's plot with Jeyne Poole's 

1.The last scene between the Stark Sisters. Was good to finally portray them as having at least some respect towards one another. I'd just preferred it if it had gone more along the lines of:

"I wouldn't have survived the things you did."

"I wouldn't have survived the things you did either."

4.

[Stormourne]

I would have loved if they named him Jaehaerys Targaryen. Because Jaehaerys and Daenerys just sound so right! They flow from the tongue like sweet summer wine. Man, Rhaegar looked just like Viserys which is a new touch since, incest n whatnot.

[Cron]

7 hours ago, falcotron said:

Yeah, it would be a great contrast to show their two endings adjacent to each other.

Especially if Jaime's redemption ends in him killing Cersei, accepting that he's become a Kingslayer again (and a kinslayer too now), and everyone will revile him for it, after he's (unexpectedly) managed to live down the first time, and that's all fine because he did the right thing.

I'll be shocked out of my socks if Jaime is not the Valonqar.

Absolutely stunned.

I've believed it ever since I read that Cersei was actually born a few minutes earlier.  Why on Earth would we be given this obscure bit of trivia about Jaime and Cersei if it didn't have some significance?

Tyrion is WAY too obvious a candidate, and thus he is not the Valonqar, but it would be fitting and ironic for Cersei to have failed to even consider Jaime as the real Valonqar all these years, b/c Jaime has been the LEAST likely candidate for all their lives.

And as we know, this is how prophecies often work in "fiction."  Take the obvious meaning and throw it out the window, then try to find some deeper, twisted, unexpected meaning, and that's most likely the correct answer (I feel the same way about claims that Dany won't have any more children, and I have felt that ever since I first read what Mirri said.  Take a look at what Mirri said.  Cuz "Dany will never have any more children" is NOT quite what she actually said at all.  I strongly predict there will be circumstances under which it can be said that those bizarre conditions can be said to have come to pass in SOME sense, and then Dany will be pregnant again.  Why would Mirri use such a strange and convoluted way of saying something as simple as "You will never have any more children"???  Makes no sense to me, and it never has)

[ummester]

Drogon and the Mountain were scarier than the wight - I have no idea why everyone acted afraid of it. Stupid, stupid plot element - that amounted to an underwhelming scene, other than the way Qyburn enjoyed the animated hand.

[Cron]

8 hours ago, Orphalesion said:

Not really. While I have to say I never found Bronn and Tryion "witty", in this episode particular they flapped their mouths a lot without saying anything at all.

Not really, again. The whole Dragon Pit tangent was annoying as can be. I'm just glad Cersei wasn't sincere with her truce, that's the one saving grace about it all. The purple wedding had more great characters in one place. 

Not by a long-shot. And we have seen enough wights by now, so this one wasn't special.

Of course they are good actors, the scene itself however did really nothing. With Cersei we are exactly where we started, with the sole exception that Jaime left, so a scene with Tyrion and Jaime might have been better.

Well we already knew that he's the son of Rhaegar and legitimate, all we have now is the name, which is nice I guess. Plus the wedding scene was nice to have. And the confirmation that Lyanna went on her own free will.

Oh hopefully, now we'll just have to see if it wasn't too little to late.

This was pretty well done, it reinterpreted some of the more batshit scenes this season.

However it had the immense  flaw that a lot of great stuff between the three Starks had to happen off-screen this season just so that this scene can be "surprising". Good to see Littlefinger dead, finally.

 

Now my "seven graces"

7. Snow in King's Landing. Winter has finally come. (Though it was a bit weird to go from pleasant Mediterranean sunshine in one scene, to dark snowy winter the next.) Judging from Cersei's wardrobe we perhaps are meant to deduce that it has been chilly for the whole season, but that would make all the open windows and galleries (and lack of fires for warming) a bit strange.

I could be wrong, but I interpreted that shot of Jaime pulling a glove onto his golden hand as just an excuse to have a close up that would show us the snow in (or near) King's Landing.

8 hours ago, Orphalesion said:

6. Cersei's truce not being sincere. For a moment I was ready to smash something valuable against a wall, but thankfully the writing isn't that stupid and won't force us to watch an alliance between Daenerys and the woman who blew up hundreds of her own subjects. 

