Tuesday, 1 August 2017

The Game of Thrones Fantasy League – 7.03 – The Queen’s Justice

Game of Thrones – 7.03 – The Queen’s Justice



Despite being a shorter order of episodes this year, it feels like the content of this season will equate to or exceed what would be contained in a typical ten episode season. The pace of this episode in particular was very swift. The resolution of character arcs was also exactingly perfect. Both of the poisoned Lannister children were avenged with poison, (though who knows what’s going to happen with Ellaria). This focus on ensuring character deaths are layered with meaning makes me feel positive about the fates of sure-to-die characters like Cersei and Melisandre. Since veering from the book a lot of the character deaths have felt poetically righteous: Ramsay eaten by the dogs he used on his victims, High Sparrow blown up in a church, Nymeria killed by her whip, Obara killed by her spear, Walder Frey’s throat getting slit after having Cat’s throat get slit. It makes me very curious as to how Ser Gregor will go out.

Just want to recognise Tyrion as the MVP of the episode, guiding Jon and Dany into a respectful relationship. Only ten episodes left! Don’t want them to waste time squabbling over who’s monarch of where.

Also want to recognise Tycho Nestoris for being the highest scoring character in Group I after just one episode….shame not a single person picked him!

I enjoyed Davos mentioning that Narth is known for its butterflies, which explains why Natalie Emmanuel’s sigil in the opening credits is a butterfly, I had always wondered.

There’s a lot to unpack from this episode that I haven’t mentioned: Euron taunting Jaime, Littlefinger’s speech, Jorah’s healing. These episodes are getting so dense!

Points were up this week, thanks to several successful battles, lots of blood relatives reuniting and some newbies encountering dragons for the first time. Have a look and see how you did!

Possible points of contention

Davos and Jon get points for encountering all three dragons.

Daenerys and Jon both receive points for encountering a previously lost blood relative. I’ll let you figure out why.

I’m going to allow the courtyard at Winterfell to count as a garden, giving Littlefinger and Sansa points for walking around a garden plotting. Yonn doesn’t get points as he doesn’t appear to plot at any point, just answer Sansa.

Tyrion’s brilliant monologue over the storming of Casterly Rock unfortunately runs at 2m45s, so no monologue points for him.

Olenna macabrely recites a line from the poem The Rains of Castermere, but that didn’t count to me as singing, so no singing points for her.

Jaime pours wine for himself but doesn’t drink any in the scene and leaves a full glass, which gives him points for turning down wine.

Jaime gains last on screen points as well as Olenna. The rules of being seen last on screen mean that you need to feature in the last shot, not the last frame (this also counts for being first on screen). As the last shot includes Jamie walking out of frame, he gets points.

I’m deducting points from Olenna and Tyene for dying this week as I’m fairly certain that we won’t see them alive again. If they aren’t dead in the next episodes, I will add the points back.

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
Bran Stark – 85 points: appears (+5), crosses the Wall (+50), reunites with previously lost blood relative (+30)
Cersei Lannister – 138 points: appears (+5), makes inspiring speech (+20), monologues for over three minutes (+30), kills someone (-10), 2 x has kiss (+15), has sex (+20), gets naked (+15), drinks wine (+8), comments on Lannisters paying their debts (+20)
Daenerys Targaryen – 115 points: appears (+5), encounters previously lost blood relative (+30), mentions dragonglass (+10), grimly surveys map of armies (+15), mentions Rhaegar (+25), 2 x mentions Iron Throne (+15)
Jaime Lannister – 153 points: appears (+5), drinks wine (+8), has kiss (+15), has sex (+20), gets naked (+15), leads army into battle (+25), rides horse (+10), wins battle (+40), turns down wine (+10), last on screen (+15) kills someone (-10)
Jon Snow – 140 points: appears (+5), first on screen (+15), visits Dragonstone (+15), travels by boat (+15), 3 x encounters dragon (+20), encounters previously lost blood relative (+30)
Sansa Stark – 50 points: appears (+5), walks around garden plotting (+15), reunites with previously lost blood relative (+30)
Tyrion Lannister – 55 points: appears (+5), first on screen (+15), first line (+10), mentions obsidian (+10), grimly surveys map of armies (+15)

Group B – Supporting Mains
Petyr Baelish – 20 points: appears (+5), walks around garden plotting (+15)
Samwell Tarly – 5 points: appears (+5)
Ser Davos Seaworth – 125 points: appears (+5), first on screen (+15), visits Dragonstone (+15), travels by boat (+15), 3 x encounters dragon (+20), mentions Iron Throne (+15)
Theon Greyjoy – 20 points: appears (+5), travels by boat (+15)
Varys – 20 points: appears (+5), grimly surveys map of armies (+15)

Group C – Rest of the Mains
Ellaria Sand – 20 points: appears (+5), visits Kings Landing (+15)
Melisandre – 20 points: appears (+5), mentions Iron Throne (+15)
Missandei – 35 points: appears (+5), first on screen (+15), grimly surveys map of armies (+15)
Ser Bronn – 20 points: appears (+5), rides horse (+15)

Group D – Side Characters
Grey Worm – 90 points: appears (+5), travels by boat (+15), visits Casterly Rock (+25), leads army into battle (+25), 2 x kills (-10), wins battle (+40)
Meera Reed – 55 points: appears (+5), crosses the Wall (+50)
Olenna Tyrell – 8 points: appears (+5), says C word (+10), drinks wine (+8), gets poisoned (-10), last line (+10), last on screen (+15), dies (-30)
Yara Greyjoy – 20 points: appears (+5), visits Kings Landing (+15)

Group E – Side Characters to the Side Characters
Euron Greyjoy – 115 points: appears (+5), rides horse (+15), visits Kings Landing (+15), travels by boat (+15) leads army into battle (+25), wins battle (+40)
Randyll Tarly – 20 points: appears (+5), rides horse (+15)
Tyene Sand – -5 points: appears (+5), visits Kings Landing (+15), has kiss (+15), gets poisoned (-10), dies (-30)
Yohn Royce – 5 points: appears (+5)

Group F – Weirdos
Qyburn – 5 points: appears (+5)
Ser Gregor Clegane – 5 points: appears (+5)

Group G – Animals
Drogon – 5 points: appears (+5)
Rhaegal – 5 points: appears (+5)
Viserion – 5 points: appears (+5)

Group H – Dead but not Forgotten
None of these characters were in this episode.

Group I – Are these fuckers coming back?
Ser Jorah Mormont – 5 points: appears (+5)
Tycho Nestoris – 80 points: appears (+5), crosses Narrow Sea (+50), visits King’s Landing (+15), turns down wine (+10)

The Leaderboard

Players can see their scores by consulting their initials in the table below. Congratulations to KC for being this week’s points champion and congrats to DP for holding on to the top spot for another week!



Coincidentally, those were the only players to pick episode 3 as their Joker episode, so not surprising that they’re in 1st and 2nd place. 8 players, including myself have picked next week’s episode as their Joker so we may be looking at a very different leaderboard next week!


See you then for “7.04 – The Spoils of War”...

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