The Game of Thrones Fantasy League – 7.07 – The Dragon and the Wolf

Game of Thrones – 7.07 – The Dragon and the Wolf

Ah! We’re over just as we’ve starting to get going!

This was the longest episode of the show, and the second most fruitful for gaining points. I loved everything in King’s Landing. Particularly everything Nikolaj Coster-Waldau did. In my finale blog post last year, I gleefully imagined the look on Cersei’s face when she would be reunited with Tyrion. I was not disappointed. In fact, speaking of predictions, let’s see how I did!

I guessed I didn’t need to add Septa Unella – correct.

Arya went to Winterfell but did not reunite with The Hound – half

I predicted Melisandre would meet up with the Brotherhood – wrong

The Winterfell weirwood tree was used this year – correct

I thought Bran would have told Jon by now about his parentage – wrong

I guessed that Bran crossing the Wall would not allow the undead to cross it – correct

I predicted scenes with the Dornish would be fleshed out now they weren’t filming in Seville – wrong

And I predicted a sea battle with Euron where one dragon would die – basically correct

Not too bad!

For Season Eight, I expect an explosive first episode where the Undead army descends on Winterfell, maybe before Bran even has a chance to tell Jon.

I don’t know how Tormund and Beric will be able to get to Winterfell to warn of the oncoming onslaught before the wights get there but I expect they will. (Maybe they’ll steal some horses.) Although Bran can probably take care of all the warnings.

As Daario was a prominent member of the Golden Company, it’s unlikely that they will take arms against Daenerys. However as Cersei mentions them having 20,000 men, horses and elephants, I expect that was to whet our excitement for a battle episode next year.

Arya and Melisandre and prophesised to meet again. Considering her banishment from Winterfell, I expect the Starks may have to flee their home again.

The Clegane brothers are going to face off. I expect Sandor will kill Gregor with fire. Poetic justice.

Jon will ride Rhaegal. I am crossing my fingers in the hope that Bran will be able to warg into Viserion.

For all the talk of incest being hideous from Emilia Clarke, lest we forget, Daenerys is herself a product of incest. Any denigration from her of her and Jon fucking is only an indictment of her own birth. I’m not bothered by incest in Game of Thrones, it’s produced Rhaegar, Dany, Myrcella and Tommen, all pretty sweet people. Tyrion and Jaime had parents that were cousins. If it now becomes a significant issue on the show that seems a little disingenuous. I feel like Jon and Daenerys as we’ve been shown in the show so far would not be turned off each other.

I would like to see Varys’ reaction to Littlefinger’s death.

I would love to see Jon and Arya reunite and discuss swords.

Can we get some direwolves back?

Theon will rescue Yara and both will defeat Euron.

Cersei will die before the birth of her baby, I’m not sure how. Maybe strangled by Jaime, though a death by Wildfire seems more poetic, all things considered.

I don’t know where Gendry is. He’s unlikely to still be at Eastwatch otherwise we’d have seen him die under the collapsed wall. Hopefully he’s making his way to Winterfell for a reunion with Arya. If he wasn’t getting killed off in Beyond the Wall, they must be keeping him around for some reason.

I do not know what will happen to Sansa next year, but it’s likely if Jon takes the Throne with Daenerys, Sansa will be the Lady of Winterfell. No idea who her Lord will be. Hopefully not Robin Arryn! Is she still technically Tyrion’s wife? I’d like this addressed if they Tyrion arrives at Winterfell next year.

I’m hopeful that Grey Worm and Missandei will get back together, though the odds are against them having a happy ending.

I’m certain Tormund and Beric are fine, they’re seen running west while the Wall falls.

I hope Ser Jorah makes it through Season Eight alive, he’s been through too much to die now! Maybe he could meet Lyanna.

I am a bit bored of battle episodes where we have clear heroes who are basically getting fucked until someone comes up to save them. I want to see people win with ingenuity, not luck. The Lord of the Rings has influenced battle scenes for too long. As much as I love Gandalf/Rohirrim/Ghost Army/Knights of the Vale/Dragons coming in stage left just when you think All is Lost, it’s really overdone. Let’s see some strategy next year.

