The pieces are finally getting a move on — to get where they need to be — in the second episode of the season, titled Stormborn. Given the name you would imagine there would be a lot of Daenerys in it, but that is not the case though Dragonstone does get a lot of time. Even though there are some winning moments in the 60-minute episode, it fails to wow you.

The highs

For many the battle at the end of the episode would be the high point (we’ll come to it later) but for me it has to be Tyrion Lannister showing how much of his father’s son he is.

Dany is having her first meeting with her allies and not doing very well convincing them to acquiesce to what she’s suggesting — holding off from attacking King’s Landing, as Yara Greyjoy, Olenna Tyrell and Ellaria Sand want to. Tyrion steps in and quickly and confidently lays out his plans — Dorne and Tyrell armies will lay siege to King’s Landing cutting off food and supplies, while Dany’s “foreign” army of Dothrakis and the Unsullied will attack the seat of power of the Lannister’s, Casterly Rock. Even Olenna Tyrell couldn’t find fault with his strategy.

Another moment concerning Dany that stood out in the episode was right at the start where she and Varys butt heads. Dany is quick to point out how sly the Spider was and how quickly he changed his allegiance from Targaryen to Baratheon to Targaryen again. But Varys once again proves he can talk his way out of anything as he pushes the right buttons (or is he being truthful, who knows?) and tells her that his loyalty is not to the crown but to the people of the kingdom. Of course Dany, who sees herself as a saviour of the people, pardons him with the warning that he should be honest with her and if he ever crosses her he would be burnt alive.

Jon Snow is still being a pouty king and Sansa Stark is not ready to back off from telling him what she thinks — that he is a fool to accept Tyrion’s invitation to meet Dany. But a few good things come from this. One, Tyrion’s line in the missive about dwarves always being a bastard in their father’s eyes made us nostalgic about a time in the show when not many people died. Two, it puts Jon on course for the fateful meeting (hopefully we won’t have to wait for it till next season!) with Dany. Three, Jon puts Sansa in charge of the North as the only Stark who will be left in Winterfell, till he comes back. And we think Sansa is going to a good job, so does Brienne. Four, it brings Littlefinger out of the woodwork admitting his romantic interest in Sansa and gets almost strangled by Jon for thinking about his sister that way. Yay, Jon!

The other two high points of the episode belong to Arya Stark, for whom it is reunion week. First up she is reunited with Hot Pie, who she had first met in the second season, when she was pretending to be a boy called Arry. Well Hot Pie is working at an inn now and still refers to her as Arry, though he thinks she is pretty now. But the best part is it is Hot Pie who tells her that Winterfell is home to the Starks again, which helps her decide to change course and head to Winterfell. Hot Pie hits the nail on the head when he says, “I am like you Arry, we are both survivors”.
The other reunion is both something we’ve been waiting for since the first season and heartbreaking because of the outcome. Arya is cornered by wolves in the forest and who should be the leader of the pack but Nymeria! Yes, she is back and she does recognise Arya, but when she asks Nymeria to go with her to Winterfell, the direwolf turns away. Sob.

Finally, the big bang of the episode — the battle between the Greyjoys. It is a spectacle of Pirates of the Caribbean proportions, except there is no smooth-talking pirate, but a completely-off-the-rockers Euron Greyjoy. Well, we now know what his gift to Cersei just might be — Ellaria Sand, who killed her daughter.

The lows

It is not Samwell Tarly’s fault that he is stuck in the Citadel, which is perhaps the most boring place in the whole kingdom. So once again it is Sam who scores the low of the episode. This episode, his focus is  curing Jorah Mormont’s greyscale. And it is gross. Jorah has been out of the picture for so long that you hardly care about the outcome of his greyscale infection. And shouldn’t Sam be doing something useful? Like figuring out how to defeat the White Walker’s maybe? Duh!

The other low of the episode would be Ellaria Sand. We are so tired of her aggressive, vengeful streak. Being hot-headed is great, but this is politics, not a brawl! And then she propositions Theon to help protect Yara from “foreign invasion”, yep euphemism for sex. Gag!

Also, Melisandre is back in the equation and in the thick of things once again — right in Dragonstone! She is the one who suggests that Jon be summoned. We put her in the low point, because we share Varys’s concerns about her — whatever she meddles in turns out to be bad.

WTF moment

This one belongs to the one and only Reek. Yup, Theon Greyjoy totally pulled a Reek, jumping off a ship and escaping when Euron attacks and holding his sister, Yara, prisoner. So not cool. Especially since the same sister wanted to appoint him her adviser and protector once she took over the Iron Islands.

Death count

So many of the Ironborn who followed Yara and Theon Greyjoy die in the battle with Euron Greyjoy. Noteworthy among those deaths are the three Sand Snakes, Oberyn Martell and Ellaria Sand’s daughters.

Sex and nudity

Last week we had said we need to remove this point, but we spoke too soon. Missandei and Grey Worm get cosy this episode. So while shippers will be happy to see them getting their moment, we can’t help but think it’s unnecessary to the story. So, we are back to gratuitous baring of breasts and buttocks. But then, people might just forget it’s Game of Thrones if they don’t throw in one or two of those.

Best line

“Will you take an advice from an old woman? He is a clever man, your Hand. I’ve known a great many clever men. I’ve outlived them all. You know why? I ignored them. The Lords of Westeros are sheep. Are you a sheep? No. You are a dragon. Be a dragon,” Olenna Tyrell tells Dany. What a woman, that.

Chandreyee Chatterjee

GoT S7E02 airs tonight
at 11pm on STAR World, and STAR World HD