Yahoo News Game of Thrones: 12 things we learned from episode 2
Warning: This article contains spoilers for Game of Thrones season 7 episode 2 'Stormborn'.
After last week's traditional 'setting the scene' opening episode of season 7, things took on a more bombastic tone this week, switching up the pace and promising some truly amazing scenes in episode 3.
Here are the biggest questions and theories from 'Stormborn':
1. Daenerys could be the 'Princess' That Was Promised
Isn't it funny how Melisandre conveniently finds ways to edit her prophecies? First she thought her saviour was Stannis, then Jon, now maybe it could be Daenerys.
A mysterious figure from the book series who is reborn from the mythic hero Azor Ahai, the Prince That Was Promised is destined to lead mankind in its war against darkness by wielding a sword known as the Lightbringer, and will take down all the White Walkers in their wake.
While most people have predicted the Prince That Was Promised to be Jaime Lannister or Jon Snow (Ser Davos was another name suggested), it looks like fans got it totally wrong. Because who says the Prince has to be a man?
In fact, when Dany raised that point herself in 'Stormborn', Missandei changed everything by saying: "Your grace, forgive me. But your translation is not quite accurate. That noun has no gender in High Valyrian, so the proper translation for that prophecy would be the Prince or Princess who will bring the dawn."
We didn't get to see much from Melisandre, but will she now be a worthy asset to Daenerys? And Davos is going to be PISSED when he arrives and sees the woman he literally just banished.
2. Oh, not the Sand Snakes, can't stand... oh
It's fair to say that the Dorne lot are not exactly fan favourites. And so when Ellaria and the Sand Snakes made a return this week, we weren't exactly excited. But then...
After Euron's dramatic invasion of the Iron Fleet, he takes and down and kills two of them: Nymeria and Obara (yes, those were their names).
But what about Ellaria and her daughter Tyene? You'd be forgiven for thinking it was their dead bodies hung on the ship and witnessed by Theon. But nope, that's Nymeria and Obara. Ellaria and Tyene have actually been taken by Euron and his men, along with Yara.
Why? Because they might well be the 'gift' for Cersei, as teased last week. Remember, Tyene supplied the poison to kill Cersei's daughter Myrcella, and Ellaria used it. This would make quite the tale of revenge. Quite how Euron knew where they were going to be is anyone's guess.
We dread to think what Yara's fate may be now. Euron will either torture her, or attempt to make her join him. After what Theon did to her, we wouldn't be surprised if it was the latter.
3. Euron is the coolest man in all of Westeros
Yes, he's a total dick. And yes, last week we were mocking him for stealing Bam Margera's style. But, Euron could be the villain we all crave: one we actually quite like.
The problem with Joffrey or Ramsay, is that they were simply too evil, to the point where they were actually ruining our enjoyment of the show. But Euron? He's a badass. He's hilarious. He makes Cersei's side of the fence much more interesting.
Euron and Cersei ruling together would make one hell of an incredibly evil alliance, and one that would surely push Jaime out.
4. The return of Reek
We were actually surprised that this happened. After finally getting rid of his Reek ghost, and becoming more and more like Theon everyday, he sadly reverted to his snivelling alter ego, even though it meant his sister Yara would be taken and potentially killed.
But you kind of can't blame him. He and his sister would surely have died instantly if he tried to take Euron on in that moment. By jumping ship, he not only keeps the (good) Greyjoy name alive, but potentially rescues his sister, too.
That being said, he's going to need to do something insanely heroic to redeem himself now. And who will he turn to next? He can either return to Daenerys and seek vengeance, or run off somewhere totally different, like with the Brotherhood Without Banners. Either way, the Iron Fleet is under Euron's control now.
5. Hot Pie's back!
We always wondered whether we'd get to see Hot Pie again, and here he suddenly was, providing some highly important information to Arya. News sure travels fast among tavern-dwellers, clearly.
Upon hearing that Jon Snow is not only alive but the King of the North, Arya makes the best decision to pause her quest to kill Cersei, and reunite with her family, not realising that Sansa is there, too.
We doubt that we'll see Hot Pie again, but you never know. We're also sad that we didn't learn his real name, or for him to get a new one.
6. Sam could actually save Jorah, but why?
After just a few months in the Citadel, Sam is already doing a better job than all the old maesters in there. He's found out where Jon can find a load of Dragonglass, and now he's potentially discovered the cure for greyscale. What are all the old dudes doing?
We love Jorah, but why is he still around? There must surely be a reason that he's managed to not be killed off yet. Does he still actually have a chance with Daenerys?
