As with all season premieres, there seemed to be a common agreement that the first episode was slower than most critics would have liked. However, the consensus was almost universal in that this season’s slow start was faster than other seasons’ slow starts. Before I tie myself into a tongue twister, let’s dive into what the critics thought! Obviously there’s our fearless leader Sue’s recap, and our lovable, though deeply Unsullied Oz‘s as well. Additionally, we have some old favorites, plus some new critics we’re excited to add to our weekly roundup!
Alan Sepinwall, UPROXX – In which he accepts that it was a slow but necessary start, and appreciates the good humor and chess-setting along the way.
Alex Mullane, Digital Spy – In which he was underwhelmed by parts of the episode, but thought the edited sequence of Sam going through the motions at the Citadel was among the funniest bits of comedy GOT has ever produced.
Download Video: Game Of Thrones Season 7 Episode 1 Game Of Thrones Season 7 Episode 1 – Dragonstone. After a summer lasting almost ten years, the words of House Stark have finally become reality once again: winter is here.
Alicia Lutes, Nerdist – In which she marvels at the episode’s ability to juggle so many plotlines and still feel so unified in telling a larger story.
Alyssa Rosenberg, The Washington Post – In which she mulls over how characters need to turn the monsters inside them on and off given the right moment, depending on the situation.
Andrew Snell, Mirror – In which he prods and polks and nitpicks, but realizes, at the end of the day, his gripes are so minor in the grand scheme of things and he loves it anyway.
Brandon Nowalk, The A.V. Club – In which he observes how a failure to adapt to their circumstances lends certain characters to ebb closer to their parents’ same fate.
Christopher Hooton, Independent UK – In which he feels like the show may be going through ‘the motions’ a little too much this late in the game, and wants it to step up sooner.
Daniel Fienberg, The Hollywood Reporter– In which he proclaims that ‘tablesetting’ should not be considered a negative term when we are entrenched with so many beloved characters.
Dave Gonzales, Thrillist– In which he puts on his detective cap, and speculates what it all means [Basil].
David Crow, Den of Geek – In which he oggles over the awesometude-ness of No One Arya Stark for paragraphs on end.
David Malitz, The Washington Post – In which he believes the Hound spent too much time gravedigging, and that Lyanna Mormont’s “shtick is getting old already.” (Please get your pitchforks and ‘Shame’ bells ready.)
David Rosenblatt, SquintyOverAnalyzesThings – Hey wait….That’s mine!! Come enjoy my tour through Westeros, in which I talk about the knowledge that different characters gain, or the previous knowledge banks upon which they expand.
James Hibberd, Entertainment Weekly – In which he acknowledges the seamless transition of different tones from one storyline to the next.
Jen Chaney, Vulture– In which she goes gaga over Arya’s murderous rampage of an opening, calling it “the show’s best ever.”
Jess Kelham-Hohler, The Evening Standard – In which she enjoys the episode’s astute observations over the natures of justice vs. injustice.
Joanna Robinson, Vanity Fair – In which she asks 11 questions and proceeds to do her damndest to answer them.
Kaitlyn Tiffany, The Verge– In which she does not care the foggiest bit for Ed Sheeran’s cameo, and recommends you watch a 2013 One Direction documentary instead.
Kim Renfro – Business Insider – In which she points to potential plotpoints that we, the viewers, may have missed in the episode! (Among approximately 723 other articles since it’s premiered).
Laura Hudson, WIRED – In which she reflects on how the past informs the present, but it doesn’t mean characters won’t always make the same mistakes over and over again.
Laura Stone, Hey Don’t Judge Me – In which she makes as many Harry Potter references as one can stuff into a recap based on an episode crammed with Argus Filch, Professor Slughorn, and a restricted section of a library.
Lauren Sarner, Inverse – In which she writes a review of the season premiere of GOT, then proceeds to write approximately 972 more GOT articles in next 10 hours.