Who will sit on the Throne next year? I feel that Daenerys and Jon ruling together with Tyrion as an advisor is too simple an ending. One of them’s got to die, right? I would not be happy if Tyrion died, he deserves to be Lord of Casterly Rock with Jaime. I would not like to see the Lannister bloodline die, Tyrion and Jaime need an heir. While it would be massively fanservicey for Jaime and Brienne to make kids, I don’t think Brienne is there. I also get the sense that Jaime and Cersei will kill each other, it’s the poetry of how they came into the world together, they leave if together. I don’t know who Tyrion will end up with but I hope he gets what he wants. If after all the battles, Jon dies leaving a pregnant Daenerys on the Throne, it would match up well to what the show has set up. If the Lord of Light brought him back for a reason and that reason is to defeat the Night King, he’s got to die once he does. That ending is a bit Pirates of the Caribbean. As much as the show terrified me this year that Daenerys might die, I don’t think she will. The show is her story. In the War of the Roses, the Lancasters and Yorks fought each other until Henry Tudor came over from France to defeat Richard II and take the Throne. Dany has been the Henry Tudor of the show. But after all that, the show hasn’t really endorsed having a monarch as giving a stable land. I feel that ending isn’t GRRM enough. It would work in the show, Dany being queen happily ever after. The writing of the books has never been that interested in good people being good rulers.

I don’t know. I’m excited to find out.

Speaking of finding things out – let’s tell you your scores! But first, here’s why some points were given:

Possible points of contention

Euron gains points for visiting King’s Landing as he was last seen at Casterly Rock.

Tyrion gets points for reuniting with Cersei but not Jaime. He and Jaime reunited recently and at no point in each other’s absence was there doubt about their whereabouts.

Everyone in the Dragonpit gets points for encountering a wight, even the Hound as although he’s been at the wight’s side since their first encounter, he leaves the Wight for a brief period.

Jon and Tyrion get points for making an inspiring speech with their plea to Cersei. Although she isn’t won over, Jaime and everyone else is.

Tyrion pours Cersei wine but she does not drink, giving her points for turning down wine.

I’m giving points to Cersei’s false proclamation about the Lannisters joining forces with Daenerys as making an inspiring speech. It wins the crowd over, even though she’s lying.

Theon’s cheer that is taken up by the rest of the Ironborn counts as an inspiring speech.

Bran has two visions plus a flashback and gets points for all three. In order, he has a vision of the wedding between Rhaegar and Lyanna, then has a flashback to his vision of Jon’s birth, then has a vision of Wall collapsing.

Bran gets points for reuniting with Ned, Lyanna and Jon. Lyanna, Ned and Jon do not get points for encountering him. Lyanna and Ned do not also get points for encountering each other as the scene takes place after they’ve encountered.

Jon gets points for being naked twice, first for his sex scene and second for his birth scene.

Jon and Tyrion are the only characters to get points for travelling by boat three times (to King’s Landing, to Dragonstone and to Winterfell). On the final boat journey, only Jon, Tyrion and Daenerys are shown. It is uncertain if Davos, Melisandre et al are with them so the others only gain points for travelling by boat to King’s Landing and Dragonstone. Daenerys gets points for travelling by boat only once as it’s not certain how she travelled from King’s Landing to Dragonstone.

Tormund, Beric, Viserion and The Night King get points for appearing in Bran’s vision.

Tormund and Beric continue to be capped at a maximum of 5 wight encounters, despite the intimidating army beneath them.

We only see two White Walkers, the one of the horse and the Night King, so Tormund and Beric only receive points twice.

Character Scores

Here is a full list of the characters and their awarded points. If one of your characters does not appear in the following lists, this is due to their absence from the episode, for which you shall be deducted five points per character:

Group A – Main Characters

Arya Stark – -5 points: appears (+5), kills (-10)

Bran Stark – 270 points: appears (+5), mentions Rhaegar (+25), mentions Lyanna (+25), 2x has vision (+40), has onscreen flashback (+50), 3x reunites with previously lost blood relative (+30), mentions Iron Throne (+15)

Cersei Lannister – 125 points: appears (+5), reunites with previously lost blood relative (+30), 2 x encounters dragon (+20), encounters wight (+20), turns down wine (+10), makes inspiring speech (+20)

Daenerys Targaryen – 120 points: appears (+5), visits King’s Landing (+15), encounters wight (+20), visits Dragonstone (+15), grimly surveys map of armies (+15), travels by boat (+15), gets naked (+15), has sex (+20)

Jaime Lannister – 90 points: appears (+5), 2 x encounters dragon (+20), encounters wight (+20), grimly surveys map of armies (+15), rides horse (+10)

Jon Snow – 250 points: appears (+5), 3 x travels by boat (+15), visits King’s Landing (+15), makes inspiring speech (+20), encounters wight (+20), mentions dragonglass (+10), kills a wight (+15), visits Dragonstone (+15), grimly surveys map of armies (+15), appears in vision (+40), 2x gets naked (+15), has sex (+20)

Sansa Stark – 5 points: appears (+5)

Tyrion Lannister – 183 points: appears (+5), 3x travels by boat (+15), visits King’s Landing (+15), says C word (+10), reunites with previously lost blood relative (+30), makes inspiring speech (+20), encounters wight (+20), drinks wine (+8), visits Dragonstone (+15), grimly surveys map of armies (+15),