Either way, we hope that Sam can stop his greyscale, but not by any fancy method or inhaling dragonglass. Nope, just by... you know... cutting it off. That's going to be one hell of a long and painful night for both of them.
7. Is Sansa going to royally mess up?
We really hope each week that Sansa won't disappoint us by reverting to her horrible season 1 self. She's had such an amazing journey, but with Littlefinger's presence, we're constantly worried that she's going to betray Jon any day now.
With Jon leaving to see Daenerys, he left Sansa in charge. Littlefinger's smirk was so big it hit one of the Karstarks in the face.
With Littlefinger making it clear to Jon that he wants Sansa, there's a big chance that he's either going to find a way to force Sansa to betray her brother while he's away, or even trick her in such a way that makes him King of the North. Either way, we're hoping we're wrong, but the longer Littlefinger sticks around...
8. Does Varys actually support Daenerys?
One particularly odd moment occurred at the start of the episode, where Daenerys started talking sh*t with our boy, Varys. At one point, it looked as if she was going to banish him out of nowhere.
While it may have simply been a handy plot hole filled out, in that why did Varys help plan her assassination if he was rooting for her? Well, that's simply because he didn't know anything about her, but he definitely supports her now. But does he?
After Daenerys questioned his loyalty, he said that he knows "that people have no better chance than" her, and that those "people" are where his true loyalties lie. But Varys has survived this whole time by making sure he's on the right time, just like his old foe Littlefinger.
Is there a chance that he's actually some kind of quadruple agent, and is actually serving someone else entirely? We bloody hope not. Hang on, how did Euron know where the Sands were going to be?
Varys is not a fan of magic, and he is bound to clash heads with Melisandre, who might push out the baldheaded wonder when it comes to Daenerys's council.
9. Nymeria's back! But why did she leave?
For the first time since season 1, we finally caught up with Arya's direwolf Nymeria, who just so happened to bump into her in the forest.
At first, we weren't sure if it was Nymeria, as Arya said: "No, that's not you." However, she wasn't meaning that the direwolf was literally not her, but rather that her option to follow Arya wasn't for her, at least not for now. It mirrors a similar line from season 1 - when Ned and Arya realise that Arya has no interest in dressing up or marrying a lord. "That's not me," Arya said to her father.
So, if that was Nymeria, why didn't she join Arya? She's now the head of a wolfpack, and in the novels, she has been doing the god's work by roaming the Riverlands and bumping off baddies.
Direwolves are known to be loyal to their masters, but Nymeria chose not to abandon her pack. But she clearly realised it was Arya, and also chose to leave her alone. Does this mean that their bond is broken due to Arya's newfound love of killing? Or because Arya rejected her way back when? Or will she one day return to Arya's side in the future when she really needs it?
The North could really do with a badass wolfpack right now.
10. How do eunuchs... y'know?
One of the sweetest Game of Thrones moments in recent memory happened this week, when Grey Worm and Missandei made love. But how is that possible, you ask? Well, he clearly wasn't using (and certainly didn't need) his penis.
Biologically, Grey Worm's sex drive should be pretty low, as we know that he lost "pillar and stones" when castrated as a boy. But experts on the subject have spoken about whether he can still 'perform', and Deanna Richards recently told Vulture: "He can certainly experience the same level of intimacy without sexual desire. He would need to learn how to pleasure her in other ways to satisfy her sexual desire."
And the scene showed that Grey Worm followed the Jon Snow sex handbook, and no one was complaining. But with him admitting that she is his "weakness", does that mean his days are numbered?
11. What side is Tyrion on?
It was telling to hear that it was Tyrion's idea to make sure Daenerys doesn't simply slaughter everyone at King's Landing, and avoid becoming the "Queen of Ashes".
While this is probably because Tyrion isn't a bloodthirsty monster, it's also because he still loves at least one Lannister: his brother Jaime.
Tyrion couldn't care less what happens to Cersei and her supporters, but he owes Jaime. He wouldn't want him to die without explaining himself first. Oh, and Bronn's about somewhere – they're still bros, right?
12. Is Jim Broadbent writing the whole thing?
Fans have already noted how the Citadel's hanging globes are exactly the same as the ones seen in the opening credits, as if the whole story is being written by a maester in the future.
While fans pondered whether that maester could be Sam, maybe it was at least started by Marwyn? The Archmaester revealed that he is currently writing A Chronicle of the Wars Following the Death of King Robert the First.
Sam points out that he could do with a better title. Hmm, we wonder what that could be…
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