| Revision as of 12:07, 31 July 2017 editSjælefred Herm (talk | contribs)Extended confirmed users4,315 edits →In OldtownTags: Mobile edit Mobile web edit← Previous edit | Revision as of 12:24, 31 July 2017 edit undoHijiri88 (talk | contribs)Autopatrolled, Extended confirmed users37,389 edits Not a review, but a plot recap, quoted out of context to make it look like a positive review. Yes, we should have more general criticism rather than this "yea vs. nay" approach, but misquoting sources like this is not the way to do it.Next edit → | ||
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| "The Queen's Justice" was the final episode for actress Indira Varma, who had played Ellaria Sand since the fourth season. Concerning Ellaria's fate, Varma suspected it might have happened this season: "Obviously there’s lots of trimming going on. It’s all coming to a head and you have to get rid of less important characters that the audience hasn’t had the chance to invest in as much. So I was expecting it. I wasn’t heartbroken. And I was like, “As long as I die on screen…” and they were like “Yeah!” But of course I don’t die on screen. I stay alive, I’m just not going to reappear. I think it’s really clever." About shooting her agonizing final scene after working on the show for four years, Varma added: "It was hard work. A lot of blood snot and sweat and tears. Myself and Rosabell had to be shackled. They very kindly put some felt inside the handcuffs so we didn’t get bruised and battered — though we ended up doing that anyway because your acting takes over. The shackles kept coming off so they had to tighten them and then we couldn’t get them off at all. At the end of the day I was like, “I’m stuck! I need somebody to help me!” and they had to cut me out of them. All in a day’s work." In terms of audience reaction and allegiances, Varma hoped they'd be inclined to feel sorry for her and Tyene's character: "Ellaria hasn’t had quite the screen time so people are inevitably more invested in Cersei. But people were so in love with Oberyn (]) and there’s a bit of that residue carrying on, and obviously, nobody wants to see somebody’s child killed in front of them — that’s every parent’s worst nightmare, beyond worst nightmare."<ref>{{cite web |url=http://ew.com/tv/2017/07/30/game-of-thrones-ellaria-cersei/|title=Game of Thrones actress on her 'worst nightmare' Cersei scene|first=James|last=Hibberd|work=]|date=July 30, 2017|accessdate=July 31, 2017}}</ref> | "The Queen's Justice" was the final episode for actress Indira Varma, who had played Ellaria Sand since the fourth season. Concerning Ellaria's fate, Varma suspected it might have happened this season: "Obviously there’s lots of trimming going on. It’s all coming to a head and you have to get rid of less important characters that the audience hasn’t had the chance to invest in as much. So I was expecting it. I wasn’t heartbroken. And I was like, “As long as I die on screen…” and they were like “Yeah!” But of course I don’t die on screen. I stay alive, I’m just not going to reappear. I think it’s really clever." About shooting her agonizing final scene after working on the show for four years, Varma added: "It was hard work. A lot of blood snot and sweat and tears. Myself and Rosabell had to be shackled. They very kindly put some felt inside the handcuffs so we didn’t get bruised and battered — though we ended up doing that anyway because your acting takes over. The shackles kept coming off so they had to tighten them and then we couldn’t get them off at all. At the end of the day I was like, “I’m stuck! I need somebody to help me!” and they had to cut me out of them. All in a day’s work." In terms of audience reaction and allegiances, Varma hoped they'd be inclined to feel sorry for her and Tyene's character: "Ellaria hasn’t had quite the screen time so people are inevitably more invested in Cersei. But people were so in love with Oberyn (]) and there’s a bit of that residue carrying on, and obviously, nobody wants to see somebody’s child killed in front of them — that’s every parent’s worst nightmare, beyond worst nightmare."<ref>{{cite web |url=http://ew.com/tv/2017/07/30/game-of-thrones-ellaria-cersei/|title=Game of Thrones actress on her 'worst nightmare' Cersei scene|first=James|last=Hibberd|work=]|date=July 30, 2017|accessdate=July 31, 2017}}</ref> | ||
| "The Queen's Justice" was also the last episode for recurring cast members Diana Rigg and Rosabell Laurenti Sellers, as Olenna Tyrell and Tyene Sand were killed. The episode featured the return of Mark Gatiss as Tycho Nestoris, who was last seen in season 5's "The Dance of Dragons". | "The Queen's Justice" was also the last episode for recurring cast members Diana Rigg and Rosabell Laurenti Sellers, as Olenna Tyrell and Tyene Sand were killed. The episode featured the return of Mark Gatiss as Tycho Nestoris, who was last seen in season 5's "The Dance of Dragons" and Jerome Flynn as Bronn who last appeared in the season 6 finale. | ||