Melanie McFarland, Salon – In which she thinks the episode’s slowness was outweighed by the sheer excitement of revisiting Westeros.
Download Game Of Thrones Season 7 Dragonstone Full
Mike Bloom, Salon – In which he turns the plots of the week into a series of newspaper clippings, complete with an obituary section. Readers: Amused!
Myles McNutt, The A.V. Club– In which he talks about the pieces a show has to pick up after culling a third of its cast.
Neil Miller, Film School Rejects– In which he points out that all plots will converge at Dragonstone, which will ultimately be vital to the endgame of GOT.
Rob Bricken, io9 – In which he can’t help but reflect how much slower than the season 6 finale this was, but still understands its necessity.
Sarah Hughes, The Guardian– In which she notes the unusual level of ‘quipping’ in the playful banter among the characters.
Sean T. Collins, Rolling Stone – In which he examines how the moments we are gifted in this episode do not exist in a vacuum, and that 6 seasons of diverging, then converging plotlines are reaping all the glory.
Sonia Saraiya, Variety– In which she mentions that as a collection of moments, the episode works, but on the grand scale, it was more realistically a place setter for the episodes to come.
TK, Pajiba – In which he gets excited for Dany’s homecoming, Rory McCann’s acting range, and the general aura in the air over the returned-ness of GOT!
| 'Stormborn' | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Game of Thrones episode | |||
| Episode no. | Season 7 Episode 2 | ||
| Directed by | Mark Mylod | ||
| Written by | Bryan Cogman | ||
| Featured music | Ramin Djawadi | ||
| Cinematography by | P. J. Dillon | ||
| Editing by | Tim Porter | ||
| Original air date | July 23, 2017 | ||
| Running time | 59 minutes | ||
| Guest appearance(s) | |||
| |||
| Episode chronology | |||
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| Game of Thrones (season 7) | |||
| List of Game of Thrones episodes | |||
'Stormborn' is the second episode of the seventh season of HBO's fantasy television series Game of Thrones, and the 62nd overall. The episode was written by Bryan Cogman, and directed by Mark Mylod. The title of the episode refers to both Daenerys Targaryen, who was born during a terrible storm, and Euron Greyjoy, who declares himself to be 'the storm'.
The episode's main plot focuses on Daenerys planning her conquest of Westeros; at the behest of Melisandre, she orders Tyrion to summon Jon Snow, who agrees to meet with her despite the objections of Sansa and several other supporters. In King's Landing, Cersei Lannister warns her bannermen about Daenerys's impending invasion. Meanwhile, in the Narrow Sea, the Greyjoys and Sand Snakes are attacked by Euron Greyjoy's Iron Fleet, with Yara Greyjoy and Ellaria Sand being taken as hostages.
'Stormborn' received praise from critics, who considered Euron Greyjoy's raid on Yara's Iron Fleet, the assembly of Daenerys' allies at Dragonstone, and Arya's reunion with her direwolf Nymeria as highlights of the episode. In the United States, it achieved a viewership of 9.27 million in its initial broadcast.
This episode marks the final appearance of Keisha Castle-Hughes (Obara Sand) and Jessica Henwick (Nymeria Sand).
- 1Plot
- 2Production
- 3Reception
Plot[edit]
On Dragonstone[edit]
Daenerys confronts Varys over his previously shifting allegiances. Varys declares he is loyal to the people, and Daenerys secures his oath to tell her directly if she fails the people, threatening to execute him if he betrays her. Daenerys grants an audience to Melisandre, who urges her to meet Jon Snow. Tyrion vouches for Jon and recommends the Starks as allies. Daenerys instructs Tyrion to summon Jon to bend the knee. Yara Greyjoy and Ellaria Sand support an overwhelming offensive on King's Landing. Daenerys doesn't wish to destroy the territory she plans on ruling, but instead adopts Tyrion's plan to have her Westerosi armies besiege King's Landing, while the Unsullied will take Casterly Rock.