Group B – Supporting Mains

Brienne of Tarth – 80 points: appears (+5), visits King’s Landing (+15), 2 x encounters dragon (+20), encounters wight (+20)

Petyr Baelish – -25 points: appears (+5), dies (-30)

Samwell Tarly – 55 points: appears (+5), mentions Rhaegar (+25), mentions Lyanna (+25)

Ser Davos Seaworth – 100 points: appears (+5), 2x travels by boat (+15), visits King’s Landing (+15), encounters wight (+20), visits Dragonstone (+15), grimly surveys map of armies (+15)

Theon Greyjoy – 140 points: appears (+5), 2x travels by boat (+15), visits King’s Landing (+15), reunites with previously lost blood relative (+30), encounters wight (+20), visits Dragonstone (+15), grimly surveys map of armies (+15), gets injured (-5), inflicts harm (-5), makes inspiring speech (+20)

Varys – 100 points: appears (+5), 2x travels by boat (+15), visits King’s Landing (+15), encounters wight (+20), visits Dragonstone (+15), grimly surveys map of armies (+15)

Group C – Rest of the Mains

Gilly – 5 points: appears (+5)

Missandei – 100 points: appears (+5), 2x travels by boat (+15), visits King’s Landing (+15), encounters wight (+20), visits Dragonstone (+15), grimly surveys map of armies (+15)

Sandor Clegane – 105 points: appears (+5), travels by boat (+15), visits King’s Landing (+15), says C word (+10), reunites with previously lost blood relative (+30), encounters wight (+20), unsheathes sword (+10)

Ser Bronn – 15 points: appears (+5), first line (+10)

Tormund Giantsbane – 255 points: appears (+5), appears in vision (+40), 5x encounters wight (+20), 2x encounters White Walker (+40), encounters dragon (+20), last line (+20), last on screen (+30)

Group D – Side Characters

Beric Dondarrion – 275 points: appears (+5), appears in vision (+40), 5x encounters wight (+20), 2x encounters White Walker (+40), encounters dragon (+20), last on screen (+30)

Grey Worm – 65 points: appears (+5), first on screen (+15), visits King’s Landing (+15), visits Dragonstone (+15), grimly surveys map of armies (+15)

Podrick Payne – 20 points: appears (+5), visits King’s Landing (+15)

Group E – Side Characters to the Side Characters

Euron Greyjoy – 125 points: appears (+5), travels by boat (+15), visits King’s Landing (+15), reunites with previously lost blood relative (+30), 2 x encounters dragon (+20), encounters wight (+20)

Yohn Royce – 5 points: appears (+5)

Group F – Weirdos

Qyburn – 65 points: appears (+5), 2 x encounters dragon (+20), encounters wight (+20)

Ser Gregor Clegane – 105 points: appears (+5), reunites with previously lost blood relative (+30), 2 x encounters dragon (+20), encounters wight (+20), unsheathes sword (+10)

The Night King – 125 points: appears (+5), appears in vision (+40), crosses the Wall (+50), last on screen (+30)

Group G – Animals

Drogon – 20 points: appears (+5), visits King’s Landing (+15)

Rhaegal – 20 points: appears (+5), visits King’s Landing (+15)

Viserion – 125 points: appears (+5), appears in vision (+40), 2x kills someone (-10), crosses the Wall (+50), last line (+20), last on screen (+30)

Group H – Dead but not Forgotten

Lord Eddard Stark – 45 points: appears (+5), appears in vision (+40)

Lyanna Stark – 95 points: appears (+5), appears in vision (+40), gets married (+35), has kiss (+15)

Group I – Are these fuckers coming back?

Ser Jorah Mormont – 100 points: appears (+5), 2x travels by boat (+15), visits King’s Landing (+15), encounters wight (+20), visits Dragonstone (+15), grimly surveys map of armies (+15)

The Leaderboard

Players can see their scores by consulting their initials in the table below.

This week’s points champion is FS, well done for gaining the most points this episode!

This year’s wooden spoon goes to SP. Unfortunately two of her team members didn’t make an appearance this season, Brienne let her down by barely doing anything, as did Gilly, Lyanna Mormont and Nymeria. It was a struggle but she gained over 1500 points anyway (which would have placed her 6^th last year) so well done!

Congratulations to MH, KAK, RCB and SV for making the top five this year! Special props to me, MH, by clinging onto fifth place by a single point.

…and the winner of the Game of Thrones Fantasy League Season Six is…MP! Bravo! He trailed at the bottom for five weeks, climbing up to second last week and snatching victory this week. What an exciting race! Six members of his team fought in the Frozen Lake Battle and that was his Joker episode. Outstanding work, and he managed to come first despite not having a dragon on his team. A magical achievement. I will be in touch about your prizes soon!

