Was that the most gruesome moment ever? Has Tyrion become ‘a paperweight’? And was this opener just fan-fiction? Here are your reviews of the final season premiere
Warning: this article contains spoilers
‘Note perfect’
Note perfect, I thought; an episode in stark hues. I shivered at the shadows in Cersei’s throne room – a brief glimpse of her misery at what she’s lost. Bran too is cold, seeing through all petty motivations and secrets like a medieval Professor X. The Night King is leaving those symbols for a reason. He wants something. What’s his motive: to freeze the world and fill it with the undead?
There’s more to it than that; perhaps Sam (with his few stolen books) will discover it. The tensions among the living will not be resolved except through death. This is a theme of the entire series: even when the danger is obvious, there will be those who have an eye to the future rather than putting all their energies into defeating the danger. It is those characters, I hope, who will realise their error as they die. Simon M Hunter, 50, teacher, China
‘Little dead Ned was seriously creepy’
It felt like a big crowd-pleasing piece of fan fiction. I don’t mean that sneeringly – it was an episode of reunions. I loved the Jon/Arya reunion and Arya’s loyalty to her sister. I liked Theon saving Yara meaning that a boring, ridiculous Euron/ Yara plot was avoided. I thought little dead Ned was seriously creepy. I liked how Sam’s anger informed the way he told all to Jon. The teenage girl in me loves Jon and Dany, inconvenient incest aside. I’d have rather had an unshowy but emotionally satisfying clandestine meet-up than the dragon race, that looked great but felt like HBO flashing the budget. It felt off after the end of last season and I worry they’re creating artificial conflict and writing it as ‘mad queen’ v ‘rightful king’ like they did with the Starks last year. Jane, solicitor, London
‘Tyrion has just become a bit of a paperweight’
Is Jon really the rightful king? When joining the Night’s Watch you give up all claim to land and titles so ... But then he did die and come back, which ended his watch. Does that reinstate his claim? I’d hate to be the lawyer that has to figure all that out. It’s all academic though, Jon doesn’t want to be king and I think it’ll all be solved by next episode. The big disappointment over the last season and this episode is that Tyrion has just become a bit of a paperweight. When even Sansa is just there like: “Wtf are you on about you fool,” you know you’ve got problems. Shame to see where his character has ended up. All in all an okay episode. Almost disappointing really considering there’s so few left and this one didn’t really do much new, but kinda just put everything where we knew it was going. Cropolite
‘Loved it but I was always going to’
Loved it, but then again I was always going to. The last moment was excellent, and I really enjoyed the sheer volume of awkwardness they managed to wring out of many of the reunions. The Night King’s patterns and symbols have been a part of the show since the very first scene. We saw them again at the Fist of the First Men with the horses’ heads, and were reminded of them last year at the dragonglass caves with Jon and Dany. It’s just how they roll. sarahfin
‘Jaime and Bran. Enough said’
It did not break as much ground as I expected. Did the long wait and the hype raise our expectations as big as the Wall? I think so. The opening scene was well set. However as it progressed it sometimes fell flat. Cersei was wonderfully cunning as usual. Daenerys seems to be having opposition from all sides. Poor Tyrion seemed to be at a loss for words while Sansa has certainly learned a lot. Arya and Gendry seemed to be forced into flirting. And the Night King did all of that? Seems to be a waste of time when you have a dragon and a huge army of the dead with you. Still the episode as a whole feels like a prelude to something bigger, better and horrifying. Oh. And the end. Jaime and Bran. Enough said. Abraham Eapen John, 27, doctor, India
‘Game of Thrones is at its best when characters are talking in rooms’
I loved it. As much as Game of Thrones has become about the spectacle, the budget and enormous battles, when it is at its best is when characters are talking in rooms. It’s the political positioning and standoffs that made me fall in love with the show in the first place. Well, this episode had plenty of talking (and other things, Cersei).
