‘Game Of Thrones’ Season 7, Episode 4 Recap: Dragons Wreak Havoc On Lannister Army

Episode 4 of Game of Thrones season 7 may have been the shortest of the episode they’ve ever done, but it was certainly full of action and entertainment.

GAME OF THRONES RECAP

The episode began in WInterfell. Littlefinger finds Bran and attempts to woo him, as he already got on Jon Snow’s bad side in the last episode. He gifts him a Valyrian steel dagger that has way more significance than Bran probably knows – It was the one an unnamed assassin attempted to kill him with back in season two. Bran accepts, but also repeats a Littlefinger classic line back to him: “Chaos is a ladder.” This ruffles Littlefinger’s feathers – if Bran knows he said that, what else could he know?

Outside, Arya is at the gates of Winterfell, and eventually convinces a pair of bozo guards that she is indeed a Stark. They let her in, and she if finally, after seasons, reunited with Sansa. While the two were never that close (actresses Maisie Williams and Sophie Turner on the other hand…), they are both equally excited to see the other.

They don’t go into detail about what’s happened in their lives in the past five years, but they both understand that neither has a happy story to tell. They go meet with Bran, who is becoming more robotic by the minute with all the memories he is now responsible more. Arya tells her brother and sister that next on her death list is Cersei. Bran gives Arya the Valyrian-steel dagger from Littlefinger, and this shocks Sansa. She knows Littlefinger must be up to something if he’s giving a dagger to Bran.

Next, Arya reunited with Brienne and challenges her to spar, which gives fans one of the most fun and exciting moments in the episode. Two strong female characters, so different but who have both developed a similar skill, is mesmerizing. Sansa, on the other hand, looks perplexed. Is she jealous of her sister? Proud? Frustrated that she can’t do the same? And it seemed important to Arya for Sansa to see what she is capable of, but it remains unclear why.

Back at Dragonstone, Jon Snow and Daenerys take a walk that might be considered romantic if not upon the eve of war. Jon continues to try to show Dany that the white walkers are a real threat, and Dany continues to focus on taking the Iron Throne. “Isn’t [the North’s] survival more important than your pride?” she asks after Jon again refuses to bend the knee, despite Dany’s promise of help in the North if he does.

They finish their stroll and run into Dany’s advisors, who inform her that she is losing her battles. She questions the loyalty of everyone in the room before turning to Jon Snow for input. “If you use dragons to melt castles and burn cities, you’re not different; you’re just more of the same,” he tells her.

Theon suddenly returns to Dragonstone, and Jon Snow looks hurt to see him – the man who betrayed his family, ultimately leaving the Boltons in charge of Winterfell. First he looks hurt, and then the hurt turns to anger. Theon is only saved by the fact that he saved Sansa last season.

Then a quick look at King’s Landing. Cersei is trying to convince Tycho that she has the gold to pay off the Iron Bank, and also that she’s essentially beaten Daenerys, which is clearly untrue, and a flash to Jamie and the Lannister army shows us why. The army is surprised by a Dothraki attack, complete with dragons.

And here we have the second of just four episodes the end with a major battle. And the scene is one of the best in GoT history. They literally set more stunt people on fire than any other Hollywood production ever, just for this scene.

The sellsword Bronn goes for the giant-arrow-dragon-killing device introduced in episode 2, and hits Drogon, on which Dany is flying. The dragon goes down, not dead but injured, and leaves Dany on the ground. This pits Jamie against Dany for a terrifying moment while Tyrion watches from afar, until Drogon spits fire at the Lannister and Bronn saves his life at the last second. The last shot is Jamie, weighed down by his armor and golden hand, sinking down to the bottom of a lake.

Tune in next Sunday to see who survives into episode 5!