Well done, everyone! I loved doing the league this year, and I am reassembling the groups for Season Eight. The Joker episodes were an exciting addition to league play this year and I will be switching up the formula again.

Thanks for playing, it’s been a blast!

The Game of Thrones Fantasy League – 7.06 – Beyond the Wall

Game of Thrones – 7.06 – Beyond the Wall

The game changer. Ten players gambled that their Joker episode should be the penultimate episode of the season. And that gamble payed off in spades. We are looking at a completely different leaderboard this week! Well done to those risk takers. A penultimate episode, while usually carrying the budgetary weight of the season, can be a risky choice because they tend to cover one large event with a small percentage of characters. If you have those characters, you’re laughing. If you don’t…your horse might be out of the race.

Last week I predicted that Thoros, Beric and in particular The Hound might die and come back as a wight. I was glad The Hound survived and it looks like he is taking the wight down to King’s Landing…and his brother!

The spectacle heavy episode felt like the action movie of the summer. However as it’s my job to scrutinise the episode minutely, it is a shame that a lot of it doesn’t hold up. It has detracted slightly from the integrity of the episode but I was certainly thrilled. On with the points!

Possible points of contention

Due to the army of wights, I’m capping “encounters wight” points to be counted five times. The same goes for White Walkers. Seven White Walkers appear at one time but have been capped to count five times. Jon, Tormund, The Hound, Beric, Ser Jorah and the dragons kill tonnes of wights, this is also capped at five times.

The party gain witnesses magic points for the first time Beric and Thoros ignite their swords.

Tyrion does not ever look at the table map, meaning he does not get points for grimly surveying the map, but Daenerys does.

Beric gets points for praying over Thoros.

Jon and co do not get points for leading an army into battle as they are a very small force and don’t count as an army.

The Night King has armies but gains no points for leading them into battle as he is not at the forefront of the violence.

Tormund gets pretty banged up in the battle and is deducted points for sustaining injuries.

Yet again, Daenerys and Jon gain encounters previously lost blood relative points.

Jon also gains points for encountering the dragons again as he has travelled great distances and a significantly long enough time for this to be a new encounter.

Arya’s monologues don’t even go over two minutes, meaning she misses out on monologue points.

Although not seen from the waist down, Jon gets points for being naked under his bedcovers as it is very unlikely they would have taken off his wet clothes only from the waist up.

The Night King gains points for winning this battle. Despite sustaining losses greater in number than the opposing forces, he is decisively more triumphant after this battle than before. You also cannot charitably say that Jon and co won the battle as they barely escaped with their lives.

The Night King gains witnesses magic points for resurrecting Viserion. Sheeeeeeeit.

Character Scores

Here is a full list of the characters and their awarded points. If one of your characters does not appear in the following lists, this is due to their absence from the episode, for which you shall be deducted five points per character:

Group A – Main Characters

Arya Stark – 20 points: appears (+5), mentions Iron Throne (+15)

Daenerys Targaryen – 493 points: appears (+5), drinks wine (+8), grimly surveys map of armies (+15), mentions Iron Throne (+15), 2x crosses the Wall (+50), 5 x encounters wight (+20), 5 x encounters White Walker (+40), encounters previously lost blood relative (+30), travels by boat (+10), last line (+10)

Jon Snow – 725 points: appears (+5), first on screen (+15), first line (+10), 3x unsheathes sword (+10), 5 x encounters wight (+20), witnesses magic (+30), 5 x encounters White Walker (+40), kills white walker (+50), 5 x kills wight (+15), 3 x encounters dragon (+20), 2 x encounters previously lost blood relative (+30), rides horse (+10), crosses the Wall (+50), travels by boat (+15), gets naked (+15)

Sansa Stark – 18 points: appears (+5), studies a book (+13)

Tyrion Lannister – 13 points: appears (+5), drinks wine (+8)

Group B – Supporting Mains

Brienne of Tarth – 5 points: appears (+5)

Petyr Baelish – 5 points: appears (+5)

Ser Davos Seaworth – 120 points: appears (+5), 2 x crosses the Wall (+50), travels by boat (+15)

Group C – Rest of the Mains

Sandor Clegane – 573 points: appears (+5), first on screen (+15), unsheathes sword (+10), 5 x encounters wight (+20), witnesses magic (+30), 5 x encounters White Walker (+40), drinks wine (+8), 2 x says C word (+10), 5 x kills wight (+15), 3 x encounters dragon (+20), crosses the Wall (+50)

