History YMMV / GameOfThronesS7E4TheSpoilsOfWar

* OlderThanTheyThink: A few commentators saw the scorpion in the show as a kind of fantasy-term for a ballista. In the real world, [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Scorpio_(weapon) Scorpions]] were Roman era weapons, used as artillery. Of course the one in the show is visually closer to the ballista but in terms of its portability, and being able to be carried on a wagon for greater mobility, similar to how the scorpion is loaded in a covered wagon in the episode.

* {{Squick}}: Jon is Dany's nephew; while many fans have been pushing the relationship even in the book and it's context-appropriate, it is still cheering for incest. Some viewers disagree on the show's handling of this -- some viewers enjoy the way they start to develop feelings for one another in this episode while others feel it is forced, as if the director is pushing them toward each other saying kiss.

* SugarWiki/VisualEffectsOfAwesome: Drogon burning the Lannister-Tarly caravan and soldiers is, well, [[JustForPun lit]].

* InformedWrongness: Dany's plan to take the Red Keep with her dragons is considered wrong by Tyrion and by Jon Snow, with the former suggesting that they lay siege on the capital instead. With winter and the Army of the Dead coming, the entire conflict could last longer than any siege can maintain, not to mention that starving the people of King's Landing is less humane than making one decisive strike. Dany going straight to the Red Keep could conceivably end the war much faster, since it's clear that the Lannisters don't have any support base outside the capital. Jon ''does'' perhaps have a point in that the timing would be poor considering that Cersei just rose to power by blowing up the Sept of Baelor and destroying a good chunk of King's Landing -- incinerating hundreds, if not thousands of innocent bystanders in the process -- and it'd be near-impossible for Daenerys to take Red Keep with her dragons without causing at least ''some'' collateral damage to other parts of King's Landing, but the issue's nowhere near as black-and-white as he makes it out to be. In Season 8, we see that [[spoiler:faffing about in this way has just given Cersei time to increase the casualties of an assault on the Red Keep by bringing lots of civilians there as human shields]].

* DeathOfTheAuthor: D. B. Weiss states in the "Inside the Episode" that the battle between Dany and the Lannisters is "the first time we've ever had two sets of main characters on opposite sides of the battlefield, and it's impossible to really want any one of them to win and impossible to want any one of them to lose," and while some fans agree, others point to earlier battles with main characters on both sides, particularly the Battle of Blackwater with Davos and Stannis vs. Tyrion and the Lannisters and to a lesser extent the Battle of Castle Black with Jon, Sam, and the Night's Watch vs. Tormund, Ygritte, and the wildlings. Moreover, Jaime's recent actions like plundering the Reach, taking food from peasants who'll now likely starve, hypocritically calling Olenna a traitor, together with his only noteworthy ally being Sam's despicable father Lord Randyll, ''and'' the fact that they're ultimately serving the now utterly evil Queen Cersei, makes the Lannisters a pretty clear heel whatever their personal VillainousValor might be.

* DeathOfTheAuthor:
** D. B. Weiss states in the "Inside the Episode" that the battle between Dany and the Lannisters is "the first time we've ever had two sets of main characters on opposite sides of the battlefield, and it's impossible to really want any one of them to win and impossible to want any one of them to lose," and while some fans agree, others point to earlier battles with main characters on both sides, particularly the Battle of Blackwater with Davos and Stannis vs. Tyrion and the Lannisters and to a lesser extent the Battle of Castle Black with Jon, Sam, and the Night's Watch vs. Tormund, Ygritte, and the wildlings. Moreover, Jaime's recent actions like plundering the Reach, taking food from peasants who'll now likely starve, hypocritically calling Olenna a traitor, together with his only noteworthy ally being Sam's despicable father Lord Randyll, ''and'' the fact that they're ultimately serving the now utterly evil Queen Cersei, makes the Lannisters a pretty clear heel whatever their personal VillainousValor might be. As for the other side, Daenerys and Drogon leave such utter devastation and suffering in their wake that it can be hard to root for them.

* InformedWrongness: Dany's plan to take the Red Keep with her dragons is considered wrong by Tyrion and by Jon Snow, with the former suggesting that they lay siege on the capital instead. With winter and the Army of the Dead coming, the entire conflict could last longer than any siege can maintain, not to mention that starving the people of King's Landing is less humane than making one decisive strike. Dany going straight to the Red Keep could conceivably end the war much faster, since it's clear that the Lannisters don't have any support base outside the capital. Jon ''does'' perhaps have a point in that the timing would be poor considering that Cersei just rose to power by blowing up the Sept of Baelor and destroying a good chunk of King's Landing -- incinerating hundreds, if not thousands of innocent bystanders in the process -- and it'd be near-impossible for Daenerys to take Red Keep with her dragons without causing at least ''some'' collateral damage, but the issue's nowhere near as black-and-white as he makes it out to be.

