HBO finally pulled through with the long awaited premiere of the seventh season of “Game of Thrones.” As long as the wait was, what’s the verdict on whether or not it was worth it? In short — absolutely.
First and foremost, major SPOILER ALERT! But for those of you looking for a quick recap of what went down, here’s the deal: first off, the opening scene could not be anymore slow-clap-worthy. Arya Stark pulls another iconic disguise, and with some poisoned wine kills off all (yes, all) of House Frey — all of whom took part in murdering the Stark family a few seasons back. And speaking of the Starks, Bran who’s now the brand new Three-eyed Raven (visions and all) finally makes it to the Night’s Watch, and that much closer to being reunited with his siblings.
Next up, Jon Snow (back from the dead) and Sansa Stark (fresh out of the worst relationship of her life), are back in their rightful place at Winterfell, with Jon ruling as the new King of the North and trying his hardest to prepare his people for the war to come. Jon addresses a crowd, about how they first have to find ‘dragonglass’, the only thing that can be used for weapons to kill the White Walkers. Lucky for him, his old friend Sam, who’s stuck in a grueling day-to-day at the Citadel (where he’s more or less a college student), manages to sneak a restricted book from the library, only to find a map to exactly where a whole underground mountain of that very dragonglass is just waiting to be mined.
And what about the Lannister’s, you ask? Not counting Tyrion, who’s off mentoring the Dragon Queen (we’ll get there), only Cersei and Jaime are left of the clan, after their last living son ended his own life. In a scene at King’s Landing, current queen of the Iron Throne, Cersei gives Jaime a convenient recap of how the Lannister’s have enemies coming from literally every direction, alluding to all the classic “Game of Thrones” bloodshed yet to come.
Last but so far from least, Daenerys, her armada, and of course her dragons, finally end their journey across the Narrow Sea and reach Dragonstone. Walking through her ancestral home, she makes it to the throne room, stands over a huge map and utters the first words she has all episode: “Shall we begin?” And c’mon, we all know it’s so about to begin.
Concluding this recap, here’s a disclaimer: it doesn’t cover it all. But of course it doesn’t, it’s “Game of Thrones” we’re talking about! And a perfect example of the show’s complexity is that Ed Sheeran guest stars. How? No clue, but it’s one of many things in this first episode you just have to watch to appreciate.
Now that this first episode has aired, here’s what rumor says could go down the rest of this season. First off, there’s a massive focus on Jon Snow and whether he’ll end up marrying his cousin who he believes is his half-sister, Sansa (it’s complicated) or whether he’ll get with Daenerys, the Mother of Dragons herself. And of course, there’s the war. It’s still all up in the air as to who will end up allies, and who will eventually take the Iron Throne. But Euron Greyjoy with his new massive naval fleet, and obsession with marrying Cersei, might deal some major damage on the open seas to Daenerys’ army.
Really no one can really know what crazy twists this show is about to deal out. The only thing definite is that “Game of Thrones” is back, the long winter is finally here, and we’ll all just have to take this wonderfully unpredictable show one episode at a time.
