That was an interesting drop. I wondered how the Iron Bank enforced payment of debt. I totally forgot about the companies of sell swords. That being said, I can't imagine the Iron Bank having much more relevance with so few episodes left. They were just a plot device to get High Garden to fall.
Historically, the Golden Company was formed by Blackfyre rebels who supported a Blackfyre retaking the throne. There were, I believe, five separate attempts with varying degrees of success. The first Blackfyre rebellion was probably the biggest threat to the realm, because it was basically a civil war, but when it ended, the Blackfyre loyalists left Westeros and formed a sellsword company in Essos. In the books, they back a faction that doesn't appear on screen, which claims Targaeryan rights to the throne, but the more I think about it, might actually just be a Blackfyre (on the theory that the folks backing the plot are less concerned with bloodlines and more concerned with figureheads).
Anyway, I wouldn't really expect the Golden Company to factor in a ton at this point. It's possible they will down the road, but it seems like a needless complication to add to the story at this point.
If I were Dany, I would not have gone after the grain. She's going to need food. Badly. In this instance, I don't think it was a wormhole. The Dothraki are all on horseback, and we saw that the loot train was moving really slowly. They showed camp, broken wagon wheels, etc. They even mentioned how the were lagging further and further behind.
Dany shouldn't have burned the wagon train, if possible, but it's a dragon, not a rapier. My point about the time lapse/wormhole thing was more about the fact that in one instant that episode we're on Dragonstone, talking about how we should recall the fleet, and the Dothraki are still ready, and two seconds later, we're on land and attacking.
So, let me explain the logistical issues with that.
1. The fleet was clear around the other side of Westeros, and would have to sail all the way around the south, around Dorne, and back up the coast by the Stormlands before it could get to Dragonstone.
2. The Lannister army, although spread out, had walked from one of the south-western-most points on the continent, all the way across the Reach, and to a point where they were basically like 1-2 days march from King's Landing. The Blackwater Rush, which they mention they need to cross, is just to the west of King's Landing. It's basically like the next county over. That means the Lannisters covered the entirety of the Reach in...uh....who knows how long?
3. Dany managed to load up ships and land a force...umm....I'm really not sure where. If she landed in the Stormlands, that'd mean she'd have to take the Dothraki across mountains to get to a position where they could ambush the Lannisters. So, that doesn't really make sense. She could've MAYBE used flat-bottom boats and sailed allll the way around Westeros, and then up through the river systems in the Reach to get...eh...close-ish, but that would've taken a lot of time. The only other option is that she sailed into the Blackwater Bay (where Bronn and Tyrion defended King's Landing), and somehow managed to not be opposed by anyone, so that she could land a force north of King's Landing, ride them around to the west, then take the Lannister baggage train from the rear. It just doesn't make sense, and it's pretty clear the showrunners don't really care at this point. To be fair, I don't care
much, but I do
notice this stuff. I think the bottom line is that there just isn't time to make all of this crap make sense, so they just aren't bothering. And when you get an action sequence like that, most people won't care.
What do you think he meant by that? That line still has me confused.
That was possibly my favorite line in the episode. It's a callback. Baelish himself said this to, I believe, Varys in one of the early seasons. Baelish's belief is that chaos is the means by which he will ascend to the Iron Throne. If he can set all his enemies against each other and stay alive long enough, even if the realm is shattered, he gets to pick up the pieces. His plan has never been entirely clear, but that's probably because he's running simultaneous plans. So, he married Lyssa Aryn so that he could rule the Reach, which is strategically impervious to pretty much everything except dragons. He controls Robin Aryn who is an idiot, and basically becomes the power behind the throne. That gives him a base of operations. He has Sansa, and he's nominally the Lord Paramount of the Riverlands, ruling from Harrenhall (which itself is an amazing fortress, if you can put it back together). What I didn't get was him marrying Sansa to Ramsey Bolton. I don't see how that fits in with any of his other plans, especially if he's hot for Sansa the way he seems.
Anyway, back to the point: Bran's telling him "I know what you did, you motherf*****.
I know what you did."
What it says to me is that Baelish's plans are unraveling and he's in deep ****.
between Littlefinger talking to Bran, then seeing Arya be a badass, his face had a look like a GPS "recalculating route....recalculating route..."
Yeah, Arya and Bran are both wildcards he couldn't have planned for. Arya for her assassin abilities, and Bran because he can SEE ALL OF TIME WITH PERFECT CLARITY.
Next week's going to be very interesting -- the strategic and political implications for Cersei of the Lannister army's being devastated like that are going to be very serious. That was only one dragon.
Yeah, she's got real problems. Short of using wildfire, I don't know what other aces she and Qyburn have up their sleeves. They've revealed the dragon crossbow. So...what else is there?