Talk about event television. The eighth and final series of Game Of Thrones began at 2am this morning and proved as dense and rich as the show’s devoted fans could want.
There were stunning dragon flying sequences, a bold rescue, one truly hair-raising late shock and some cracking jokes for Peter Dinklage’s Tyrion.
We’re in the frozen north where winter has finally come, and an uneasy coalition of Starks, Targaryens and Lannisters is slowly gathering to face the army of undead white walkers and their zombie dragon.
Our hero Jon Snow, arriving at Winterfell with new love Daenerys Targaryen, learns more about the true nature of his parentage — the revelation that was imparted to almost 33 million viewers worldwide at the end of season seven. On the assumption that most UK fans will catch up on the first episode tonight, that’s as close as this review will get to a spoiler.
The pace of this episode was necessarily measured as we caught up on half-remembered characters and plot points.
Oh look, there’s whatsisname the blacksmith. Ah, that’s where the wildlings have been keeping themselves. Gosh, I’d completely forgotten that Tyrion and Sansa Stark were married.
Delightfully, Sansa has grown into a full-fledged ice-queen to rival Cersei and Daenerys.
Cersei herself formed a closer alliance with Pilou Asbaek’s magnificently wicked Euron Greyjoy. One or both of them will come to regret this, I suspect. Just as it seemed that the show’s creators had settled for setting out their chess pieces, without any major skirmishes or sacrifices taking place, they sprung their eleventh-hour surprise.
The script, by Dave Hill, performed the classic GoT balancing act between wit and po-faced sobriety. “What do dragons eat anyway?” Sansa asked, worried about victualling their army. “Whatever they want,” answered Daenerys coolly.
This juxtaposition of light and dark is most perfectly captured by Kit Harington’s Jon Snow, who is simultaneously a tragic hero and a hapless clown.
This first episode was a terrific scene setter for what we’ve been promised will be a spectacular and brutal conclusion to an epic story. Can’t wait.
Game of Thrones is on Sky Atlantic, tonight at 9pm. It is also available on NOW TV.
