“Game of Thrones” has finally returned, and to celebrate, everyone gets together! Jon and Arya! Gendry and Arya! Jon and Sam! Tyrion and Sansa! Jaime and the spooky omniscient child that he pushed from a tower in the middle of coitus in that distant first episode!
A lot of what transpired was unexpected (unless you are Bran).
At the end of season 7, the Army of the Dead broke the wall and headed south. While this is the most pressing theme of the entire series, which predicts an epic battle of life and death, there is still time for a real procession and several romantic encounters, hugs and political squabbles before everyone gets their hands dirty.
As expected, the people from the North did not take it well that Jon had bent his knee before Daenerys and her fancy hair while wearing an elegant coat, and Sansa and Arya made it quite clear that they do not agree that someone from the Targaryan house comes and acts as if they were the owner of the place. Jon listens to them and, yes, he understands their point, but on the other hand: she has dragons and they are extremely fun to ride. I mean come on!
The tension between Sansa and Daenerys is so intense (and well justified), that it would not be surprising if there was a single event or exchange that would transform their whole perceptions and attract these two intelligent and stubborn women under a shared motivation.
He and The Mother of Dragons have a “Whole New World” moment like in “Aladdin” mounted on Drogon and Rhaegal.
It turns out, dragons are like cats. They will absolutely watch you show some love to your significant other and maintain eye contact throughout the process.
Although it’s beautiful and romantic, you might have recognized when Daenerys looked at an icy waterfall and said, “We could live here a thousand years and no one would know.”
The last time Jon was with a woman in the steep splendors of the north, he heard something similar: “I do not want to leave this cave, Jon Snow. Never,” Ygritte told him in season 3.” Let’s not go back.” But they did it and things went very wrong.
Daenerys also has some peccadilloes for which she must answer, like that time when she used her dragon to roast the father and brother of one of Jon’s most trusted and important friends. Sam does not take the news well and finally tells Jon the truth: Jon is actually from the Targaryan house, and as royal as his beloved dragon queen. Besides, she’s his aunt, so… there’s a lot to talk about. Do not be surprised if the next five episodes are just Jon going to therapy.
Sam is one of Jon’s most trusted friends and he definitely has NOT overcome the fact that Daenerys roasted half of his family. Jon also did not seem very happy that Dany did not slip that little information between all the chats and riding on the back of a dragon. Will this affect Jon’s optimistic attitude about his queen/aunt/girlfriend?
Jon and Arya finally reunite after six seasons. Temperate but tender. Severe but loving And what better way for brother and sister to show their true affection than comparing swords.
It was a perfect illustration of their respective achievements and how far they have come to find their true selves. Jon is about to discover her real potential. And despite facing her facelessness, Arya has managed to hold on to Needle, and with it, her true identity: a Stark from Winterfell.
Meanwhile, in the south, Cersei has no choice but to recompense Euron Greyjoy after he brought her the Golden Company. Maybe it’s just a feeling, but it seems that the leader of the Golden Company has absolutely no idea what he has gotten himself into and will not be happy when he discovers it.
Luckily, while Euron is busy, Theon rescues Yara and they reconcile, but instead of heading up to the Iron Islands, where the Army of the Dead can not hurt him, Theon would rather go and fight with Jon and Daenerys in the north. A certain redemption from Theon occupies a prominent place in the wish list of many spectators, but are they really telling us that they could have chosen to get out of this mess and, instead, chose to return to it? That boy is nuts, especially since he doesn’t have any.
Also in the south: Qyburn, professional stalker, offers Bronn an obscene amount of money to kill Jaime and Tyrion, two men the former mercenary admires. It is going to be exciting to see how that ends.
Finally, Tormund, Beric and company reunite with Dolorous Edd and company in an abandoned Umber castle, only to discover a dreadful rendition revealing that “The Army of the Dead” was there in the form of the small Ned Umber, impaled between a spiral of severed arms.
While the gang of men discusses this horror, Ned’s eyes suddenly turn blue and Beric literally has to set everything on fire. When you thought that “Game of Thrones” was softening to show you 55 minutes of happy meetings, you get a grinning flaming undead mill. Be careful what you wish for.
Bran clearly knew that Jaime was on his way to Winterfell. Which means that there are likely to be more risks for Jaime’s visit, beyond informing everyone about Cersei’s betrayal.
What can Bran and Jaime have to say to each other? Guess we’ll find out.
