Welcome to “Winterfell,” Game of Thrones‘ equivalent of Star Wars: The Force Awakens, given the number of direct echoes, call-backs, and associations with the 2011 pilot “Winter Is Coming.”
Overall, a solid return to Westeros: satisfyingly speedy continuations to the remaining plots matched by show’s less-than-subtle dialogue and messy character motivations.
The first dialogue between Tyrion and Varys is about balls, which lines up with what I wrote in my piece on the season 7 finale “The Dragon and the Wolf.”
I have complicated feelings about the creators David Benioff & Dan Weiss’ reductive approach to George R.R. Martin’s story, as many book readers do, but this episode showed what they do well: blunt plot development and reunions.
Jon and Dany arrive in the North. Arya reunites with Jon, the Hound and Gendry in succession. Tyrion reunites with Sansa. Hell, everybody reunites. Some go not so great. Jorah and Sam see each other again and Dany tells him about his family’s execution and Sansa and Dany get off to a frosty start. Then Bran freaks everyone out with news of the Wall’s collapse and the Night King’s undead dragon.
Jon’s peeps are not super happy he traded away his crown for Dany’s armies so Tyrion has to stand up for him. Not sure why a Lannister could vouch in the North of all places but Tyrion needs to do something goddamnit, even if it gets him ridiculed in and out of universe.
Speaking of Tyrion, he’s still technically married to Sansa. It doesn’t come up during their conversation but an asexual partnership between the two could be an appropriate endgame for them, within the confines of Westerosi culture. She rightly sees his faith in Cersei’s support is badly misplaced.
The other Queen in Westeros oversees Euron’s return with the Golden Company. Villain that she is, she is pleased when Qyburn brings word of the Wall’s destruction.
She is not so pleased at the Company’s lack of elephants. I for one truly feel for Cersei in this moment. For shame. Either it was a shot across the bow at HBO’s elephant-less budget or this is a setup for a reversal.
She is fascinated by and surrounds herself with monsters, which Qyburn, the Mountain and Euron certainly are. Likewise, under her rule, King’s Landing has become an island of misfit plots, with some moments echoing book moments, even now.
Euron wins her over with overwhelming arrogance and refuges in audacity. When conversing with his captive Yara, he’s oddly reflective when he laments he captains a crew of mutes . When she correctly tells him Cersei is toast, he seems even more oddly at ease with it and without much of an endgame, other than banging Cersei.
Which he does. So now what?
I have my own pet theory for what’s going on with Euron that involves the Faceless Men. Anywho, while he’s off doing his random thing, Theon rescues Yara who responds with a headbutt and a hug. I’ve always had a soft spot for Theon, so his success against his uncle and subsequent deployment North to defend the Starks moved me.
Other King’s Landing happenings: Qyburn hires Bronn to kill Jaime & Tyrion. My reaction: what? I guess the idea is this is the ultimate test of Bronn’s amoral selfishness. “Oh no he has to kill the two people he’s come to respect. Will he do it?” The Bronn of the books would. Bronn of the show? Too soft.
Back in the North, Jon rides Rhaegel which kinda comes out of nowhere, particularly prior to Jon or Dany knowing he’s a Targaryen. I suppose the show doesn’t give a shit, but Targaryen’s mastery of dragons was supposed to be blood-related and not something anyone could simply jump on and do without training or preparation.
Meanwhile, Beric, Tormund, and the surviving wildlings encounter Dolorous Edd and the remaining Night’s Watch at the Last Hearth, which has already been destroyed (as seen in the new credits sequence). They resolve to get to Winterfell ahead of the Army of the Dead to warn the Jon and co.
I like that the Night King is an actively malicious force, tormenting and setting traps. One thing I hope the show addresses is the logistics of fighting the undead. Sansa brings it up briefly when she mentions feeding Dany’s massive army during a lean winter. How do you fight an army that lacks traditional weaknesses like exhaustion, communication, and supply lines?
Jorah introduces Sam to Dany and they tell him about her execution of his father and brother, which puts him in the mood to tell Jon about his true parentage and role as heir to the Iron Throne.
I really liked this development, the motivation it gave Sam and the conflict it creates for Jon, who is faced between his growing love for Dany and his claim to the crown of the Seven Kingdoms. Like Varys aptly put it in a fitting dismissal of Davos’ idealistic vision of Jon/Dany rule: “Nothing lasts.”
Throughout the episode, Bran creeps about, being uninteresting unemotional Bran . . . until the end, when its revealed he’s been waiting for Jaime Lannister to arrive. Their reunion is the one I’ve looked forward to the most and it looks like it will be the subject of the early part of the next episode.
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