Before departing to lead his army, Grey Worm reveals to Missandei he never feared before loving her. Missandei is moved by his words and they make love.
In Oldtown[edit]
Archmaester Ebrose tells Sam that Jorah's greyscale now untreatable, Jorah has about six months of sanity left, and suicide is his only alternative to exile among the Stone Men of Valyria. Sam discovers a treatment; Ebrose tells him it is forbidden because it risks transmission, but Sam performs the agonizing procedure in secret.
At Winterfell[edit]
Jon receives Daenerys' message. Sansa and Davos advocate refusal, but the latter notes that dragonfire can stop the undead. After receiving Sam's information about dragonglass on Dragonstone, Jon decides to go, despite uniform opposition from his loyalists. Jon names Sansa as regent, surprising her, and threatens Littlefinger to stop pursuing Sansa when he tries to ingratiate himself with Jon.
In the Riverlands[edit]
Arya encounters Hot Pie in an inn and learns that Jon has retaken Winterfell; she turns north. She's beset by a wolfpack, the alpha being her direwolf Nymeria, having driven her off years earlier ('The Kingsroad') Arya invites her north but Nymeria instead leaves her.
In King's Landing[edit]
Cersei appeals to lords, including House Tyrell's bannermen, for support against Daenerys, portraying her as a dangerous foreign invader. Jaime offers to make Randyll Tarly Warden of the South if he becomes Jaime's second-in-command. Qyburn demonstrates a scorpion, a projectile weapon able to pierce dragon skulls.
In the Narrow Sea[edit]
Euron's fleet attacks Yara's navy. Euron kills Obara and Nymeria Sand; his men abduct Ellaria and Tyene Sand, while he takes Yara prisoner. Theon, triggered by the violence, jumps overboard, abandoning Yara.
Production[edit]
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Writing[edit]
'Stormborn' was written by Bryan Cogman. Cogman has been a writer for the series since its beginning, previously writing nine other episodes. The title of the episode, 'Stormborn', is a reference to Daenerys Targaryen, who was born in the midst of a great storm, earning her that nickname. In the 'Inside the Episode' segment published by HBO following the initial airing of the episode, co-creators and executive producers of the series David Benioff and D. B. Weiss were interviewed, saying 'We last saw Nymeria when Arya made her run away because she wanted to save Nymeria's life, - She knew Cersei was going to kill her if she found her, and when she finally finds Nymeria again — or Nymeria finds her — she of course wants Nymeria to come back home with her and be her loyal companion again. But Nymeria's found her own life.' They continued noting that the line 'That's not you' was a direct reference to what she said to Ned Stark back in the first season, when he was telling her that she will be a 'lady of a castle and marrying some lord and wearing a nice frilly dress', which Arya responded by saying 'That's not me'. Weiss continued, 'Arya's not domesticated. It makes total sense the wolf wouldn't be either. Once the wolf walks away, at first she's heartbroken to have come this close, but then she realizes the wolf is doing exactly what she would do if she was that wolf.'[1]
Casting[edit]
The episode featured the return of Ben Hawkey as Hot Pie, who was last seen in season 4's 'Mockingbird'. Hawkey spoke about his return to Entertainment Weekly, saying that he did not expect to ever come back. Prior to getting the script and to avoid the return of character to be leaked, the producers gave Hawkey a code name when communicating by email. He continued by saying that the scene was 'really nice' and was a 'perfect little Hot Pie scene'.[2] 'Stormborn' was also the last episode for Keisha Castle-Hughes and Jessica Henwick, as Obara and Nymeria Sand were killed. The episode introduced new recurring cast member Tom Hopper as Dickon Tarly, replacing Freddie Stroma, who briefly portrayed the character in Season 6.[3]
Filming[edit]
'Stormborn' was directed by Mark Mylod, his first of two episodes for this season. He joined the series as a director in the fifth season, his first episode being 'High Sparrow', which was followed by 'Sons of the Harpy'. John Bradley spoke about what went into shooting the Jorah Mormont greyscale scene with actor Iain Glen. Before filming Iain had to sit on the prosthetics trailer for around five hours while the make up department 'applied these really detailed and intricate greyscale prosthetics, piece by piece.' He continued 'I was basically peeling the plastic latex prosthetic off of Iain's actual body. He was kind of in a suit - It was the same as pulling away a prosthetic. It was a very, very big technical job for the prosthetics department. There were about five or six guys on set that day that you can't see but were just out of the camera line, there with pumps and buckets of pus.'[4]
