At last winter is FINALLY here as the first episode of Game of Thrones season 8 aired Sunday night. Legions of fans have anxiously been waiting for the final season to begin and to be reunited with their favorite characters. Now given that it’s been some time since we have last seen our heroes and heels, most of the episode plays as a reunion and recap. Fans expecting the usual bloodbath or battle surge will be a little disappointed but let’s approach this season with more of a marathon rather than a sprint mentality. After all it is the last season so let us cherish these precious moments.
The premiere opens up with Daenerys, Jon, the queen’s inner circle all arriving at Winterfell, along with the assembled war machine and two dragons. To no ones dismay, the queen’s arrival is not seen as a welcoming ceremony. The people of Winterfell don’t take kindly to outsiders, especially since their own proclaimed “King” Jon Snow is saddled up next to Daenerys as arm candy. Tyrion and Varys continue to brush against each other like an old married couple as Tyrion lofts insults on how Varys has no balls. Its good to know that the eunuch jokes haven’t gone out of style. Jon finally reunites with most of his siblings as Arya is the happiest to see him. Much older and much more independent, Arya shows off her sword to Jon as he asks, “Have you used it before?” Oh Jon, if you only knew bud, if you only knew…
Tensions between Sansa and Daenerys amounts to strong concerns as to how these two will grapple with supremacy in Winterfell. Sansa tells the Dragon Queen, “Winterfell is yours” yet you can sense that Sansa will not be so easily coerced. With complete annihilation dawning on the fair people of the 7 kingdoms, the Starks in Winterfell seem to have not forgotten just how important “family” truly is.
Let’s forget about the north and head on down to King’s Landing where the chances of being poisoned by a close relative are frankly quite high and well sort of common. Cersei’s rule has been a real mess for her people, but her callousness and downright wretchedness provides such great drama. We remember that in the previous season, Cersei was finally convinced that pending doom is upon Westeros and she has agreed to help with the war effort. Has she really though? Euron Greyjoy who arrives at King’s Landing with an army he promised the Queen, seems to have other things on his mind, and that would be the Queen herself. Couple of bold come-ons and Euron has already annoyed everyone in the room. Cersei perhaps tosses the best answer to his problems, “If you want a whore, then buy one. If you want a queen, earn her.” Funny, I swear I’ve heard that somewhere before, but I digress. The two proceed to hook up, after all the queen does have needs like everyone else.
If you weren’t going to get your dose of slaughter, then you can always count on the over the top sex scenes that GOT dearly provides. This episode’s smut scene features everyone’s favorite sword for hire, brothel boozing Bronn. Shirtless and slightly pant less, Bronn is getting busy with three young women as he’s interrupted by old Qyburn. Sharing the news that Cersei has instructed Bronn to head to the north and eventually kill Jaime and Tyrone. While Euron is busy with Cersei, Theon Greyjoy and his band of merry men parade onto a ship where Yara is held captive. I guess that does it for the reunion of every character as Theon fulfills his promise by rescuing his sister.
Back to the north where Jon and Daenerys are discussing their arrival and how they are being perceived. Jon assures Daenerys that Sansa does like her and that eventually she will come around. Daenerys is keener to the situation and knows that Jon is just trying to smooth everything over for now until they stop the FREAKIN ZOMBIE AVALANCHE! The next scene is straight out of a teen drama where the couple ride their horses together to forget all their hardships, but in this case the horses are gigantic fire-breathing dragons. Jon and Daenerys soar and swoop through the majestic snowbound landscape of the north which is a pleasant turn from violence and brood that the series usually emphasizes. The winter land of the north is a treat for the eyes as the audience gets a glimpse of beauty amongst the underlined despair. Think of the first time that Harry Potter rode Buckbeak in The Prisoner of Azkaban and you’ll get the gist. As they land in a secluded area Jon turns to Daenerys and says, “You’ve completely ruined horses for me.”
As the couple returns to the town, Jon is confronted by Sansa as she questions him if he “bent the knee” for love or does he actually believe the queen of dragons will be a great ruler. Jon doesn’t really get to reply to any of Sansa’s quick snaps since she’s clearly not warmed up to Jon’s new girl. Somewhere else in the castle, Daenerys and Ja Mormont come upon Samwell Tarly. Mormont wants to introduce the man who saved his life to the queen. Things get a bit awkward as Sam finds out that his new ruler is the same one that executed his father and brother. After this difficult revelation Sam is stopped by Bran who tells him that its time to let Jon know of his TRUE ancestry.
Elsewhere in the north, Tormund, Dolorous Edd, and Beric Dondarrion are at House Umber’s keep where they come upon a gruesome scene that looks like something out of a Doom level. Apparently, the White Walkers have made quite a scene here and left it all for display. Pinned to a wall is the young boy Ned Umber as he’s surrounded by limbs and other body parts laid out in a spiral formation. Truly a horrifying and awesome scene that provided a real good jump scare where Ned’s eyes open as he unleashes a screech. Solid Snake, ehh I mean Beric quickly dispatched the demon child with his fire sword and puts him to rest.
With the episode coming to a close, we finish with the most pivotal part of the premiere. Samwell must tell Jon who his true father is. As Sam tries to lay it out, Jon resists to listen and brings up that fact that he already has a father. Eventually Samwell gets through to Jon and explains that he is the rightful heir to the iron throne. Not bad for a bastard, I guess. Also, towards the very end we finally get a glimpse of the king slayer himself. Jaime rolls into town in a hooded garment looking all scruffy. He quickly turns to stone as he catches eyes from Bran. Jaime is probably thinking to himself, how the hell is this kid alive?!?!
First episodes of the season will usually take a toll on the viewer as we are just trying to recap and remember who the hell everyone is again. In this case there was a lot to digest and we all just have to re-calibrate our GOT senses. One thing for sure is that there will definitely be a lot of interesting drama and mayhem along the way.
