Arya killed Walder Frey at the end of season six… and yet here we are, with Walder Frey hosting a banquet for the Frey men. He forbids the young woman at his side to drink – he doesn’t want to waste wine on a woman, then he toasts the men and thanks them for the slaughter of the Starks at the Red Wedding. Walder reiterates the details of the murders, growing more and more sarcastic. The men begin choking, sputtering, and dropping dead. They have been poisoned. Arya reveals herself beneath her Walder Frey mask, and to the shocked woman at “Walder’s” side, she says to tell anyone who asks what happened here, “the North remembers. Winter came for House Frey.” With that, she strolls out. I’ve said it before, I’ll say it again: I love that girl.
Continuing on, Arya comes upon a group of Lannister soldiers, singing over their supper, and led by Ed Sheeran. Arya compliments their song, and they invite her to sit. She does so, warily, but finds the group of young men to be friendly and polite. Arya is stunned by their kindness, their insistence that she share their meager portions. When the men ask why she is heading to King’s Landing, she doesn’t lie: “I’m going to kill the queen.” Dead silence. Then the group laughs. Arya joins them.
As Bran and Meera approach The Wall, Bran has a vision of the White Walkers, thousands of them, and we see Wildlings and giants among them. Dolorous Edd, and a few others of the Night’s Watch, greet them suspiciously, thinking they are Wildlings. Meera introduces them, and pointedly states that Bran is of House Stark. Dolorous seems doubtful, but Bran speaks of the Night King and his army coming for them. Bran and Meera are allowed to enter.
Jon is speaking to the lords of the North, with Sansa at his side. Dragon glass, he informs them, is more valuable than gold, and they must find it and mine it. He also decrees that everyone, male and female, over the age of 10 must fight. One older man takes umbrage with teaching his 10-year-old granddaughter to fight, but Lyanna Mormont stands, defending her ability to fight, is proud to fight, and insists there is nothing wrong with that. Jon assigns the Wildlings to watch The Wall. Sansa speaks up, insisting that the castles of House Umber and House Karstark give up their castles to the war effort, for their treasonous histories. Jon refuses to punish the son for his father’s sins, and calls upon Ned Umber and Alys Karstark for their loyalty. Both kneel, pledging fealty to House Stark. “Yesterday’s wars don’t matter,” Jon says. “The North needs to stand together, now and always.”
Later, Jon chastises Sansa for questioning him in front of the others. Sansa does not back down, but she admits that he is good at this and just wants him to be smarter than their father and brother. A message arrives from King’s Landing: Cersei wants Jon Snow to come to King’s Landing and kneel before her – otherwise he will face consequences. Jon scoffs at the vague threat, but Sansa warns him to be careful of Cersei. “You almost sound like you admire her,” Jon comments. Sansa admits she learned a great deal from the queen.
Baelish approaches Sansa while she watches Brienne try to teach Podrick how to fight, and Tormund try to flirt with Brienne. Baelish insists that he just wants Sansa to be happy and safe. She insists she is safe – but she says nothing of being happy. Brienne, sensing she is needed, interrupts the pair and Baelish slinks away. She is not happy that Baelish is still there, but Sansa insists they need his men. Brienne worries that Baelish wants something in return. Sansa knows what he wants.
Over in King’s Landing, Cersei walks a giant map painted on the floor. Jaime comes in and Cersei asks if he is afraid of her. “Should I be?” he asks. She changes the subject, and informs Jaime that Tyrion is now working with Daenerys. Jaime suggests that when they arrive with their new armada, they will land on Dragonstone, returning Daenerys to her home. Jaime worries that, because winter is here, they are on the losing side. The Lannister army doesn’t know how to fight in the snow. Cersei pays him no mind, and instead discusses the Lannister legacy, a topic that frustrates Jaime, since all their children are dead. They are the last Lannisters. In addition, their allies, House Frey, are all dead. “We can’t win this war alone,” Jaime says. Cersei isn’t worried though. Euron Greyjoy and his Iron Fleet are on their way. “They have ships and they are good at killing.” Jaime points out that Euron will want something in exchange, but Cersei already knows what that is: a queen.
Cersei meets with Euron while on the Iron Throne, Jaime at her side. He is dubious of Euron’s intentions, especially because Jaime killed many of Euron’s kin and he doesn’t seem angry about it. Euron claims he enjoyed watching Jaime kill the Greyjoys – “It was getting crowded.” As predicted, in return for providing the Lannisters with an army, Euron wants to marry Cersei. “I have 1,000 ships and two good hands,” he offers, much to Jaime’s ire. Cersei declines his proposal, but Euron isn’t deterred. He promises not to return until he has a priceless gift for Cersei, to earn her trust and win her affection. My first instinct is that he is going to try to get her a dragon.
The Hound leads a small group of Brotherhood Without Banners. They find a small, seemingly-abandoned house, and Beric and Thoros decide to bunk there tonight. The Hound objects, recognizing the house as one he stole from, but he follows his group inside. The corpses of a father, clutching his daughter, are in the bed, a knife sitting at their feet. Beric decides that they were probably starving to death and the father decided to put them out of their misery. Thoros lights a fire and invites the Hound to look into the flames, insisting it is only the fire that can tell him how they brought Beric back. The Hound hesitates, but he eventually looks – and is shocked to see a wall of ice, a mountain shaped like an arrowhead, and thousands of the dead marching past. Later that night, Thoros wakes to hear noise outside. He finds the Hound giving the father and daughter a proper burial.
Things are not going well for Sam at the citadel. His maester training mostly consists of him shelving books, cleaning chamberpots, and serving food that looks suspiciously the same going in as it does coming out. In the library there is a locked, gated area. Sam eyeballs it everyday, salivating over getting in to see the rare books hidden there. In a minor change to his regular duties, Sam assists in an autopsy, where he asks the archmaester for entrance into the restricted library. He reiterates his story about seeing the White Walkers, despite the fact that no one believes him. But this archmaester does believe him; however, he doesn’t believe Sam needs to be allowed in there. “Winter has always ended,” he assures Sam sagely.
While everyone sleeps, Sam steals a set of keys and sneaks into the forbidden section of library. He slips out a few books and takes them back to his room, poring over them. He hasn’t slept in days, which leaves Gilly worried about him. Then he finds something: according to one book, there is a mountain of dragonglass hidden beneath the Targaryean castle in Dragonstone. He wastes no time writing a note to Jon. The next morning, it is back to chores for Sam. As he collects bowls from the rooms of the quarantined, a greyscale-covered hand grabs him. Sam jumps away, frightened. A familiar voice from within the room asks if the “Dragon Queen” has come yet. Sam hasn’t heard anything and scurries away. In case you haven’t figured it out, it is Jorah in this room!
Daenerys and her council arrive at Dragonstone, a fleet of ships behind them, her dragons soaring overhead. Daenerys swells with pride when she sees her castle. Her council gives her some space while she takes in her homeland, feels the sand between her fingers, marches up to the castle, and sees the throne room. She approaches the throne, then moves past it, to a room behind. Tyrion follows, and the two find themselves in a war room, complete with map and figures. “Shall we begin?” Daenerys asks. She wastes no time.
Watch a preview for Game of Thrones Season 7 Episode 2, titled “Stormborn,” in the player below.
