The lone wolf dies, but the pack survives.

Everybody has a choice to make, Varys left us with that wisdom last week and he died for it this week. Varys made his choice. He made his choice definitively and he stuck with that choice, accepting the risks that it took. And in the end he was proved right but he didn’t live long enough to see it thanks to a pair of his closest allies who each refused to make their choices.

Game of Thrones has always been about the politics and the avoidable drama. That machinery of power, where snappy decisions have huge ramifications and any mistakes are fatal.

Arya’s hide and seek game in the library, Melisandre lighting the trench torches, the Dothraki charge witnessed from above, and the utter silent tension in the crypts... until it wasn’t silent no more. Drama that was loud and drama that was quiet, contributing to an almost overwhelming experience across 80 minutes.

The big moments are the ones that get people talking about this show. Ned Stark’s execution. The Red Wedding. The Battle of Hardhome. But it’s the little moments that make it so special, those moments when it’s just a couple characters in a room talking with subtext deluxe and every line means a hundred different things.

Ah Dany, I’ve missed that impossibly arranged blonde hair and those slightly snotty looks down the nose. Ah Jonny Boy, I’ve missed that big black coat and the permanent sulk. Ah Arya, I’ve missed that sly badass nature and the tricky knife moves. Tyrion and his clever quips. Sansa and her steely poise. You get the picture. Eighteen months was a long time between drinks.