After last week’s promise that Jon and Dany will meet soon, I couldn’t wait for this week’s episode, The Queen’s Justice.

SPOILERS FOLLOW

At Dragonstone

Jon meets Dany and it doesn’t go very well. Jon is right – the real enemy is north of the Wall. But we, the viewers, are the only ones who know everything. Still, the direction of this first scene seems to place Dany on the villainous side. She dresses only in black these days, contrasting her whites and soothing blues of previous seasons. Sat in her throne, the camera lingers at a distance – we see her like it’s the first time we’ve met her. Missandei recites her titles in a more authoritative way than we’re used to hearing. Dany’s only justification for wanting the throne is that it belongs to her, and she acts as if she pretends not to hear the rules of right of conquest. I’m telling you, Dany will be the baddie by the end!

The advisors play the deepest roles in this drama. Davos has proven himself an excellent speaker, making grand claims about Jon’s character. He boldly differentiates the characters, asserting that Jon’s successes are his own doing, whereas Dany just has the right name. Later, Tyrion’s use of logic plays a vital role in convincing Dany to let Jon mine the Dragonglass.

So, she hasn’t completely lost it yet, and her stories about her turbulent youth hit us hard – we’ve seen her sold into slavery by her own brother, we’ve seen her kill her husband after tragically attempting to save him, and we’ve seen her liberate three cities’ worth of slaves. But the best villains are the ones we can understand and empathise with. The only fact that might temper her determination is Jon’s true parentage. The look on her face if that ever comes to light…

Annoyingly, Melisandre disappears before she can vouch for Jon’s resurrection, a fact that almost slipped out during Davos’s spiel.

In the Narrow Sea

Theon gets picked up by an Iron Islander. He feels shit. Come on, either give us something worth talking about or don’t give us anything at all!

At Winterfell

Sansa is proving herself to be a decent leader in prepping Winterfell for the coming winter. It was easy to miss, but I got really excited when Sansa requested that food be brought from every keep in the event that, “the entire North needs to flee to Winterfell.” And if everyone is piled into one castle, it sounds like that’s where the final stand against the White Walkers will take place.

Afterwards, Littlefinger imparts some more of his wisdom. I’m not sure I understand their relationship anymore. She’s distrustful of him but she still has him follow her around and listen to all her plans.

Finally, Bran shows up and we see the most lacklustre reunion in the show so far. Instead of using the time to explore Bran and Sansa’s relationship, they poke fun at Sansa’s (and the viewers’) poor understanding of what it means to be the Three-Eyed Raven. Then he turns the creep factor up to eleven by reminding Sansa that she was raped on her wedding night not too long ago. Brotherly love. I don’t know, I’d be more invested if we saw more of Bran but he’s becoming more like an afterthought that the show keeps reminding us about so that his huge impact in the finale won’t feel like an ex machina.

The only thing I found interesting was the timing of this scene. Littlefinger talks about how every possibility is playing out at once, and how Sansa must see all of them in order to win the game. Then Bran pops up saying that being the Three-Eyed Raven means he can, “see everything that’s ever happened to everyone.” Intriguing.

In King’s Landing

Euron’s success is celebrated and I’d care if I knew Euron. All I see is a big ball of testosterone in a show committed to providing morally complex characters. I can’t imagine Cersei will ever marry Euron, even if he helps her win the war.

Cersei kills the last Sand Snake (I’m not even going to Google her name) and tortures Elaria Sand. Classic Cersei. It’s a wonderfully dark scene, driving home a message we’ve been receiving for years now: You do not fuck with Cersei.

Then the Iron Bank pops up again. For something that scared even the mighty Tywin Lannister, the Bank hasn’t been all that well-developed. We get reminders now and then that the Crown is in debt, but no sense what the consequences are for not paying. Sure, they backed Stannis, but he never made it south of Winterfell with their support. I suppose now that Cersei controls the wealthy Highgarden and the Reach, she can bleed their resources dry. I’m just left thinking: Who cares, and will there be some payoff?

At the Citadel

Jorah is cured. That was easy. Okay, we all knew Samwell was going to do it but did it have to be that easy? Something is amiss. There’ll be lasting consequences – I guarantee it.

At Casterly Rock and Highgarden

Dany is really making a hash of her invasion. At least the scene finally pays off Tyrion’s work on Casterly Rock’s sewer network established in season two! And I loved Tyrion’s inspiring narration over the Unsullied invasion before the cold realisation that they weren’t going to triumph in the way they’d predicted.

The Lannisters have moved somewhere far more prosperous, abandoning their ancestral home. What was the key to victory? They’re willing to make sacrifices. Dany isn’t. She won’t invade and slaughter the Westerosi, even though she’ll win. And for that reason, she won’t win.

I was sad to see Olenna Tyrell go out, but she couldn’t have gone out better.

In Conclusion

My feelings are a bit mixed about this episode. While I loved the drama between Jon and Dany, Cersei’s cruel treatment of Elaria, and the final sequence at the Rock and Highgarden, we kept getting bogged down by poorly thought out scenes like Bran’s return, the Iron Bank’s reappearance, and Jorah’s miraculous recovery. The show has the burden of having to wrap everything up for an ending, and it shows here. Still, the highs vastly outweigh the lows and I’m eager to see what happens next.

Predictions? Any minute now, Dany will mount Drogon and tear the Red Keep to shreds. Without Cersei, the Crown falls.

Thanks for reading! Click here for my review of the previous episode, Stormborn.