'Game of Thrones' Returns and We Need to Talk About Bran

Winter is here. Game of Thrones is back for a final season, and it's back with a bang. The show left off with all of our (remaining) characters finally about to reunite.

Reunions seemed to be the theme for this episode. There were no deaths, but that's alright for the final season's opening. First, we need to lay the groundwork for the brutal road ahead. We had reunions we craved, from Arya and Jon, Gendry, and the Hound, to Sansa and Tyrion, and Sam and Jon. I even appreciated Tormund and Edd meeting up at House Umber, as Tormund is a huge favorite of mine. We even had new characters finally meeting, like Sansa and Sam with Daenerys.

One character in this mix stood out above the rest, and one reunion that matter. Bran Stark... Or, technically, the Three-Eyed Raven. I cannot begin to describe the reception Bran got tonight on Twitter. Scroll through any tag regarding Bran and you'll see an abundance of memes, gifs, and reactions to Bran in this episode.

What made Bran so iconic in this episode is how he was so unexpected. We know Sansa and Dany wouldn't be too happy with meeting each other, and that Jon would learn about his true parentage. I wasn't expecting the occasional appearances of Bran sitting in the courtyard in his wheelchair while ominously staring at people. The scenes come so out of the blue, they're almost more comedic than anything, but that doesn't work against the show. Bran's "Three-Eyed Raven" shtick has been a bit of a source for humor last season with Sam, and so having it resurface in the Game of Thrones fandom isn't surprising.

For example, there's a tense situation where Daenerys and Sansa meet. Clearly, there's some distrust between the two, and for a moment it feels like a tense political drama. Suddenly, Bran interrupts with a loud, "THERE'S NO TIME FOR THIS," and he goes off about the White Walkers. It's such an amazing break in tension that it really does make the whole "who will be on the Iron Throne" seem meaningless. I just really appreciated Bran's ominous staring and omnipotent presence throughout the episode.

We get three fantastic instances of Bran's staring; first, there is the stare at Tyrion. It came after Sansa thoroughly owns the youngest Lannister, and suddenly Tyrion makes eye contact with Bran sitting down below. It's so out of the blue, I couldn't help but laugh.

Then there's the part with Sam. Sam's has a little more emotion to it given that he's just been told his brother was burned alive at Daenerys' request. Sam runs outside and, of course, there's our Bran. He's staring directly at Sam, and in combination with the moment with Tyrion earlier, it's kind of funny. Bran has almost no lines, but damn does he have stares.

However, nothing compares to the end of the episode. This is both hilarious and iconic in its callback to the first ever episode. Jaime Lannister arrives at Winterfell to help fight the White Walkers. He gets there, and the first one he runs into is, wait for it... Bran. Bran stares at him from across the courtyard. The young Stark said earlier in the episode that he was, "waiting for an old friend," and Jaime is that friend.

As a refresher, the first Game of Thrones episode ended with Jaime pushing Bran out a tower window after the boy had seen him having sex with his sister, Cersei. The characters have never met up after that scene, not until this moment. There's such a satisfaction at seeing Jaime's surprised face and Bran's somewhat satisfied look. We know Bran is probably not too angry, as he's more Three-Eyed Raven than Bran Stark now, but it still feels like a, "surprised to see me, bitch," kind of moment.

And so, the memes began. Bran became the most talked about character seconds after the premiere was over. It's like watching a bully get caught after years of getting away with something. I love the fact that Jaime literally has nothing to fear from a teenager in a wheelchair, yet Bran still has the upper hand. He's the confident one in the scene, and he finally gets to face the man who started all of the Stark vs. Lannister shenanigans in the first place.

I highly recommend a journey through the Bran Stark and Jaime Lannister comments on Twitter if you're a Game of Thrones fan. From speeding wheelchair memes, to photoshopped images of Bran sitting outside someone's bedroom window, there are plenty things to keep you up past midnight laughing so hard you'll cry (as I'm currently doing). I can't wait to see more of Bran's stares in the coming weeks.