| ==Reception== | ==Reception== | ||
| Line 90: | Line 90: | ||
| "The Queen's Justice" received highly positive reactions from critics. ] ] surveyed 18 reviews of the episode and judged 94% of them to be positive, with an average rating of 7.8/10.<ref name="rt">{{cite web|url=https://www.rottentomatoes.com/tv/game_of_thrones/s07/e03|title=The Queen's Justice|publisher=]|accessdate=July 31, 2017}}</ref> The website's consensus for the episode stated "'The Queens Justice' saw the much-anticipated meeting between Jon Snow and Daenerys Targaryen -- but had much larger surprises in store before its shocking end."<ref name = "rt"/> | "The Queen's Justice" received highly positive reactions from critics. ] ] surveyed 18 reviews of the episode and judged 94% of them to be positive, with an average rating of 7.8/10.<ref name="rt">{{cite web|url=https://www.rottentomatoes.com/tv/game_of_thrones/s07/e03|title=The Queen's Justice|publisher=]|accessdate=July 31, 2017}}</ref> The website's consensus for the episode stated "'The Queens Justice' saw the much-anticipated meeting between Jon Snow and Daenerys Targaryen -- but had much larger surprises in store before its shocking end."<ref name = "rt"/> | ||
| Matt Fowler of ] described the episode as "amazing", saying ""The Queen's Justice" did justice to the long-awaited coming together of Jon Snow and Daenerys Targaryen. With a devilishly good script and some pointed action (along with a few twists and turns), this episode contained a ton of long scenes, but no fat. - This was prime Thrones." He gave the episode a 9.5 out of 10.<ref name="fowler">{{cite web|url=http://www.ign.com/articles/2017/07/31/game-of-thrones-the-queens-justice-review|title=Game of Thrones: "The Queen's Justice" Review|first=Matt|last=Fowler|publisher=IGN|date=July 30, 2017|accessdate=July 31, 2017}}</ref> Shane Ryan of '']'' wrote "It was, by far, the best episode of the season. I've always contended that the show does best when it pushes the drama and the narrative ahead by means of two-person scenes, and the examples in "The Queen's Justice" were phenomenal", but remarked that "Littlefinger is a boring non-character spouting cliches, Cersei's revenge tour is torture porn on a level with the Ramsay Bolton heyday, and Euron is quickly becoming too ridiculous to take seriously, even though he makes me laugh."<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.pastemagazine.com/articles/2017/07/game-of-thrones-review-the-queens-justice-episode.html|title=Game of Thrones Review: "The Queen's Justice" (Episode 7.03)|first=Shane|last=Ryan|work=]|date=July 30, 2017|accessdate=July 31, 2017}}</ref> | |||
| Andy Hartup of |
Andy Hartup of ] similarly gave praise to the episode, writing "As pure TV entertainment, Queen's Justice is middling at best... As a narrative designed to subvert the expectations of its viewers and give them pause to truly ponder the nature of the show -- and fantasy TV as a whole - it's a masterclass."<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.gamesradar.com/game-of-thrones-season-7-episode-3-queens-justice-recap/|title=Game of Thrones S7.03 review: “A smart episode that makes us question our assumptions”|first=Andy|last=Hartup|work=]|date=July 30, 2017|accessdate=July 31, 2017}}</ref> Sean T. Collins of '']'' wrote of the episode "As befits its title, this week's installment asks us to consider what it means to be a ruler... and what it means to seek justice."<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.rollingstone.com/tv/recaps/game-of-thrones-recap-queen-slates-w494191|title='Game of Thrones' Recap: Queen Slates|first=Sean|last=T. Collins|work=]|date=July 30, 2017|accessdate=July 31, 2017}}</ref> | ||
| ==References== | ==References== | ||
Revision as of 12:24, 31 July 2017
3rd episode of the 7th season of Game of Thrones| "The Queen's Justice" | |||
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| Game of Thrones episode | |||
| File:Game-of-Thrones-S07-E03-The-Queen's-Justice.jpgDaenerys Targaryen meeting Jon Snow for the first time. | |||
| Episode no. | Season 7 Episode 3 | ||
| Directed by | Mark Mylod | ||
| Written by | David Benioff D. B. Weiss | ||
| Featured music | Ramin Djawadi | ||
| Cinematography by | PJ Dillon | ||
| Editing by | Jesse Parker | ||
| Original air date | July 30, 2017 (2017-07-30) | ||
| Running time | 63 minutes | ||
| Guest appearances | |||
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| Episode chronology | |||
| |||
| Game of Thrones (season 7) List of Game of Thrones episodes | |||
"The Queen's Justice" is the third episode of the seventh season of HBO's fantasy television series Game of Thrones, and the 63rd overall. The episode was written by David Benioff and D. B. Weiss, and directed by Mark Mylod.
