"The Spoils of War" is the fourth episode of the seventh season of HBO's fantasy television series Game of Thrones, and the 64th overall. It was written by series co-creators David Benioff and D. B. Weiss, and directed by Matt Shakman. It is the shortest episode of the series, with a running time of 49 minutes.
At Dragonstone, Daenerys Targaryen and Jon Snow observe cave drawings left by the Children of the Forest, indicating that the First Men and the Children fought together against the White Walkers. In King's Landing, Cersei Lannister seeks further investment from the Iron Bank, after reassuring them that their debt will soon be paid. In the North, Arya Stark returns to Winterfell, reunites with her siblings, Sansa and Bran Stark, and spars with Brienne of Tarth. On the road to King's Landing, Jaime Lannister, Bronn, and the Lannister and Tarly armies are caught in an attack led by Daenerys, her dragon Drogon, and the Dothraki army.
The title of the episode refers to the Tyrell gold and other resources in possession of the Lannisters after taking Highgarden. "The Spoils of War" received universal praise from critics, with many hailing it as one of the best episodes of the series and listing the concluding battle sequence between Daenerys and Jaime, Arya's return to Winterfell and interaction with Brienne, and Daenerys and Jon's conversation at Dragonstone as highlights of the episode. It received a nomination at the 70th Primetime Emmy Awards for Outstanding Editing, and was also Nikolaj Coster-Waldau's pick to support his nomination for Outstanding Supporting Actor, his first ever for this series.
The episode set an industry record for the most stuntmen set on fire, with 73 "fire burns", in addition to 20 people being set on fire for a single shot. In the United States, the episode achieved a viewership of 10.17 million in its initial broadcast, the 3rd highest in the series. "The Spoils of War" also received multiple awards and nominations, including "Best TV Episode" and "2017 People's Choice Award" from IGN.
"The Spoils of War" marked the final appearance of Ellie Kendrick (Meera Reed).
Plot In King's Landing Cersei and Tycho discuss the Crown's debts to the Iron Bank.
At Winterfell Littlefinger gives Bran the Valyrian steel dagger used in the attempt to kill him in season one. He then tries to get Bran to tell him of his experiences after fleeing Winterfell, and is disconcerted when Bran repeats Littlefinger's earlier remark to Varys that "chaos is a ladder." Meera visits Bran to say farewell. Bran is indifferent to her departure, and Meera remarks that Bran died in the Three-Eyed Raven's cave.
Arya arrives at Winterfell and Sansa takes her to see Bran in the godswood. Arya is taken aback to find that Bran saw her coming to Winterfell and knows of her kill list, and Bran gives her the Valyrian steel dagger. Podrick reassures Brienne that she has fulfilled her oath to Catelyn; Brienne insists she did almost nothing. Brienne and Podrick spar and Arya asks to train with Brienne. They fight to a draw as Sansa and Littlefinger watch.
At Dragonstone Jon shows Daenerys cave drawings depicting the Children and the First Men fighting together against the White Walkers. Daenerys vows to fight for the North, but only if Jon bends the knee. Jon remains resistant.
Tyrion and Varys report the pyrrhic victory at Casterly Rock and the loss of Highgarden; Daenerys questions Tyrion's loyalties. Considering striking King's Landing with her dragons, she asks Jon for advice. He notes that her followers believe she can change the world, but if she destroys a city, she will be just another tyrant.
The Ironborn survivors return to Dragonstone. Jon confronts Theon, declaring that his role in saving Sansa from Ramsay is the only reason he will not kill him for betraying Robb. Theon reveals that he has come for Daenerys' help in rescuing Yara, but Jon and Davos inform him that Daenerys has gone.
On the Roseroad The Lannister caravan approaches King's Landing after the Tyrell gold has been brought inside the city. Jaime gives Bronn a large satchel of gold, but Bronn still wants the castle he was promised. The Dothraki attack, led by Daenerys riding Drogon. Daenerys has Drogon destroy the supply train Jaime was transporting from Highgarden. Bronn wounds Drogon with Qyburn's scorpion weapon. As Daenerys dismounts to tend Drogon's wound, Tyrion is shocked to see Jaime charge at her. Drogon breathes fire at Jaime, but Bronn tackles him out of the flame's path and into the Blackwater Rush, where Jaime begins to sink under the weight of his armour.
Production Writing
"The Spoils of War" was written by Game of Thrones creators David Benioff and D. B. Weiss. The episode is the series' shortest episode to date. In the "Inside the Episode" featurette published by HBO following the airing of the episode, David Benioff spoke about the inspiration for the return of Arya Stark to Winterfell, saying it was inspired by Odysseus's return, who is also unrecognizable after making his journey. Benioff also stated that the important part of her return to Winterfell is her relationship with Sansa Stark, with Weiss following up by stating that the intention of the scene in the crypts where they are reunited was to "lay down the beginnings of the storyline where Sansa realizes what Arya is now."