Tormund Giantsbane – 540 points: appears (+5), first on screen (+15), says the episode title (+10), 5 x encounters wight (+20), witnesses magic (+30), 5 x encounters White Walker (+40), 5 x kills wight (+15), gets injured (-5), 3 x encounters dragon (+20), crosses the Wall (+50)

Group D – Side Characters

Beric Dondarrion – 585 points: appears (+5), first on screen (+15), mentions Lyanna (+25), 5 x encounters wight (+20), witnesses magic (+30), 5 x encounters White Walker (+40), communicates with deity (+15), unsheathes sword (+10), 5x kills wight (+15), 3 x encounters dragon (+20), crosses the Wall (+50)

Group E – Side Characters to the Side Characters

Thoros of Myr – 165 points: appears (+5), first on screen (+15), unsheathes sword (+10), 5 x encounters wight (+20), witnesses magic (+30), gets injured (-5), encounters White Walker (+40), dies (-30)

Group F – Weirdos

Benjen Stark – 220 points: appears (+5), rides horse (+10), 5 x encounters wight (+20), 5 x kills wight (+15), encounters previously lost blood relative (+30)

The Night King – 160 points: appears (+5), rides horse (+10), 3 x encounters dragon (+20), wins a battle (+40), witnesses magic (+30), last on screen (+15)

Group G – Animals

Drogon – 480 points: appears (+5), 2 x crosses the Wall (+50), 5 x encounters wight (+20), 5 x encounters White Walker (+40), 5 x kills wight (+15)

Rhaegal – 480 points: appears (+5), 2 x crosses the Wall (+50), 5 x encounters wight (+20), 5 x encounters White Walker (+40), 5 x kills wight (+15)

Viserion – 510 points: appears (+5), crosses the Wall (+50), 5 x encounters wight (+20), 5 x encounters White Walker (+40), 5 x kills wight (+15), dies (-30), comes back from the dead (+45), last on screen (+15)

Group H – Dead but not Forgotten

No appearances from any of these folk.

Group I – Are these fuckers coming back?

Gendry – 248 points: appears (+5), first on screen (+15), drinks wine (+8), 5 x encounters wight (+20), witnesses magic (+30), encounters White Walker (+40), crosses the Wall (+50)

Ser Jorah Mormont – 555 points: appears (+5), first on screen (+15), 2 x unsheathes sword (+10), witnesses magic (+30), 5 x encounters wight (+20), 5 x kills wight (+15), 5 x encounters White Walker (+40), 3 x encounters dragon (+20), crosses the Wall (+50)

The Leaderboard

Players can see their scores by consulting their initials in the table below. Congratulations to SV for shooting up from 13^th place to number one! And congratulations also to this week’s points champion MP who shot up from 17^th to number two with an unprecedented 5528 points! These two players are over 1200 points ahead of the person in third place so it looks like the race for winner is between them. With SV only 90 points ahead, it won’t take MP much to overtake her. However she has Drogon and he has Ghost so out of the two, for my money SV has the greater chance of winning.

Check back next week to find out who has won the Game of Thrones Fantasy League Season 7!

The Game of Thrones Fantasy League – 7.05 – Eastwatch

Game of Thrones – 7.05 – Eastwatch

Are you ready for the biggest winning episode of the season? This episode contained a massive amount of content for gaining points: seven characters crossing the Wall and being the last on screen, eight relatives reuniting after war, boating all over Westeros, pregnancy, Bran having a vision and Gendry finally gaining a glut of points for the seven players that chose him. This episode awarded 1645 points, beating the previous top scorer Dragonstone (1326 points).

I greatly enjoyed how much happened in the episode, how where we are at the beginning of the episode is nowhere near where we are at the end of the episode. I couldn’t believe we were getting Tyrion returning to King’s Landing this episode. I’m really enjoying the pace.

The plan to catch a wight and bring it to King’s Landing is a logical idea. My guess is that this wight won’t be a random, but one of the seven marching through the gate is going to die and get reanimated by the Night King. This particular wight, having a key role in a plotline, would get featured more than any of the other wight actors, so I can see the show getting one of their featured actors to play reanimated dead. Who could it be?

Highly unlikely

Jon Snow – surrounded by plot armour, potential romance, dragon taming, no chance of him dying again

It could happen

Tormund – his death would be a blow but he’s the only wildling with a name left, so it’s unlikely they’ll bump him off and bring in a new actor who can speak for all the wildlings.

Gendry – he would be in the next column if not for the actor being featured in the opening credits. Important actors like Dame Diana Rigg and Jim Broadbent haven’t even got their name in the opening credits. I feel that if he was about to get killed, they wouldn’t have gone to the trouble of featuring him as a regular.

Ser Jorah – it would be very cruel to survive becoming a Stone Man to become an Ice Man. While it would be emotionally devastating, I feel Ser Jorah is not going to die until he sees Daenerys on the throne.

