History Recap / GameOfThronesS7E4TheSpoilsOfWar

* WeaponTwirling: Arya [[EverythingsBetterWithSpinning twirls both her sword and her dagger in this episode]] -- her dagger when handing it to Brienne and [[CoolSword her sword]] while sparring with Brienne.

* IsThatWhatTheyreCallingItNow: When Missandei's shows uncharacteristic concern for Grey Worm's safe return, Dany puts two and two together and asks what happened between them. "Many things," says Missandei. Dany stops her and repeats that incredulously, then both smile at the obvious subtext.

* BraidsOfAction: Dany's RapunzelHair is fittingly tied into the long plaited braid of a Dothraki Khal when she flies into battle. A style she's not adopted since the end of Season 1 during Drogo's funeral.

* DullSurprise: Jamie, Bronn and Dickons' reaction to hearing and seeing Drogon is... unenthusiastic to say the least, seeing a dragon in the flesh should of had a much more terrified expression.

* RealityEnsues:
** Arya has been missing for years, and anyone claiming to be her could be an opportunist wanting to claim Winterfell for their own. While the guards are stupid in how they handle her claims, they have a good reason to be skeptical.
** The practice fight between Brienne and Arya calls back to the fight between Oberyn and the Mountain; the lighter, faster fighter may be able to run rings around the stronger, slower fighter, but a single blow will send them sprawling.
** Drogon is big, incredibly dangerous, and powerful, but not as maneuverable as Viserion or Rhaegal; when Dany needs to attack from the same direction twice, they have to make a long, looping turn to line the correct angle up again.
** Daenerys is still a physically unimposing girl and as such very vulnerable when she dismounts Drogon -- Jaime immediately tries to capitalize on this.
** It might look like you can sneak up on a person who is preoccupied by something else. Getting the drop on somebody when in full armor and at a full gallop in the middle of a swamp is next to impossible.
** Full plate armor is very heavy and all but impossible to swim in, as Jaime finds out when a DivingSave tackles him into the river. Being short one hand isn't doing him any favors, either [[labelnote:From the Books]] In the books, Victarion Greyjoy makes a point of wearing full-plate armor on his raids and while on board his ship. No other Ironborn would think of doing such a thing, as they're surrounded by water and that much armor would make a man sink like lead. Victarion knows this; in fact, when facing a KnightInShiningArmor in one chapter, he simply [[CombatPragmatist knocks the lad overside]] and lets physics do the rest. The point is to prove that Victarion is utterly unafraid of death (and to keep him safe in combat, since it's hard for anyone to break through all that armor before he kills them). Though Show!Euron is based on both brothers Euron and Victarion, this is not an aspect that was applied to the show[[/labelnote]].
** With Qyburn's scorpion ballista being (relatively) newly-introduced and Bronn unlikely to have received practice/training in it, it was highly unlikely for him to have made a true killing blow against Drogon. The fact that he hit him at all, as it were, is lucky enough. The logistical problems also come into play: Bronn is firing the weapon without a support crew for loading and such; and Drogon is a living dragon with a thick hide and strong bones and muscles, not a desiccated skeleton. Though Drogon is injured, he is still able to land safely and can counterattack rather more quickly than poor Bronn.[[labelnote:From the Books]]During Aegon the Conqueror's conflict with Dorne, [[http://awoiaf.westeros.org/index.php/Meraxes the dragon Meraxes]] was killed ''by a scorpion bolt to the eye'' during a battle at Hellholt, House Uller's keep. Later, during the Dance of the Dragons, the very young and smaller dragons [[http://awoiaf.westeros.org/index.php/Tyraxes Tyraxes]] and [[http://awoiaf.westeros.org/index.php/Shrykos Shrykos]] are mentioned to have been killed via strikes to the head during the Storming of the Dragonpit. The Dragonpit, as Tyrion pointed out last season, stunted the development of dragons due to their confinement, compared to those raised in the wild, so in either case Drogon had the advantage. Dragons are mentioned to be nigh-invulnerable to other attacks and can survive for months even when heavily injured (like [[http://awoiaf.westeros.org/index.php/Sunfyre Sunfyre the Golden]]).[[/labelnote]]
** While the Lannisters were CrazyPrepared enough to have a scorpion ready despite thinking the dragons were still in Dragonstone, they didn't practice enough (because dragon attack drill is a bit hard to simulate) to use it right away. Some are even trying to hold a shield wall against dragonfire.
** Conversely, even if the scorpion bolt was not fatal, it still has enough momentum to disable Drogon's wing, which downed him and made him more of a vulnerable target.

