My Review of 'Game of Thrones' Season 8 Episode 1

One of the most anticipated nights of 2019 has finally occurred. The season premiere of the final season of Game of Thrones has arrived. There were so many rumors and theories in the past year that it's hard to tell what was going to happen. One thing is for sure, we know that this is going to be a shortened season much like season seven. This means that the show has to cram a lot more into the shorter season. Also, they have more budget for epic events.

One thing the premiere did not have was epic events though. That's all fine because I know they'll have the big fights eventually. They're just saving the budget for a later episode; I get it. This is the build up. Just like most shows, the first few episodes are laying a foundation for a big bang at the end.

In this season we see a ton of reunions. Characters that haven't seen each other for several seasons meeting each other again. Their reactions are all generally pleasant. This makes me wonder if the constant pandering to fans will be continued from season seven to season eight. Everyone's finally meeting one another in Winterfell. As we all know, this is the big stop before headed up to the wall to meet up with the White Walkers.

One of the major meetings was Jon Snow and Daenerys getting to Winterfell. Sansa and the rest of the northern families disapprove of Jon bending the knee to Daenerys. They put their trust in him and he renounced it to the Mad King's daughter. Yeah, I can see their point. In addition to this, Tyrion lets them all know that the Lannisters are coming to help as well. Lannisters have been sworn enemies to the North for years, especially since they were responsible for killing the last two King in the Norths. They all object, but really, what can they do? They're now occupied by a grand army that outnumbers them. They should at least see that Jon is trying his best to protect all of them.

There's a meeting with Sansa and Tyrion at Winterfell. It was pretty interesting since they're technically married. Or are they not because they never consummated and Ramsay did? I don't really know the legalities of their universe. Sansa seems to be wiser now, knowing that Cersei is scheming something with the Lannisters. Tyrion has been making mistake after mistake. I don't know if this is a sign of things to come.

Then there's the meeting of Gendry, the Hound, and Arya. That was a nice little meeting since they all technically like each other. The Hound and Arya had a short, but nice exchange.

Jon and Arya finally see each other again after so many seasons. It was good to see them together again.

Meanwhile, Bran has been quietly watching everyone. It was pretty comedic in the way he would just show up at random all the time just staring at random characters. He would eventually meet up with Sam and tell Sam that he's the one to tell Jon where he came from. I didn't expect them to actually reveal to Jon that he's actually the rightful heir to the Seven Kingdoms in the first episode, but they did!

After Sam meets up with Daenerys, he finds out that Daenerys had killed not only has father, but his brother too. He's the last of the Tarly name. It was also done in a comedic way. Daenerys was there initially to thank him for saving Jorah's life. Anyways, Sam is rightfully upset about it and asks Jon if he knew what Daenerys had done. He then explains to Jon about his true father and mother, only to reveal that he is the true rightful King of the Seven Kingdoms. Jon, of course, doesn't want it, but Sam brings up the fact that he doubts Daenerys is willing to bend the knee to him.

Speaking of Jon and Daenerys, there was a dragon riding scene that was pretty funny. I thought it was reminiscent of James Cameron's Avatar when they first got to fly in the sky on those monster things in that movie. I know a lot of fans were wondering when Jon finally gets to ride a dragon—well, it finally happened right away in the first episode.

Oh, then all the way in King's Landing, Cersei had sex with that horrible Euron. Haha his name sounds like urine and he's supposed to be the king of the seas. Obviously, she wants Euron to believe the baby she's carrying from Jamie is his.

Cersei also hires Bronn to kill Jaime and Tyrion if they survive the whole battle with the White Walkers with none other than the weapon Tyrion used to kill their father. I wonder if he's actually going to do it since they're his friends. It was done in a really funny way where he's with three prostitutes and they're talking about the most disgusting things. While engaging in sex with the three prostitutes, Qyburn just shows up and propositions the deal. It was terrible, but funny.

Elsewhere, Theon finally saves his sister Yara. It was done pretty quickly and I guess without much suspense. She hits him for jumping overboard in season seven, and then lets him know he can go help out the Starks in their fight against the White Walkers.

Overall, in a season opener that's a lot to take in. I enjoyed the episode and it was really fun. I highly suggest watching this with a large group of fans, rather than watching it alone and having to find conversations. Watching this with a group of fans is fun and engaging. You'll all react to the scenes a little differently, but they'll impact you a lot more with more people that are into it. If there's any advice I'd like to give for watching this last season, then that's it.

I give this season opener an eight out of 10. It was fun and tons happened. There's not much action or craziness that you don't really expect. It's still on the safe side, but I have hopes that they'll stop pandering as much as they did with season seven.