Several comments about things that people have mentioned here: - Dany not calling Varys out on his wheeling-and-dealing until now makes sense because there just wasn't time to do so prior to arriving back in Westeros - Ellaria, Yara, and Tyene are clearly meant to be Euron's "gifts" to Cersei, and the fact that he took them alive pretty much guarantees that they're dead women walking, which just sucks - You think I'd be used to Game of Thrones needlessly killing off really awesome characters by now, but the deaths of Obara and Nymeria Sand still stung - I'm almost 100% positive that Daenerys being "fire-proof" is something that is unique to her as she's depicted on the show, so it makes very little sense to me that anyone would expect others of Targaryen blood, Jon included, to be similarly immune to flames - I don't think Arya is actually going to be headed to Winterfell after all, given the reaction she has to Nymeria turning away from her and running off with her wolf pack - I have no idea why anyone would expect Jon to turn to anyone OTHER than Sansa to "keep stock" of the North and Winterfell while he's traveling to Dragonstone; she's his biological relative and, despite some occasional tension, very much on his side and his biggest supporter
Dany is only fireproof the once in the books (and she comes out of it without any hair), so they've already deviated there. As far as cinematic shorthand goes, they could do worse.
Ah, that's right. I had forgotten that detail. Just reading up on certain details and characters unique to the books on AWOIAF clearly indicates that I need to go back and read the books again. I don't think anyone was seriously suggesting Jon should've given control of the North anyone else, merely we going along with the ongoing joke of how bad ass Lyanna is.
And we've already seen Jon Snow get burned in the show, so unless some fancy magic got transferred over to him when Melisandre revived him, Daenerys is likely still the only one with that immunity.
If they go that way, you could just assume that whatever awoke in her in that tent also awoke in him when he was brought back. It isn't the Prince OR Princess that was promised, it's the Prince AND Princess. The real question is, will there be a third head to the dragon?
I think a bigger question is whether Daenerys will let anyone else ride her dragons? We know Jon has Targaryen blood, in the books Robert's bastards also have some dragon blood because in A Feast of Crows Maester Aemon says - Stannis has some of the dragon blood in him, yes. His brothers did as well. Rhaelle, Egg’s little girl, she was how they came by it … their father’s mother … she used to call me Uncle Maester when she was a little girl. I know there is a fan theory about Tyrion being the Mad King's son but I think that another hidden Targaryen is a bit far fetched this late in the story. It might be that one does not need Targaryen blood to ride a dragon, perhaps a dragon could accept a non-Targaryen.
Considering the eggs originated from the Shadow Lands beyond Asshai and not Valyria, I would think Targaryen blood wouldn't be a requirement. These dragons wouldn't have such discriminations and would instead focus on what their mother wants.
Could the eggs have been laid by one of the two dragons that went missing after the Dance of the Dragons (Sheepstealer and the Cannibal)?
Is the weapon Qyburn invented going to be of much use? It seems to me to be a seize weapon and would only be of use if Daenerys actually attacks King's Landing with her dragons which she isn't planning on doing.
I don't see it being terribly practical. It would require quick mobility of the weapon and the dragons moving slowly to be effective. Different universe, I know, but when Bard slew Smaug with a similar weapon, it was considered pretty much a miracle and not just because of the missing scale.
I see it being one of very *very* many protecting a fortified position, like say, Kings Landing. If you can fill the skies with bloody great metal bolts then they don't have to be massively accurate or mobile. Granted, all the dragons need do is stay out of range, but then that just makes the an effective deterrent, no? Having them out in the open country burning fields and villages isn't much of a threat with a long winter coming. Doubly so after what six years of war have already done to it all.
All the dragons would have to do is to fly high enough to be out of reach and drop things down onto these weapons.
That does seems to be what they're working towards. BTW, does anyone know if GRRM ever said whether Targaryen was an homage to the last Taarakian in Heavy Metal?
No idea. I have wondered about the source of both the Targaryen and Baratheon names. I think that Cersei's treatment was Ellaria and her daughter was justice served.
And House Tyrell suffers the same fate as the Great Houses of Martell and Baratheon: legal extinction. Props to Olenna for getting in the last word as her House faded out of existence, though.
What a wonderfully tense episode, particularly the long-awaited first between Jon and Daenerys as well as Cersei's horrifying meeting with Ellaria and Tyene. While not as intense, the face-off between Jaime and Olenna was just as sweet. As soon as Olenna called Joffrey a cunt, I knew she was going to spell the beans about being his murderer before she died. Loved how she slipped in there just before the poison took its affect. I half expected Jaime to cut her in half, right there and then. So sweet to finally have another Stark reunion, even if it quickly turned very awkward and creepy for poor Sansa. Her brother has become even colder than her and he knows what happened to her, down to the details. She may find her hopefully-soon reunion with Arya might not be much better... Now that Bran and Meera have already returned to Winterfall (damn, that was fast, but all of the travel times are being heavily compressed at this point), the next question is how long before Jon returns so he can finally learn the truth about his parentage? If we had a full season, I think we may have seen more of the battles of Casterly Rock and Highgarden may have been full episodes of their own, or at least far more than what was shown. Or perhaps not, since Grey Worm was the only person we knew for the former and only Jaime, Bronn (who barely appeared), Lord Tarly, and Olenna (who didn't fight) for the latter. Still, it was good to finally see both castles, although it's a pity neither appeared during the opening sequence. While not a reward per se, I was happy to see Sam's ingenuity and intelligence appreciated and not sneered upon. Sam certainly expected the worse, having that beaten into him by his father and the Night's Watch. I have a hunch that Sam's punishment will turn into a boon when he discovers vital information for Jon. If it was just a daughter for a daughter, I would agree. What Cersei did is far, far crueler than that. Made me sick to my stomach thinking about it.