* NotSoDifferent: Jon and Dany's plot in the cave further drives them closer to each other, starting to realize with their interactions that they are more alike in world view and goals than they initially thought, with Dany echoing Jon's own words to Mance Rayder. Dany is still insistent in Jon bending the knee, though.

---> '''Jon''': I never thought that dragons would exist again. No one did. The people who've followed you know that you made something impossible happen. Maybe that helps them believe that you can make other impossible things happen. Build a world that's different from the [[PrecisionFStrike shit]] one they've always known. But if you use them to melt castles and burn cities, ''[[NotSoDifferent you're not different]]''. [[FullCircleRevolution You're just more of the same]].

* DeathByMaterialism: Averted; Bronn drops his bagful of gold, but leaves it behind in favour of running for his life.

** Bronn manages to hit Drogon with the scorpion, sending him into a tailspin that looks like it's going to end in a crash that might well kill him and Daenerys both - and then the dragon manages regain control of his flight long enough to torch the scorpion and make a controlled landing.

Back on '''Dragonstone''', Missandei notes they haven't heard back from the Unsullied; Daenerys tries to reassure her that Grey Worm will return, and just as they're ready to start giggling about what happened between the two, Jon Snow appears to show Dany to the dragonglass cave. He says he wants her to see the obsidian in its natural state before it is mined and then reveals has another reason for bringing her there: cave drawings made by the Children of the Forest, which depict their alliance with the First Men and their war against the White Walkers. He again tries to convince her about the threat posed by the Night King and his army and they need to stand together. Dany, confronted by this old evidence, finally seems to be warming to. She tells him that she ''will'' aid him... when he bends the knee. Jon still can't bring himself to do it, saying that the North won't accept a Southern ruler after what they've been through with the south already. Dany tries to reason with him, telling him that as long as ''he'' accepts her, the people of the North will as well given their trust in him. They leave the cave together and are greeted by Tyrion and Varys, who inform Dany that Casterly Rock has fallen.

On a nearby hill, Arya has finally made it within sight of Winterfell, but [[CallBack much like when she tried to gain entrance to the Red Keep way back in Season 1]], the Winterfell guards refuse to let her in. She tells them that she is Arya Stark, but they refuse to believe her, thinking Arya is dead. She then asks for Ser Rodrik Cassel or Maester Luwin (not knowing ''they're'' dead), and the guards take this as further confirmation that she's an impostor since they don't know those names. She then asks for Jon, but he's not there; only Lady Stark is. She figures out from their taunting that they mean Sansa, who they refuse to bother. One of them tries to punch her but she dodges, and coldly tells them that she ''will'' get into Winterfell some way, and that if Sansa finds out they refused her entrance...she lets the threat hang and the guards lead her into the courtyard, ordering her to sit on a bench while they argue about who's going to tell Sansa. Arya takes the opportunity to look around at her home, seeing all the people preparing for winter, but not recognizing anyone. The guards finally decide which of them will tell Sansa, but turn to see that Arya's vanished. To their credit, they immediately alert Sansa about her presence, telling her that a girl claiming to be Arya asked for Rodrik and Luwin; Sansa's entire attitude shifts as she realizes what those names mean, and she heads down to the crypts to find Arya standing in front of Ned's statue. Arya asks if she has to call Sansa "Lady Stark"; Sansa says she does, and then smiles and dashes forward to hug her little sister for the first time in years, though Arya seems a bit uncomfortable at this show of emotion. Sansa lightly chastises Arya for running from the guards, to which Arya replies that Sansa just needs better guards. Their conversation is a bit stilted at the beginning, but Arya admits that Sansa makes a good Lady of Winterfell, to which Sansa says she hopes Jon returns soon to see Arya. Arya smiles when Sansa remembers how happy Jon was to see her, going on to tell Arya, "When he sees you, his heart will probably stop.", and then tells Arya that Bran is alive and in Winterfell as well. Arya observes that Ned's statue doesn't look like him and should have been made by someone who knew him; Sansa replies that everyone who actually remembers what he looked like is dead, before Arya points out ''they'' aren't. Arya asks if Sansa really killed Joffrey, and upon finding out the truth says that she would have been happy if Sansa had, even though Arya wanted to kill Joffrey herself; he was always at the top of her "list". Sansa finds the idea of her little sister intending to kill multiple people amusing, and the sisters inquire about each others journeys, with both saying they're long, unpleasant stories; but Arya notes that "Our stories aren't over yet," before they embrace again, with Arya much more enthusiastic this time.

