The army of Daenerys Targaryen has arrived at Winterfell to prepare for the battle against the army of the dead. The poor Unsullied & Dothraki must be frozen. Missandei and Greyworm are getting odd looks for the colour of their skin. Jon and Daenerys are leading the march and Jon warns her that northerners don't trust outsiders.
Arya is overjoyed to see her stepbrother (or so she thinks) Jon returning home but she'll find him later. They haven't seen each other in 7 years. Then she's awed when Daenerys' dragons fly overhead. The other citizens of Winterfell are terrified, including Sansa who's watching from the battlements. Arya spys Gendry too and raises an eyebrow.
In the courtyard Jon reunites with Bran but instantly realises he's a very different person to the boy he last saw. Sansa gets to meet Daenerys for the first time and is obvious she doesn't trust the blonde stranger in front of her. This isn't lost on Daenerys but then Bran crushes her by telling her that her dead dragon is now an undead ice dragon.
The Bannermen of the Starks are gathered in the great hall. Some are still to turn up such as the Glovers and the Karstarks. The leaders of the Northern families are pissed off with Jon too for leaving his post as King of the North and joining up with a Southern queen. Lil Lyanna Mormont says as much to Jon. She just doesn't give a shit.
Jon says he did what he did to protect the North and Tyrion backs him up. But the lords are disgusted to hear from a Lannister and even more annoyed by the idea of fighting with a Lannister army.
Sansa pipes up with sensible stuff like how on earth are they going to feed their people, the Wildlings, the Unsullied, the Dothraki, two dragons and now the Lannister army. She asks what do dragons eat anyway? Daenerys smug reply shows there's definitely no love lost between them.
All the dragonglass found at Dragonstone has been brought along too and Gendry is in charge of turning it all into weapons. Above it all Tyrion reunites with Sansa, who once was his wife. The last time they saw each other was as Joffrey was dying. She laughs at Tyrion's mention of the Lannister army. She knows well Cersei has played Tyrion for a fool.
Arya and Jon finally reunite. It's a great moment that shows she still has a bit of love in her heart for someone. As they embrace she reminds Jon that while he may fight with Daenerys, he should never forget who his family is. They compare swords too. Needle, that he gave her and his own Valyrian steel one. Both have shed a lot of blood over the years.
In King's Landing Qyburn informs Cersei that the wall has fallen and that the dead are coming. She's delighted as she's just hired the best mercenary army in the world, the Golden company, to clean up after the great war.
Euron Greyjoy's ships have brought the mercs here and aboard the lead ship Euron is holding Yara Greyjoy hostage. He won't kill her as he's using her as bait to draw out Theon. He doesn't harm her but he gloats about the success in his future to her, especially his "romantic" plans for Cersei.
As a thank you to him Cersei sleeps with him. She's disgusted with herself but she always keeps her promises. Euron's plans are falling into place. In the word of Westoros even the most powerful women are treated like whores.
Elsewhere in King's Landing Bronn is partaking in a little orgy *Gratuitous nudity klaxon* when he's interrupted by Qyburn. Cersei will forgive Bronn if he does a job for her. She wants him to kill Jaime and Tyrion. He's torn. His two oldest buddies. But he is a mercenary at heart. Hmmmmm.
While Euron is entertaining Cersei and promising to put a prince in her belly, Theon and a small gang of loyal Ironborn sneak onboard Euron's ship, kill the guards and rescue Yara. As a thank you Yara headbutts Theon for leaving her in the first place but she eventually leaves with him. That was way too easy.
Her plan is to sail to the Iron Island's, take them back and use them as a base of retreat for Daenerys if the great war is lost. Theon though has other plans. His heart is with the Stark's in Winterfell and he leaves with a small army to help out up there. Him and Yara part on peaceful terms.
More and more people arrive at Winterfell, including the Karstarks who once sided with Ramsay Bolton. Ser Davos tells Varys and Tyrion that it will take a lot for the Northerners to warm to Daenerys. Davos proposes that Jon and Daenerys should marry. This would help people trust her more.
