On the whole, I thought it was a fantastic episode that finally delivered on many of the plot points that had been seeded earlier in the season and in the show overall.
I'm glad to see the LF situation resolved. I'm glad we know the full impact of R+L="A." I'm glad that the wall came down. And I'm glad that Jaime rode north in defiance of Cersei.
The show also delivered on my statement of "Want to make me nervous about characters I love? Put Tyrion and Cersei in a room together." Man, I really did not know if Tyrion would make it out alive. I'm glad he did, but that was an instant where I thought "There are no plot shields strong enough to protect him here." Same story with Jaime later.
Also, my GOD Lena Headey is good! I frickin' HATE Cersei and how bloody stupid she is (more on that in a minute). She thinks she's this master manipulator, but she's just an idiot. I'll be glad when she finally gets hers.
Still, the episode had its flaws. The resolution of the Stark rivalry/Littlefinger situation, while satisfying to watch, makes zero sense. Logically, I just don't follow the process of how this all came about. If Sansa knew all this stuff about Littlefinger before, why did he continue to draw breath? Are we to believe that she and Arya cooked up the whole thing to trap Littlefinger? Or did they just come together at the end and realize -- with a little help from Brandroid -- that they were each being played, at which point they finally put it together? I don't know, and much like the show's apparent disdain for distance and the passage of time, the show doesn't seem to care. For me, this only highlights the critical weakness of that plot to begin with. It was never going to end with one sister murdering the other. We knew this. So, why go to these lengths? Why set it up like this? The only thing I can think of is that the showrunners wanted to create a "twist," which I'm fast coming to the realization is one of the absolute worst tropes in storytelling because they so rarely work.
The stuff with Euron and the Ironborn...man, I just DO NOT CARE about any of it. Theon, Yara, Euron, screw 'em all. They matter as much as the Dornish did, which is to say, not at all. Theon's stupid commando mission to rescue Yara just strikes me as absurd. Likewise, the whole "Euron was faking it at the meeting!" thing. That just...doesn't make sense. I'm just ready for them all to come to a nasty end and be done with. The Ironborn just aren't interesting.
Anyway, as for Cersei's idiocy, I find it interesting that she's hired the Golden Company. I'm wondering if the show will do anything to address the origins and political goals of the Golden Company.
For those who don't read the books or remember the backstory, the Golden Company is an Essosi mercenary company made up primarily of Westerosi knights and men-at-arms (or their descendants) who were originally loyal to Daemon Blackfyre, one of Aegon IV's ("the Unworthy") ******* sons. Long story short, Aegon IV had a bunch of sons, including the following: Brynden "Bloodraven" Rivers (who later became the Three Eyed Raven), Aegor "Bittersteel" Rivers, Daemon Blackfyre, and Daeron II Targaeryan.
Daeron was Aegon IV's only legitimate son, but he was kind of a foppish guy who, while a decent administrator, was not a paragon of knightly virtue. Physically speaking, he'd have been better suited to be a Maester than a knight. Daemon Blackfyre, on the other hand, was the very model of a perfect knight. He was also a personally charismatic figure. Moreover, he was given one of the Targaeryan Valyrian Steel swords (called "Blackfyre") by Aegon, and was allowed to create his own noble house of the same name. He wasn't a Targaeryan, though -- just a Blackfyre. He led a rebellion against Daeron, ultimately losing (and dying) in the Battle of the Redgrass Field. Bloodraven had a crew of archers that shot him down. Bloodraven also dueled against his half-brother -- Bittersteel -- who was a Blackfyre loyalist. He lost his eye in the battle, but Bittersteel was forced to retreat.
That retreat ultimately led to the formation of the Golden Company, as the remnant's of Daemon's host fled to Essos after his defeat. There, the newly formed Golden Company plotted to eventually return to Westeros and put a Blackfyre on the Iron Throne. They tried a few more times, and failed each time, with the last of the Blackfyre heirs defeated by none other than Barristan Selmy. Now here's where it gets really interesting (in my opinion).
The company still exists in the books (and in the show) into the current timeline. In the books, there's also the character of "Aegon VI" who is also known as "Young Griff." Supposedly, he's the infant son of Aerys "The Mad King" who was not, in fact, killed in the sack of King's Landing, but somehow was smuggled out and managed to survive. If his claim is legitimate, then he's the rightful heir, rather than Dany (being both older and male). The books question that legitimacy, however. One theory is that Aegon is actually not a Targaeryan, but rather a Blackfyre, which would make sense because he's headed back to Westeros backed by the Golden Company.
So, what's this got to do with the show?
So far, nothing. There is no "Young Griff" character. The Golden Company has been chillin' in Essos all this time. As far as I know, the Blackfyres have literally never been mentioned by name. Maelys the Monstrous might've been mentioned once in passing, in a chat between Barristan and Jaime, but I don't recall the specifics. The Blackfyres, on the show, are simply not a factor. But now, the Golden Company may well be. So, that raises the question of whether they will play much of a role at all in the show, or if this is just more of Cersei's bluster. Likewise, if they do exist, will the show bother to flesh out their backstory and political goals (which are NOT aligned with Cersei's)? Or will they have the Company eventually betray her (as I expect them to) for other reasons? I guess time will tell.