Back on '''Dragonstone''', Missandei notes they haven't heard back from the Unsullied; Daenerys tries to reassure her that Grey Worm will return, and just as they're ready to start giggling about what happened between the two, Jon Snow appears, to lead Dany to the dragonglass cave. He says he wants her to see the obsidian in its natural state, but then reveals he has another reason for bringing her there: cave drawings made by the Children of the Forest, which depict their alliance with the First Men and their war against the White Walkers. He again tries to convince her about the threat posed by the Night King and his army, which Dany, confronted by this old evidence, finally seems to be warming to. She gets Jon to admit that without her armies and the dragons, he can't defeat the Walkers, and then tells him that she ''will'' aid him...if he bends the knee. Jon still can't bring himself to do it, saying that the North will never again accept a Southern ruler, and Dany tries to reason with him, telling him that as long as ''he'' accepts her, the people of the North will as well given their trust in him. They leave the cave with nothing resolved, only to be greeted by Tyrion and Varys, who inform Dany that Casterly Rock has fallen. She's momentarily heartened by the news, but quickly realizes something is wrong, and is not at ''all'' happy when she learns that her forces have suffered another setback. She and Tyrion argue about what his "kinder, gentler" approach has cost her in terms of men and materiel, with Dany going so far as to openly ask if Tyrion's "underestimating" of Cersei's forces is due to that or not really wanting to wage war against his family. Dany decides to take the dragons and assault the Red Keep, which Tyrion again cautions against, since she would have to be on the front lines. Dany then asks Jon for his counsel, and he points out that Dany has made people believe in the impossible again and that her army follows her because they believe she will be a better ruler than those in power, but that if she attacks an inhabited city, she will simply prove herself as bad as those currently in charge.

Again on '''Dragonstone''', Davos and Jon Snow discuss Dany, with Jon saying she has "a good heart" and Davos snarking that he's seen Jon [[MaleGaze looking at her good heart]]. Jon dismisses the notion out of hand, and they run into Missandei, leading to a bit of back-and-forth about Jon's proper title (Missandei insists on calling him "Lord Snow", Davos tries both "King Snow" and "King Jon", and Jon doesn't care one way or the other). Further, Missandei is a bit confused about why Jon is called "Snow", not a "Stark" like his father, which leads to Jon and Davos learning that Naath doesn't have marriage like Westeros, thus bastardy is literally a foreign concept to them. When Missandei reveals that she was a slave who Dany bought and then freed, Jon and Davos learn more about Dany's motives, asking what Dany would do if Missandei wanted to leave. Missandei responds that Dany would simply give her a ship and send her on her way. She explains that she and the others from Essos don't follow Dany because she's the rightful heir to the Iron Throne or because Dany is the daughter of some king they never knew, they follow Dany because they ''chose'' her as their queen. Seeing Missandei's conviction, Davos jokingly asks Jon if he can change his allegiance to Dany. They see a ship with Greyjoy sails approach, and make their way to the beach just as Theon and his crew bring in a landing boat. Theon is understandably hesitant when he sees Jon and Jon understandably angry when he sees Theon. Theon asks Jon if his sister Sansa is alright, prompting Jon to angrily grab Theon by the collar and [[BigBrotherInstinct tell him that Theon saving Sansa is the only reason he's not killing him]]. Davos says they had heard Theon's [[EvilUncle uncle]] Euron attacked their fleet and Theon confirms this, saying their fleet was decimated and Euron has kidnapped his sister Yara. He has returned to ask Dany's assistance in rescuing his sister, but Jon informs him that Dany isn't on Dragonstone anymore. When Theon asks where she is, we go to...

