What I’m Watching: Game of Thrones (Season Premiere)

Game of Thrones: Season 8, Episode 1 “Winterfell” (B+)

I’d wager that this may well have been the most anticipated final season premiere of all time, more exciting even than “Breaking Bad” a few years ago. Though my review is only going up now, I watched it right as it aired on HBO almost two weeks ago now, placing it ahead of the many other episodes of the week I hadn’t yet had the opportunity to see. Though I’ve always found this show to be somewhat dense, I can acknowledge its greatness, and I actually felt that season seven was one of the show’s strongest years to date. This opener was pretty fantastic, uniting all of the surviving Stark family members for the first time in a way that didn’t prove to be a letdown. I remember Arya almost coming face-to-face with her brother Robb and her mother right before they were killed, and it was so satisfying to see her run up to Jon and get to celebrate being with him instead of tragically losing yet another sibling or parent. So much has happened that I had forgotten Sansa and Tyrion even knew each other, let alone were once married. I like just how much Sansa and Daenerys don’t get along, and how hard Jon was trying to get everyone to accept his new queen. I would not have pegged Sam as the one to, at Bran’s encouraging, let Jon in on the major secret that he’s actually his new love’s nephew and the rightful heir to the throne. The undead body left to be discovered was sufficiently disturbing, though the most memorable part of the episode was saved for the very end, as Jaime returned to come face-to-face with the boy he once pushed out a window. I’m so eager to see what comes next.