Agreed, the end of that scene is a standout moment. Incredible acting. And I think Mylod really stepped up in general.
So much is happening now. I'm overwhelmed. We actually got to see Olenna counseling Daenerys! And could she have given better advice?
The plan to capture King's Landing without Daenerys's forces was an okay political idea, but it was immediately obvious that was not going to work. I would guess their best shot is to take Casterly Rock and attack King's Landing by land. I would rather have those dragons scorching battlefields than contending with Euron (who, by the way, is far more terrifying than Cersei). The ballistas are... something... but any dragon worth its weight is going to dodge those, right? The scene with Qyburn actually revealed Cersei's weakness — that she doesn't have something innovative to deal with the dragons.
Varys knocked it out of the park in his big scene — both the actor and the character. It's great to get all of that out there. And I think I believe him. Love that it ended with a mutual understanding. Dany respects his straightforwardness.
So many random character things made me happy. Tyrion vouching for Jon. Sansa vouching for Tyrion! It's playing out exactly how I hoped. The only thing missing: Daenerys and Jon need to understand each other. This goes beyond their immediate practical needs — they need to understand what their camps have in common ideologically. Can they sit down and have a heart-to-heart?
When Jon left Winterfell, his little conflict with Sansa actually played out to both his and her advantage. Sansa showed that she has strong feelings about the North and loyalty, surely stirring the emotions of all the Stark-lovers in the room. You could really see Ned in Sansa's principled defiance. So everyone the Starks need to keep loyal are totally on board with Sansa. She proved herself right before she took power. Which was given to her, not sought, bestowing even more honor. I feel like this is explicitly setting the stage for Sansa eventually ruling the North on her own.
Arya is definitely dispatching Littlefinger when she gets back home, right? It would be funny if she uses a face that's already in her portfolio and frames the murder on a dead person.
Littlefinger, by the way, has no clue what he's doing. Just riding the wave of chaos until something clicks. And I really don't think it's going to happen for him.