The '''Blackwater Rush''', where, under cloudy skies, the Lannister-Tarly army is escorting the wagon train holding the Reach harvest. Jaime and Bronn overlook the caravan's progress, which has devolved somewhat from the military precision of earlier, much to Randyl Tarly's displeasure, though he does note that the gold wagons have made it to King's Landing. Tarly notes that they really ''need'' to speed things up, and advises whipping the stragglers; Jaime doesn't countermand him, but does tell him to try ''ordering'' the men beforehand. Jaime approaches Dickon and [[RunningGag gets his name wrong again]], while Bronn is just amused by finding out the young man's name is "dick on". Jaime complements Dickon on his prowess at the battle of Highgarden, but rightly guesses he is troubled by his first experience of war, which Dickon confirms by again pointing out that House Tarly had been pledged to House Tyrell as long as he can remember, and that he was friends with some of the men who died. Jaime attempts to comfort him, but then Bronn hears the approach of horses, ''lots'' of horses, and both he and Jaime realize that it has to be the Dothraki. Jaime and Bronn instantly begin to rally the army, with Lord Tarly joining in once he figures out what's happening. To have been taking it easy, the army readies itself quite well, falling into orderly formations under their commanders orders even as the Dothraki's war cries are heard. The tension ramps up, then Dany's khalasar crests a nearby hill and approaches the Lannister lines at speed. Bronn urges Jaime to head for King's Landing, which Jaime flatly refuses to do, even though Bronn rightly points out that as the army's commander, Jaime is far more important to the war effort than any soldier. Jaime protests that the army can hold the Dothraki off, and he may be right... but no one will ever know, because a strange roar is heard, Jaime and Bronn [[BringMyBrownPants look like they both need to change their trousers]], and Drogon, with Dany on his back, descends from the cloud cover, which she had used to hide their approach.

She flies Drogon ahead of her khalasar to the front of the Lannister lines, literally burning a hole in their formation and killing dozens of soldiers instantly. A horrified Dickon watches the khalasar ride through the flames and the battle is joined as the Dothraki pour in through the breach. Lannister archers, spear-men, and the pike wall do their best, but warfare of this kind is the Dothraki specialty, and their numbers begin to overwhelm the crown's forces. While the khalasar concentrate on the soldiers, Dany and Drogon focus on the wagon train, destroying all the supplies they can and leaving the field a burning waste. Jaime gathers a group of archers as Drogon swings around for another pass, but their arrows all bounce harmlessly off his chest and he destroys another part of the caravan. Jaime then orders Bronn to man the scorpion that Qyburn commissioned, and after the sellsword rides off, proves that their training has paid dividends when he manages to cut down several Dothraki, but one who is dual-wielding arakhs does begin to overpower Jaime's guard, however, Dickon saves the day with a well-timed sword thrust from behind, earning Jaime's respect. On the way to the scorpion, Bronn faces down his first Dothraki Screamer, his go-to tactic of flinging his kukri is soundly countered by the barbarians' arakh but just before their swords clash, his opponent cuts one of the front legs of Bronn's mount from under him, sending the sellsword tumbling heavily to the ground and to lose his big ol' bag of gold.

Dany orders Drogon to blast him just as Bronn pulls the release lever, the bolt whistles forth from its torsion-twine limbs at a range of nearly four hundred meters, [[DidYouJustPunchOutCthulhu it's going to go right down Drogon's gullet!]] Not today! Though it strikes true, it instead sinks deep into the thinly armoured right wing joint, causing Drogon to shriek in agony. He pitches lopsided into an uncontrollable fall. Dany goes from young conqueror to girl child as she holds on for dear life, helpless. Drogon spins and tumbles through the air, Tyrion and Ko Qhono watch in shock and dismay, unable to help their queen and Bronn is jubilant as the pair plummets, but his triumph is premature.

Jaime finally sights Mad Aerys's daughter, there's no mistaking that silver hair. As he witnesses her concern for the monster that just annihilated his troops, the knight loses all perspective and his eyes fall on a Dothraki corpse pinned by a spear between them, Tyrion also sees this from his vantage-point and realizes what his brother is about to do, murmuring [[SuicideMission "Flee, you idiot."]] But the golden lion instead decides to dust off his old jousting skills and rides in at full gallop, plucking the impromptu lance from the corpse, twirling it under-arm, and levelling it at Dany as he thunders in. It's a scene straight out of EpicFantasy as the kingslayer tries to gain the epithet dragonslayer.

