Game of Thrones season 7 will have its shortest episode yet, but how will it cover a big scene that has already been hinted at?
Warning: this post contains light spoilers for Game of Thrones season 7, episode 4, “The Spoils of War,” which airs this Sunday, Aug. 6.
Even at the start of the week, Game of Thrones enthusiasts knew that Daenerys Targaryen would likely take to the skies. Not only did it appear in the preview, but yours truly even predicted what the outcome of “The Spoils of War” would be.
To spoil my own predictions: I think it’ll end well for Daenerys.
Then, Entertainment Weekly, in its Spoiler Room, had this to say about what’s going down this weekend:
"“The big battle with dragons you’ve been waiting for is finally happening.”"
The dragons have already had some time to shine in last season’s “Battle of the Bastards,” but in defense of EW‘s phrasing, we didn’t actually expect that to happen. (I would know: I predicted that that episode would not have any other scenes than the big battle.)
But the use of the word “big” has us curious. By looking at HBO’s schedule, we know that episode 4 will run for just 50 minutes. When the photos promise us at least one scene in King’s Landing, one with Jaime and Bronn, more Dragonstone action (presumably before she takes off) and some serious plot going on in Winterfell, how rushed will those scenes feel if this scene with the dragon battle is as large as EW is promising?
Spoilers:
We talked about these photos in our predictions as well, but to reiterate the point, EW‘s claim that this is “big,” at least in terms of sheer numbers that we might see, seems to be borne out in photos. Remember, CGI is a real thing, and there are still quite a few bodies in these pictures.
Spoilers end.
So far, Game of Thrones‘ seventh season has pretty much delivered on the OMG moments, from Theon’s abandoning Yara to Olenna Tyrell being herself to the very end.
Next: Game of Thrones season 7: 3 questions for episode 4
Let’s hope that the run time of “The Spoils of War” doesn’t shortchange us on those kinds of moments.