Nathalie Emmanuel discussed her character's love scene with Grey Worm, saying that the characters have shown 'interest in each other', we have seen them 'express it for each other, but not really say it - This point is the climax and they physically act upon it', much due to them facing 'the prospect of never seeing each other again'. Emmanuel went on to praise the relationship that has developed between these two characters, stating that it's 'something sweet and pure and beautiful'.[5]
Gemma Whelan said in an interview with Entertainment Weekly that the kissing scene by Yara Greyjoy and Ellaria Sand before the battle sequence at the end was improvised. She stated that 'It wasn’t directed that we would kiss, - It just seemed like something we should do'.[6] The scenes with the Sand Snakes was originally planned to be a more 'drawn out storyline', but due to Jessica Henwick's schedule filming her scenes as Colleen Wing in Iron Fist and The Defenders, she would have had to go back and forth to shoot both shows.[clarification needed] Speaking about the battle sequence, Henwick said 'normally there’s a lot of CG and you watch it on screen and you see a massive epic battle, but when you’re filming it’s all quite tame by comparison. For this, the audience can’t feel the heat on their face from the pyrotechnics going off or feel the wave machine trying to knock us off our feet, or the sweat dripping off our faces.'[7]
Mylod also discussed his direction for the battle sequence, saying that 'We agreed that the violence should be brutal and feel un-choreographed, that it shouldn't feel structured'. Stunt coordinator Rowley Irlam also stated that they were inspired by riots when it was being choreographed. Mylod decided to put much more of the focus to Theon, Yara and Euron Greyjoy, rather than people around them.[8]
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Reception[edit]
Ratings[edit]
'Stormborn' was viewed by 9.27 million total viewers on its initial viewing on HBO. The episode also acquired a 4.33 rating in the 18–49 demographic, making it the highest rated show on cable television of the night.[9] In the United Kingdom, the episode was viewed by 2.770 million viewers on Sky Atlantic during its Simulcast, making it the highest-rated broadcast that week.[10]
Critical reception[edit]
'Stormborn' has received high praise from critics. It has a 96% rating on the review aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes from 38 reviews with an average score of 8.2 out of 10.[11] The site's consensus reads 'While necessarily setting up the events for the season, 'Stormborn' features compelling strategic discussion, and a cracking action sequence to end the episode with a bang.'[11]
Ed Power of The Daily Telegraph said 'It's been a cautious start to 'Game of Thrones' season seven. But, following further, patience-testing re-arranging of the chess pieces, episode two went out in a literal blaze of glory.'[12] Matt Fowler of IGN described the episode as 'amazing', saying 'With Daenerys now in Westeros, war is imminent and worlds were colliding in this week's big episode.' He gave the episode a 9 out of 10.[13] Ben Philippe of New York Observer also gave a positive review, saying 'Stormborn,' proves that the table setting always pays off in Game of Thrones by giving us a sample platter of everything that the show does best.'[14]
Nina Shen Rastogi of New York Magazine similarly gave praise to the episode, writing 'All of this prologue is what made the final scene land so hard, and so well. The shipboard battle between the Greyjoys was very good GOT, in my mind: dramatic, unexpected, and authentic on a character level.'[15] Sean T. Collins of Rolling Stone praised the battle sequence at the end, writing 'It ends with a naval battle as grandiose as any we've seen in the series. But the strong second chapter of Game of Thrones' seventh season - 'Stormborn' - navigates even more treacherous waters.'[16]
Erik Kain of Forbes gave a mixed review, writing that he enjoyed Arya's scenes but criticizing the Dragonstone scenes.[17] Kain also criticized the plot hole of Ellaria Sand being in control of Dorne.[17]
Accolades[edit]
| Year | Award | Category | Nominee(s) | Result | Ref. |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2017 | Hollywood Post Alliance | Outstanding Editing | Tim Porter | Nominated | [18] |
References[edit]
- ^Wigler, Josh (July 24, 2017). ''Game of Thrones' Creators Explain Arya Stark's Bittersweet Reunion'. The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved July 25, 2017.
