Game of Thrones is back. Following nearly two years without new GoT episodes on our screens, our favorite characters are back and they’re ready for the showdown of the century.
The first episode involved several long-awaited reunions, a number of scenes that echoed the first ever episode of the show, and one huge mistake. People can’t believe that the show made such an obvious mistake… unless it had some sort of special significance? It usually does, but we think that this one was probably just an error. The question is, did you spot it?
(If you haven’t seen the first episode yet then, firstly, what have you been doing? – go watch it now! – but also, beware. This article contains spoilers, as does nearly every webpage out there, so we can only repeat, go watch it now!)
A lot of people tuned in for the first episode.
The season eight premiere attracted over seventeen million people in the USA, and nearly four million more in the UK. Last year’s premiere attracted ten million viewers in the US, and sixteen million five hundred thousand for the finale, so we can expect those numbers to just keep rising!
It also showed a big increase in the number of people streaming the show, with 50% of US viewers choosing to stream the episode.
We saw a lot of reunions.
After seven seasons of building tensions and relationships across the seven kingdoms and beyond, the finale was always going to involve a number of reunions.
As the living have to group together to take on the dead, more people are reuniting than we could ever have expected. Which reunion were you the most excited for?
The unhappily wedded couple met again.
For the first time since the day of Joffrey’s wedding, and death, Sansa and Tyrion met each other once again.
Sansa’s prompt departure from the wedding had helped to fuel the rumor that Tyrion was involved in Joffrey’s death, which obviously left him in a sticky situation, but it looks like the two of them were still able to get on well enough.
The two brothers are back together.
Following the accusation that Tyrion murdered his nephew, it was his brother, Jamie, who helped Tyrion to escape. Although let’s not forget that, first, Tyrion murdered their father with a cross-bow… That’s important for future episodes.
Both brothers have developed drastically since the first season of incest and “whore mongering,” and it seems like they are going to get on better than ever.
Jamie will be forced to face some home truths.
The last time that Jamie Lannister visited Winterfell, he was busy having sex with his sister and pushing young Bran Stark out of a high window. It seems fitting that Bran is the first person that Jamie sees upon his return.
Jamie has changed a lot since those days, but not as much as Bran. Not only is Bran now in a wheel-chair, courtesy of Jamie, but he’s also the three-eyed raven.
There was a meeting of knowledgeable minds, too.
The last time that Bran and Samwell Tarly met, they realized, together, that Jon Snow was actually the legitimate son of Lyanna Stark and Rhaegar Targaryen, making him the true heir to the iron throne.
They decided that it was super urgent that Jon should find out his past, but he went away on a dragon-stone mission. This time, they are going to make sure he finds out.
Jon is not the only secret Targaryen.
This is a bit complicated, so it can be hard to keep up. Daenerys’ father, Aerys Targaryen II, was the cousin of Robert Baratheon’s father. This means that Robert’s bastard son, Gendry, is actually part-Targaryen too.
However, the storyline around Gendry that people really care about is how he gets on with Arya. She helped him to escape in the past and he is one of the few people who hasn’t tried to use her position. As everyone converges, and after that scene in Sunday’s episode, the audience is sure to be excited to see what happens between them next.
It’s time for a full Stark reunion.
Jon and Arya got on better than any of the other siblings. He gave her Needle, her sword, and in a lot of ways, they seemed more similar than the rest of the siblings, despite not actually being siblings.
The moment of their reunion on screen seemed incredibly unlikely at various points in the show, and it was very long awaited.
And it didn’t disappoint, although neither shared many details about what they’ve actually been doing.
Jon needed to know who he is.
Jon Snow and Samwell Tarly struck up a somewhat unlikely friendship at the Night’s Watch, built, mostly, on the two of them being outcasts, but honorable outcasts.
They have not seen each other since the end of season five, when Sam left for the Citadel and the Night’s Watch betrayed and killed Jon. They have both grown up since then, but crucially, Sam discovered that Jon is a Targaryen.
Jon Snow gets some family time.
Jon and Daenerys don’t exactly reunite, as they had been spending a lot of time together recently, but they do go on a jaunt on the back of Daenerys’ dragons. Being allowed to touch the dragons is a sign of the dragon blood in Jon’s veins, but Jon and Daenerys don’t realize yet.
You can be sure that the discovery that they are related is going to have some mega big complications, although whether it will relate to the incest, or to the iron throne, remains to be seen.
In the meantime, did you notice the mistake that took place around this storyline? Keep scrolling to see what it was!
Things are heating up down South.
Winter may be coming, but the snow hasn’t reached the southerners in King’s Landing just yet. Instead, Cersei has gone back on her promise to help the living and is engaging with paid mercenaries to help her keep the iron throne.
She is also getting help from some of the iron-born under Euron Greyjoy’s rule. He is one of Cersei’s only allies so, naturally, she decided to have sex with him.
There are still more people to meet.
It’s such a huge cast with such complex relationships that we still haven’t seen the end of the reunions. Brienne of Tarth was spotted in the crowds but hasn’t yet seen Jamie. Theon Greyjoy told his sister that he wanted to defend the Starks at Winterfell, where he hasn’t been since he pretended to murder Bran and Rickon. Not to mention the Hound, Varys, Davos, Tormund, Jorah, and worryingly, Bronn.
But with all these reunions, did you notice the echoes of the very first episode that resonated throughout this one?
The focus has shifted back to Winterfell.
The Starks have always felt like a close family, yet they all parted ways at the start of episode two of the first season. This is the first time that the remaining Starks have been together since Jon left for the Night’s Watch.