On Dragonstone, Jon Snow (Kit Harington) and Davos Seaworth (Liam Cunningham) are taken to meet Daenerys Targaryen (Emilia Clarke) by Tyrion Lannister (Peter Dinklage) and Missandei (Nathalie Emmanuel). Jon asks for Daenerys's help to defeat the White Walkers and the army of the dead beyond the Wall, but Daenerys iterates her desire to take the Iron Throne first. Varys (Conleth Hill) meets with Melisandre (Carice van Houten), who admits she will be leaving Dragonstone for Volantis. Before departing, she says that she will return to Westeros, where she expects to die, along with Varys. Later, Jon requests to mine the mountain of dragon glass beneath Dragonstone, and is allowed to do so. In King's Landing, Euron Greyjoy (Pilou Asbæk) returns bearing his gift to Cersei Lannister (Lena Headey), in the form of Ellaria Sand (Indira Varma) and Tyene Sand (Rosabell Laurenti Sellers). Taking the Sands to the dungeons, Cersei kisses Tyene with the same poison used to kill Myrcella and leaves Ellaria to watch Tyene die and rot. Tycho Nestoris (Mark Gatiss) of the Iron Bank arrives to meet with Cersei and requests repayment of their debt. At the Citadel, Samwell Tarly (John Bradley) and Archmaester Ebrose (Jim Broadbent) examine a now healed Jorah Mormont (Iain Glen). In Winterfell, Sansa Stark (Sophie Turner) is alerted of an arrival at the gates, and finds Bran Stark (Isaac Hempstead Wright) has returned. At Casterly Rock, the Unsullied infiltrate and capture the castle, though Grey Worm (Jacob Anderson) notes that there were fewer men defending the castle than expected. The Iron Fleet arrives, destroying their ships and stranding the Unsullied. Meanwhile, Jaime Lannister (Nikolaj Coster-Waldau) leads the Lannister army to take Highgarden, and offers Olenna Tyrell (Diana Rigg) poisoned wine as a mercy.
"The Queen's Justice" received widespread acclaim from critics, who considered the long-awaited meeting between Daenerys and Jon, the unexpected arrival of Bran at Winterfell, the agonizing fate of Ellaria Sand, the bait-and-switch scene concerning Casterly Rock and Highgarden, and the final performances of Indira Varma and Diana Rigg as highlights of the episode.
Plot
On Dragonstone
Jon Snow (Kit Harington) and Davos Seaworth (Liam Cunningham), along with their northern envoy, arrive at Dragonstone, and are met by Tyrion Lannister (Peter Dinklage) and Missandei (Nathalie Emmanuel). After taking away the northmen's weapons and boat, Jon is escorted to the throne room to meet Daenerys Targaryen (Emilia Clarke). Stating that she is the rightful heir to the Iron Throne, Daenerys orders Jon to bend the knee and swear fealty to her cause to defeat Cersei Lannister (Lena Headey). Jon refuses, stating that the real enemy is in the north, and in turns asks for Daenerys' help to defeat the White Walkers and the army of the dead beyond the Wall. Davos warns Daenerys that it is irrelevant who holds the Iron Throne if the army of the dead marches on the Seven Kingdoms. Daenerys fails to heed his warning, and reiterates her desire to take the Iron Throne first.
Meanwhile, Varys (Conleth Hill) meets with Melisandre (Carice van Houten) to question her as to why she is hiding from Jon. Melisandre refuses to reveal her reasoning, but admits she will be leaving Dragonstone for Volantis. Before departing, she says that she will return to Westeros at some point in the future. She expects to die in Westeros, and so will Varys.
Later, on the cliffs of Dragonstone, Tyrion approaches Jon. Tyrion admits he had doubts about the existence of the White Walkers, but due to Jon's willingness to meet with Daenerys, Tyrion now believes him. Noting that he cannot promise to help him fight the White Walker army, Tyrion asks how he can be of help. Jon requests to mine the mountain of dragonglass beneath Dragonstone, and is allowed to do so.
