The following review will contain SPOILERS for the episode ahead. Consider yourself fairly forewarned, and now to Westeros!
Strap yourself in, this week is a doozy. After last weeks brutal ending via Euron Greyjoy demolishing the Targaryean fleet, killing sandsnakes, taking prisoners and establishing himself as a viable candidate in the Game of Thrones, he returned to Cercie with the gift he promised in the form of Illaria Sand and one of her daughters. The alliance between the Lion and the Kraken is now official, though Cersie has pushed any marital potential until after the war is won. Presumably she thinks that she can outsmart her new Fleet Admiral down the line and avoid any entanglements.
The potential new partner to Cersie takes joy in gloating to her presenter partner/brother Jamie, inviting him to a talk about her preferences in the bedroom before exiting to rapturous applause from the Kings Landing crowd. Much of this episode focused on Cersie and her flexing the new found muscles of unopposed control. In the time we watched Cersie and her political machinations she has been, untill 4 episodes ago, an unmitigated disaster. Every move she made always resulted in a backlash she believed herself insulated from due to her standing in the court, ending up hampering her own cause in the long run or directly aiding her enemies. Forcing Ser Barriston Selmy in to retirement sent him right to Dani, ignoring the Lord Commander’s request for help against the Wight Walkers, focusing on squabbling with Margery instead of the rising threat of the High Sparrow, her blaming Tyrion for Joffery’s murder leading to her Father dying on the privy. All signs that she is too short sighted to be effective in leadership. However, the loss of her last child Tommen via terrorism-induced-suicide-jump has taken the shackles off an already dangerous woman. Now, she openly flaunts her relationship with her brother, brazenly stands before the people of Kings Landing as a saviour after murdering the previous Queen and the entire religious order and is trying to emulate her father in dealing with banks and armies ruthlessly.
Cerise continues to be a contrasting element of unmitigated rage to the calm, deliberate Danearys Targaryen. Sitting patiently on Dragonstone, knowing that she could at a moments notice unleash a horde of Dothraki and 3 full grown dragons and take the continent. Her consideration for lives of all the people she hopes to rule is what makes her the ruler she is; she didn’t need to save the slaves in a country she was only passing through but saw a wrong that needed righting. She bears a strong resemblance in those circumstances to one Jon Snow - arguably the most awaited meeting of characters in the entire Thrones universe. Despite the warning of all about how well Starks fare when traveling south to meet royalty, Jon reunites with Best-Lannister, Tyrion, and is introduced to the very real trio of Dragons. His walk to the castle highlights the intent behind the design - imagine arriving there during the halcyon days of the Targaryen rule, walking up to a huge fortress with dozens of dragons overhead. It would cause many to carefully evaluate how they speak to the resident but Jon Snow has taken up the plain spoken manner of his not-father Ned Stark. When the two meet, the camera denies us a single shot of the two, giving us longshots showing how the two see each other. The tension in the Throne room is palpable as Dani expects Jon to kneel while Jon has no intention of doing anything that pulls him away from fighting the Wights. Davos serves as both a comedic relief - after hearing the endless list of titles that the Dragon queen has he simply responds “He’s Jon Snow......He’s a king in the north” - but also, as always, a middle voice. Dany speaks of ancient vows and oaths, whilst Jon presses on present issues. Naturally, the idea of an undead army lead by a mythical enemy does not take immediately. Dani sees Jon as the enemy in the North, focused solely on taking the Iron Throne. Given the circumstances few could blame her, would you take the word of an enemy king that you need to march all your troops away from a real, tangible battle for the Iron Throne to fight a seemingly impossible undead horde lead by immortal Ice Men? Davos nearly says the thing everyone is screaming at the TV that Jon took several daggers to the heart and was resurrected. He has the scars to prove it. But Jon cuts him short, not without Tyrion and Dany both noting how odd the notion sounds. As Jon seeks only to serve his northmen as best as possible, he refuses to kneel and be pulled south in to a conflict that will only help the Night King. The meeting ends when Varys delivers news of the assault by Euron and that takes us to the first stroke of the Queens Justice.
