#GameOfThrones +2: 5 observations and 2 predictions from “The Spoils of War”

Prediction: Littlefinger is going down, to the Valyrian steel dagger.
Think about the journey this dagger has taken: From Littlefinger to Robert Baratheon to Tyrion Lannister and back to Littlefinger. Now to Arya Stark via Bran the Mood. You know they’re not giving her such an exquisite blade to keep on her hip for the next season and a half.

So who’s going to feel it’s cut? My money is Littlefinger by Arya’s hand. They aren’t going to drop this back in or have him watch Arya give Brienne all she can handle in battle and then leave it hanging. He’s could make a move on Sansa; he could be revealed as the mastermind of the failed attempt on Bran the Mood’s life (which Bran would know. Note the line: “Someone very wealthy wanted me dead.”) All she needs is a reason, and it would be perfect if a character like Littlefinger is killed by his own blade.

Reunions: A measure of change.
I’m loving the Stark reunions because they let each character reflect off each other and the characters they were when they last saw each other. It starts with Arya asking if she has to call her sister Lady Stark. In their first embrace, Sansa gives her the smile-hug-jump and Arya just stands there, telling her sister she needs better guards because she’s learned enough to recognize bad guards when she sees them.

Arya jumps right into asking her about killing Joffrey, startling Sansa by talking about her list. It was one of those “You’re joking.” “LOL I’m not” moments. Then Arya gives her the real hug and you finally see some joy when she learns about Bran.

Standing at the weirwood you can see again Sansa standing tall in near-royal garb while Arya stands heavy with the road in her traveling cloak.

The look on Sansa’s face when Bran reveals Arya wasn’t joking about her hit list. Great TV.

Expert: Jon Snow…on mining?
What exactly are Jon Snow’s qualifications for mining precious metals? I hope he has a good project manager.

Questioning: Tyrion’s loyalties
Tyrion Lannister thinks himself an orphan. He’s not even a Lannister. But he is Jamie’s brother and it’s the only familial bond he’s ever had. Confrontation between the two is inevitable, and the first taste we got in season seven was fantastic as Tyrion cursed his brother’s potentially fatal charge to become the queenslayer.

But was he cursing he’s brother for putting his life in danger or for how close he came to toppling Tyrion’s queen? Presumably Jamie will survive (Bron on the other hand…?) and he may even be Dany’s prisoner. He did just try to kill the queen and would be quite a prize.

Prediction: Jamie switches sides in the biggest betrayal of the entire series, driving Cersei even further over the edge.

Taking charge: Dany
Finally we see some leadership out of Dany. When Tyrion insists that his strategy was sound, she lets him have it to the point of questioning his loyalties. As she should. Then she declares simply, “I’m at war. I’m losing.”

Then she turned to Jon for advice, which is questionable since they’ve barely met, but perhaps she’s impressed enough by his refusal to bend the knee that she’ll listen to his input. He reminds her that if she melts castles and burns cities she is just more of the same.

So she melts some soldiers and supplies instead.

Needs a helmet: Dany
Why are we letting Daenerys of the House Targaryen, the First of Her Name, The Unburnt, Queen of the Andals, the Rhoynar and the First Men, Queen of Meereen, Khaleesi of the Great Grass Sea, Protector of the Realm, Lady Regnant of the Seven Kingdoms, Breaker of Chains and Mother of Dragons ride around on said dragon without any sort of body armor? She should at the very least have a helmet. With all the spears and arrows coming at her she can’t just be up there all unprotected. Ser Jorah would never allow this.