Jon and his queen as very much in love now. She tells Jon she knows Sansa doesn't like her and makes a veiled threat towards her. Daenerys is being fierce arrogant here. She's not giving anyone any time to learn to trust her. I'm not a fan of this side of the Dragon Queen.
Then before Jon can think too much into that her and him go for a dragon flight. It's his first time flying atop a dragon and it is an excellent scene, pure exhilarating. From above we get a whole new view of the snowy North.
This is the show at it's most jawdropping. It's pure high fantasy. Two lovers exploring the world on the back of mythical beasts. Plus we get to see just how big the dragons really are. The two look like legomen on their backs.
They land at a waterfall and Jon and Daenerys have a lil smooch. All under the watchful eye of her dragon Drogon. Her scaly children are very protective of her and poor Jon can't even enjoy his kiss. A very funny moment.
In the foundry Gendry has created a massive Dragonglass axe for the Hound. Despite it's quality the Hound still feels the need to have a dig at Gendry. It's just in his nature. Arya soon quietens him. They haven't seen each other since she left him to die after the battle with Brienne. You can tell he's happy to see her despite it all.
She's here for Gendry though. She always had a crush on him and now that she's 18 I think he might have a bit of a one on her too. She asks him to make her a dragonglass weapon too. She has no intention of hiding out when the dead arrive.
Jon and Sansa are still at odds with each other. She's pissed off he left and abandoned his crown. When that happened some families dropped away from them such as the Glover's, a family who promised to always stick by their side. For once Jon's right though. He needed to go South and get help. Sansa hasn't seen whats coming. He has and it's genuinely terrifying. Titles and crowns do not matter. The Game Of Thrones does not matter.
Daenerys and Jorah go to meet Sam so she can thank him for saving Jorah's life. She promises him a reward and he asks for a pardon for stealing citadel books. Then she finds out his surname and realises she executed both his father and brother. Sam's heart breaks when he finds out. It's a horrible moment.
Outside an upset Sam meets Bran who informs him that they have to tell Jon that he's a Targaryen. Sam is his most trusted friend so the duty falls on him to tell Jon his whole life has been a lie. Obviously he's delighted with this duty.....
Jon is overjoyed to see his oldest friend. Sam asks him did he know what Daenerys did but Jon genuinely didn't know. In his grief he blurts out to Jon what him and Bran know. An awful lot of information pours out of him.
Jon's head explodes as he realises just how important he is, how Ned Stark wasn't his father, how he wasn't a bastard and....fuck....how he's been riding his aunt. Eek. Sam tells him he needs to be the one in charge. He's far more suited to the job than Daenerys and her...ehrm......spicy temperament. Jon Snow aka Aegon Targaryen is a torn fella.
A group of Night's watchmen led by Tormund (Woohoo he survived!) enter Castle Umber. Beric Dondarrion is there too. They discover a massacre. There's no one left alive. But they aren't the only ones there.
Thankfully it's another group of Night's watch led by Jon's friend Edd. Banding together they discover a ghastly sight. A pattern of severed limbs nailed to a wall with a dead young Lord Umber crucified in the middle. Only he's not dead. He's undead and screaming. He's set ablaze as Tormund realises just how near the undead are to Winterfell.
Meanwhile a hooded stranger arrives at Winterfell. It's Jaime Lannister after a long ride up from King's Landing. It's been a long time since he was here. As he dismounts he's pleased to have arrived but the first person he spots is Bran Stark.
Bran Stark, the boy who caught him doing the nasty with his sister and who he paralysed by throwing him from a tower. Bran being the Three Eyed Raven knows just who Jaime is and what's going through his mind. The smile rapidly fades from Jaime's face.
That was an excellent season opener. Worth waiting 2 years for. So many reunions. Jon and Bran. Arya and Jon. Arya and the Hound. Sansa and Tyrion. Jorah and Sam. Sam and Jon. Arya and Gendry. Loads of goodness. It's horrible too. We're getting reminded of how much we love them before the dead arrive and inevitably kill a fuckton of them. Waaahhh.
Next up - A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms
Series 1 - 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10
Series 2 - 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10
Series 3 - 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10
Series 4 - 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10
Series 5 - 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10
Series 6 - 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10
Series 7 - 1 2 3 4 5 6 7
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