* BigBrotherInstinct: What saves Theon from Jon's TranquilFury is Jon's protectiveness of his sister Sansa, as Theon helped her escape from the Boltons last season.

* [[ImmuneToBullets Immune To Arrows]]: A Lannister arrow volley harmlessly clatters off of Drogon's stomach and neck plating, though Dany herself may have been the actual target. Drogon is later shown to be woundable by much larger scorpion bolts, however.

* HelmetsAreHardlyHeroic: As is common for the series now, on account of the need for MarqueeAlterEgo, none of the named characters in the Lannister side wear helmets, albeit infantryman do and archers wear some headgear. The Dothraki likewise battle without helmets or armour, as does Daenerys who rides in her ceremonial queenly robes.[[labelnote:From the Books]]Targaryen Dragon Riders like Rhaenys and Visenya did wear helmets, armour, and a special outfit in battle for protection.[[/labelnote]]

* ReactionShot: When Arya points out to Brienne that she swore to serve both Stark daughters, we cut to Sansa's reaction to overhearing this, and Littlefinger giving her a MeaningfulLook as [[ManipulativeBastard he notes her reaction]].

** Even the music one Drogon attacks is not the usual heroic battle fare that accompanies battles in GoT, its more akin to ''horror movie music'', showing that the battle isn't as glorious as it looks.

* AllohistoricalAllusion: When Jon, Davos, and Missandei banter, they briefly discuss Jon's titles, with Davos noting "King Snow, no that doesn't sound right, King Jon?". The joke is that the historical [[UsefulNotes/KingJohnOfEngland King John]] was a famously unpopular King in both real history and pop culture, and as such there is only one King John as opposed to the many Henrys, Edwards, Richards, Georges, and the pairs of Elizabeths, Marys, Jameses, and Charleses[[note]]Despite the common idea that no King or Queen would want to name their kid after the guy who prompted such a rebellion that he had to sign the Magna Carta, there were in fact a couple princes named John, most notably Edward I's first son (who died at just five years old) and Henry IV's dad John of Gaunt (son of Edward III), but none of them made it onto the throne.[[/note]]. So King Jon Snow indeed doesn't sound right.

* CurbStompCushion: While the battle was one-sided for the most part, the Lannister contingency plan in case of suddenly appearing dragons was skillfully deployed and ''almost'' worked. This trope is probably best exemplified in one shot where a Lannister soldier finishes off a downed Dothraki with an effortful thrust, moments before he and everyone around him are incinerated with more dragonfire.

* HorseArcher: We see Dothraki doing this.

* IShallTauntYou: Arya's duel with Brienne features her inviting an offensive via smirks or holding Needle behind her back, and then dodging Brienne's attacks so as to strike back. It irritates Brienne enough for her to kick Arya to the ground in frustration, but that's when the duel really picks up.

* KickTheDog: One Dothraki tells Tyrion that the Lannister army can't fight as the men who served his family are being picked off by Dothraki.

* TheCameo: New York Mets pitcher Noah Syndergaard (well known for his love of the show and HighFantasy in general) plays a Lannister soldier who throws a spear at the charging Dothraki.

* KickTheDog: One Dothraki tells Tyrion that the Lannister army fights like shit as the men who served his family are being picked off by Dothraki.

** Jaime Lannister tells a young man who feels guilt about betraying his former supporters that he shouldn't feel guilty about JustFollowingOrders, when he felt guilty about serving the Mad King, and has previously mocked the concept of oaths and obligations.

** Bronn manages to hit Drogon with the scorpion, sending him into a tailspin that looks like it's going to end in a crash that might well kill him and Daenerys both - and then the dragon manages regain control of his flight and proceeds to torch the scorpion.

* NoDeadBodyPoops: Dickon didn't realize that dead bodies void their bowels, the smell being one of the most vivid things he remembers from the sacking of Highgarden. Bronn cheerfully notes he learned that lesson when he was five.

* MortonsFork: The battleplan of the Targaryen army. The only hope the Lannister army has against the Dothraki is staying in formation, but that makes them a massed and easy target for Drogon and Daenerys to destroy with dragon fire. If they break and scatter to minimize the damage from Drogon, they'll get cut to ribbons by the Dothraki. Decisions, decisions.