Wow. A Game of Thrones season characterized by a blazingly fast pace and staggering action sequences closed with an extra-long episode that absolutely riveted by hitting the brakes. So much happened in “The Dragon and the Wolf” that set the stage for a climactic final act. There were tense first-time meetings, exciting reunions, alliances that were made, alliances that were broken, a major character who was executed, a forbidden love that was kindled, and the giant ice Wall came a-tumbling down. Yet the 80-minute episode’s contemplative tone and masterful direction by Jeremy Podeswa gave every scene plenty of breathing room. This was a return to the very basics of drama — great writing, acting and direction — and was the best episode of the season.
We begin, for the last time this year, at…
King’s Landing: An enemy at the gates. Dany’s Unsullied and Dotharki armies represent order and chaos. Cersei readies for the big meeting and tells The Mountain she wants him to kill Daenerys, then Tyrion, and then Jon Snow if anything goes wrong. She never wants to miss an opportunity for vengeance — even if she’s dead.
On the way to the Dragonpit, Brienne and The Hound meet on the Kingsroad and have a fun exchange, bonding over their mutual respect for Arya. “I thought you were dead,” she says. With this, I just now realized that both The Hound and The Mountain were in fights that left others thinking they died, and yet both managed to come back.
They enter the massive Dragonpit, which was once an area that the Targaryens used to house their dragons. The sequence was shot at the ancient ruins of a Roman gladiatorial amphitheater outside Seville, Spain. Most of what you’re seeing here is an actual historic site dating back to the fourth century BC — not set dressing or special effects.
As they gather, The Hound goes up to his brother, who’s sporting menacing new black-and-silver armor. He looks a bit like Darth Mountain. The Hound stares at him dead in his nearly dead eyes. We might not get the Cleganebowl in this season, but it sounds like it will happen. “You know whose coming for you brother…you’ve always known,” The Hound promises.
The representatives for the Starks, Lannisters, and Greyjoys take their seats. The setting for this incredible gathering of characters is both grandiose in its surroundings and yet strikingly sparse given the bare platform the actors are seated on— they’re just in chairs on a wide-open surface, like this is a minimalist stage play. And that’s perfect. Because these characters loom so large, and each has so much backstory, and they have tangled histories with each other, and there are so many of them up there, it’s almost an overwhelming scene. There’s so much going on that the producers stripped the environment to a near-blank space that keeps our focus entirely on the actors. It’s like a reflection of the “back to basics” style of the episode as a whole.
Cersei — like everybody who saw HBO’s finale preview and photos — wants to know where Daenerys is. She’s not used to waiting for anybody. She’s the queen! She glances over at Brienne like, Oh yeah, you, I remember you.
And oh, she’s coming. Dany learned this season about the persuasive power of showing off her dragons in person. So the Breaker of Chains rolls up to this Westeros prom in the sweetest ride of them all, buzzing the canopy and landing atop the ruins. Cersei looks at Drogon: Stupid dragon. If this meeting were televised in Westeros, viewers would be making “Cersei Lannister is not impressed” memes.