At the same time, though, of course, it makes the fact that Tyrion DOES even superficially trust her all the more implausible.  But hey, who knows, maybe Tyrion's got some plan to deal with her in the end.  And I'm suspicious that very significant things were said between Tyrion and Cersei after we cut away from that scene abruptly.  What are the odds that his meeting ended with "You're pregnant, aren't you?" and then he just walked out of the room, then Cersei emerged and told Dany and company she claimed to have changed her mind?  Naw, I think more was said between Tyrion and Cersei, stuff we weren't shown, and that would change our view of events quite a bit if we knew it.

8 hours ago, Orphalesion said:

5. The Wall collapsing. Yay. Finally! Pity it was at Eastwatch and not at Castle Black, would have loved to see the remnants of the Night's Watch decimated and buried under their own penal colony.

I considered putting the fall of the Wall on my list, but it just didn't make the cut.  It was a grand spectacle, but we knew it was coming, we saw it, and that was that.  I tend to favor the scenes that have more personal character development.  Still, though, the fall was great...it almost made the cut, but not quite for me (I was limited to 7)

8 hours ago, Orphalesion said:

4. Jaimie leaving Cersei. Plus a very small part of me kind of hopes that the emphasis on his golden hand during his last scene means that  he has strangled Cersei. I know that's probably not it, but I can dream, can't I? Maybe it's foreshadowing that he will?

Not sure when Jaime would have done that, even theoretically.  We saw him depart, Gregor was there.  Granted, we did not see him every second between then and when he was on his horse, but I'd be shocked if something that major occurred off-screen (but I'm just commenting, I realize you also wrote that you think that he probably didn't)

8 hours ago, Orphalesion said:

3. The Wedding between Rhaegar and Lyanna and the confirmation that Lyanna went with him on her own accord. Of course the book purists who fantasize about their perfect Robert/Lyanna pairing and Rhaegar the Deatheater  won't accept that, but who cares?

Really?  Are there book readers who believe Rhaegar kidnapped Lyanna and raped her???  Seriously, wow, I didn't know.

It's been obvious to me for a LONG time that that was not the case, ever since I read about the Tournament of Harrenhal many years ago.

(By the way, I was initially surprised to see that it looked like the used the same actor for Rhaegar as the guy who played Viserys, but I saw a comment saying that it's actually accurate that they looked alike.  Someone was saying that in Dany's vision in the House oft he Undying, in the books, she at first mistook Rhaegar for Viserys.  I haven't checked the quote from the book, but if that's true, then yeah, it was a great move to use the same actor.)

8 hours ago, Orphalesion said:

2.Littlefinger's demise. Beautiful, even with the flaws it had. He was entertaining once, but he has been rather dull and pointless ever since they chose to combine Sansa's plot with Jeyne Poole's 

In my opinion, LF got WAY too much credit for being a "master game player" (not necessarily from you, cuz I don't know your views on it).  Actually, if we look back, he committed numerous blunders, and had a MAJOR weakness (his "love" for Tully women)

And then, of course, in the end, he was utterly obtuse. When Bran made the "Chaos is a ladder" comment to him, you would think warning bells and sirens would have gone off in LF's head along the lines of "UH OH!  This kid knows the truth!!" and he would have fled from Winterfell immediately.  But no..

8 hours ago, Orphalesion said:

1.The last scene between the Stark Sisters. Was good to finally portray them as having at least some respect towards one another. I'd just preferred it if it had gone more along the lines of:

"I wouldn't have survived the things you did."

"I wouldn't have survived the things you did either."

4.

Yeah, a great scene. There's been a lot of speculation that Arya and/or Sansa were going to try to kill each other.  Glad to see that didn't happen, and they ended up close.  (Too bad I'm still convinced Sansa is going to die, but hey, who knows, maybe I'm wrong)

[Bran's Tourney]

9 hours ago, Cron said:

And oh, did I miss something in the show?  Did that guy hit Theon between the legs to no effect or something?  If so, I missed that, but now I get what you meant!

Yes- that is what turns the fight in Theon's favor. Man#1 goes for a nut shot repeatedly, with a growing look of confusion, before Theon manages to beat the hell out of him. 

Really quite cheeseball. 

[Cron]

31 minutes ago, Bran's Tourney said:

Yes- that is what turns the fight in Theon's favor. Man#1 goes for a nut shot repeatedly, with a growing look of confusion, before Theon manages to beat the hell out of him. 

Really quite cheeseball. 

Repeatedly, huh?  And I failed to realize that?  Wow, I'm embarrassed.

I must have been momentarily distracted, I suppose.