Lena Heady is uncomfortably convincing as a sociopath, torturing Illaria sand with words and a kiss whilst smiling the whole time. Reminiscing happily to sound of Oberan's head cracking and Illaria’s scream, reeling off the myriad ways that she want to have Illaria die first of all before settling on an eye for an eye approach, a kiss for a kiss. Before the beginning the torture, the moment she asks in rage “Why did you take her from me?” is so well delivered as to, even under the circumstances, momentarily sympathise with the mad queen. With faithful Kyburn’s help, Cersie poisons Illaria’s last daughter in the same manner as Marcella was. Only the torture for Illaria is to first watch her daughter die slowly, then live in the cell as her body decays away. A truly despicable punishment. One dare not wonder what is happening to Sister Shame.
Up north, we get our only truly good moment as Bran Stark finally returns to Winterfell, reuniting with Sansa. Bran is obviously a changed person, acting distant to his goings on. Even spooking Sansa with his knowledge of her wedding and trauma. Bran sets his mission though - he needs to speak to Jon about his lineage. Getting Bran in to the relative safety of Winterfell is welcome as now we can hopefully dig more in to his vague Three-Eyed Raven gig, find out more ancient goings on. Maybe see if the legendary Bran the Builder was really a Time Travelling Bran, building the past as he had seen it in the future. Hopefully, Jon’s internment on Dragonstone does not deprive us of him hearing the circumstances of his birth for too long. Jon and Tyrion share another good scene on a dramatic cliff edge, resulting Tyrion offering his assistance in any way. Taking the message of the Dragonglass mountain to his queen, convinces her to allow Jon to mine it as a good will gesture. How Jon repays the faith only time will tell but for now, signs are good that Ice and Fire will coexist.
Dany and her council then wait on their forces to attack Lannister home, Casterly-Rock which then delivers a rapid fire cacophony of fan service, battle and twists. Seeing Casterly-Rock here is the first time in either book or TV that audiences have seen the greatest homestead in the land and it passes by with little time to bask in its immenseness as Greyworm leads the fight to the lannisters, with help form Tyrions days as the Chief Lavatoryman as a young man, to easily take the castle. This is when Cersie executes her master-stroke battle plan. Instead of occupying the Castle and fighting Dany’s Unsullied, she leaves a skeleton force on land and has Euron burn the Dragonfleet, giving them no move to retreat, only to hold the position indefinitely or march the width of Westeros to rejoin Dany. The Lannister forces then march to Highgarden, another long awaited Castle sighting that passes by even faster than the first, to take the undefended home of the Tyrells.
It is here we see Cersie’s new approach once again openly re-evaluated, opting to give Lady Olenna a peaceful poison as her way out instead of a flaying. This could go on to be a moment that Cersie could rue as once assured of a peaceful, Lady Olenna finally reveals it was she, not Tyrion who murdered Joffery.
The moment was sold perfectly by NCW, the anger, regret, more anger, resolving to storm from the room before committing one of the more heinous executions overlooked. Armed with this information though, could potentially one of, if not, the last straws between he and Cersie. Knowing it wasn’t Tyrion and causing the Trial ending in Oberan’s death, that lead to Marcella’s death, followed by the rightfully scorned Tyrion killing Tywin, creating the vacuum for Cerise to anoint the high sparrow, leading the deaths of dozens and Tommen might be enough for Jaime to snap once and for all.
As with all things in life, the ripples will inevitably reach Cersie but for now, she has her lenders soothed, two of the four houses in rebellion destroyed and Dany separated from her entire Unsullied army. A strong showing to be sure. It seems Dany is rapidly being left with one option - take the Dragons and the dothraki into battle against the Lannister forces. Perhaps that looming battle is why the battle scenes here were short and small (by the shows standards), fingers and toes crossed. As for the Tyrell’s and Martell’s it would seem they have been added to list of former families that Lannister forces left only the rain to weep o’er their halls.