Speaking about the revelation of the cave drawings with the Children of the Forest and the First Men, Benioff stated that the inspiration for the drawings were the cave paintings created by prehistoric men that were found in France, and that the scene was meant to be evocative in noting the thousands of years that have passed since the drawings were created.
In writing the battle between the Lannister army, and Daenerys' Dothraki and Drogon, Weiss stated that one of the most exciting elements of the fight involved the fact that two main characters were on opposite sides of the battlefield, and that it is "impossible to really want any one of them to win, and impossible to want any one of them to lose," according to Weiss. He also compared the introduction of a dragon in medieval warfare to using an F-16 fighter aircraft in a medieval battle. According to Nikolaj Coster-Waldau, in an interview with Entertainment Weekly following the airing of the episode, the script stated that "One of our main characters is about to die." Coster-Waldau also stated about his character, "Jaime is such an idiot that he thinks for a second, 'If I can do this, I can win the whole thing in a 'Hail Mary.'"
Casting In addition to the regular recurring guest cast, Major League Baseball player Noah Syndergaard, then a pitcher for the New York Mets, made a brief uncredited cameo appearance as a spear-throwing Lannister soldier during the battle between Lannister and Tarly forces and Daenerys Targaryen and the Dothraki. In an interview prior to the season conducted by Sports Illustrated, Syndergaard spoke about his appearance in the series by saying "It's a dream come true. I think it’s the greatest TV show of all time, so just to be able to say I was in Game of Thrones is an unbelievable feeling."
Filming
"The Spoils of War" was directed by Matt Shakman. This was Shakman's first episode of Game of Thrones, but he had previously served as a director for several other television series, including Fargo, The Good Wife, Mad Men and It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia, among others. The battle sequence at the conclusion of the episode, which was nicknamed "The Loot Train Attack" by HBO, set an industry record for the most stuntmen set on fire, with real fire being used, rather than special effects, to simulate the dragon fire being emitted by Drogon. There were 73 "fire burns," in addition to 20 people being set on fire for a single shot. Filming of the attack sequence took approximately 18 main-unit days, five second-unit days, and several weeks for the effects-unit. In an interview with The Hollywood Reporter, Shakman spoke about the first time he read the script of the battle, saying "I was reading the script and this battle began and I kept turning pages and the battle kept going on page after page after page! The excitement, the stress and the fear all built at the same time, mirroring probably what was happening on screen. It was a huge opportunity and a challenge. I spent the better part of six months working on that one sequence." The "Loot Train Attack" was filmed in Los Barruecos, Province of Cáceres, Spain, and Emilia Clarke, who portrays Daenerys Targaryen, was filmed riding a motion base on a stage in Belfast in front of several green screens. Joseph Quinn booked the part of Koner, one of the two guards, alongside Danny Kirrane's Henk, who mistakes the returning Arya Stark for a miscreant, with Quinn and Kirrane filming their part on set in a rainy Belfast. Quinn impressed Shakman enough with his one line of telling Arya Stark to "f*ck off", leaving Shakman not content with downplaying his talent and wish to work with him again to the point they eventually reunited for the Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU) film The Fantastic Four: First Steps where Shakman cast Quinn as Johnny Storm / Human Torch.
Shakman's first step in directing the battle was choosing to focus on a specific perspective, with Shakman choosing Jaime as the main point of view, noting "To see it from a traditional fighter like Jaime to see what happens when you introduce something like napalm or the atom bomb into battle and all of a sudden traditional fighting goes out the window." Shakman also noted that Tyrion was another important perspective for the battle, as he watches from afar, saying "We talked through every beat of what he was seeing, and then he imagined that in his mind and brought it to life. He's the human intermediary there to see the battle through." Shakman filmed Peter Dinklage as Tyrion about a mile from the battlefield, and most of his shots involved "staring at lots of different tennis balls" for eye line. Shakman drew inspiration for the direction of the sequence from Miguel Sapochnik, who directed the sixth season episode "Battle of the Bastards", and Neil Marshall, who directed the second season episode "Blackwater", as well as the battles in Apocalypse Now, Saving Private Ryan and Stagecoach. Shakman also revealed that he used the volcanic destruction of Pompeii as a reference, which led to the idea of some of the army being turned to ash. Costume designer Michele Clapton stated that the aftermath of the "Loot Train Attack", in which Dothraki warriors strip useful items and clothing from dead soldiers, was inspired by accounts from the Soviet invasion of Azerbaijan during the Russian Civil War and the subsequent "Week of Plunder". Clapton noted that combatants wore clothing taken from opposing forces, making it difficult to distinguish between Bolsheviks and Azerbaijani forces.