'Game Of Thrones' Reunions Galore In The Long-Awaited Season 8 Premiere, 'Winterfell' [Recap]

Other than some actual dialogue from Brienne of Tarth (Gwendoline Christie), there’s not much more fans could ask for from the Season 8 premiere of “Game of Thrones,” appropriately and simply titled “Winterfell.” Nerd excitement begins to rise with the first notes of the theme in the opening credits, and grows ever higher with the extensive redo of the animation, including a giant hole in the Wall. Vanity Fair’s Joanna Robinson gives a great rundown here, but what’s important is that this new version focuses on just three locations: Winterfell, King’s Landing, and a new place, Last Hearth. The action – and the characters – will likely be condensed in the six episodes of this final season, meaning that all that time you spent learning the geography of Essos was a waste. Meereen, Schmeereen.

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Here’s a breakdown of what happened, organized by those key locales:

Winterfell

An unknown, unnamed child runs through the wintry forest and into a column of soldiers, marching for the safety of Westeros and probably toward certain death in the near future. Arya Stark (Maisie Williams) is the first familiar face we see, looking with pride on the throngs, followed by Jon Snow (Kit Harington) and Daenerys Targaryen (Emilia Clarke). As we pan over the crowds, we see Sandor ‘The Hound’ Clegane (Rory McCann), who’s nowhere near his former pint-sized travel companion (yet). Winter is here, we’re reminded when we reunite with Tyrion Lannister (Peter Dinklage) and Lord Varys (Conleth Hill).

“You should consider yourself lucky,” Tyrion says to Varys in the season’s first joke, with the script credited to the episode’s writer, Dave Hill. “At least your balls don’t freeze off.” Fittingly, Grey Worm (Jacob Anderson), as well as Missandei (Nathalie Emmanuel), is there as well. There’s talk of the Northerners and their mistrust of outsiders (aka Dany, the Unsullied, the Dothraki…pretty much everyone Jon Snow brought with him), and the crowds quickly lose their shit when dragons Drogon and Rhaegal swoop down from overhead. I want a gif of Arya’s first glimpse of the creatures to use whenever I want to communicate a feeling of pure joy.

Reunions and first meetings of key characters are what’s up at Winterfell, first a long-awaited one between Jon Snow and Bran Stark (Isaac Hempstead Wright). “Look at you,” Jon says to his younger brother. “You’re a man.”

“Almost,” replies Bran, which Jon takes to mean that he’s not quite an adult, rather than the real meaning: that he’s not quite human.

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Jon then introduces his new lady love Daenerys to his sister Sansa Stark (Sophie Turner), who sizes up the new queen and isn’t impressed, dragons or no. She’s as cold as her land, with a look that would make her mother proud. But this isn’t the real news here: Bran breaks up the introductions by telling Daenerys the news that Viserion has been turned by the Night King. We’ve had nearly two years to deal with this and still haven’t gotten over it, so it’s impressive how well she holds it together since this is the first she’s heard of it.

Inside the castle, the young Lord Umber (Harry Grasby) asks for horses and wagons to defend his home, aka Last Hearth. He’s unsure of whether to ask for help from Sansa, Jon, or Daenerys, illuminating the fissures in the factions and their divided loyalties. Lady Lyanna Mormont (Bella Ramsey) is bolder (what a boss), with some harsh words for the former King in the North that are echoed by the Northerners in the room. They fail to see that Jon chose the North and its people over his own crown, and Tyrion steps in to defend Jon and his courage (perhaps not considering that the Northerners might not be a fan of his). His mention of the Lannister army’s impending arrival doesn’t help his cause, and there’s even more dissent from the northern crowd. Know your audience, dude.

Sansa, who still isn’t given enough credit, is concerned with practicalities. It’s great that they have all these extra fighters in the form of Dothraki, Unsullied, and two full-grown dragons, but how will they feed them all? “What do dragons eat, anyway?” she asks.

“Whatever they want,” Daenerys replies, in what seems like a punchline from a kids joke book, but it still gets a laugh.

