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"Dragonstone" is the first episode of the seventh season of HBO's fantasy television series Game of Thrones, and the 61st overall. It was written by series co-creators David Benioff and D. B. Weiss, and directed by Jeremy Podeswa.

In Dragonstone, Daenerys Targaryen (Emilia Clarke) and Tyrion Lannister (Peter Dinklage), along with her loyalists, arrive and explore the abandoned castle. At the Twins, Arya Stark (Maisie Williams) wears the face of Walder Frey (David Bradley) and poisons numerous Freys for their complicity in the Red Wedding. In King's Landing, Cersei Lannister (Lena Headey) and Jaime Lannister (Nikolaj Coster-Waldau) treat with Euron Greyjoy (Pilou Asbæk) who attempt to create an alliance. In Winterfell, Jon Snow (Kit Harington) pardons the lords of Karhold and Last Hearth, and Sansa Stark (Sophie Turner) warns Jon of Cersei's impending wrath. At the Citadel, Samwell Tarly (John Bradley) begins his training as a Maester, and sends a message to Jon about the dragon glass beneath Dragonstone. At the Wall, Bran Stark (Isaac Hempstead Wright) arrives and is taken south to Castle Black, and the Brotherhood Without Banners, including Sandor Clegane (Rory McCann) continue their journey north to the Wall.

Plot

At the Twins

Walder Frey (David Bradley) throws a feast for all the men of House Frey. He toasts them with wine, and while the wine is being consumed he lists the crimes the Freys have committed. The wine turns out to be poisoned, and kills all the Frey men present. Walder then takes off his face to reveal himself as Arya Stark (Maisie Williams) in disguise.

While journeying south, Arya comes across a friendly group of Lannister soldiers (including Ed Sheeran and Thomas Turgoose), who offer her food and drink. When they ask why she is going south, she tells them she is traveling to King's Landing to kill the Queen. After a moment's silence, the men burst out laughing, believing Arya to be joking.

Beyond the Wall

The White Walkers and their wight army are seen marching south. Bran Stark (Isaac Hempstead Wright) and Meera Reed (Ellie Kendrick) arrive at the Wall and are greeted by Eddison Tollett (Ben Crompton) and the Night's Watch. Edd is initially skeptical of Bran and Meera's identities, until Bran tells him that he knows Edd was at the Fist of the First Men and Hardhome, and that he has seen the White Walker army. This convinces Edd, who has his men bring them through the Wall.

At Winterfell

As King in the North, Jon Snow (Kit Harington) addresses the lords of the North. Despite Sansa Stark's (Sophie Turner) objections, he forgives Alys Karstark (Megan Parkinson), the heir of the Karhold, and Ned Umber (Harry Grasby), the heir of Last Hearth, for their fathers' betrayal of House Stark, and for their houses fighting against them in the battle for Winterfell. The two heirs swear an oath to House Stark, reaffirming their houses' loyalties. Jon then orders Tormund Giantsbane (Kristofer Hivju) to take the wildlings to the Night's Watch's fortress at Eastwatch-by-the-Sea to fortify the Wall, and also asks the lords and ladies to begin training for battle against the White Walkers. After the meeting, Jon and Sansa have a brief argument, with Jon frustrated that Sansa undermined his authority. Sansa responds that she simply does not want Jon to repeat their father's and Robb's mistakes and get killed. Their conversation gets interrupted as Maester Wolkan brings a message from Cersei Lannister (Lena Headey) ordering Jon to bend the knee; Jon and Sansa discuss the threat that Cersei poses.

Later, Littlefinger (Aiden Gillen) attempts to ingratiate himself with Sansa, telling her that he only wants her to be safe and happy. Sansa coldly rejects his advances. When Brienne of Tarth (Gwendoline Christie) asks Sansa why they haven't sent him away, Sansa points out that they still need the Knights of the Vale to bolster their forces.

In King's Landing

Cersei and Jaime Lannister (Nikolaj Coster-Waldau) discuss the enemies they have garnered to the north, south, east and west. Jaime points out their lack of allies, to which Cersei reveals that she has considered a new ally, Euron Greyjoy (Pilou Asbæk). Euron arrives in King's Landing with the Iron Fleet, and offers to pledge his support in exchange for Cersei's hand in marriage. Cersei denies the proposal, stating that she cannot trust him as he has a record of betraying and killing his allies. Euron leaves, promising to bring the Queen a priceless gift in order to win her over.