It feels good to have everyone back home again, even if it will only be a brief stay.
Winter is here.
The first episode was called “Winter is Coming.” The white walkers were spied for the first time north of the wall, and instead of dealing with the promised threat, internal politics took precedence.
Now, winter has arrived at Winterfell, and the living have realized that they need to work together to beat the threat. Sort of like how we should put party politics aside to concentrate on climate change…
The Stark children are all grown-up.
The very first episode saw the Baratheon/Lannister clan arrive to court Ned Stark into helping them with the claim to the throne. The arrival of the soldiers was watched in awe by Arya and Bran, who ran to try and get better viewpoints of the arriving soldiers.
This premiere began similarly, but Arya and Bran have grown-up now. They were standing with the adults while much younger children ran to watch.
The Lannisters haven’t achieved what they thought they would.
Last time the Southerners went to the North, Jamie Lannister was surrounded by family and soldiers. This time, he arrived alone. He has decided to leave his family and stand-up for what’s right.
It seems fitting that Bran should be the first person that he sees, although it’s pretty uncomfortable to see the changes that have been wrought as a result of his actions.
Incest is still fashionable in GoT.
Incest has been a strong theme throughout GoT. Jamie and Cersei had three children together, and Joffrey was decidedly mad. Cersei also slept with her cousin, Lancel Lannister. Theon Greyjoy tried to have sex with his sister, Yara, when he first met her, albeit, he didn’t know that that would be incest at the time. And, of course, there have always been rumors of incest amongst the Targaryens.
But whereas before it was the evil siblings who were committing incest at Winterfell, now it is our beloved Jon Snow and Daenerys Targaryen. Is this a sign of what lies ahead of them?
Winterfell is yours.
Sansa seems very unimpressed with the arrival of Daenerys as she does her best to defend her people and her home. Nevertheless, she actually uses the exact same line to greet her as Nedd used when he greeted Robert Baratheon back in the very first episode:
“Winterfell is yours, my grace.”
Does this mean that Daenerys is going to meet the same end that Robert did? Is it Sansa’s way of showing that she is the better woman? Or was it just the polite thing to say?
There are some strong parallels between Jon Snow and Nedd Stark.
The first episode of GoT showed Nedd Stark to be an incredibly honorable and righteous man, father and leader. Jon Snow is certainly shaping up to be the same, putting aside all politics in order to best look after the people.
Similarly to Nedd, Jon is finding himself spending a lot of time in the crypt, looking for answers. Could this be a sign that Jon is going to be too trusting and bring about his own demise? Or will he learn from Nedd’s mistakes?
There was a mistake in the very first episode.
The similarities don’t end there. In the very first episode of GoT, an extra was spotted in a rain jacket, jeans, and boots. He most definitely wasn’t supposed to be in the shot. And, now, it seems that there has been a similar kind of error in the first episode of the final season, too.
Did you spot it?
What do you think of Daenerys’ hair?
Daenerys arrived at Winterfell with thousands of her troops, and it made quite a spectacle, but that’s not what has got everyone talking.
Instead, people are talking about her hair of all things.
Everything is symbolic in GoT, even the hair braids.
In the first season, Daenerys told her brother, Viserys, that braids are symbolic in Dothraki culture. The number of braids relates to the number of victories that have been achieved.
But in this season premiere, there was something not quite right about Daenerys’ braids. Did you notice?
Hands up who noticed this mistake?
One eagle-eyed Twitter-user pointed out that the number of Daenerys’ braids that changed from one moment to the next.
How could the producers miss this?
Has this spoiled the show for you?
Okay, so it is annoying, but surely it’s not enough to ruin a whole episode?
On the other hand, it is going to be hard not to check Daenerys’ hair constantly after this.
It resonates with everyone who has ever had long hair.
Perhaps one of the least believable aspects of the whole fantasy series is that Daenerys goes through battles and dragon rides without touching her hair once. Not once.
There is the odd suggestion that in Westeros, the women just have incredible hair at all times, while the men get scruffier with each season. This Twitter-user is right, maybe she just fixed it quickly.
The mother of dragons deserves the best.
It’s very difficult to tell the difference between Rhaegar and Viserys Targaryen; they look incredibly similar and, in particular, they seem to have the same hair.
But there is no mistaking Daenerys, regardless of what’s going on with her hair.
Some people think that Missandei helped Daenerys out.
Missandei is always there for Daenerys and often helps her with social faux pas, albeit they are usually language-based.
This fan reckons that it was Missandei who helped her touch up her hair to include more victories. This is the sort of thing that best friends are there for, so it’s not implausible.
Daenerys seems a little different than before.
Daenerys Stormborn is the breaker of chains. Her main selling point has been that she is a champion of social justice and wishes to be a fair ruler. Yet her time in the North so far has made her look harsh, dogmatic and violent.
Is this a temporary blip, or is it the start of Daenerys going down the same route as her father?
Maybe the change in hair was a sign.
This is an episode that hugely echoed the first ever episode. It had people doing witty one-lines referencing previous events left, right, and center. The show has been planned meticulously, with huge story arcs that come together seemingly out of nowhere.
Although it might seem unlikely, we have to all agree that it is possible that something happened here that we were supposed to catch. But it does seem unlikely…
Does the hair change matter?
Having watched seven seasons of GoT, we all have a sneaky suspicion that we know what’s going to happen next. It seems incredibly unlikely that all of our favorite characters, who have somehow pulled through to this point, are going to make it out alive.
The question is, who is going to survive? And who will end up on the iron throne?