Four seasons have separated the briefly married Sansa and Tyrion, but they finally reunite in “Winterfell.” Tyrion greets Sansa with, “My lady,” and there’s an undercurrent in his words. They joke about the Purple Wedding, with Sansa bidding good riddance to her one-time love Joffrey by saying, “It had its moments.” Sansa questions Cersei’s motivations, while Tyrion defends his sister, believing that her pregnancy will keep her honest, at least in this one instance. Meanwhile, creepy Bran watches from below. (“Creepy Bran” looms large in this episode.)

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The next scene finds one of the series’ most anticipated reunions, with Jon and Arya at the heart tree. “You used to be taller,” says Arya to her beloved brother. I actually aww-ed out loud. He’s in awe that she still has the sword he gave her, Needle, but he has no idea of what she’s done with it in the years since they’ve seen each other. The passage of time has made a gulf between these two people and the past versions of themselves the other knew, but there’s still a deep well of affection. Arya comes to Sansa’s defense, saying of her sister, “She’s the smartest person I’ve ever met.” Jon is surprised, given the past rift between the girls, and says that he’s her family too. “Don’t forget that,” Arya warns, worrying about his growing allegiance to Daenerys.

Later, the Karstarks arrive, growing their numbers, but Davos Seaworth (Liam Cunningham) recognizes that a simple alliance won’t be enough to guarantee the loyalty of all. Varys, Davos, and Tyrion begin plotting a (marital) union between Jon and Daenerys, but ever the romantic, Varys cautions, “Nothing lasts.”

Cut to the happy-for-now couple, who are visiting Rhaegal and Drogon, who haven’t been eating much (for dragons) due to their dislike of the North and its climate. At Daenerys’ insistence, Jon climbs ungracefully onto Rhaegal for a flight alongside Daenerys and Drogon that surely ate up much of the budget for the episode. He hangs on, despite Rhaegal’s swoops and dives, earning more of Daenerys’ respect and affection. They kiss, but the dragons react about as well as a son does to his new stepdad showering his mom with PDA.

Back at Winterfell, Gendry (Joe Dempsie) is using his blacksmith skills to make dragonglass arrowheads, and the Hound is standing by being critical. Arya steps in to defend her old friend’s craft, and the Hound isn’t surprised to see her – or hear her retort.

“You’re a cold little bitch, aren’t you?” he says with pride. “Guess that’s why you’re still alive.” But Arya isn’t just there to take the Hound down a peg or two; she has a request for Gendry and hands him a schematic for a new weapon.

“As you wish, my lady,” he replies, in what I’m hoping is a reference to “The Princess Bride.” Swoon.

But it’s not all good news at Winterfell (this is “Game of Thrones,” after all). House Glover isn’t coming to help the cause, and Jon and Sansa battle over his allegiance to Daenerys. He defends her, but she questions whether his loyalty is to his land or to the woman he loves.

Things get rougher in the next scene, when Samwell Tarly (John Bradley) appears and meets Daenerys, who wants to thank him for saving Ser Jorah Mormont (Iain Glen). This turns into the second most awkward scene in the episode (just edging out Tyrion and Sansa’s meeting), when Dany reveals that she is responsible for the Tarly family’s deaths. Samwell grows verklempt over the death of his cruel father, showing that he’s far too good for this shitty world, and begins to cry in earnest when she tells him about the death of his brother Dickon. He runs away and sees Creepy Bran doing what he does best, still being a creeper. He’s waiting for “an old friend” and insists that Sam tell Jon about who he really is.

Jon is in the crypt, looking upon his assumed father Ned’s stone visage. It should be a happy reunion between the two, but Samwell’s having a bad day. He tells Jon that Daenerys executed his father and brother, and Jon responds with sympathy.

“Would you have done the same?” Sam asks, and Jon demurs, saying he’s no longer the king.

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“I’m not talking about the King in the North. I’m talking about the King of the bloody Seven Kingdoms,” Sam says. “Your mother was Lyanna Stark. And your father, your real father, was Rhaegar Targaryen. You’ve never been a bastard. You’re Aegon Targaryen, true heir to the Iron Throne.” “You’re the true king.”

Jon is expectedly shocked, and it’s unclear what he’ll do with that knowledge.

