8x01 Review Thread (Spoilers)

well wtf was the episode called?

anyways i thought it was dope.

daenerys arrival at winterfell went as expected. sansa is a little frosty but i'm sure that will sort itself out.

jon and arya

"i wanted those elephants"

they definitely laid the groundwork for euron betraying cersei, i think

theon rescuing yara

THAT NED UMBER SCENE. that was some quality horror right there.

jon and dany riding dragons and then making out was cute or whatever.

also sam seemed kind of spiteful telling jon he was a targaryen. i will be interested in seeing that play out.

nicolaj's acting in those last moments was amazing

Bran acting like a drama queen waiting until Jaime arrives gave me life

I had to wait until after I watched Veep to collect my thoughts. I just finished watching the ep a second time. 

LIKES
Arya and Jon reunion
Bran and Jon reunion. Still salty about Bran not getting to emote but I liked that he essentially went "ain't nobody got time for that."
Arya and Gendry
Tyrion and Sansa sharing a scene, I was wondering how that would go.
Sam finding out about his dad and brother. That was so well acted by John Bradley
The Umber kid dying was legitimately the creepiest thing I've ever seen them do.
I'm glad they got Theon rescuing Yara over with because I was dreading the time spent on it.
Bran sitting in the courtyard for days just to stare down Jaime...LOL

DISLIKES
Jonerys is still cringy, though I admit I laughed at the dragons staring...hated myself afterwards, but laughed.
No Ghost
Fuck Lord Glover
Fuck Euron

You know he did.

I feel like Bran is using his powers to find the perfect spot to stare at random characters and spook them

Great episode.

Love the new intro. Good way of filling out the whole theme song without jumping all over the place.

Given how ruthless these first episodes can be, I was absolutely expecting Bronn to get killed off. I guess this subplot is a way to keep Jerome Flynn on the show whilst also keeping him very far away from Lena.

The Last Hearth scene... I'd say I'm relieved that nobody too important died, but that was still so disturbing.

Greyjoy stuff was quite underwhelming but at least they didn't drag out the rescue over the whole season.

I'm also getting a little worried that Cersei is gonna get killed by Euron, especially now he's gotten what he wants. Hopefully just a betrayal and not anything more.

I'm glad that Dany told Sam about his family and didn't try to keep it a secret or anything. Great acting from John Bradley there. Hopefully there'll be more to that - particularly if Jon still decides to support her.

In fact all the scenes in Winterfell were wonderful. Plenty reunions checked off the list and still a few more to go! Jaime especially has a few people to meet. Slightly annoyed they kept the proper Bran chat for next episode, but it was a good way to end the episode.

But no elephants? 0/10 worst episode ever.

It's funny as hell to think Bran probably sat out there for days waiting to stare down Jaime. I still hate that they've taken all his emotions away from him, but at least they left a little messy bitch in there.

The Night King leaving a message with the Umber kid is fascinating and I don't even know where to begin with understanding what it means.

I love the new titles, wow incredible detail since there are only two locations now. How the blue tiles have reached the Umbers, representing winter. I assume the blue tiles will head towards winterfell and it will change in the coming episodes. I love all the interiors especially the iron throne and winterfell crypts. What is interesting is how they've updated the bands around the sun (i assume its a sun) to retell the recent history, if you pause about halfway through it shows the lion imprisoning and hanging the wolf with arrows through it and the Bolton flayed man holding the Wolf's head. Then, at the end it focuses on the Targaryen dragon before showing the main house sigils, the lion, wolf, dragon and stag, all of whom are somewhat still standing (even though it's only Gendry).

It's heartwarming to see the Starks all reunited as well as many other characters. The parallels between episode 1 were clear and well done. I like the slight uncertain look the northerners gave Missandei and Greyworm - a look that says i've never seen anyone that looked like you. The wonder in Arya as she saw the dragons was great, been waiting for that look for a while i always knew she'd been dying to see a dragon.