I’d be worried about these guys

Beric – I’m certain there will be a point where he gets killed, but Thoros will bring him back mid battle at least once. I wonder how the Night King will react to that…

Thoros – As one of the few people that can bring people back from the dead, I can see the show wanting to get rid of that plot convenience, and raise the stakes by eliminating him and his resurrection powers.

The Hound – The frontrunner for me. My reasoning behind this is that this mission is about bringing a reanimated body back to King’s Landing for Cersei: from a storytelling perspective, it would be most effective for the wight to be someone Cersei knows, and even more than that, someone we know Cersei knows. Cersei is likely to know Beric, Thoros, Ser Jorah and possibly even Gendry, but while they may not have ever interacted, Cersei and the Hound have definitely been in several scenes together all through seasons one and two. I foresee The Hound dying a hero’s death, and getting reanimated as a wight in the next episode. In the finale, he’ll get manacled and brought to King’s Landing and displayed to Cersei, Qyburn and of course the other reanimated dead Clegane brother. At that point, he will rampage and destroy his brother, and potentially kill Cersei too (she has been prophesised to meet her death at the hands of a “little brother”. Most believe it will be Jaime or Tyrion, but Sandor is also a “little brother”). That’s my theory, guys!

Possible points of contention

As mentioned in last week’s post, Jaime gains points for coming back from the status of being questionably dead.

Bronn makes the first noise, but Jaime has the first line, meaning both get points for having the first line of the episode

Bran in raven form gains points for encountering the Night King, but does not gain points for encountering the wights. The reason being that the wights while conscious of the ravens probably aren’t conscious of Bran. The Night King seems to be aware of Bran’s presence through the raven, so while Bran “encounters” the Night King from the Godswood, but not the wights.

Both Cersei and Jaime are awarded points for getting pregnant. While there is no concrete proof that Cersei is telling the truth, I’m giving her the benefit of the doubt.

Daenerys and Jon, Jaime and Tyrion plus Cersei, and Drogon and Rhaegal plus Viserion all gain points for encountering their relatives after the battle. When a character goes into battle, their status becomes “lost” for the purposes of awarding points. Therefore any character departing their relatives to participate in a battle gains points for reuniting with them after the battle. As Randyll and Dickon were in the same battle, Randyll does not gain points for encountering Dickon.

Jon, having encountered Drogon in episode 3, gains encounters dragon points again for this more intimate session.

In addition to Drogon gaining points for encountering Rhaegal and Viserion after the battle, he also gains “encounters dragon” points, as do they.

Jon gains points for giving an inspiring speech due to the one he gives Daenerys in the Dragonstone war room.

Jaime, Bronn and Tyrion gain points for encountering the skeleton of the dragon Balerion.

Ser Davos travels by boat three times this episode, to Kings Landing, to Dragonstone, and to Eastwatch-by-the-Sea. He gets points for each time.

Gendry, having last been seen in the show on Dragonstone, is found in King’s Landing. For this, he gains “visits King’s Landing” points.

Davos calls Gendry “Clovis” gaining him points for using a false name.

Davos does not appear to go back for the bribe he’d given to the two goldcloaks and is deducted points for parting with money.

Tyrion gives Jorah a coin, meaning he is deducted points for parting with money.

It’s not clear what Thoros is drinking from his flask, but I’ve decided it’s most likely wine, giving him “drinks wine” points.

Character Scores

Here is a full list of the characters and their awarded points. If one of your characters does not appear in the following lists, this is due to their absence from the episode, for which you shall be deducted five points per character:

Group A – Main Characters

Arya Stark – 5 points: appears (+5)

Bran Stark – 85 points: appears (+5), has vision (+40), encounters White Walker (+40)

Cersei Lannister – 70 points: appears (+5), reunites with previously lost blood relative (+30), gets pregnant (+20), has kiss (+15)

Daenerys Targaryen – 80 points: appears (+5), visits Dragonstone (+15), reunites with previously lost blood relative (+30), grimly surveys map of armies (+15), gets kissed (+15)

Jaime Lannister – 185 points: appears (+5), comes back from the dead (+45), first on screen (+15), first line (+10), visits King’s Landing (+15), 2 X reunites with previously lost blood relative (+30), encounters dragon (+20), has kiss (+15)

Jon Snow – 190 points: appears (+5), encounters dragon (+20), reunites with previously lost blood relative (+30), says episode title (+10), grimly surveys map of armies (+15), makes inspiring speech (+20), travels by boat (+15), last line (+10), crosses the Wall (+50), last on screen (+15)

Sansa Stark – 5 points: appears (+5)

