‘Game of Thrones’ Season 7, Episode 4: Daenerys Soars, Starks Endure
The bad news: Arya’s water-dancing session with Brienne opened an emotional seam in Sansa — whether from shock over the
killer her sister has become, or some buried resentment, or something else — that Littlefinger will exploit in 3… 2… 1…
He may have a harder time with Bran, who finally received the rhetorical slap we’ve
all craved since he showed up this season in his morosely Three-eyed state.
(Tycho the slimy Iron Banker will be happy to know the gold made it back O. K.)
It was also the first clash of the season to approach the standards set by previous sequences like the Battle of the Bastards and Hardhome.
Dickon Tarly’s dumbfounded expression spoke for all of us — we got a good look at the Dothraki in their full screaming, slashing,
horse-standing glory, as well as Drogon, always a stunner, who seems like a more disciplined weapon these days.
Bronn’s dizzying escape from his Dothraki pursuer — which unfurled mostly in one shot or was cleverly edited to seem
that way — reminded me of Jon Snow wandering through the bastard clash, as swords, smoke, horses and carnage swirled all around him.
It seems hard to believe that so many Stark children are now back together, especially since
what has been an impossible dream for so long has unfolded in such melancholy fashion.
“Chaos is a ladder,” he told Littlefinger, throwing not just one of the man’s mottos back at him, but one
that encapsulates his Iron Throne ambitions and conniving worldview.