The great hall was interesting, it's almost as if as soon as Sansa is intimidated by another woman she goes into protective mode and sneers a bit. That's not to say her points aren't valid, they are, and she is definitely suited to Lady of Winterfell and trying to make all the preparations and finding solutions. I found her conversation with Tyrion amusing, perhaps Tyrion is a shell of what he used to be, but she is right they are making him seem really dumb and naive. Maybe he holds Cersei's word too strongly and is relying on her maternal urges (which i'll admit are very strong and is what redeems her character). You can see Tyrion is a bit hurt still by Sansa fleeing him during the wedding. That scene really showed Sansa's maturity as a character however i just hope she doesn't get too cocky.

Arya and Jon reunion talking about needles and swords. Arya defending Sansa was interesting and reassuring Jon he is family is essential to the events that unfolded later. The Arya/Hound/ Gendry scene was cute and was exactly what i'd expect from all of them. You won't get any heartwarming reunions with the Hound, in fact it was almost heartwarming for him I do wonder what Arya is getting Gendry to make, a dagger, arrow?... definitely flirtations happening there! (i've always shipped those two).

I absolutely hate how they put a good-looking man with blonde hair as the front of the golden company, somehow i think it's a slap in the face for missing the whole Aegon plot. I only miss that plot for Varys because i think his whole story is a bit redundant now (even though they tried to address it in season 7).
Did Cersei sleep with Euron because:
a) She wanted to protect her baby and say it's Eurons if Jaime dies
b) She wanted Euron
c) She was disappointed she couldn't touch herself to the idea of elephants trampling Tyrion

I actually liked the scene between Theon and Yara, Theon taking on board Jon's words "You are a Greyjoy and a Stark" - words Jon will have to understand soon.

Varys must be regretting his bald hairstyle in winter. Davos suggesting marriage makes sense. Tyrion realising he's in the 'Old wise men club' is hilarious.

Dany is going to have to deal with people not respecting her immediately. I found the dragon ride corny, it was like watching Aladdin and Jasmine on the magic carpet ride but without the music accompaniment. Also i think Emilia has gotten the hang of the greenscreen-mechanical-bull-dragon as Kit looked a bit awkward. Jon is riding Rhaegal right? Because it would be fitting...Viserys was always an anus and so is on the dead side now. It's nice to see Dany with someone she deems equal to her, and now her dragons accept Jon it's a done deal. I don't hate them together (despite being Aunt and nephew) as i think they suit each other quite well.

Sansa seeing through Jon's intentions "Did you bend the knee to save the North or because you love her?". Jon is correct in saying titles don't matter anymore, I think Sansa will realise this when she sees the army of the dead.

I think the scene with Sam and Dany was good. Dany needs to learn that the brutality she adopted from her time in Essos is not the way to win Westeros, and perhaps she is thinking she should have listened to Tyrion. The only thing is - why would Sam shed so many tears over the death of his father? Someone who gave him two options; go to the wall or i'll hunt you?! I'm assuming he is more upset over the death of his brother who seemed a decent guy. I think his reaction was a bit overboard (possible worry over his mother and sister?).
Sam and Jon reuniting was sweet. I do wish it was Bran who delivered the news but i guess he isn't Bran anymore. Jon just looked so bloody confused lol. Sam's line "You gave up the crown to save your people, would she do the same?" is interesting, i don't think Dany would. Both of them, Jon and Dany have earned their place but you could say the same for Sansa. Sansa was willing to give up the title of Lady of Winterfell to Bran, but she knew she would have been Lady anyway so it had no meaning to it. Why would Dany give up her crown...for some inheritance issue and for a crown that Jon doesn't even want - how would this news change him - make him more entitled? This is how Dany has staked her claim the entire time when she didn't need to, she dominated using her dragons and army who cares about inheritance and entitlements anymore.

Favourite scene was definitely the Exorcism of Ned Umber, genuinely creepy and great cinematography. I also love Tormund and Edd so great character interactions. I wonder what those symbols mean, i've been curious about this for ages and i hope we get some answers from Bran. Perhaps it's the communication/language symbols of the White Walkers. The symbol does look like the targaryen symbol (i agree) the scene could also symbolise, take out the centre command (night king) and all the branches (arms) will also perish.