Tyrion Lannister – 133 points: appears (+5), drinks wine (+8), grimly surveys map of armies (+15), 2 x travels by boat (+15), visits King’s Landing (+15), reunites with previously lost blood relative (+30), encounters dragon (+20), visits Dragonstone (+15), parts with money (-5)

Group B – Supporting Mains

Petyr Baelish – 5 points: appears (+5)

Samwell Tarly – 18 points: appears (+5), studies a book (+13)

Ser Davos Seaworth – 100 points: appears (+5), grimly surveys map of armies (+15), 3 x travels by boat (+15), visits King’s Landing (+15), uses false name (+10), parts with money (-5), visits Dragonstone (+15)

Varys – 28 points: appears (+5), drinks wine (+8), grimly surveys map of armies (+15)

Group C – Rest of the Mains

Gilly – 43 points: appears (+5), studies a book (+13), mentions Rhaegar (+25)

Sandor Clegane – 70 points: appears (+5), crosses the Wall (+50), last on screen (+15)

Ser Bronn – 75 points: appears (+5), first on screen (+15), first line (+10), says C word (+10), visits King’s Landing (+15), encounters dragon (+20)

Tormund Giantsbane – 70 points: appears (+5), crosses the Wall (+50), last on screen (+15)

Group D – Side Characters

Beric Dondarrion – 70 points: appears (+5), crosses the Wall (+50), last on screen (+15)

Group E – Side Characters to the Side Characters

Randyll Tarly – -10 points: appears (+5), gets killed by a dragon (+15), dies (-30)

Robett Glover – 5 points: appears (+5)

Thoros of Myr – 78 points: appears (+5), crosses the Wall (+50), drinks wine (+8), last on screen (+15)

Yohn Royce – 5 points: appears (+5)

Group F – Weirdos

Qyburn – 5 points: appears (+5)

The Night King – 55 points: appears (+5), appears in vision (+40), rides horse (+10)

Group G – Animals

Drogon – 100 points: appears (+5), 2 x kills (-10), visits Dragonstone (+15), 2 x encounters previously lost blood relative (+30), 2 x encounters dragon (+20)

Rhaegal – 55 points: appears (+5), encounters previously lost blood relative (+30), encounters dragon (+20)

Viserion – 55 points: appears (+5), encounters previously lost blood relative (+30), encounters dragon (+20)

Group H – Dead but not Forgotten

Yet again, these guys sat out the episode.

Group I – Are these fuckers coming back?

Gendry – 110 points: appears (+5), visits King’s Landing (+15), 2 x kills (-10), 2 x travels by boat (+15), visits Dragonstone (+15), crosses the Wall (+50), last on screen (+15)

Ser Jorah Mormont – 130 points: appears (+5), visits Dragonstone (+15), grimly surveys map of armies (+15), travels by boat (+15), has kiss (+15), crosses the Wall (+50), last on screen (+15)

The Leaderboard

Players can see their scores by consulting their initials in the table below. Our points champion this week is SM, who not only gained a four-figure sum of points but shot up nine places straight to the top of the board! Also want to give a little mention of congrats to JH for leapfrogging up the board 11 places. Spectacular!

Check back next week for “7.06 – Beyond the Wall”!

The Game of Thrones Fantasy League – 7.04 – The Spoils of War

Game of Thrones – 7.04 – The Spoils of War

Only three of these gems left for another year (or more).

A thrilling episode but an unfortunate showing for points this week. This episode saw the smallest amounts of points awarded this season, with just 598 gained across the board; the previous lowest was ep 2 with 1100 points! Sadly, many of you (myself included) had this chosen for their Joker ep. Big mistake. The episode kept to few locations and characters, and was the shortest episode ever, so there was a slim chance of gaining points for this one.

Possible points of contention

It’s uncertain who has the first line of the episode, Bronn is the person who we first see clearly talking on screen, but before his line is someone calling for the cart to halt. The person ordering is most likely Jaime so points for having the first line get awarded to both.

Littlefinger does not get points for unsheathing the dagger because it’s not a sword.

Jon and Dany grimly survey a mural of armies inside the cave, not a map of armies.

Jon gets points for mentioning Lyanna as he says “My mother…”

Arya and Ned’s bones get points for reuniting with each other. Ned and Sansa also get points for being in the same scene together for the first time on screen since Sansa’s return to Winterfell last season.

Brienne doesn’t get penalised for harming Podrick or Arya as they both seem pretty fine.

Daenerys and Drogon both get points for leading the army into battle. As the Lannister troops are ambushed, Jaime gets no points.

Although Randyll isn’t seen encountering Drogon, we know he must as he was a part of the Lannister forces.

Tyrion, Dany and Drogon all gain points for winning the battle.