In the Narrow Sea
Theon Greyjoy (Alfie Allen) is fished aboard one of the few remaining ships of Yara Greyjoy's fleet, where the Ironborn demand to know what became of their commander. Unable to reveal his cowardice, Theon instead lies and claims that he tried in vain to rescue her from Euron, leaving them unimpressed.
In King's Landing
Euron Greyjoy (Pilou Asbæk) returns to King's Landing bearing his gift to Cersei, in the form of Ellaria Sand (Indira Varma) and Tyene Sand (Rosabell Laurenti Sellers). He rides through the streets of King's Landing with his captives, which also includes Yara Greyjoy (Gemma Whelan), with the smallfolk of the city spitting, shouting and throwing things at the hostages. Euron presents his gifts to Cersei, who tells Euron she will marry him after the war against Daenerys is won. Taking the Sands to the dungeons, Cersei taunts Ellaria, and kisses Tyene with the same poison used to kill Myrcella. She leaves Ellaria to watch Tyene die, telling Ellaria she will be kept alive until her daughter's body is completely decomposed.
Cersei visits Jaime and the two make love. In the morning, a servant arrives to tell Cersei that Tycho Nestoris (Mark Gatiss) of the Iron Bank has come to meet Cersei, and sees Jaime in Cersei's bed. Jaime is concerned, but Cersei reminds him that she is the queen.
Nestoris tells Cersei that the Iron Bank requests repayment of their debt. Cersei requests a fortnight in order to fulfill their request.
At Winterfell
Sansa Stark (Sophie Turner) begins her command at Winterfell, and inspects the castle's provisions and armory. Littlefinger (Aidan Gillen) counsels Sansa to heed the danger posed both by Cersei and the White Walkers, when Sansa is alerted of an arrival at the gates. Sansa goes to investigate, and finds Bran Stark (Isaac Hempstead Wright) has returned. The two go to the godswood, where Bran states that he is now the Three-Eyed Raven, which Sansa is confused by. Bran remarks that Sansa looked beautiful in her white dress on her wedding night. A shocked Sansa leaves the Godswood.
In Oldtown
Samwell Tarly (John Bradley) and Archmaester Ebrose (Jim Broadbent) examine a now healed Jorah Mormont (Iain Glen). Jorah is permitted to leave, and decides to return to Daenerys' service. Surprised by Jorah's sudden recovery, the Archmaester is suspect of Samwell's involvement in Jorah being cured, which he had forbidden. Expecting to be punished, Samwell is not expelled from the Citadel, with the Archmaester reminding Samwell that he saved a man's life. Instead, the Archmaester gives Samwell the task of restoring old documents as a "reward" for disobeying the Citadel's rules.
At Casterly Rock
The Unsullied infiltrate Casterly Rock using the city's sewer system, a plan devised by Tyrion, who was formerly in charge of the Rock's sewers. The Unsullied swiftly capture the castle, though Grey Worm (Jacob Anderson) notes that there were fewer men defending the castle than expected. Euron Greyjoy arrives with the Iron Fleet, destroying the ships used to carry the Unsullied and stranding Grey Worm and his remaining forces.
At Highgarden
Jaime Lannister (Nikolaj Coster-Waldau) leads the Lannister and Tarly armies to take Highgarden, the seat of House Tyrell, in retribution for their defection to Daenerys. Inspired by Robb Stark's victory over the Lannisters in the Whispering Wood, the Lannisters had purposefully left Casterly Rock with no more than a token garrison and empty stores, ensuring the Unsullied's distraction during the Lannister's attack on Highgarden, and anticipating that the Unsullied will be unable to hold Casterly Rock for long without provisions. Jaime meets with Olenna Tyrell (Diana Rigg) after defeating Highgarden's forces, and offers her poisoned wine as a mercy over Cersei's original plans to execute her. Olenna warns Jaime that Cersei will ruin him. After drinking the poison, Olenna confesses that she was responsible for Joffrey's own poisoning, and requests for Cersei to be informed of such. Jaime leaves Olenna to die alone.
Production
Writing
"The Queen's Justice" was written by the series' creators, David Benioff and D. B. Weiss.