* InformedWrongness: Dany's plan to take the Red Keep with her dragons is considered wrong by Tyrion and by Jon Snow, with the former suggesting that they lay siege on the capital instead. With winter coming, the entire conflict could last longer than any siege can maintain, not to mention that starving the people of King's Landing is less humane than making one decisive strike. Dany going straight to the Red Keep could conceivably end the war much faster, since it's clear that the Lannisters don't have any support base outside the capital. Jon ''does'' perhaps have a point in that the timing would be poor considering that Cersei just rose to power by blowing up the Sept of Baelor and destroying a good chunk of King's Landing -- incinerating hundreds, if not thousands of innocent bystanders in the process -- and it'd be near-impossible for Daenerys to take Red Keep with her dragons without causing at least ''some'' collateral damage, but the issue's nowhere near as black-and-white as he makes it out to be.

* InformedWrongness: Dany's plan to take the Red Keep with her dragons is considered wrong by Tyrion and by Jon Snow, with the former suggesting that they lay siege on the capital instead. With winter coming, the entire conflict could last longer than any siege can maintain. Dany going straight to the Red Keep could conceivably end the war much faster, since it's clear that the Lannisters don't have any support base outside the capital. Jon ''does'' perhaps have a point in that the timing would be poor considering that Cersei just rose to power by blowing up the Sept of Baelor and destroying a good chunk of King's Landing -- incinerating hundreds, if not thousands of innocent bystanders in the process -- and it'd be near-impossible for Daenerys to take Red Keep with her dragons without causing at least ''some'' collateral damage, but the issue's nowhere near as black-and-white as he makes it out to be.

* InformedWrongness: Dany's plan to take the Red Keep with her dragons is considered wrong by Tyrion and by Jon Snow, with the former suggesting that they lay siege on the capital instead. With winter coming, the entire conflict could last longer than any siege can maintain. Dany going straight to the Red Keep could conceivably end the war much faster, since it's clear that the Lannisters don't have any support base outside the capital. Jon ''does'' perhaps have a point in that the timing would be poor considering that Cersei just rose to power by blowing up the Sept of Baelor and destroying a good chunk of King's Landing -- incinerating hundreds, if not thousands of innocent bystanders in the process -- and it'd be near-impossible to take Red Keep with her dragons without causing at least ''some'' collateral damage, but the issue's nowhere near as black-and-white as he makes it out to be.

* InformedWrongness: Dany's plan to take the Red Keep with her dragons is considered wrong by Tyrion and by Jon Snow, with the former suggesting that they lay siege on the capital instead. With winter coming, the entire conflict could last longer than any siege can maintain. Dany going straight to the Red Keep could conceivably end the war much faster, since it's clear that the Lannisters don't have any support base outside the capital.

** Jaime's suicidal charge at the end. While he was always bold, it's not like he has much to live for now. Might as well end it like a knight instead of seeing the realm fall into even more chaos.

* TheWoobie: After everything Meera went through with Bran, including her own brother dying for him, she only gets a half-hearted thank-you from him and realizes that the boy she has so much affection for essentially died in the cave.

* HilariousInHindsight: In ''Series/DoctorWho'', it was Maisie Williams's character who became eerily detached from her humanity due to countless memories cluttering up her mind.

* HSQ: Just picture a massive wave of Dothraki cavalry storming over the hillside towards the Lannister army... and then add the sound of Drogon screeching and flying into view...

* InformedWrongness: Dany's plan to take the Red Keep with her dragons is considered wrong by Tyrion and by Jon Snow, with the former suggesting that they lay siege on the capital instead. The thing is the siege plan of Tyrion's leads to Dany burning most of the food rations which is something that both sides of the war need, and with winter coming, it makes the entire conflict last longer than any siege can maintain and reduce the rations even more. Dany going straight to the Red Keep could conceivably end the war much faster, since it's clear that the Lannisters don't have any support base outside the capital.

* IncestYayShipping: Jon and Dany's interaction in the cave is full of ShipTease, which is lessened for some viewers because it is a SurpriseIncest situation with both of them blissfully unaware, and that thanks to the TangledFamilyTree, Dany is both Jon's aunt ''and'' the same age as him.

* AlternateCharacterInterpretation:

* IncestYay: Jon and Dany's interaction in the cave is full of ShipTease, which is lessened for some viewers because it is a SurpriseIncest situation with both of them blissfully unaware, and that thanks to the TangledFamilyTree, Dany is both Jon's aunt ''and'' the same age as him.

* VisualEffectsOfAwesome: Drogon burning the Lannister-Tarly caravan and soldiers is, well, [[IncrediblyLamePun lit]].

** When Meera came to see Bran, was she genuinely planning on leaving, or was she quietly begging for a reason to stay with him? The fact that she's utterly crushed by Bran's failure to show any emotion at her departure may suggest the latter, or it may just be regret that her final moments with Bran couldn't have been more meaningful.

* {{Anvilicious}}: Jon Snow's speech to Dany is incredibly preachy and blunt about how Dany shouldn't use her dragons to do what dragons primarily do. The whole point about dragons burning castles being a bad thing is likewise this since when Aegon I landed, the only castle he burnt was Harrenhal, built by a tyrant who oppressed people that the Conqueror freed. On the other hand multiple cities, villages and castles were burned later, especially during the Dance of Dragons, including fairly large ones such as Tumbletown.

