GAME OF THRONES - S7: E3 (THE QUEEN'S JUSTICE) REVIEW

Mahn! what to say after this episode, its 2 - zip to Team Lannister now, and even though Dany still holds the wildcard in her Dragons its beginning to look a little more difficult than it should have been, once again the 'Madness of Mercy' has prevailed. Episode 3 aptly named the Queen's justice had its fair share of significant moments for this season so far, all of them worthy of discussion. I also stumbled upon a major plot spoiler that seems to be building up quite accurately but have no fear, the web may be dark and full of terrors, but you wont be getting any unwarranted ones here.

WARNING: THIS ARTICLE CONTAINS MAJOR SPOILERS FOR GAME OF THRONES SEASON 7-EPISODE 3.

The King of the North arrived in the South

This episode had another eagerly anticipated reunion as Tyrion and Jon once again crossed paths for the first time since season one, both men have come a long way from outcasts to more elevated statuses since they last met. Tyrion asking 'How a Brother of the Nights watch became the King of The North?' and Jon sharply retorting that I'll answer that as soon as you tell me how a Lannister became the Hand of Daenerys Targaryen' Tyrion's response summing it up quite accurately 'It's a long and bloody tale, but I was drunk for most of it'.

But, Probably the most anticipated meeting in the entire Series happened few moments later, when Jon Snow the Targaryen-Stark lovechild (known only to viewers), met with (his aunt) Daenerys Targaryen. I'd say it pretty much went as expected, it was probably more surprising for Dany than it was for Jon who expected the Northern King to bend the knee, however to my personal pleasure she had another thing coming. It was an interesting scene and I loved the banter about it as both sides gave very little leverage to the other, Ser Davos even getting in on the action giving a heartfelt monolugue about the King in The North, almost giving too much (only stopped by Jon's stare). Jon is preoccupied with The Army of the Dead and rightly so, considering what The Night King is capable of, and is not about to turn his armies southward for a Queen he doesn't know, Dany also considers The King of The North ludicrous for his claims about a dead army. However there seems to be a mutual respect growing between the two and we are certain to see this fleshed out later after Tyrion convinced Daenerys to let Jon mine the Dragon glass he came for; in an act of good faith.

And Now The Rains weep O'their halls; The End of House Tyrell

Being the second richest family in the Seven Kingdoms the Tyrells have constantly been a thorn in the flesh of the 'richest' family in Westeros and have certainly put them in the Lions' cross-hairs, all the scheming and bleeding finally leading to their final moments. Following a strategic military maneuver by Jamie Lannister most of the Lannister army was mobilized to The Reach laying siege to Highgarden and with the Tyrells soundly defeated, the Lannisters now control the wealth and Bannermen of their arch rivals and as Cersei promised the Iron Bank, she now has their gold. Its a sad end for the Tyrells, I frankly really enjoyed them, more frankly, the women in the family; Margaeri, I though was a near equal for Cersei at playing the game if not better and wise old Olenna who succumbed that her only mistake for losing to the Lannisters was not having a bigger imagination, trust her to rub in Joffrey's death, revealing that the late boy King's poisoning was her brainchild, one more final stab at the Lannisters before death took her, she definitely went out swinging. 'Respect Lady O' *chest drum*.

The Unsullied, victorious but stranded.

The Unsullied laid siege to Casterly Rock. Tyrion's plan went according to plan for the most part and they enjoyed a sound victory, a short lived one though; as The Rock had been intentionally reduced to minimum strength and provisions cleared out, it was also revealed that the Iron Fleet were right behind their heels as they obliterated the rest of Yara Greyjoy's fleet, effectively leaving the eunuch army stranded and under-provisioned at The Rock - part of Jamie Lannister's two part plan of mobilizing the main Lannister army to seize Highgarden. A mighty predicament for Greyworm and the boys.

Tyrion Lannister - Is he Losing it?

Considering he is one of the sharpest minds in Westeros, Tyrion's plans so far, have been beaten thoroughly as they have unfolded (or actually rather not), one crucial oversight being his inability to anticipate the actions of Euron Greyjoy and also his siblings surprisingly getting the better of him cerebrally, His strategy to take Casterly Rock sounded brilliant, even Robb Stark was on his way to the ancestral Lannister home before he was slain at the Red wedding. Tyrion isn't looking so smart right now and he's probably not feeling so smart either, and you have to wonder how soon before Daenerys begins to ignore her Hand's advice and goes with her pure instincts. Tyrion was however still able to offer some sage advice to The King in The North.