“You gave up your crown to save your people,” Sam says. “Would she do the same?”

Later, in the episode’s final scene, Bran’s promised “old friend” arrives. Jaime Lannister (Nikolaj Coster-Waldau) appears at Winterfell and has a moment of haunted realization looking at Bran. It’s a callback to the last scene of the series’ first episode when Jaime pushed Bran out the window of the tower at Winterfell, and it’s clear that included in the everything that Bran aka The Three-Eyed Raven knows is the memory of that cruelty.

King’s Landing

“The dead have broken through the wall,” Qyburn (Anton Lesser) announces to Cersei Lannister (Lena Headey). “Good,” she replies, reminding us that Tyrion has had nothing but bad judgment for the last few seasons.

Out in the harbor, Euron Greyjoy (Pilou Asbæk) is on board a ship, commanding the Iron Fleet. Yara Greyjoy (Gemma Whelan) is tied up below decks, wondering why her uncle hasn’t murdered her yet. “You picked the losing side,” she warns him. “Then I’ll serve somewhere else,” he says. “But first, I’m going to fuck the queen.”

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He then arrives to see said queen, alongside Captain Strickland (Marc Rissmann), head of the Golden Company. He has brought 20,000 men, 2,000 horses, but alas, no elephants. Cersei and Euron banter a bit, then head to her bedroom under the watchful dead eye of Gregor Clegane (Hafþór Júlíus Björnsson). Cersei may be the worst, but she deserves better than a dude who read some Westerosi version of “The Game.”

“I’m going to put a prince in your belly,” says Euron, and Cersei smiles knowing that she already has one growing courtesy of her brother. (Side note: that might be one of the most disturbing sentences ever, but we’re talking “Game of Thrones” and, as the years have taught us, incest is the least of your concerns in Westeros.)

We meet Bronn (Jerome Flynn) in what we can assume is a brothel, trading on his fame of having injured a dragon. He’s surrounded by a trio of women, but he’s interrupted by Qyburn. Cersei wants him to live up to his sellsword reputation, asking him to kill both Tyrion and Jaime. Bronn takes the crossbow he’s offered as well as (apparently) the job.

Back in the Iron Fleet, archers take out soldiers, and Theon (Alfie Allen) appears to rescue his sister. She’s grateful, but she headbutts him in what is likely a standard Iron Islands greeting. She wants to take them back to the Iron Islands, where the Dead won’t follow. But she recognizes her brother’s loyalty to the Starks.

“What is dead may never die. But kill the bastards anyway,” says Yara, as she sends her brother off.

Last Hearth

Beric Dondarrion (Richard Dormer) and Tormund Giantsbane (Kristofer Hivju) (!!!) are still alive and in the ruins of a castle. There’s blood on the snow on the ground, and the cut to a dark hall continues the show being so dark as to encourage people to adjust their TV settings to see what’s happening. They hear footsteps, expecting to run into the White Walkers, but instead, it’s Dolorous Edd (Ben Crompton) in what is our last moment of happiness for this episode. Edd leads him to the remains of the Umber boy.

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The child has been nailed to the wall, surrounded by limbs most fucked-up version of a mandala ever. It’s a message from the Night King, who clearly doesn’t know about the existence of emojis. He awakens as a wight and they set him alight, emitting a scream that I’ll be hearing in my nightmares tonight and probably forever.

“Winterfell” is a fitting return for the series, remaining true to its narrative core while providing so many emotionally satisfying reunions (Arya and Jon! Sam and Jon! Arya and the Hound!) that its punches to the gut aren’t quite as bruising. Director David Nutter has previously helmed six episodes of the show, including the Red Wedding in “The Rains of Castamere,” but he hasn’t directed an episode since 2015’s “Mother’s Mercy.” In addition to the season premiere, he directs two more episodes this year, aka half of the final season. Here, he moves things along smoothly and quickly, but there’s still time for more laughs than are contained in most episodes. This is one of the funnier episodes of “Game of Thrones,” but we know that joy can’t last long with only five episodes left to go.

Here’s the preview for next week’s episode, as well as the Inside the Episode of ‘Winterfell’: