Game of Thrones Season 7, Episode 3, “The Queen’s Justice”

Rest in peace Olenna Tyrell. Your frankness and wit made you a fan favorite, and you died as you lived, speaking truth to power. Her scene with Jaime, and the warfare that led to it, are the highlights of an otherwise slow, piece-moving episode. With nothing left to lose, Olenna gleefully reveals to Jaime what we’ve long known -- that it was she who orchestrated Joffrey’s assassination -- souring Jaime’s victory at Highgarden. Before she goes, Olenna also probes the dynamic between Cersei and Jaime, and the potential conflict simmering between them. Jaime might love Cersei, but there has been tension between them ever since Cersei took out her rivals at the end of last season. He’s questioned her decision making, and has looked on wearily as she’s made her alliances, even if he presents himself to everyone else as unwavering in his devotion. Jaime’s love for Cersei is his Achilles heel. Shrewd until her last moments, Olenna likely senses this, and feeds the voices in the back of Jaime’s head: she’s a monster and will kill him too, eventually. 

Game of Thrones Season 7, Episode 2, “Stormborn”

“Stormborn” begins, appropriately enough, with Daenerys and company observing a storm on the Narrow Sea. Dany has two scenes in this episode, and each check important boxes that smooth the way for subsequent action. The first important task is to shore up Varys’s loyalty. Their confrontation here is a product of good writing. One of the reasons we like Dany so much -- aside from her dragons, her empowerment, her being fireproof, her humanitarianism, and her rags-to-riches underdog story -- is that she’s smart (for a Game of Thrones leader). She’s cautious and savvy, listens to advice, and routinely ferrets out and counteracts the plans of those who would do her harm. So considering Varys's past, of course she would be suspicious of his loyalty rather than just blindly accept the alliances he arranged with Dorne and Highgarden.

Game of Thrones Season 7, Episode 1, “Dragonstone”

“Shall we begin?”

Daenerys’s question at the end of the first episode of this season of Game of Thrones is an apt one, as last season made it clear that we are now beginning the end game for this series, the broad outlines of which seem more or less clear: Daenerys and Cersei will go to war; Daenerys will likely win (as Jaime speculates); Daenerys will then ally with Jon and Sansa, and all of our remaining protagonists will focus their efforts on defeating the Night King and his army of undead. The order of events might change, and there might be a few surprises along the way, but this seems like the shape of what's to come, more or less, in the wake of Cersei eliminating all of her rivals in King’s Landing last season. The fun of it will be in seeing just how (or if) all of this comes to pass. So yes, Dany, let us begin.

Spider-Man: Homecoming (VS Spider-Man 2)

Spider-Man: Homecoming easily rivals and in some ways even surpasses Spider-Man 2 as the best Spider-Man movie to date, which in my book automatically puts it in the running for one of the best contemporary superhero movies (a crown shared by The Dark Knight and *maybe* X-Men 2). Put another way, this is the best film representation yet of Spider-Man the character, if not the best Spider-Man movie overall.