Game of Thrones Season 8 Episode 1 Winterfell

Game of Thrones (2011-2019)
Season 8 - 6 episodes (2019)

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Created by: David Benioff, D.B. Weiss
Starring: Emilia Clarke, Peter Dinklage, Kit Harington, Sophie Turner, Lena Headey, Maisie Williams, Nikolaj Coster-Waldau,  Gwendoline Christie 

Plot: 
HBO's fantasy drama series adapted from George R.R. Martin's book series A Song of Ice and Fire follows the civil war of kings and usurpers in Westeros who wish to sit on the throne. The ticking clock signaling the end are the undead White Walkers descending from the North. The scale and scope of the story is staggering, fully realized with a large ensemble cast.

This is the final season of the series, though HBO is planning a prequel series.

Review: Episode 1 -Winterfell
At the end of season 7 the White Walkers smashed the wall in the North with the help of an undead dragon. Winter indeed has come and that army is huge.

Jon Snow was revealed to be Aegon Targaryen, the true heir to the throne. That makes Daenerys his aunt and they have started a relationship after he bent the knee to her. Jon being Jon I don't see him rescinding his offer of fealty.

While Cersei agreed to fight the undead with the North and Daenerys' army, that was a bluff. She's also carrying Jamie's child. Jamie plans to ride North despite Cersei's claims of treason.

Sansa and Arya have dispatched Littlefinger, but being in Winterfell they will be one of the first houses to encounter the incoming undead.

Theon seems poised for a redemption arc.

The show has been headed towards a great war since the beginning. Will houses or walker striumph? Will a house prevail or will a few scattered survivors craft a new world out of the rubble?
I have to imagine someone is going to develop a trick to defeat the walkers.

Bran has the knowledge of the world. Will we get answers on how the walkers were first imprisoned and how the world was built? If it was done once, surely it can be done again. Maybe this could usher in an era of peace, but if that's the case I expect a lot of destruction before that point.

What fun is the first episode without predictions? I expect a lot of death this season, thought it may be easier to predict who lives.
Jon, Sansa, Davos, Bron will live. I don't know about Daenerys because she has a lot of loyal followers. Cersei, Jamie, Arya, the Hound the Mountain, Tyrion, Jorah, Euron, will die.

Episode 1
Jon and Daenerys arrive at Winterfell.  Arya hasn't spoken to Jon since season 1 but refrains from calling out. Jon and Arya had the best relationship of the Stark children. She also sees the Hound for the first time since season 4 when she robbed and left him for dead.
The North doesn't much care for Daenerys which makes her all the more satisfied when her dragons scatter the crowd with a flyover. First timers the lot of 'em.
There's a lot of symmetry this episode. Season 1 started with Robert Barantheon and Cersei in a procession to Winterfell. Here we have a different king and queen under different circumstances.

Daenerys and Jon arrive in Winterfell.

Jon and Bran meet for the first time since season 1. Lots of reunions happening, but Bran lets everyone know to dispense with the nonsense. Death is the way. The house leaders of the North meet to firm up their defenses where young Lady Mormont chides Jon for leaving as King of the North and returning without a title and a Queen. Mormont is as fierce as ever.

Bran and Jon meet once again.

You can feel the tension between Sansa and Daenerys. Both are afraid of the other. Sansa's met more than a few powerful women, and all it's done is made her stone cold. Sansa could turn the North against Daenerys and she's also Jon's 'sister.'
Sansa and Tyrion haven't met since Joffrey's wedding where Joffrey died in season 4. Tyrion and Sansa were wed that season as a sick joke. Sansa is the first to question Cercei's claims her army is marching North. Why would Tyrion believe Cersei? Sansa is going to be a force this season. She may very well be the reason they succeed.

Sansa, Jon, Daeneyrs.

Where do loyalties lie? Jon is going to side with Daenerys while Sansa and Arya may end up on the other side. Jon wants to reassure Sansa or possibly placate her. That's not going to be easy. The Stark women are talking family and Jon only thinks he's a Stark.

Arya and Jon.

Cersei has the Golden Army in her port, but that's some awfully fast travel seeing as how the undead haven't advanced very far and Euron just left last episode. It's a creative timeline to say the least. Then again Jon has traveled from King's Landing to Winterfell so what is the undread army doing? Biding their time?
Euron's goals are simplistic... I'm guessing that will be to a fault. He just wants to bed Cersei. While she's not one to honor promises, she does bed Euron. I don't see him lasting long, with Cersei or the show.

Euron, Cersei, and the Mountain.

Cersei wants Bron to kill Tyrion and Jamie, with the family cross bow no less. Bron has perhaps the most fun arc. Starts as a mercenary and earns a title and house. He's still around which may be the most surprising part of his story.

I bet Yara was surprised Theon rescued her. He's proven less than heroic a time or two. Yara plans to take the Iron Islands back from Euron since he's not even there. Theon will fight at Winterfell.

Jon and Daenerys are quite the couple and that's not unnoticed by Davos and Tyrion.
Daenerys and Jon are riding dragons together? What a power couple. She's quite snarky this episode too. But the thing is, only Targaryen's can ride dragons. This is a big clue for everyone and I'm surprised it wasn't mentioned directly. It's all but confirmed he's a Targaryen.

Two dragons, Daeneyrs, and Jon.

The Hound, Gendry, and Arya in one room, how about that. Arya wants Gendry to craft some kind of device or weapon, I'm not sure what it will do. He's making lots of dragon glass weapons, thought I'm not sure there is enough time to make enough. Maybe the undead army will zig and zag before they reach Winterfell.

Sansa isn't happy that Jon abandoned his kingship, and their allies aren't all in line. Sansa again asking the tough questions. Is it strategy or attraction?

Samwell Tarly is told by Daeneyers his father and brother are dead and just to pile on Bran tells him he must tell Jon of his true lineage. It's a crazy arc from bastard son to king of the seven realms. It's a unique hitch in his relationship with Daenerys. As Samwell says, Jon gave up his crown for allies and the hope of peace. Would Daenerys? I'm sure she'll be skeptical, who wouldn't be?
Daeneyrs killed Samwell's father and brother. Sam doesn't seem the type for revenge, but that could be a wrench in the gears in later episodes.

The Night King is leaving some horror movie level messages nailed to the wall. I'm surprised no one died. Tormund and some night watch are going to be racing down the Winterfell to warn everyone of what they already know. The night king is coming.

I didn't expect the Jamie Bran reunion, we're just bringing everyone back together. Jamie pushing Bran out the window when he caught Jamie and Cersei was one of the big events that set this show's plot into motion. Jamie and Bran are very different people eight seasons later.
This season is the chance to put characters together that have never met. I hope we can get that out of the way without it becoming a game of who will meet next.