* IncestYay: Jon and Dany's interaction in the cave is full of ShipTease, which is lessened in it being a SurpriseIncest situation with both of them blissfully unaware, and that thanks to the TangledFamilyTree, Dany is both Jon's aunt ''and'' the same age as he.

* OlderThanTheyThink: A few commentators saw the scorpion in the show as a kind of fantasy-term for a ballista. But in fact [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Scorpio_(weapon) Scorpions]] were Roman era weapons, used as artillery. Of course the one in the show is visually closer to the ballista but in terms of its portability, and being able to be carried on a wagon for greater mobility, similar to how the scorpion is loaded in a covered wagon in the episode.

* {{Squick}}: Jon is Dany's nephew; while many fans have been pushing the relationship even in the book and it's context-appropriate, it is still cheering for incest. It doesn't help that the show makes it look really forced so it's less the characters feeling attracted to each other and more the director pushing them toward each other saying kiss.

* BrokenBase: The Brienne/Arya sparring scene. Some people find it charming and a nice display of how far Arya's abilities have come. Others find it pointless fan service that contributes nothing to the story and is poorly shot.
** The ShipTeasing between Jon and Daenerys. Some people find it interesting and charming (some fans have been shipping them for years) while others feel they lack chemistry and that it's a case of StrangledByTheRedString. And that it's an uncomfortable pairing due to them (unbeknownst to themselves) being aunt and nephew (which, again, doesn't bother some fans who feel it's not so bad compaired to the brother/sister pairings that exist on the show, and in the Targaryen family tree).

** After three episodes of everything going wrong for Dany, many viewers couldn't help but ''cheer'' at the utter massacre of the Lannister troops at the hands of Drogon and the Dothraki. This is may be why they are [[KickTheDog shown taking rations]] and food from peasants; just to make their defeat all more sweeter.

** On the other hand, Bronn hitting Drogon with the scorpion is one for those that dislike Dany or how her dragons just killed hundreds of soldiers by burning them alive.

* {{Narm}}: Theon's DullSurprise to Jon's presence undermines what should have been a tense scene. Him being at a loss how to respond is understandable, but his expression doesn't quite carry it.

** D. B. Weiss states in the "Inside the Episode" that the battle between Dany and the Lannisters is "the first time we've ever had two sets of main characters on opposite sides of the battlefield, and it's impossible to really want any one of them to win and impossible to want any one of them to lose," and while some fans agree, others point to earlier battles with main characters on both sides, particularly the Battle of Blackwater with Davos and Stannis vs. Tyrion and the Lannisters and to a lesser extent the Battle of Castle Black with Jon, Sam, and the Night's Watch vs. Tormund, Ygritte, and the wildlings. Moreover, Jaime's recent actions like plundering peasants and hypocritically calling Olenna a traitor, together with his only noteworthy ally being Sam's despicable father Lord Randyll, and the fact that they're ultimately serving the now utterly evil Queen Cersei, makes the Lannisters a pretty clear heel whatever their personal VillainousValor might be. As for the other side, Daenerys and Drogon leave such utter devastation and suffering in their wake that it can be hard to root for them.

* DeliberateValuesDissonance: In any modern-day setting, ShipTease between two people related by blood as closely as Jon and Dany are would be ''strictly'' [[IncestYay no]]-[[NoYay no]]. However, in Westeros, where marriage between first cousins is the norm among the nobility, a romantic relationship between aunt and nephew is toeing the line between acceptable and uncomfortable. If you take into account that both Dany and (unknowingly) Jon have Targaryen blood (with Jon being half-Stark and half-Targaryen while Dany is full-Targaryen) and the Targaryens having a history of incestuous pairings in an attempt to keep their bloodline as pure as possible, this may or may not result in their pairing being more socially acceptable in-universe.

** A minor one between the writers and the GOT Wiki staff; the climactic battle of the episode does have an unmentioned name for the writers... who call it the [[ExactlyWhatItSaysOnTheTin Loot Train Attack]]. Naturally, the GOT Wiki staff needed something more formal to call it, and decided on calling it the 'Battle of the Goldroad'.

* DeathOfTheAuthor: D. B. Weiss states in the "Inside the Episode" that the battle between Dany and the Lannisters is "the first time we've ever had two sets of main characters on opposite sides of the battlefield, and it's impossible to really want any one of them to win and impossible to want any one of them to lose," and while some fans agree, others point to earlier battles with main characters on both sides, particularly the Battle of Blackwater with Davos and Stannis vs. Tyrion and the Lannisters and to a lesser extent the Battle of Castle Black with Jon, Sam, and the Night's Watch vs. Tormund, Ygritte, and the wildlings. Moreover, Jaime's recent actions like plundering peasants and hypocritically calling Olenna a traitor, together with his only noteworthy ally being Sam's despicable father Lord Randyll, and the fact that they're ultimately serving the now utterly evil Queen Cersei, makes the Lannisters a pretty clear heel whatever their personal VillainousValor might be. As for the other side, Daenerys and Drogon leave such utter devastation and suffering in their wake that it can be hard to root for them.