“Game of Thrones” is back, and the premiere of the last season filled viewers with anticipation for the winter that has finally arrived.
The episode started in Winterfell, where the army that the main characters are gathering to face the Night King resides. Every big name from throughout the series, from Daenerys (Emilia Clarke) to Gendry (Joe Dempsie), came riding into the gates of the northern kingdom on horses.
This seemed to be an episode of reunions, rather than the action and suspense that we are accustomed to in the fantastical show. Despite the calmness of the episode, it accomplishes everything it needs to and sets up the suspense for the rest of the season well.
The Starks returned to their home (though does Jon count anymore?) completely different people from who they were when they left, but they still have the same affection for their family. The close knit family ran into troubles this season when Jon (Kit Harington) brought Daenerys to Winterfell.
Almost immediately, the tensions between Sansa (Sophie Turner) and the queen to be, seemed to make every other character wildly uncomfortable. But Sansa wasn’t the only person to be wary of the “too good to be true” message that Dany keeps selling.
Every other place that Dany has been, people end up loving her or supporting her very quickly, I’m glad that the North is as stubborn as it is because she’ll get an opportunity to prove herself.
She’s so used to people cowering and loving her that Sansa sassing her, and even Sam bursting into tears after learning the fate of his family seemed to surprise her.
I’m looking forward to Dany struggling with the fact that the best friend and trusted sister of the man she loves, Jon Snow, aren’t going to bend to her every whim like she’s used to.
Nothing about the love story between Dany and Jon in this episode made me want to excuse the incest. The fact that Jon kept sacrificing his closest relationships for a woman he just met because she has dragons ruined the shred of romance between them.
Sam (John Bradley) did a perfect job delivering the hard truth of Jon’s true heritage, though it doesn’t seem that Jon believed any of it. That was the one thing that I didn’t expect for this episode because it is such a big revelation, but with only six episodes it makes sense for the writers to dive in to the important story aspects as quick as possible.
With this knowledge in the back of his mind, I can see all of the trust that Jon and Dany share currently slip away into the snow.
In King’s Landing, the idiots abound with everyone there underestimating the threat that is quickly on the move in the North. Cersei (Lena Headey) and Euron (Pilou Asbæk) can screw to their heart’s content, but when King’s Landing freezes over their misplaced confidence will die with them.
The episode ends in Winterfell with the most awaited reunion of all. Bran Stark (Isaac Hempstead Wright) and Jaime Lannister (Nikolaj Coster-Waldau) meet once again for the first time since the very first episode. The “old friends” will have much to discuss in the next episode, and I can’t wait.