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- "Eastwatch" may have represented a breather in the action, so to speak, but it sure didn't lag. It was a masterfully busy episode, with big moments coming at you in each and every scene. Everyone's past connection to one another is now getting brought up, noted, and utilized to further plot in a meaningful, natural way.
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Aug 14, 2017 · Movies. 'Game Of Thrones' Review: 'Eastwatch' Resets The Bloodstained Chessboard. By Jacob Hall / Aug. 14, 2017 12:00 pm EST. (In our coverage of Game of Thrones season 7, we'll be...
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By Matt Fowler
Updated: Aug 14, 2017 3:23 pm
Posted: Aug 14, 2017 3:47 am
Warning: Full spoilers for the episode below.
"Eastwatch" may have represented a breather in the action, so to speak, but it sure didn't lag. It was a masterfully busy episode, with big moments coming at you in each and every scene. Everyone's past connection to one another is now getting brought up, noted, and utilized to further plot in a meaningful, natural way.
From Sam having met Bran back at the end of Season 3, to Gendry finally returning to the show and meeting up with both Ser Davos and Beric Dondarrion (in the same episode), to Jorah finding his way back to Daenerys, to Tyrion's tense-but-fruitful reunion with Jaime - "Eastwatch" was chock-full of the past becoming present, and being used to inform the drastic, dramatic war machine. Even the brief scene that Sam had with Gilly, where he got fed up and decided to ultimately quit the Maester program, contained a little side note about Jon possibly not being a bastard!
Sam dismissed this information, since he has no clue what Rhaegar means within the context of Jon, but I'm sure it's tucked away in his brain somewhere to use in the future, when certain things get brought up. Or if not him, Gilly may remember. Yeah, that'd be cool. It'd give her something to do. And it'd feel good for her to show up Sam a bit since he basically cut her off when she was dispensing really important information.
Sticking with Sam oh-so-briefly, while I'm thinking of him: It's good that we finally got more solid confirmation that years have passed on this show. Little Sam is much older now and Sam mentioned having met Bran "years ago." It's something that's easy to assume, especially since child actors have grown up before our eyes on this show, but with all the fast-travel that's been happening during the past two seasons, it's nice to know that no one is pretending these treks aren't taking months and months. We're just skipping over those months and months. Jon, Jorah, Gendry, and Davos arrived at Eastwatch by the end of this one. That's a few weeks on a boat in the very least.
So what might this episode ultimately mean for the war between Cersei and Daenerys? Well, we got thrown a bit of a curveball. One could have predicted, perhaps, that Cersei would be done as Queen by the time this year's seven episodes were through. And that may still hold true. But as of right now, Daenerys and Jon are actively out to form a truce so that the army of the dead can be dealt with. This is huge, and it's appropriately being treated like an unexpected side mission. Even Cersei's wondering what Dany's up to because this is not normal behavior for someone who just roasted a good chunk of her army.
All of this could mean that Cersei and Jaime might still be around to aid Jon and the North in their battle against the Night King instead of just being the hurdle that Dany has to overcome before the frozen undead endgame of the series. Just imagine - everyone who currently hates each other putting aside everything to fight a continent-sized swarm of zombies. Dany never quite makes it to the Iron Throne because everything comes to a screeching halt so that the dead can be defeated. That sounds devilishly exciting.
And "Eastwatch" laid out all the groundwork for this. Or, at least, it started to.
The Westeros (Coast) Avengers that assembled at the end was purposefully a group of men who all had various issues with one another. From wildlings hating Mormonts, to Baratheon bastards hating the Lord of Light - these men all walked side by side out into the icy, blinding wind to try and wrangle up a wight. That's nuts! But it's also what Jon does best. He unites people. He's been doing it since Day One. Whether it's his own Night's Watch brethren (or former brethren) defending the Wall or convincing the wildlings to form an alliance, or bringing together the lingering lords of the North, Jon's the great unifier. People give him more credit than he deserves for this because they think he's low born, or bastard born, but truthfully it fits his legit dual-Great House nobility.
Jon's so good at making friends out of enemies that the fact that he was ultimately killed by turncoats, those he trusted, still stands as this huge dog-ear in his story. It got brought up again, this week, the knife to his heart, but he still wouldn't cop to it. It's almost as if he knows, maybe, that he's on borrowed time. That's not to say that he's going to die, but his selfless steadfastness in constantly driving forward for the greater good is even more present now that he's got a second life.
Of course, Jon's words weren't the only thing that brought Dany to his side. Along with his ability to make people work together, for their common interests, he's also able to melt the hardened hearts of ladies like Ygritte and Daenerys. His stubborn courageousness and willingness to do whatever it takes for his people made himself stand out to Dany, though from there an attraction has built up and now she visually pines for him. Whether he's petting Drogon, arm outstretched, or he's volunteering to lead a raid party up to the Night King's doorstep, Daenerys is noticeably smitten now. I'm telling you, Jon Starkgaryen's gonna get you one way or another!
The way "Eastwatch" dug into the complexities of this new Westeros conflict was also really enjoyable. The fact that Tyrion is torn between his Queen and - well - not roasting men alive was fascinating. It's not enough to drive him from Daenerys, no, but it's good that these issues are being brought up, as well as how both similar and dissimilar Daenerys is from her mad father. Beheading, in the very least, is a quick and painless death and whether not you agree with Dany, because she gave all the remaining soldiers a choice, you have to realize that death by fire is a agonizing and inhumane. The fact that it's so awful is the precise reason the Mad King loved it so much.
On the flip side, who can't also, in some way, root for Cersei to overcome what should be overwhelming odds so that she and Jaime can, finally, have a loving life in peace? With their own child - who they could claim as their own and not have to conceal it as a secret. Their secret, you could say, is another reason the entire series started. It was Jaime's murder attempt on Bran. The Catspaw Assassin gets all the press, but Jaime's the one who opened the door and, more or less, unleashed hell. Now these two have a real chance at a life together. Sadly, it has to come at the price of them ruling over everyone so no one would ever dare tell them it's wrong.
Following last week's huge battle, Game of Thrones didn't let up with the big moments, meaningful reunions, surprising swerves, and cunning curveballs. This week's chapter, "Eastwatch," was light on action, but it used the rich and restless past of the series to bring back old characters and create a whole new game board for the show going forward....
Review scoring
amazing
Old faces returned while Jon devised a crazy plan that set us up for next week's big penultimate chapter.
Matt Fowler
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