Last line points are all split between Tyrion, Jaime and Drogon. Tyrion has the last line of dialogue, but Drogon and Jaime make the last noises.

Controversially, I’m giving Jaime minus points for dying. I don’t believe he has died, I’m fairly sure Tyrion wouldn’t let his brother drown, and there is very thick plot armour surrounding Jaime, I’m totally sure he’s returning alive next week. But the show clearly wants us to think he’s dead, even to the point of using the same end credits that ran over Hodor’s death back in The Door. Next week, if he is found to be alive, he will gain Comes Back from the Dead points (worth +45 points).

Character Scores

Here is a full list of the characters and their awarded points. If one of your characters does not appear in the following lists, this is due to their absence from the episode, for which you shall be deducted five points per character:

Group A – Main Characters

Arya Stark – 130 points: appears (+5), rides horse (+15), 3 X reunites with previously lost blood relative (+30), mentions Valerian steel (+10), unsheathes sword (+10)

Bran Stark – 35 points: appears (+5), reunites with previously lost blood relative (+30)

Cersei Lannister – 28 points: appears (+5), drinks wine (+8), grimly surveys map of armies (+15)

Daenerys Targaryen – 70 points: appears (+5), leads army into battle (+25), wins battle (+40)

Jaime Lannister – 65 points: appears (+5), first on screen (+15), parts with money (-5), first line (+10), comments on Lannister’s debts (+20), rides horse (+15), encounters dragon (+20), unsheathes sword (+10), 2 x kills (-10), last line (+10), last on screen (+15), dies (-30)

Jon Snow – 30 points: appears (+5), mentions Lyanna (+25)

Sansa Stark – 65 points: appears (+5), 2 x reunites with previously lost blood relative (+30)

Tyrion Lannister – 85 points: appears (+5), reunites with previously lost blood relative (+30), last line (+10), wins battle (+40)

Group B – Supporting Mains

Brienne of Tarth – 5 points: appears (+5)

Petyr Baelish – 5 points: appears (+5)

Ser Davos Seaworth – 5 points: appears (+5)

Theon Greyjoy – 20 points: appears (+5), travels by boat (+15)

Varys – 5 points: appears (+5)

Group C – Rest of the Mains

Missandei – 5 points: appears (+5)

Ser Bronn – 45 points: appears (+5), first on screen (+15), first line (+10), rides horse (+15), encounters dragon (+20), unsheathes sword (+10), 2 x kills (-10), parts with money (-5), inflicts harm (-5)

Group D – Side Characters

Meera Reed – 5 points: appears (+5)

Podrick Payne – 5 points: appears (+5)

Group E – Side Characters to the Side Characters

Randyll Tarly – 40 points: appears (+5), rides horse (+15), encounters dragon (+20)

Group F – Weirdos

None were to be found in this episode.

Group G – Animals

Drogon – 55 points: appears (+5), leads army into battle (+25), 2 X kills (-10), gets injured (-5), last line (+10), wins battle (+40)

Rhaegal – 5 points: appears (+5)

Viserion – 5 points: appears (+5)

Group H – Dead but not Forgotten

Lord Eddard Stark – 65 points: appears (+5), 2 x reunites with previously lost blood relative (+30)

Group I – Are these fuckers coming back?

Tycho Nestoris – 20 points: appears (+5), grimly surveys map of armies, (+15)

Mid-season review

Being at the halfway point in the season, you may be interested to learn which combination of characters is currently doing best.

Daenerys Targaryen – 385 points

Arya Stark – 332 points

Theon Greyjoy or Varys – 190 points

Missandei – 210 points

Grey Worm – 270 points

Euron Greyjoy – 290 points

The Night King – 45 points

Drogon – 110 points

Lord Eddard Stark – 90 points

Tycho Nestoris – 90 points

They would make a team with a total of 2012 points at this point!

Conversely, here’s the worst performers in their groups:

Bran Stark – 160 points

Sansa Stark – 125 points

Brienne of Tarth – 5 points

Tormund Giantsbane – -10 points

Robin Arryn – -20 points

Edmure Tully or Nymeria Sand – -20 points

Benjen/Kinvara/Quaithe – -20 points

Ser Pounce/Ghost – -20 points

Aerys/Catelyn/Lyanna/Brynden/Syrio – -20 points

Daario/Gendry/Jaqen/Salladhor – -20 points

That combo makes a team with a combined total of 160 points. Woof!

The Leaderboard

Players can see their scores by consulting their initials in the table below. Congratulations to myself for gaining the most points for this episode, and congratulations to DP for remaining number one after three straight weeks!

Check back next week for “7.05 – Eastwatch”, a title that seems to tease the arrival of White Walkers south of The Wall. FINALLY!