In Oldtown

Having begun his training as a maester, Samwell Tarly (John Bradley) is shown performing various menial chores throughout the Citadel. He asks Archmaester Ebrose (Jim Broadbent) for permission to access the restricted area of the Citadel's library. Although Ebrose believes Sam's warning of the White Walkers' return, he insists that the Wall will defend the Seven Kingdoms and denies Sam's request. This prompts Sam to steal a set of keys to the library from a maester in the night and steal several books, which he takes back to his and Gilly's (Hannah Murray) quarters.

In one of the books, Sam finds a map of Dragonstone which shows where a large quantity of obsidian is located. Knowing that Jon will need the obsidian to fight the White Walkers, he sends Jon a raven with the information.

Later, as Sam collects empty food dishes from the chambers of the sick, Jorah Mormont (Iain Glen), whose entire arm has been infected with greyscale, pops out of a small window. Sam is horrified by this incident but manages to hold himself up. Jorah asks Sam if Daenerys has arrived in Westeros. Sam tells Jorah that he has not heard.

In the Riverlands

The Brotherhood Without Banners, along with Sandor Clegane (Rory McCann), take shelter in an abandoned farm. Beric Dondarrion (Richard Dormer) discovers the bodies of the farmer and his daughter. Thoros of Myr (Paul Kaye) asks Sandor to observe the flames of a fireplace, causing him to receive a vision of the White Walkers. At night, Thoros is disturbed by a noise outside, and finds Sandor digging a grave for the farmer and his daughter. Watching Sandor, Thoros takes a spade and joins in.

At Dragonstone

Daenerys Targaryen (Emilia Clarke), Tyrion Lannister (Peter Dinklage), and her fleet arrive at Dragonstone. Entering the castle, Daenerys and Tyrion proceed to the war council room. Turning to Tyrion, Daenerys enquires, "Shall we begin?"

Production

Writing

"Dragonstone" was written by the series' creators, David Benioff and D. B. Weiss. In an "Inside the Episode" segment published by HBO shortly after the episode aired, Benioff and Weiss said that the episode was not initially written with the Walder Frey scene as the cold open, but the decision was made following their witnessing of David Bradley's performance as Walder, as he slowly transforms into Arya Stark. Weiss stated that it was their belief that the scene was the best way to "open the episode and the season," and that it was necessary for Arya to send the message that "the North remembers."

One of Weiss's favorite scenes in the episode included the Hound's reaction to the death of the father and daughter that he'd left to die, and the "transformation" that the Hound has undergone as a human being since he first met them. Benioff went on to note that although the Hound does not like the religion that is the Lord of Light, he is unable to deny the truth of what he witnesses in the flames, as well as Beric Dondarrion's resurrection.

In regard to the dynamic between Jon Snow and Sansa Stark, Benioff revealed that Sansa still harbors resentment towards Jon who has taken control of Winterfell as King of the North, and that she feels more responsible for their victory in the "Battle of the Bastards". Benioff also notes that Sansa believes Jon is naive to ignore the potential threat of Cersei Lannister, and that Jon believes the White Walkers are a more imminent danger. Weiss then stressed that after having lost all of her children, Cersei is in a much darker place, and that "all she really has left is power for the sake of power." Benioff continued by comparing Cersei to Daenerys Targaryen, in that Cersei is willing to kill hundreds of thousands of innocent lives, but Daenerys is unable to do so, as she is "constrained by her morality and fear of hurting innocents."

Casting

"Dragonstone" saw the introduction of Academy Award-winning actor Jim Broadbent as an Archmaester at the Citadel. His casting in the series was initially announced by HBO to Entertainment Weekly in August 2016, and at the time was only revealed as a "significant" role in the seventh season. In a subsequent interview, Broadbent revealed his role in the series, and that he would be sharing his scenes with John Bradley, who portrays Samwell Tarly.

Prior to the episode airing, it was announced that musician Ed Sheeran would be making a cameo appearance at some point during the season. According to David Benioff, they had been trying for years to get him onto the show as a surprise for Maisie Williams, who portrays Arya Stark in the series and is a fan of Sheeran. Before the episode's official release, Sheeran stated about his appearance that "Nothing exciting happens in this scene, we just have a conversation and that's kind of it." In "Dragonstone", Sheeran portrays a Lannister soldier, who Arya happens upon when she hears him singing a song that is unfamiliar to her. The song originates from George R. R. Martin's A Song of Ice and Fire book series, which the television show is adapted from, and is titled "Hands of Gold". In the book series, it is sung by a character known as Symon Silver Tongue, a character unrelated to Sheeran's portrayal. Thomas Turgoose, best known for his starring role as Shaun Fields in the This Is England series, has a brief role as a Lannister soldier.

