Game of Thrones Preview – “The Spoils of War”

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Game of Thrones Preview – “The Spoils of War” (Se: 7 Ep: 4)

Craig Koshkin

After watching every episode of Game of Thrones multiple times, writing 3 recaps, and two different preview articles, I’m still not sure how we got here. Cersei and Jaime out scheming Tyrion? I never thought that would happen. Daenerys with her back against the wall even with her dragons and a seemingly unbreakable alliance of pissed of houses? Even with the unpredictable nature of this show, I didn’t see any of this coming.  Now I get to preview and guess what is going to happen on Sunday’s episode – “ The Spoils of War.” Well, here goes…

Listen up everyone. It is good news, bad news time. First, the bad news: there is not an episode description anywhere on the interwebs so I am flying a little blind. What’s the good news? The upcoming scenes from episode 3 are a little clearer than they have been at other times. We also have the pretty straightforward episode title “The Spoils of War”

Let’s start with the first scene that shows Cersei building her relationship with the Iron Bank. At the end of episode 3, as Jaime walks towards Olenna’s tower, you see the Lannister soldiers packing up the gold stored at Highgarden. As Cersei promised, the debts of the crown will be paid to the Iron Bank and it seems it will be faster than the fortnight she sought. This opens so many possibilities for Cersei to raise an army with the Iron Bank’s support. What once seemed to be a lopsided advantage for the Targaryen contingent now just may be an overwhelming Lannister advantage.  I’m curious if Jaime is going to tell her about Olenna’s dying confession.

Daenerys is on the beach at Dragonstone, clearly losing her patience with these military setbacks. Had she just attacked King’s Landing right away, she would at least be sitting on the throne. It appears Jon Snow is on the beach with her. Is it time to strike an alliance? Daenerys is in desperate need. Or will her lack of patience lead her to make an even more impetuous decision to attack even if unprepared?

The next scene is just a shot of a very familiar knife. It is Littlefinger’s Valyrian Steel dagger. Does Littlefinger plan on using this on someone or is he giving it as a gift to someone he loves *cough Sansa cough*?  Since the dagger appeared in one of Sam’s books, it has become pretty clear that this is very important to the storyline at some point.

The next two scenes are small but we get to see Brienne ready to attack, and defend a fallen Podrick. Also Theon is pushing a rowboat ashore (at Dragonstone perhaps)? What will he say to Daenerys if he comes back a failure?

Finally we see a dragon soar. Is Daenerys ready to take the fight to Cersei? Nothing is ever quite what it seems so maybe it is just an image.

All in all, it is very hard to know what to expect from this episode. However, I am fairly certain of one thing.  While Cersei currently has seized the upper hand, nothing ever happens in a linear fashion on this show. There will be ebbs and flows to this war, and Daenerys is going to claw back at some point. I believe the soaring dragon is Daenerys’ first attempt at getting back in control. Also, in episode 3, Daeney was told she couldn’t ride after Euron because one arrow could take her out and their cause is finished. Could we see a second dragon rider soon? Someone who is slightly more expendable and equally as fearless *Cough Jon Snow cough*? I also think a Winterfell/Targaryen official alliance is coming sooner rather than later. Jon Snow is all about the survival of man, but he won’t be able to do it without Daenerys and her dragons. His hand will be forced soon.