- ^Hibberd, James (July 25, 2017). 'Game of Thrones actor on his surprise return: 'It was a big shock''. Entertainment Weekly. Retrieved July 24, 2017.
- ^Hooton, Christopher (November 18, 2016). 'Game of Thrones season 7 spoilers: Tom Hopper lands recast role'. The Independent. Retrieved July 25, 2017.
- ^Wigler, Josh (July 25, 2017). ''Game of Thrones': John Bradley on Sam's Second Sickening Season 7 Scene'. The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved July 25, 2017.
- ^Hibberd, James (July 23, 2017). 'Game of Thrones: Nathalie Emmanuel on that 'vulnerable' nude scene'. Entertainment Weekly. Retrieved July 25, 2017.
- ^Hibberd, James (July 24, 2017). 'Game of Thrones actresses say 'Stormborn' kiss was improvised'. Entertainment Weekly. Retrieved July 25, 2017.
- ^Hibberd, James (July 23, 2017). 'Game of Thrones: Sand Snake actress on that brutal episode ending'. Entertainment Weekly. Retrieved July 25, 2017.
- ^Alexander, Julia (July 28, 2017). 'Game of Thrones' most recent battle scene was inspired by the violence of riots'. Polygon. Retrieved July 29, 2017.
- ^Porter, Rick (July 25, 2017). 'Sunday cable ratings: 'Phelps vs. Shark' strong, 'Game of Thrones' boosts 'Ballers,' 'Insecure''. TV by the Numbers. Retrieved July 25, 2017.
- ^'Top 10 Ratings (17 - 23 July 2017)'. BARB. Retrieved August 1, 2017.
- ^ ab'Stormborn - Game of Thrones: Season 7, Episode 2'. Rotten Tomatoes. Retrieved September 2, 2017.
- ^Power, Ed (July 24, 2017). 'Game of Thrones, season 7 episode 2, Stormborn recap: Daenerys's avengers assemble'. The Daily Telegraph. Retrieved July 24, 2017.
- ^Fowler, Matt (July 23, 2017). 'Game of Thrones: 'Stormborn' Review'. IGN. Retrieved July 25, 2017.
- ^Philippe, Ben (July 24, 2017). 'The Best and Worst of 'Game of Thrones' 7×02: 'Stormborn''. New York Observer. Retrieved July 25, 2017.
- ^Rastogi, Nina Shen (July 24, 2017). 'Game of Thrones Recap: The Fullness of Time'. New York Magazine. Retrieved July 25, 2017.
- ^T. Collins, Sean (July 24, 2017). ''Game of Thrones' Recap: 50 Shades of Greyjoy'. Rolling Stone. Retrieved July 25, 2017.
- ^ abKaine, Erik (July 23, 2017). ''Game Of Thrones' Season 7, Episode 2 Review: 'Stormborn' [Updated]'. Forbes. Retrieved September 5, 2017.
- ^'HPA Awards: 'Dunkirk' Wins Best Editing in a Feature'. The Hollywood Reporter. November 16, 2017. Retrieved February 14, 2018.
External links[edit]
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- 'Stormborn' at HBO.com
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