What Euron's Bloody Defeat of Yara and Theon Means For Game of Thrones

It's the penultimate season of Game of Thrones and there are only seven episodes this season, so it makes sense that sh*t gets really real in episode two, "Stormborn." While the premiere and the beginning of this week's episode literally has Daenerys moving things into place like a chess game, merely getting ready for action, the end brings us a bloody battle and the devastating loss of several characters — and Daenerys's footing. Euron Greyjoy proves he's not just swagger and overtakes Theon and Yara's ships on their way to Dorne, leaving Daenerys at a huge loss. But this is just the beginning, as Cersei notes in the preview for next week — so let's go over what Euron's move has pushed into place.

Cersei Has Started the War

Cersei says merrily in the preview, "The war's already begun; I've drawn first blood." Indeed she has; until now, Daenerys had been on Dragonstone, carefully plotting not just an attack, but a whole thoughtful strategy on how to win the Seven Kingdoms, and not, as she and Tyrion both say, just its ashes. Cersei, on the other hand, is happy to rule ashes (she burned down the Great Sept, after all, as Arya and Hot Pie remind us). Even if she didn't order Euron to defeat Theon and Yara at sea, you know she'll happily take the credit for it. But the person who throws the first punch isn't always the last one standing. Cersei may have started the war, but Daenerys will likely be the one to end it. Also, next week's episode is ominously titled "The Queen's Justice." But which queen, fam?!

HBO

Daenerys Will Be Forced to Use Her Army . . . and Restrategize

Theon and Yara were heading to Dorne to get the Dornish people to siege King's Landing, thus using a friendly neighborhood Westerosi army — and not the Unsullied and Dothraki one that seems to give everyone in the Seven Kingdoms goosebumps. Now it seems that not only has Daenerys lost most of her ships, she will have to use the army that's mainly Unsullied/Dothraki. Strategy aside, joke's on Cersei if that happens. We see Grey Worm heading out of Dragonstone, then what looks like the planned attack on Casterly Rock, and they look fierce.

The other question about Daenerys is will she change her plan to strike on King's Landing? She shows her merciless side this week when talking to Varys, and that guy's on her side. And Lady Olenna reminds her, she's a dragon. What will she do to Cersei and Euron now? Really hoping this is what "The Queen's Justice" means.

HBO

Yara Is Now in Euron's Possession — and Is a Trophy or a Bargaining Chip

Poor Yara. She's lost the Iron Fleet, her brother abandons her, and now she is probably going to be Euron's gift to Cersei. Dead or alive, this can't be good for her.

HBO

Cersei Will Probably Marry Euron

Um, mazel tov, I guess.

Theon Is Back on His Own

Theon's cowardly move of leaving Yara to Euron seems like a reaction to the abuse he'd been through with Ramsay (which the showrunners cite in the inside the episode sequence), but it also reminds us that Theon is a survivor. Surely Theon isn't done here, and I think there's a good chance he could turn up back in the North with the Starks, who may feel like more of his family than Yara did.