Reception

Ratings

"Dragonstone" was viewed by 16.1 million total viewers, including 10.1 million on its initial viewing on HBO and the remaining coming from DVR and streaming, making it the most watched episode in the series' history. The episode also inspired 2.4 million tweets during the time it aired, making it the show’s most-tweeted episode yet.

Critical reception

"Dragonstone" has received widespread praise from critics. It has received a 95% rating on the review aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes from 40 reviews with an average score of 8.5 out of 10. The site's consensus reads "With a blistering opening salvo, Game of Thrones charts an assured path for its anxiously-anticipated final stretch."

Matt Fowler of IGN wrote in his review for the episode "'Dragonstone' sublimely set the stage for Game of Thrones Season 7 with some righteous revenge, a new alliance, a dramatic (and quiet) homecoming, and a surprisingly great sequence from The Hound as he began to atone for his old life." He gave the episode a 8.8 out of 10. Erik Kain of Forbes similarly gave praise to the episode, writing "This was easily one of my favorite season premieres of any season of Game of Thrones. It's a testament to the show's staying power and quality that even this far in, a season's first episode could be so good. So much of it was just setting the stage, and yet I was reeled in, hook, line and sinker, from the opening moment to the closing credits." Jane Mulkerrins of The Daily Telegraph also praised the episode, writing "One might wonder whether the biggest, bloodiest, most Dragon-heavy show on television would still have the ability to shock and surprise. The answer, happily, is yes."

References

1. Hibberd, James (July 7, 2017). "Game of Thrones releases season 7 episode titles, details". Entertainment Weekly. Retrieved July 7, 2017.
2. "Game of Thrones 61". HBO. Retrieved July 7, 2017.
3. ^ "Game of Thrones: Inside Sn 7 / Ep 1". HBO. July 16, 2017. Retrieved July 16, 2017.
4. Prudom, Laura (August 31, 2016). "'Game of Thrones' Casts Jim Broadbent for 'Significant' Season 7 Role". Variety. Retrieved July 17, 2017.
5. Hibberd, James (August 31, 2016). "Game of Thrones casts Jim Broadbent in first season 7 role". Entertainment Weekly. Retrieved July 17, 2017.
6. Whitney, Erin (March 7, 2017). "Jim Broadbent Reveals Who He's Playing in 'Game of Thrones' Season 7". ScreenCrush. Retrieved July 17, 2017.
7. ^ Robinson, Joanna (March 12, 2017). "Game of Thrones: The Sweet Reason Ed Sheeran Is Appearing in Season 7". Vanity Fair. Retrieved July 16, 2017.
8. Seemayer, Zach (June 15, 2017). "EXCLUSIVE: Ed Sheeran Dishes on 'Game of Thrones' Cameo and Songwriters Hall of Fame Honor". Entertainment Tonight. Retrieved July 16, 2017.
9. ^ Walsh, Megan (July 16, 2017). "What Song Does Ed Sheeran Sing On 'Game Of Thrones'? Arya Had The Same Question". Romper. Retrieved July 16, 2017.
10. Otterson, Joe. "'Game of Thrones' Season 7 Premiere Shatters HBO Ratings Records". Variety. Penske Media Corporation. Retrieved July 17, 2017.
11. Hibberd, James (July 17, 2017). "Game of Thrones premiere ratings smash HBO records". Entertainment Weekly. Retrieved July 18, 2017.
12. ^ "Dragonstone - Game of Thrones: Season 7, Episode 1". Rotten Tomatoes. Retrieved July 17, 2017.
13. ^ Fowler, Matt (July 17, 2017). "Game of Thrones: "Dragonstone" Review". IGN. Archived from the original on July 17, 2017. Retrieved July 17, 2017. {{cite web}}: Unknown parameter |deadurl= ignored (|url-status= suggested) (help)
14. Kain, Erik (July 16, 2017). "'Game Of Thrones' Season 7, Episode 1 Review: Dragonstone". Forbes. Retrieved July 17, 2017.
15. Mulkerrins, Jane (July 17, 2017). "Game of Thrones, season 7, episode 1: Dragonstone review - bloodiest show on TV can still shock and surprise". The Daily Telegraph. Retrieved July 17, 2017.

External links

• "Dragonstone" at HBO.com
• "Dragonstone (Game of Thrones)" at IMDb
• Template:Tv.com episode

• 2017 American television episodes
• Game of Thrones episodes