Euron gives Cersei gifts

As promised, Euron delivered gifts to Cersei (while keeping one for himself @ Yara) ; Ellaria and Tyene Sand were gift wrapped in chains to the Queen and the Queen's Justice was swiftly carried out, Cersei giving Ellaria (specifically Tyene) a literal taste of her own medicine with a signature poison kiss, albeit going a step further to poison the young Sand in front of her mother so she could watch her deteriorate and die. Euron has delivered on his promise and Cersei now owes him a marriage which she most likely does not intend on giving him, it would be interesting to see how it all turns out since Greyjoys are not exactly known for their loyalty except when it suits them. There was also just enough time for Euron to rub it in Jamie's face during his victory parade, taunting him about Cersei's sexual preferences.

Samwell Tarly; The CAN-DO man

At least there's still one Tarly we like. Sam cured Ser Jorah of Greyscale in one night....one night?! I wont get much into that since I really don't know much about Westerosi diseases, I do know it takes more than one night to get rid of a pox and that's insignificant compared to Greyscale. nuff said. Well you cant say you don't admire the lads spirit, he's certainly grown in confidence since we met him on the sparring grounds of Castle Black. Ser Jorah is healed and now heading to Dragonstone to reunite with his one true love, another consistent plot line to the spoiler I was rather unfortunate to happen upon.

Meanwhile back in Winterfell...

We see that in her short stewardship of the North, Sansa is proving to be a capable leader thus far, doesn't hurt that she looks like a boss while at it, a fact Littlefinger is keen to point out, “Leadership suits you,” he says just before giving her some sage advice which registers as one of the most memorable quotes ever; “Don't fight in the North, don't fight in the South, fight every battle, everywhere, always, in your mind. Everyone is your enemy, everyone is your friend. Every possible series of events is happening all at once...live that way and nothing will surprise you, everything that happens will be something that you've seen before” This is abruptly interrupted (luckily for Sansa, she seemed to be caught in the awesomeness of those words) by a Stark Soldier who informs her that they have a visitor, and enterrrr Bran, 'Hello Sansa' he says rather calmly (Gaddamit man you haven't seen your sister; since season 1, episode 1 to be exact, show some emotion!)  There's weeping and hugging, mostly from Sansa as Bran mostly remains unperturbed, it seems being a Greenseer robs you of all emotion. This is further shown when they are in the godswoods and Sansa happily tells him that he's the Lord of Winterfell now, 'I can't be Lord of anything now' he replies in a calm and very eerie manner, just before giving Sansa the creeps, good god man we know you see the future, present and past, doesn't give you the right not to be human for a bit. But I guess his young heart is weighed by more important things than that.

Theon is saved...but not by Gendry.

At the end of episode two (2) Theon Greyjoy was shown hanging on to some ship debris after his uncle's surprise attack and eventual obliteration of Yara's fleet. which left many feeling this would cue in Gendry's first appearance since Season 3, you remember Gendry right? Robert Baratheon's last living bastard son, but that didn't happen as Theon is fished out from the ocean by the remaining Greyjoy ships who survived the attack. Theon informs his fellow Iron born that Euron has Yara and he tried to save her, to which the Captain replies 'if you did you wouldn't be here'. you're not fooling anyone Theon. Poor fella.

Episode round up: Cersei 2 - 0 Daenerys

If you're keeping score you've probably noticed Team Lannister is leading the playoffs with a 2 - 0 lead,  I doubt anyone saw that coming, but its only 2 battles and the war is a long way from being won by either side. It would certainly be interesting to see what Daenerys' next move will be and whether she will go with her natural instincts (which have mostly worked for her) or listen to her council once more, Cersei has the gold and manpower after converting the Lords of the Reach to her side and is better positioned than she was last episode, Jon will get his Dragon glass and Arya is still on her way to Winterfell (for probably the biggest and most heartfelt reunion of the series) we have four (4) more episodes to go and definitely a lot of time to find out starting with Episode 4; The Spoils of War.