Warning: spoilers ahead for the Season 7 premiere of Game of Thrones, "Dragonstone."
Game of Thrones was off the airwaves for more than a year as fans waited out their longest hiatus to date. The show finally returned for Season 7 with "Dragonstone," and kind of a lot happened. The main players were back at their scheming best, with some outright killing their enemies while others were plotting to advance their causes. Winter has come, and the Starks got some pretty good blows in, but they weren't the only ones. All things considered, it was a season premiere packed with plots that will undoubtedly pay off grandly. Read on for the biggest and most significant moments!
Winter Came To The Twins
In the Season 6 finale, Arya Stark returned to the Seven Kingdoms to start working on ticking names off of her list of people to kill. She killed Walder Frey (after serving him a couple of his boys baked into a pie) in that episode, so it came as a surprise when "Dragonstone" opened with Walder Frey seemingly alive and well at the Twins. It was no flashback, however, and Walder Frey wasn't miraculously recovered. No, Arya was using her assassin training to wear old Walder's face so that she could gather the murderous Freys and poison to death, en masse. The North remembers, and the Red Wedding has been avenged.
Jon Snow Rules The North
The Northerners weren't kidding around when they crowned Jon as King of the North in the Season 6 finale, and Jon rose to the occasion. His focus remains on the upcoming Great War of the White Walkers and their wights against the Seven Kingdoms, ordering that everybody between the ages of 10 and 60 learn to fight. Finding and weaponizing dragonglass is a priority, and he won't hold Houses Umber and Karstark eternally responsible for the treason of a few members. Unfortunately, Sansa wasn't afraid to disagree with Jon in front of the Northerners, and it seems that she and Littlefinger could be a thorn in Jon's side moving forward.
The Krakens Arrived In King's Landing
Cersei hasn't just been lying around and enjoying being queen. Knowing that she's surrounded by powerful enemies in pretty much all directions, she decided that she (and Jaime) need an ally, and that ally is to be Euron Greyjoy. He proposed that he would give Cersei his fleet in exchange for her hand in marriage. When Cersei refusing, citing his untrustworthiness, he promised to leave and return with a grand gift for Cersei. We can bet that Dany and her fleet are in for a visit from Euron's faction of the Ironborn.
The Hound Had A Vision
The Hound is currently banded with Beric Dondarrion and Thoros of Myr, and together they pushed him to gaze into the flames to see if the Lord of Light would show him anything. Well, the Lord of Light did have something to show the Hound, and it wasn't anything pretty. The Hound saw the army of the dead led by the White Walkers coming to the Wall at a castle by the water, which can only be the Eastwatch-by-the-Sea that was mentioned by Jon. The dead will pass a mountain that looks like an arrowhead, and nothing good will happen.
Sam Found Dragonglass
Hunkered down at the Citadel, it didn't seem like Sam would have a lot to contribute to the episode. Then, after a conversation with Jim Broadbent's maester, he gained access to restricted sections of the library to finally get some research in that could help Jon prepare to battle the White Walkers. He discovered information on Dragonstone, which revealed to him that the castle at Dragonstone contains a huge cache of dragonglass that would be invaluable to Jon and Co. in the North. We can bet that this discovery (and Sam's race to send a raven to Jon) will be what pushes Jon and Dany together.
Daenerys Is Ready To Begin
Dany finally arrived in Westeros. She and her forces arrived at Dragonstone, where she was born and where she will begin her campaign to retake the Seven Kingdoms in the Targaryen name. We don't get to see any of the dragonglass cache, but there are definitely plenty of carved dragons around, and she seems poised to do everything in her power to bring fire and blood to Westeros until she gets her way and wins the Iron Throne for herself. The game has begun in earnest.
You can catch new episodes of Game of Thrones on Sundays at 9 p.m. ET on HBO. Don't forget to check out our list of wild Game of Thrones theories that just might be true and our picks for big reunions that need to happen soon.
