Game Of Thrones Season 7 Finale: 9 Ups And 2 Downs From 'The Dragon And The Wolf'
3. A Blend Of Payoff And Setup
As with any season finale, The Dragon and the Wolf had to wrap-up the various season-long storylines, while also laying the groundwork for the next season - a challenge made even harder by the fact the eighth year is also the last.
Somehow, then, it manages to satisfyingly bring this season to an end (there are bigger issues with the journey here, but less so with this episode itself), along with paying off storylines from the very beginning of the show (and even before it started, really), while setting the table for Season 8 in jaw-dropping fashion.
We had payoff to all of Littlefinger's scheming in those earlier years and the way he's hurt the Starks, more of Jon's parentage and new light shed on Robert's Rebellion, Theon's redemption, the end to this year's Dany/Jon romance and the capture-a-wight plot, winter arriving and the Great War coming with it.