"Stormborn" is a weird one. Honestly, looking back at Game of Thrones Season 7 Episode 2 years after the series finale changed the cultural conversation forever, this specific hour feels like a relic. It was the last moment the board was perfectly set before the writers started sprinting toward a finish line that many fans felt was a bit too close for comfort. You remember that feeling? The anticipation of Daenerys finally sitting in the Map Room at Dragonstone, the tension of Jon Snow deciding whether to trust a Targaryen, and that brutal, salt-sprayed ending at sea. It was peak Thrones, even if we didn't know the peak was about to drop off a cliff.
The Strategy Room and the Ghost of Stannis Baratheon
Walking into Dragonstone feels different in Game of Thrones Season 7 Episode 2. It’s not just about the visuals. It’s about the weight of the history in that room. Daenerys Targaryen stands over the Painted Table—the same one where Stannis Baratheon brooded for seasons—and you can almost feel the shift in power.
But here’s the thing people forget: Dany wasn't just there to conquer. She was struggling with the "Queen of the Ashes" dilemma. Tyrion Lannister, ever the optimist at this point in the story, was trying to keep her impulses in check. He wanted a siege, not a massacre. Looking back, his advice here is actually the beginning of the end for his effectiveness as a strategist. He was playing a game of chess while Cersei was playing a game of "burn the whole board down."
The dialogue in these scenes is punchy. It’s fast. Lady Olenna Tyrell steals the show, obviously. When she tells Dany, "The lords of Westeros are sheep. Are you a sheep? No. You’re a dragon. Be a dragon," it isn’t just a cool quote for a t-shirt. It’s a direct challenge to the entire moral framework Tyrion is trying to build. Olenna knew. She’d outlived everyone by being a shark, and she saw the writing on the wall.
That Tension Between Jon and Sansa
Meanwhile, up North, the vibes are... tense. To put it mildly.
Jon Snow receives the raven from Samwell Tarly about the dragonglass at Dragonstone. He also gets the invitation from Tyrion. The conflict between Jon and Sansa in this episode is actually some of the best character work in the later seasons. Sansa isn't being "difficult" for the sake of the plot; she’s the only person in the room who actually understands how Cersei Lannister thinks. She’s trauma-informed.
When Jon decides to go south, the North remembers—and they aren't happy about it. The lords are grumbling. Lord Glover and Royce are basically one step away from a mutiny. It’s a reminder that being King in the North is a nightmare job. You’re constantly managing egos while a literal army of the dead is marching toward your front door. Jon’s departure leaves Sansa in charge, which was a massive moment for her arc, even if it felt like a setup for the (admittedly clunky) Arya/Sansa drama that would follow later in the season.
The Best Cameo We Never Saw Coming
Let’s talk about Hot Pie. Seriously.
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The scene at the Inn at the Crossroads is one of the few moments in Game of Thrones Season 7 Episode 2 where we get a breath of fresh air. Arya Stark is a killing machine at this point. She’s cold. She’s heading to King’s Landing to tick Cersei off her list. Then she sees Hot Pie.
He’s just... there. Making bread. He’s the only person in the entire Seven Kingdoms who seems to be living a normal life. When he tells her that Jon is King in the North, you see the mask slip. For a second, she’s not "No One." She’s Arya of Winterfell. It’s a tiny, human moment that reminds us why we cared about these kids in the first place. Without that interaction, Arya probably goes to King’s Landing, dies trying to kill Cersei, and the entire Long Night plays out differently. Hot Pie basically saved the world with a side of gravy.
Nymeria: The Heartbreak Nobody Talks About
And then there's the wolf.
The reunion with Nymeria in the woods is devastating because it’s so understated. Arya finds her massive direwolf, now leading a pack of regular wolves. For a second, you think they’re going to ride off together like a fantasy trope. But Nymeria turns away.
"That’s not you," Arya says.
It’s a callback to Season 1 when Ned told Arya she’d be a lady and she said, "That’s not me." Nymeria isn't a pet. She’s wild. Just like Arya. It was a beautiful, bittersweet way to close that loop, showing that you can’t ever truly go back to the way things were before the war started.
The Sea Battle: Euron Greyjoy’s Fever Dream
Everything in Game of Thrones Season 7 Episode 2 builds toward that final ten minutes. The attack on the Greyjoy fleet is chaotic, dark, and genuinely terrifying.