It was always going to be a difficult episode; the expectation and hype for this season, the necessity to pull off huge emotional moments that fans have been waiting for without simply giving them lip service – I think they surpassed these and more (that look between Bran and Jaime). All I can think is that final art installation by the Night King is a reminder that a lot of characters that we’ve invested time to care about are going to die in a very short space of time. Jonny, 30, teacher, Manchester
‘Bran was oh-so-untactful and hilarious’
It was an OK episode. I wasn’t expecting greatness, as a lot of it was always going to be all the inevitable reunions and getting all the characters where they needed to be. What if it wasn’t Cersei who ordered Bronn to kill the Brothers Lannister? What if it was Qyburn acting of his own volition, doing ‘what needed to be done’ as he suspected Cersei wouldn’t want Jaime dead? Can’t take credit for this as it was my partner’s suggestion, but to me it would make a lot of sense. And if Bronn succeeds in killing Jaime, and Cersei were to find out Qyburn was behind it ... buh-bye, Maester Frankenstein.
The dragon riding scene was fun, if a little silly, but I love seeing the dragons at any opportunity. I was kind of expecting them to see the army of the dead/Night King during their flight and was a bit surprised/disappointed they didn’t. Bran with his oh-so-tactful “BTW YOUR DRAGON IS A WIGHT NOW SOZ” was hilarious. Though I felt that moment didn’t do the reveal of undead Viserion justice – I guess they are saving that for when he turns up. And that little boy, undead and on fire and screaming. Seven hells. I will never sleep again. Tormund’s line cracked me up though: “I’ve always had blue eyes!” malevoisine
‘No one is going to have a happy ending’
Fantastic start to this series. Loved the Stark reunions and the rest – Arya/Gendry/The Hound, Sansa and Tyrion and that wonderful Jaime/Bran ending. You gotta love The North too though – I so want Drogon to slap them all with one swish of his tail. The Dead are on their way, Jon did what he had to do to give the Northerners a fighting chance and they’re all utterly ungrateful, throwing so much shade Jon and Danny’s way. They all needed to have seen that poor Umber boy! Sam’s scenes stood out for me – a great way to set up telling Jon the truth about his lineage and just how much of a difference a more benevolent King he is to Danny’s uncompromising Queen.
I like how the Greyjoy stories were set up and wrapped up too. Theon choosing to go to (and dying at?) Winterfell seemed inevitable. Looks like Yara will defeat Euron to set up a safe space [on the Iron Islands] after the Winterfell battle, maybe. Cersei sending Bronn to kill her brothers – as ever she’s got her priorities right! Oh yeah, she’s so very dead! No one is going to have a happy ending (maybe Sam and Gilly) but a few will have their redemption. Great to see Edd join up with Tormund (I’ve always had blue eyes) and Beric. Also – I love the dragons but where is Ghost? So much to delve into and only five episodes left! Can’t wait. Jennifer, 49, librarian assistant, Cambridge
‘A really weak episode’
A really weak episode all in all. Attempts at humour were forced and a lot of the dialogue early in the episode felt really awkward. Got better nearer to the end where there were juicier bits involving Jon’s parents, the scene with Dany and Sam, the White Walker screaming kid thing and then the Jaime/Bran face-off. A pretty bad episode with some interesting bits at the end to set up the main parts of this season. Luke, 20, student, Newcastle
‘The most gruesome and chilling scene of the show’
It was pretty much what I expected. A slow starter that gave us a bit of time to remember where everyone is and what they are up to, while also shining some light on past rivalries (the Hound and Arya, Bran and Jaime). I was weirdly tense throughout the whole episode. Overall I enjoyed it. I’m glad they went a more subtle route of telling us the Night King and his army are marching south – though the symbolic death of the Umber kid was up there with some of the most gruesome and chilling scenes of the show. Nods to religion will always creep me out. Jamie Sugrue, 24, student, Dublin, Ireland
‘The dragon ride felt very Aladdin’
I loved it. A lot of the criticisms levelled at season 7 were to do with the pacing being ramped up to 11. This felt a bit more steady and measured, while still managing to have four or five ‘big’ moments in it. I’m glad that Jon knows about his lineage this early in the season, which sets up the conflicts of interest nicely for the rest of the season. My only criticism would be that the dragon ride felt very Aladdin and corny. Hopefully now that he knows he’s banged his aunt this won’t be a regular occurrence (you never know with this show though). Special shoutout to Samwell Tarly (well, John Bradley) for being able to perfectly convey fury, grief, and respect all in one go. However with no major characters dying, it’s hard to shake the feeling that the next episode is due to dispense of a much-loved character or five. Also, Ned Umber. Ned Bloody Umber. Ben, 31, digital advertising freelancer, Manchester
The Guardian
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