After Dany’s battle plans went awry last week, I was dying to see how she’d respond in this week’s episode, The Spoils of War. It wasn’t what I expected but damn, it did not disappoint.

Side note: You may have heard already but HBO was allegedly hacked and spoilers for future episodes are being leaked online. I don’t have full details – I don’t want to risk seeing spoilers by researching the story. Be careful how you Google!

SPOILER WARNING

At Winterfell

Credit: HBO

Arya is back! I was certain she’d bump into the Hound on her way to Winterfell but – as always with this show – I’m happy to be mistaken. A more endearing set of reunion scenes than last week, it was both warming to see Arya return to her family and chilling to see how much she’s changed. Sansa must now struggle with two siblings who barely resemble those she lost long ago.

Despite Arya demonstrating her badassery with Brienne, my favourite moment at Winterfell happens between Bran and Littlefinger. Chaos is a ladder. We never did find out who previously owned that dagger, but Bran hints that he knows. Or at least, he can peer into the past and find out. If I was Littlefinger, I’d be scared. Can Bran snoop through history to see the extent of Littlefinger’s treachery? He’s the reason Ned went to King’s Landing in the first place, and we all know how that went.

Oh yeah, and Meera Reed leaves. Bran gives as much shit as we do – it’s a shame I don’t care more given the amount of time we’ve spent with her.

In King’s Landing

Credit: HBO

The Iron Bank shows up again, in a much better scene than last week’s reminder of their existence. Will they finance Dany’s war effort if the Crown can’t get Highgarden’s gold supply back to Braavos? Given what happens later this episode, something tells me that gold no longer has Cersei’s name on it. (Edit: The gold actually already arrives at King’s Landing before the episode finale. Still, will Cersei give it up, and how will the Bank support the Crown anyway? By loaning them more money?)

On Dragonstone

Credit: HBO

A nice touch of worldbuilding, if not a little convenient, as Jon explores the caves of Dragonglass. It turns out the Children were remarkable artists, leaving unambiguously drawn pictures of White Walkers.

The timing for Jon isn’t great, though, as Dany finds out about last week’s mishap. In their best scene yet, Jon reminds Dany that she cannot afford to burn cities and melt castles if she wants to inspire genuine change. And that’s why we love him – he’s able to stand there and say these things while three dragons flap around nearby. And it’s why I can’t ever see them working together. The Iron Throne will always by Dany’s priority. There’s another flash of madness as she accuses Tyrion of not wanting to hurt his own family. That line of reasoning doesn’t have a happy ending for anyone.

Davos, who continues to be a personal favourite, gets some of the best lines once again. He pays off the running joke that Stannis liked to correct others on their use of less and fewer and it tickled me. As a literate man we even catch him using words like liberating. It’s this kind of writing that I love about this show, never forgetting to serve the minor characters in meaningful ways.

A haunting moment comes when Theon arrives and meets Jon for the first time since episode one. Having been subjected to unimaginable trauma, I feel for Theon and I hope he can redeem himself somehow. But in Jon’s eyes, Theon is an arsehole. I’m trying to think of the last words we saw them exchange. Back when the Starks found the direwolves, they discovered one last pup. Jon took it, Theon remarking: “Must be the runt of the litter.” Doesn’t help that Theon betrayed Robb and burned his home down, either.

In the Reach

Credit: HBO

Jaime acquires a carriage-load of gold from the Tyrells, and Bronn complains it isn’t enough. But neither of them hold onto their spoils for very long because holy shit.

Dany mounts Drogon and leads the Dothraki horde against the Lannister forces. It’s another flawless battle sequence, not only action-packed but accomplishing a lot of efficient storytelling amidst of the carnage.

My jaw dropped at the death-defying stunt work, from men stood on galloping horses to whole platoons being set on fire – in case you were wondering, the show now holds the record for most stunt men set on fire in a single sequence. Who knew they were counting? The fight choreography is again impeccable, especially during a gorgeous oner featuring Bronn staggering through legions of burning soldiers and dodging horsemen’s sickles. And those POV shots from horseback and dragonback! A wonderfully cinematic blend of visual and special effects – it’s crazy to think that this is a TV show.

My favourite technical aspect is the production design. The fields are ablaze, ash chokes the air, and the screen burns fiery red as we find ourselves in what every Westerosi imagines as the Seventh Hell. It’s terrifying.

Adding to this is the clever decision to stage the battle from Jaime’s perspective. We’re rooting for Dany but I think most of us reacted like Tyrion. The horror of watching thousands of soldiers burning alive and getting hacked to bits by crazed savages might make some of us second-guess our allegiance.

The spectacle is, as always, centred around the characters, and it’s the storytelling that goes on during the action that makes this scene shine. Bronn abandons his gold in favour of the war effort. He risks his life firing the scorpion, and later when he tackles Jaime into the water. Drogon is grounded, proving the dragons are no longer invincible. Jaime, the fucking idiot, decides to give his life to kill Dany, proving that he’s fully committed to his sister’s cause. And I think Jon’s words were echoing in Tyrion’s mind as he oversaw the carnage. Maybe Dany is as bad as the rest of them. She has dragons – maybe she’s worse.

And the show does it all without killing anyone. A fear I had going into this season was that characters would get bumped off so frequently it would lose impact. I’m glad the writers haven’t fallen into that trap (yet). Every death is a carefully planned moment (except Barristan Selmy – that was pretty random) and a culmination of prior decisions. We don’t need constant death to ramp up the tension, just the real threat of it. So no, I don’t think Jaime is dead. Dany will take him hostage, harkening back to season one when Robb captured him.

I do have one question: Why was Tyrion there? He isn’t a soldier. He wasn’t even there as a commander – this was a balls-to-the-wall show of force, not a carefully planned assault. Yes, his reaction was important, especially as he saw his brother again. Yes, I like the parallels with season one, where he convinces the hill tribes to fight amongst the Lannisters. This time, he’s with another set of barbarians fighting against the Lannisters. But I can’t imagine he insisted on his presence for symbolic reasons.

In Conclusion

Episode 4 gives us what we signed up for. It’s the best episode of the season yet, with a thrilling, dark, and complex battle sequence. Not only that, but the rest of the episode was focused with no missteps.

Predictions? We’ve seen what Dany can do. But remember, every charred Lannister corpse is one less soldier in the fight against the Dead. I reckon the White Walkers will attack soon and remind us of the doom they bring.

What did you think of this week’s episode? Let me know, and check out my review for last week’s episode, The Queen’s Justice.