Stone the flamin’ ravens! The second episode of Season 7 rolled around as fast as Varys’ commute from Dorne to Meereen. This week saw a few loose tacks in the Westeros map well and truly nailed – here’s looking at you Missandei and Greyworm – but what really had us choking on our lemon cakes was the sneaky arsenal of cinematic effects Benioff and Weiss have been trebucheting onto our screens. Let’s chuck a Theon and dive straight in, shall we?
Needless to say, an army of spoilers lie beyond this wall… you’ve been warned.
5. Take a dip in Theon’s anxie-sea
First things first, we commend Theon on making it this far: poor bloke was brutally shafted and he’s managed to sail to Meereen and back amongst a crew of knife-wielding Pykey pirates. It’s a wonder he didn’t go off the deep end earlier!
For anyone that personally suffers from PTSD driven anxiety (or knows someone afflicted), you’d be well aware of the frenzied thoughts of paralysing self-doubt and vulnerability. The visual representation of Theon’s internal anguish involved a flurried montage of bloody violence and mutilation, à la Benioff and Weiss (or was it George R.R. Martin?). Nevertheless, it was a pivotal moment in Theon’s character arc, and the scene perfectly portrays his inevitable internal struggle, and acceptance that despite his best efforts he has failed as his sister’s protector.
All jokes aside, Theon’s Ramsey-induced PTSD was bound to crop up sooner or later… and despite everyone judging his seemingly selfish swan dive to hit snooze on reality, the lad’s got a long swim back to Dragonstone to hatch a redemptive scheme.
4. Nymeria now rivals a small car?
Holy Hot Pie, is it just us or has Nymeria packed some serious gains since Season 1? She’s as big the Titan of Bravos! Nevertheless, the wild side is certainly treating her well… *Cue wolf whistle*
However, we suspect whoever was in charge of CGI’ing ol’ Nym accidentally slipped and selected ‘wagon-wolf’ on the sizing dial. That, or they were aiming for a Ghibli Catbus vibe?
Casting our minds back to the first season, Jon Snow’s pupper (Ghost) was initially the runt of the litter but in his fully grown form he’d dwarf in comparison to the gigantic dimensions of Arya’s former sidekick. Speaking of, where in the wide world of Westeros is Ghost?
3. Guard your Greyworms, this scene will hit you in the feels
We’ve been trying to avoid writing about this much-hyped and oversaturated scene as hard as the producers are to avoid a Stark reunion, but alas, there is no denying it was beautifully crafted. As much as we were hoping for a glimpse of Greyworm’s vast nether expanse, it was a way classier move by the producers to maintain an element of mystery. From the close-ups of Greyworm’s nervous eye contact to the way the camera follows Missandei as she reassures him with tender kisses, this scene oozed emotion. If we hadn’t been rooting for these two lovebirds since Season 3, it would have had us yoking up our lamprey pies as much as the next…
2. Cop a pieful of greyscale
To be perfectly candid, the following scene had even our resident forensic-scientist-come-tv-writer’s stomach roiling. Just quietly, greyscale removal looks beyond fucked. Sammy T, did you misplace your warm heart in the restricted section? Poor Jorah… first, he was thrust cold-heartedly into the friendzone and now he’s playing patient to physical torture? Someone give the guy a break!
And as if the image of a pus-filled scab being removed from a man’s chest wasn’t enough to send your lunch hurtling back upwards, the perfectly synced cut-away to some dude’s actual lunch might have done the trick! We’re only two episodes deep and Benioff and Weiss have certainly proved they have a few tricks up their cinematic sleeves to keep our otherwise desensitised gore cravings satisfied.
1. A Battle of Pyke and Fire
Woah, Neddy. Isn’t it nice to be treated to an epic battle so early in the season?! From the moment Euron disembarks his hell-ship via one badass gangplank, there’s fire in his wild eyes. Oh, and multiple caches of fire have broken out amongst the Iron Fleet… so you know, the battle has well and truly started. No pre-war, Ramsey-esque mind games to fuss around with here! The folk of Pyke get straight to bloody business.
It’s a fast-paced scene of hand-to-hand combat and swordplay; a constant flurry of fighting and violent mutilation amidst clouds of hypnotic flying embers. The camera constantly switches perspectives to intensify the sheer unpredictability of battle, and maximise the visual impact of injury and death. Men are callously bludgeoned, some torn to shreds by a swift twist of a sword in the guts. It’s brutal, it’s insensate and yet, it’s signature Game of Thrones.
What was your favourite moment from the second instalment? Leave us a comment below, then mend your Iron Fleet and meet us back here for the next Westorosi Weekly.
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