Warning: This article contains spoilers for Game of Thrones Season 7, Episode 2, "Stormborn."
The second episode of Season 7 of Game of Thrones did an impressive job tying up loose ends from past seasons and opening up new possibilities for the future. Notably, Euron Greyjoy and his men seized Yara's fleet of ships and took the rightful queen of the Iron Islands hostage in an abrupt, intense battle sequence. Interrupting a hot hookup between Yara and Ellaria Sand, Euron landed on the deck of their ship, decimated her crew and set the ship aflame. A knife in one hand and a crazed look in his eye, Euron killed everyone in his path to get to Yara. With blazing cannonballs flying and Greyjoy soldiers dropping to their deaths, Euron holds her at knifepoint while the ships around them burn and Theon panics, frozen and unable to help his sister.
But there's a quick detail you may have missed: in the background, members of Euron's army can be seen cutting off the tongues of the men from Yara's crew. It's important to note that Euron is known for captaining the Silence, a fearsome ship with black sails and a crew composed almost entirely of men who cannot speak. It's unclear why the crew members can't talk, but some fans believe it might be because they had their tongues removed so they couldn't disagree with Euron's decisions
Redditor BrySighz believes this crucial—and likely overlooked—detail proves that Euron is a lot smarter than we might have been giving him credit for. Not only did he successfully seize Yara's ships, kill her crew, and take her hostage, but he was smart enough to replenish his own army along the way. Talk about staying two steps ahead.
Even if you didn't think Game of Thrones needed another bad guy, it certainly got one in the form of Euron. But compared to past villains like Ramsay Bolton and Joffrey Baratheon, who were just straight-up evil, Euron seems to have a little bit more up his sleeve. At least one fan seems to think he's exactly the villain the show has been missing. Joffrey might have been the King of the Andals and the First Men, but he would have been no match for Brienne of Tarth, the Hound, or even Jon Snow if it came to a showdown between their sides.
When it comes to staying true to your word, this scene definitely proves that Euron is more than just talk. He was the first of his men to board Yara's ships and is quick to start slashing heads, showing he's not afraid to get blood on his hands. Euron demonstrated he isn't just some newly-inserted villain posing an empty threat. He knows what he wants and isn't afraid to fight dirty to get it.
This brings up another point: how exactly did Euron find Yara? The simple answer may boil down to Yara's lack of experience as a commander, as another Redditor pointed out. While Euron sailed against actual navy ships during Robert's Rebellion and raided ships during his years of exile, Yara has only had experience raiding primarily defenseless coastlines in Westeros. This made it easy for Euron to strategically outsmart Yara and her crew, setting her ships ablaze like kindle in a fire.
It's also possible that he was somehow able to sneak a spy onto her ship to give him intel about their whereabouts. An even more sinister and brilliant theory posed by Reddit user dan-o07 suggests that Euron has a mole hidden among Daenerys's group of advisors.
While it could very well be anyone, Lady Olenna Tyrell gave the audience more than a little reason to be suspicious, as she was oddly quiet during her meeting with Daenerys, only voicing her true—or what appear to be true—feelings when they were alone. With essentially her entire house destroyed and no one left to carry on her family name, it's not unreasonable to think someone as cunning and intelligent as Lady Olenna might seek revenge any way she can. As an informant for Euron, she could potentially be using her powers as a trusted noblewoman to cause even more trouble for the opposing queens.
Or Euron could just be really good at tracking down ships. Either way, his lust for violence and uninhibited desire to tear down anyone who gets in the way of his quest for power makes it clear he's not a villain who should be taken lightly.
