The Dragon and the Wolf

The episode's plot includes a negotiation between Cersei and Daenerys, and a rift between Cersei and Jaime; Theon rededicates himself to Yara; Sansa and Arya unite against Littlefinger; Jon Snow is revealed to be the child of Lyanna Stark and Rhaegar Targaryen; Jon and Daenerys's romantic relationship comes to fruition; and the Army of the Dead penetrates the Wall.

"The Dragon and the Wolf" received a positive reception from critics, with many praising the role and development of Cersei Lannister, as well as Aidan Gillen's performance as Littlefinger, the Dragonpit meeting, and the final scene, though the pacing was met with mixed reviews, and criticism was also leveled at the resemblance of Rhaegar Targaryen to his brother Viserys Targaryen.

Cersei, Daenerys, and their entourages meet in the ruined Dragonpit, and Jon and the Hound present the captured wight to prove the existence of the White Walkers.

Cersei returns to the parley and agrees to send her entire army north to fight the White Walkers.

Euron, who had claimed to be fleeing the threat of the dead, is revealed to have actually gone to Essos to transport the Golden Company, with which Cersei will fight whoever prevails in the Long Night.

Sansa summons Arya before the lords of the North and Vale, but then stuns Littlefinger by accusing him of betraying Ned Stark and murdering Lysa Arryn, which Bran corroborates, having seen them in his visions.

Littlefinger denies the charges on the basis that they have no credible witnesses, and demands that he be escorted back to the Vale, which Yohn Royce refuses.

Realizing that the trial is just a show and that he has essentially been betrayed and summoned just to be publicly killed, Littlefinger resorts to begging Sansa for mercy, but she sentences him to death and Arya carries it out.

Sam reveals information from the High Septon's journal: in secret, Rhaegar's marriage to Elia Martell was annulled and he married Lyanna.

Viserion destroys Eastwatch and breaches the Wall, finally allowing the White Walkers and the wights to invade the Seven Kingdoms.

"[5] Benioff continued by revealing his excitement in seeing Aiden Gillan's performance as Littlefinger, as it was the first time that they had written a scene in which the character was caught unaware, saying "He's imagined every conceivable eventuality except this one.

"[5] Isaac Hemsptead Wright, who portrays Bran, described a scene that was originally written between his character and Sansa, but it was later removed from the episode.

[8] Leading up to the seventh-season finale, Benioff and Weiss revealed that it was always planned for the penultimate season to end with the destruction of the Wall, and the White Walker army crossing into the Seven Kingdoms.

[15] According to a separate interview with USA Today, shooting of the dragon pit scene took place over the course of six days, and was first rehearsed in Belfast, and later on set in Spain.

"[16] In an interview with The Hollywood Reporter, Podeswa described filming the death of Littlefinger and Aidan Gillen's performance, saying "It was moving and difficult to see somebody get to the end of their role on the show, but it was an amazing scene to go out on.

[18] Podeswa's first reaction to the final scene of the episode, with the destruction of a portion of the Wall, was "This is an enormous, spectacular sequence.

[21] In the United Kingdom, the episode was viewed by 3.54 million viewers on Sky Atlantic, making it the highest-rated broadcast that week on its channel.

[23] "The Dragon and the Wolf" was praised by critics, who listed the meeting at the Dragonpit, Cersei's lack of cooperation to defeat the White Walkers, Aidan Gillen's performance as Littlefinger, and the demolition of the Wall as highlights of the episode.

"[28] Matt Fowler of IGN praised the episode's ability at "delivering lengthy meaningful scenes filled with dialogue, deception, revelations, twists", and the assembly at the Dragonpit.