Fandom Friday #5: That gift you never wanted

I have (so far) avoided the hypocrisy of railing against Game of Thrones only to watch the next episode as scheduled anyway. As a result, I cannot write a full scale recap. Instead, here are the top five things I gleaned from reading various recaps and reviews of the latest episode:

1. Cersei finally gets her comeuppance. Sort of. At least with respect to this one character, the show has been incredibly consistent. Cersei is shrewd and manipulative but her thinking is so single-minded and short range that her machinations always cause her more trouble than they're worth. In this instance, she appears to have misjudged both the High Sparrow and ol' Lancel as well.

2. At the Wall, things are getting worse for all parties involved. Aemon Targaryen is dying, but not before referring to his brother "Egg." (I assume this is not a reference to the Aegon we were all hoping for). Gilly almost gets assaulted (because, hey, in for one rape, in for a dozen!) but is rescued by Sam with a timely assist from Ghost. Stannis wisely tells Melisandre to get lost when she suggests offering Shireen up as a sacrifice, proving he is the One True King of Westeros. (Just let me have this one thing, ok?!)

3. Daenerys, Ser Jorah and Tyrion have the most awkward meeting in the history of the show. This is one scene I would have enjoyed if I were watching the show, I imagine.

4. In Winterfell, the abuse and torture of Sansa continues. Because this is apparently what Sansa's plot arc is about now. Ugh.

5. Meanwhile, in Dorne...actually, nobody cares about Dorne.

Here are a series of reviews of the latest episode of the show, in no particular order:

It can always be worse (Laura Hudson, Wired)

The Gift (Andy Greenwald, Grantland)

Episode 7 Review (Erik Kain, Forbes)

The meeting viewers have been waiting for (Spencer Kornhaber, Christopher Orr, Amy Sullivan, The Atlantic Monthly)

Changes from the books (Todd VanderWerff, Vox Culture)

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