Kevin Also Blogs: Game of Thrones Post-Mortem of “Dragonstone”

Monday, July 17, 2017

Game of Thrones Post-Mortem of “Dragonstone”

The Game of Thrones season seven premiere finally arrived last night, and it was everything I hoped it would be! From the shocking (yet satisfying) cold open to that emotional and long-awaited ending, Game of Thrones didn’t miss a beat – expertly setting the stage for the season to come. It also gave us plenty to chew on before the next episode drops, so let dive into some interviews and videos for a closer look at “Dragonstone.”

First up, Maisie Williams opens up to Entertainment Weekly about Arya’s opening scene, in which she dons the face of the murdered Walder Frey to dish out some more vengeance on his house. “It’s so f—ed up!” she exclaims. “Even Arya is surprised she has so much power. In that last moment she’s staring out at all those men dying, she’s turned into a bit more of a monster than she’s ever realized. I don’t think she’s sad about that but she’s got it on her mind.” I’m not sure I’d use the word “monster” – at least she spared the Frey girls.

Williams also shares her idea for the end of the series, which of course involves more face changing by Arya. “I’ve always had this fantasy in the back of my head — I don’t think it’s a good ending and fans might not like it — but that somebody would sit on the Iron Throne at the end and then they whip their face off and it’s Arya instead,” she admits. “I’ve always had that dream.”

Head over to EW for more.

We also learn more about Euron Greyjoy’s reappearance from EW, as Pilou Asbaek shares his vision for the character this season. “He’s kind of a joker type. He doesn’t take anyone too seriously. He doesn’t take himself too seriously…So where he’s much more like a demon in the books, he’s much more f—ing enjoying himself here,” Asbaek explains. “Those psychopathic sociopaths I’ve met in my life are smiley and well-mannered and they’re the biggest pricks in the world.” He adds, “He’s such a f—ing idiot douchebag, an impolite selfish child.”

What does Euron make of Queen Cersei, First of Her Name? “The thing with Cersei is maybe she’s more man than a woman. She’s smart and intellectual and bloody sexy. But for Euron, the question is: ‘How can I become king of the Iron Throne?’” Asbaek says. With his niece and nephew allying with Daenerys, Euron looks to Cersei to get him there. “I think he considers her to be a worthy wife. Euron’s not a Lannister, he’s an Ironborn, she’s something better. There’s just one guy in the way…” Hopefully Euron won’t use his “two good hands” to remove Jaime from the picture!

You can read the entire interview at EW.

TVLine brings us an interview with John Bradley, who gives his insight into Sam’s feelings about the Citadel. “He’s not gone to the Citadel for an easy life for himself,” Bradley admits. “When he appealed to Jon Snow, he said, ‘Send me to the Citadel because that’s where I can do the most good… I will help you win this war.’ He wants to go to the Citadel and work, and find knowledge that he can apply that’s going to change the course of things for everybody.”

Unfortunately for Sam, it looks to be an uphill battle. “People at the Citadel are very keen on academia and knowledge for the sake of it. They’re quite keen to store all this knowledge and leave it on the shelf for a long time and never apply it. Sam doesn’t believe in that relationship with knowledge. He knows that knowledge isn’t powerful if it’s on the shelf… and not being applied,” Bradley explains.

The premiere also introduced us to Sam’s new mentor played by Jim Broadbent – Archmaester Ebrose (not Marwyn as some sites claim; confirmed by the HBO viewer guide). “He’s a fatherly figure,” Bradley says. “He’s a very wise old soul that Sam develops this relationship with.” Hopefully that “wise old soul” will take Sam’s White Walker warnings seriously – before it’s too late.

Check out the rest at TVLine.

Iain Glen talks to Vulture about Jorah’s future after his blink-and-you’ll-miss-it appearance last night. That is, if Jorah even has a future given the condition of his greyscale. “It’s very advanced. I’m in trouble,” Glen confesses. “No doubt about it, I’m in trouble.”

Jorah is still optimistic, however, after promising Daenerys he’d come back to her. “I got to a point where I think I was quite happy to die, I suppose,” Glen says, speaking of last season. “I’d sort of given up hope because I’d lost her affection and lost her belief in me. And the last moment of our time together last season she said, ‘I need you, I need you to look after yourself, find a cure, so you can come back and be beside me when I occupy the Iron Throne.’ That’s my route, really, this season — to see if I can find a cure.” Maybe Sam can smuggle some advanced medical books out of the library’s restricted section.

For the entire article, head to Vulture.

POTENTIAL SPOILERS FOR FUTURE EPISODES IN THIS SEGMENT!

We also have an interesting tidbit to dissect courtesy of Kim Renfro at Insider. She points out that in the HBO viewer guide official synopsis, there is an additional line in the script attributed to the Hound but not spoken on the show

“The waves are frozen” was left out of the Hound’s dialogue, so what significance could this have? If the Hound saw a vision of Eastwatch with frozen waves, could that provide an access point for the Night King and his army of the dead? They were left at Hardhome, which is perilously close to the Night’s Watch castle at Eastwatch – close enough for an army to cross the frozen sea and make their way around the Wall.

Of course, most fans theorize that the Wall will be breached somehow, allowing the White Walkers to launch a full scale invasion. If they have an alternate route, however, the danger may reach Westeros sooner than we think.

In the season’s first “Inside the Episode,” David Benioff and D.B. Weiss discuss that cold open, the Hound’s guilt and doubt, the Sansa/Jon conflict, Cersei’s lust for power, and Daenerys’ homecoming.