Game of Thrones – 'The Queen's Justice'

"An impressive start."

In the words of Shang Tsung, IT HAS BEGUN!

Jon and Davos reach Dragonstone. Melisandre declines to meet with them, despite proclaiming that she has brought Ice and Fire together, instead leaving for the East after telling Varys that she will return, as she needs to die in this land, as does he. 

The visitors are none-too-subtly taken into not-quite-custody to be escorted - via a very choreographed dragon fly-by - into the presence of the title-rich Danaerys. Davos introduces Jon, only remembering after a stumble that he is King in the North. Jon and Dany spar over whether Jon is breaking faith by ignoring ye olde Starke's oath of perpetual fealty, or whether the Targaryan's already did that when the mad king set fire to all those Starks. Dany leans heavily on being the 'rightful' Queen, because that's always been such a clincher, and Jon learns the advantage of letting Davos talk you up, Fleabottom accent and all. No-one gets executed, which is a plus, but possibly only because the last Ironborn ships limp in to report the ambush from last episode.

 

"Your soul is mine."

Smasher Greyjoy rocks up to a triumphal welcome in King's Landing and hands over his Dornish captives in exchange for a somewhat equivocal promise of marriage once the war is won. Cersei poisons the last Sand Snake just as Myrcella was poisoned, and leaves her chained to a wall opposite her mother. Now, Cersei is definitely way too into lording it over the helpless, but given that the daughter – I'm sorry, the Sand Snakes have never really been in the show enough or interesting enough for me to learn their names – was complicit in the assassination of Myrcella, I really struggle to give a shit about her fate, however much the actresses play it up.

Hyped, Cersei decides that she no longer cares who knows she and Jamie are doing it, and rounds off a good day by persuading the Iron Bank's representative that she's still the smart money.

Flawless victory.

To put the icing on Cersei's justice cake(1), Smasher sails north to take out Dany's remaining fleet, after letting the Unsullied take an all-but abandoned Casterley Rock from a skeleton garrison. The bulk of the Lannister army marches on Highgarden, and in the space of two episodes Dany has gone from odds on favourite to an outside bet. Captured, Olenna Tyrell warns Jaime that Cersei is a monster who will be the end of him. She accepts a merciful death by poison, chugging her medicine before telling Jaime that she poisoned Joffrey by way of a final mic drop.

While Tyrion's military plans fall through hard, he does manage to persuade Jon and Dany to give each other the benefit of the doubt, and Jon is permitted to mine dragonglass on the island for the war in the north.

"That's enough!"

At the Citadel, Ser Jorah makes a full recovery and heads off to rejoin the Danaerys Targaryan Testosterone Brigade. Sam gets mad props from the Archmaester for his excellent work, and is tasked with copying out a massive stack of mite-ridden texts for disobedience, because the Archmaester is a fucking boss.

And in the North, Sansa is large and in charge – and getting more creepy advice from Littlefinger about basically running through every possible scenario in your head all the time – when Bran arrives(2) to tell her he's the Three-Eyed Raven, and rather eerily imply that he Greensaw the events of her wedding night.

So, that was one hell of an episode, turning the assumed balance of power on its head. The Unsullied have Casterley Rock, but are essentially trapped there with no food and no support. Smasher Greyjoy keeps popping up like a bad penny wherever he'll be most devastating, which makes a bit of a mockery of Team Dany's concerns about the difficulties of finding his fleet with her dragons. The dragons, meanwhile, have yet to either see use or be pitted against Qyburn's windlance. Hopefully Bran will be able to pull things more usefully together, assuming he isn't murdered by Littlefinger for having a claim to Winterfell.

I assume that things will start going a little wonky for Cersei next week, if only because, if they don't, then what was all the flap about for the last six seasons?

(1) The title clearly refers to Cersei's justice, not Dany's.
(2) And remember, Jon has also made it to Dragonstone in the time it's taken him to cart down from the Wall.