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Euron Greyjoy was a polarizing character, mostly because he felt like he walked out of a different show—something more like Mad Max than Game of Thrones. But in this episode? He worked. He was a force of nature. The way he crashed onto Yara’s ship, swinging that massive axe, felt like a horror movie.
The Sand Snakes. Well. People had a lot of opinions about the Sand Snakes. Their death scenes in this episode were brutal, especially with Ellaria Sand forced to watch. It was a clean-up of the Dorne plotline that had been dragging the show down for two seasons. It was fast, it was violent, and it raised the stakes instantly.
The Cowardice of Theon Greyjoy
Then we get to Theon. Poor, broken Theon.
When Euron holds a knife to Yara’s throat and dares Theon to come save her, we see him break. The sounds of the battle—the screaming, the fire, the metal clashing—trigger his PTSD from his time as Reek. He jumps overboard.
A lot of fans were furious. They wanted Theon to have his big hero moment right then and there. But that wouldn’t have been real. Recovery isn’t a straight line. Theon jumping into the water wasn't just him being a coward; it was a visceral reaction to trauma that he hadn't fully processed. It made his eventual redemption in Season 8 feel earned rather than cheap.
Why Episode 2 Matters for the Long Game
If you look at the structure of the season, "Stormborn" is the pivot point. It’s where the "Team Dany" dominance starts to crumble. Up until this point, she felt invincible. She had the dragons, the Unsullied, the Dothraki, the Tyrells, and the Greyjoys.
By the end of this hour, she’s lost her fleet and her Dornish allies. The "smart" plan backfired.
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This episode also sets up the Sam and Jorah storyline at the Citadel. The greyscale "surgery" scene is famously one of the most disgusting things ever aired on television. The hard cut from the puss-filled skin to the guy eating pot pie? Pure trolling from the directors. But it showed Sam’s growth. He wasn't just a bookworm anymore; he was willing to break every rule in the Maester's handbook to help a stranger because he knew it was the right thing to do.
What Most People Miss About the Writing
In Game of Thrones Season 7 Episode 2, Bryan Cogman (the writer) did something very subtle. He linked the past to the present through dialogue that felt like echoes.
When Varys and Daenerys have their confrontation, it’s a masterclass in political maneuvering. Varys doesn't cower. He tells her straight up that his loyalty is to the people, not the crown. It’s a level of honesty we rarely saw in the later seasons, where characters often felt like they were just moving toward plot points. Here, they were still arguing about philosophy.
The Technical Breakdown of the Episode:
- Director: Mark Mylod (who later went on to do incredible work on Succession).
- Key Location: Dragonstone, Northern Ireland / Basque Country.
- MVP: Lady Olenna Tyrell for the "Be a Dragon" speech.
- Low Point: The Sand Snakes' fight choreography felt a bit messy compared to the epic scale of the ship boarding.
Actionable Steps for Your Rewatch
If you’re diving back into Season 7, don't just binge it in the background. There are things in this episode that hit differently now that we know how the story ends.
- Watch the Varys/Dany Scene Closely: Look at Dany’s face when Varys talks about the common people. You can see the flicker of the "Mad Queen" even back then. It’s subtle, but it’s there.
- Compare Jon and Sansa: Pay attention to how Sansa manages the Northern lords while Jon is away. She’s actually much better at the "politics" of the North than Jon ever was.
- Listen to the Score: Ramin Djawadi’s music during the sea battle is haunting. He uses the Greyjoy theme but twists it into something much more aggressive and chaotic for Euron.
- The Sam/Jorah Connection: Remember that Sam is doing this because Jorah’s father, Jeor Mormont, was the man who believed in him at the Wall. It’s a beautiful tribute to a character who died seasons ago.
Game of Thrones Season 7 Episode 2 isn't just a bridge between the premiere and the big battles. It’s a character study on what happens when people are forced to choose between who they were and who they need to become to survive. It’s messy, violent, and deeply human.
Basically, it’s everything we loved about the show before it got too big for its own good. If you haven't seen it in a while, it’s worth a second look, especially for the Olenna scenes alone. She was the realest person in the room, and her absence in the final season was felt by every single viewer. High stakes, better dialogue, and a reminder that in Westeros, the sea is just as dangerous as the dragons.