Its not that Cersei is out maneuvering Tyrion, its just that she has experienced people handling the pointy things, while she takes care of the political end. Cersei told the iron bank that in two weeks, she would repay the whole shebang, and how she does that is by taking high garden and all the tyrell gold.
There is only so many ways to take KL from Cersei conventionally, Euron knocked out Dorne, Jaime has taken the Tyrells out of the game, simply by sacrificing Casterlyrock and pinning the unsullied in place.
What Dany should do now, is to light Kings Landing up with the Dragons and end it. But I would hazard that what she is going to do now, is relieve CR and Dunkirk the unsullied or whats left of them.
She’ll probably let the Mountain rape Ellaria on a regular basis, like the shame nun, with the extra bonus for Cersei being the Mountain killed Ellaria’s lover.
Who? Obviously not the Tyrells or Dornies. Greywork and Missandei have never been to Westeros. Tyrion still has a death sentence over his head. Even the idea that Varys is playing some sort of long con is less plausible than lazy writing.
My problem is that these battles between great houses have resolved themselves a bit too quickly. Euron magically stumbles across the rebel Greyjoy/Dorne fleet and wipes it out because he’s “the world’s greatest captain”. Even though there doesn’t seem to be anything particularly superior about his ships or weapons.
Then the same Lannister army that’s presumably been fighting a costly war for the past 6 seasons just up and marches from Castlerly Rock to Highgarden and gives them the “Rains of Castemere” treatment in a day. Granted, Ollena herself tells Jaime that the Tyrells suck at war. But they don’t suck that bad, haven’t really been fighting the War of Five Kings for the past few years, have presumably been preparing for war since teaming up with Dany and are still in a pretty impressive fortress.
I’m thinking that one of the problems with Dany’s staff is that all of them are political strategists, not military. Grey Worm is a great military tactician, but not capable of thinking at a strategic level either. Cersei seems to have all the advantages in that regard. Dany really needs Jon Snow for military advice. Or Jorah needs to come back, somebody who is a Westerosian warrior with lots of experience. I mean, look at who she’s surrounded herself with: Varys and Tyrion, an ex-slave girl, and Grey Worm. That’s not a war staff. All the solid war experience is with Cersei, from Jaime to Randyll Tarly to Euron.
IF someone in Dany’s inner circle was feeding information to the other side, the only one it could be is Theon Greyjoy, I’d think. He’s a broken man. He might have been turned by someone - maybe Euron.
But I think the magic knowledge is more likely just due to it being written that way. We’re just supposed to go with the coincidences. I mean, it’s just as easy to believe that all this is just brilliant tactics by the Lannister side as it is to believe that Euron Greyjoy could bring his fleet on top of the other one with no warning whatsoever. In a fog that thick, it would have been an impossible feat to not just find that fleet, but to be able to target the lead ship and ram it before anyone knew what was going on.
But if anyone in Dany’s group is a rat, my money would be on Theon. I also thought of Clyburn controlling the ‘little birds’, but that castle was abandoned so there wouldn’t be any.
It’s either his character or the acting. Some of the acting in GoT is a bit ropey, and it mainly comes from the once child actors who have grown up to be mediocre adult actors. As well as Bran the portrayal of Arya is underwhelming too. It’s hard to portray a character who is just above mere humanity. Alec Guiness could do it, Ewan McGregor could almost cope with it. Cute child actors(hired for their cuteness & look) emerging into adulthood are finding it difficult.
I wonder if their military campaign would have been helped by still having the Kingsguard that was killed by the Harpies?
I think Jamie will definitely tell Cersei if only to bring her the closure of knowing their son’s murderer is dead. Cersei can still hate Tyrion for killing their dad (and in her mind, their mom).
ETA: I forgot to mention in my first post I really liked the exchange between Jon and Tyrion about Sansa, “She’s starting to let on on” indeed
Man how messed up universe is it, when your symphathies in a scene are with the person who has slow poisoned a daughter and forced her mother to watch as it slowly takes effect.
I didn’t feel bad for Cersei at all. However, she is less morally in the wrong in that situation though. Oberyn wasn’t murdered. Ellaria has no cause to be angry with Cersei over that.
I also don’t think there’s a traitor in Dany’s camp. I think it’s all just the writing.
I have less of a problem with Highgarden being taken than with Euron’s ships. They showed Randyll Tarly marching with Jaime. In that case I think you’re supposed to believe that all of Olenna’s bannermen have abandoned her. It was the personal Tyrell army vs the Lannisters and everyone else in the Reach. Euron though… there’s no reason that the weakest of the big houses should be able to take on the entire world in naval battles and win without breaking a sweat.
These people really need to invest in some ISR. I think the only scouting we’ve seen in the show at all is the one Robb captures and lets go in season 1.
Hey, at least there was some acknowledgement in this episode that armies need to eat. (Jaime pointing out why the Unsullied couldn’t stay in Casterly Rock for long.)
The loss of the Tyrells (Olenna and her personal guard, most likely) appears to have been inevitable, at lest in the show universe – Jaime successfully swayed the Tarlys, and likely most of the rest of the Reach’s bannermen, meaning that Olenna didn’t have much left, and meaning that she wasn’t a particularly useful ally to Daenerys anyway. The loss of the fleet and Yara/Theon is much more significant. But I think it’s likely that Theon survived in order to once again redeem himself – this time, perhaps, by rescuing Yara from captivity.
Or not. We’ll see.
My prediction: Cersei will “peak” in her success in the next episode or two, and then crater hard – this season is/will be about the fight (among the living, anyway) for Westeros, with Dany and Jon triumphing at the end, with the final scene being the White Walkers either destroying the Wall or walking around it on a frozen sea. Thus the next season will be the final war – the Long Night (which might mean a goodbye to daytime scenes!) – with a bittersweet victory over the Dead, and many/most characters left dying in the struggle.
I think it’s more a combination of good thinking and planning on Jamie’s part about what their enemies will do and Euron’s experience in naval battles.
Speaking of Jamie, how does he feel about his sister declaring herself queen in his absence - an absence she encouraged him to take ?
Sansa seemed upset when Bran talked about her wedding (wearing white.) I don’t remember her wearing white at either of her weddings. Am I remembering wrong?
Danearys said she’d been raped. Again, I don’t remember that happening, unless you count her wedding night with Drogo…she was a less than willing partner.
No Arya. I presume she’s on her way to Winterfell.
Was that Victarion who rescued Theon? Maybe he’ll be able to offer his fleet to Danearys.
No more gross skin Jorah! But does he know where to go now to rejoin Danearys? (Who, by the way, does seem in dire need of competent military counsel.)
Well the whole Three Eyed Raven thing is “difficult to explain” so I am not really sure either. But it could be a vision of future Sansa wedding (TERs can see the future says Bran), hopefully one in which she is a willing participant.
I really enjoyed the discussions between Jon Snow and Tyrion, and Jon and Dany (and the others) in the throne room. I was impressed by Jaime’s military strategy, although I dislike the Magical Euron Fleet once again showing up at exactly the right time and place to wreak the most havoc.
The biggest bonus for me, though, was finally figuring out who Euron reminded me of. In both looks and mannerisms, he’s the spitting image of Buford “Mad Dog” Tannen from Back to the Future III.
I disagree, if anyone is going to complete the cratering, its going to be Dany. She needs to go north, and the only reason for that to happen, is her losing.
I presume she’s on her way to Winterfell.