Casting
"The Queen's Justice" was the final episode for actress Indira Varma, who had played Ellaria Sand since the fourth season. Concerning Ellaria's fate, Varma suspected it might have happened this season: "Obviously there’s lots of trimming going on. It’s all coming to a head and you have to get rid of less important characters that the audience hasn’t had the chance to invest in as much. So I was expecting it. I wasn’t heartbroken. And I was like, “As long as I die on screen…” and they were like “Yeah!” But of course I don’t die on screen. I stay alive, I’m just not going to reappear. I think it’s really clever." About shooting her agonizing final scene after working on the show for four years, Varma added: "It was hard work. A lot of blood snot and sweat and tears. Myself and Rosabell had to be shackled. They very kindly put some felt inside the handcuffs so we didn’t get bruised and battered — though we ended up doing that anyway because your acting takes over. The shackles kept coming off so they had to tighten them and then we couldn’t get them off at all. At the end of the day I was like, “I’m stuck! I need somebody to help me!” and they had to cut me out of them. All in a day’s work." In terms of audience reaction and allegiances, Varma hoped they'd be inclined to feel sorry for her and Tyene's character: "Ellaria hasn’t had quite the screen time so people are inevitably more invested in Cersei. But people were so in love with Oberyn (Pedro Pascal) and there’s a bit of that residue carrying on, and obviously, nobody wants to see somebody’s child killed in front of them — that’s every parent’s worst nightmare, beyond worst nightmare."
"The Queen's Justice" was also the last episode for recurring cast members Diana Rigg and Rosabell Laurenti Sellers, as Olenna Tyrell and Tyene Sand were killed. The episode featured the return of Mark Gatiss as Tycho Nestoris, who was last seen in season 5's "The Dance of Dragons" and Jerome Flynn as Bronn who last appeared in the season 6 finale.
Reception
Critical reception
"The Queen's Justice" received highly positive reactions from critics. Review aggregator Rotten Tomatoes surveyed 18 reviews of the episode and judged 94% of them to be positive, with an average rating of 7.8/10. The website's consensus for the episode stated "'The Queens Justice' saw the much-anticipated meeting between Jon Snow and Daenerys Targaryen -- but had much larger surprises in store before its shocking end."
Matt Fowler of IGN described the episode as "amazing", saying ""The Queen's Justice" did justice to the long-awaited coming together of Jon Snow and Daenerys Targaryen. With a devilishly good script and some pointed action (along with a few twists and turns), this episode contained a ton of long scenes, but no fat. - This was prime Thrones." He gave the episode a 9.5 out of 10. Shane Ryan of Paste Magazine wrote "It was, by far, the best episode of the season. I've always contended that the show does best when it pushes the drama and the narrative ahead by means of two-person scenes, and the examples in "The Queen's Justice" were phenomenal", but remarked that "Littlefinger is a boring non-character spouting cliches, Cersei's revenge tour is torture porn on a level with the Ramsay Bolton heyday, and Euron is quickly becoming too ridiculous to take seriously, even though he makes me laugh."
Andy Hartup of GamesRadar similarly gave praise to the episode, writing "As pure TV entertainment, Queen's Justice is middling at best... As a narrative designed to subvert the expectations of its viewers and give them pause to truly ponder the nature of the show -- and fantasy TV as a whole - it's a masterclass." Sean T. Collins of Rolling Stone wrote of the episode "As befits its title, this week's installment asks us to consider what it means to be a ruler... and what it means to seek justice."
References
- Hibberd, James (July 9, 2017). "Game of Thrones releases season 7 episode titles, details". Entertainment Weekly. Retrieved July 7, 2017.
- "Game of Thrones 63". HBO. Retrieved July 15, 2017.
- Hibberd, James (July 30, 2017). "Game of Thrones actress on her 'worst nightmare' Cersei scene". Entertainment Weekly. Retrieved July 31, 2017.
- ^ "The Queen's Justice". Rotten Tomatoes. Retrieved July 31, 2017.
- Fowler, Matt (July 30, 2017). "Game of Thrones: "The Queen's Justice" Review". IGN. Retrieved July 31, 2017.
- Ryan, Shane (July 30, 2017). "Game of Thrones Review: "The Queen's Justice" (Episode 7.03)". Paste. Retrieved July 31, 2017.
- Hartup, Andy (July 30, 2017). "Game of Thrones S7.03 review: "A smart episode that makes us question our assumptions"". SFX Magazine. Retrieved July 31, 2017.
- T. Collins, Sean (July 30, 2017). "'Game of Thrones' Recap: Queen Slates". Rolling Stone. Retrieved July 31, 2017.
External links
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