It's officially the beginning of the end for Game of Thrones fans. After months of anticipation, the Season 8 premiere finally aired Sunday night on HBO. The first of the final six episodes gave fans everything they come to expect from the fantasy series, including a number of tantalizing teases of what's to come, and a lot of callbacks to how it all started.
As fans eagerly await the other five episodes of Season 8, a bunch of big and small moments from the premiere had people talking. As Jon Snow and Daenerys Targaryen arrived in Winterfell there were a lot of reunions, and a lot of glares. But as far as setting up the stage for what's to come, fans couldn't be more excited about the conclusion of the saga.
Here's what everyone is talking about after that Season 8 premiere. Spoilers are coming.
Big character reunions
With so much of the main cast separated in recent seasons, it was a huge breath of fresh air to see some of the most beloved characters back together again. Among the most celebrated was Arya Stark reunited with Jon Snow, recalling one of their earliest scenes together in the first season. But fans were also excited to see Arya back around Gendry again, although Bran's conveniently placed death stares got a lot of attention, too.
Jon Snow riding a goddamn dragon
This one pretty much just speaks for itself. We've seen Daenerys fly on Drogon plenty of times, but in the Season 8 premiere we were treated to Snow experiencing his How to Train a Dragon moment with Rhaegal, named for his actual father.
Jon and Daenerys just existing together in general
One of the biggest moments arrived when Jon and Daenerys showed up in Winterfell pretty much an item. Her dragons had to awkwardly watch on as the two made out, but even more interestingly their arrival prompted a very compelling reaction from Sansa, who didn't seem to take too kindly to Daenerys raining on her parade.
It's safe to say the dynamic between Daenerys and Sansa will make for one of the most interesting elements of the season going forward.
That shiny new credits sequence
As soon as the iconic opening theme started to kick in, fans immediately noticed that the intro has been spruced up for the last six episodes. Upon closer inspection it would appear as though the new intro is offering up hints for what's to come later down the line. Fans are given a glimpse at Last Hearth, the encroaching undead army, the crypts of Winterfell, and most importantly, the throne room at King's Landing.
The teaser for the next episode
Of course, HBO had to whet our appetite before the arrival of Season 8 episode 2 next weekend. The brief teaser shows more of the tension between Daenerys and Sansa, offers a hint on how close the undead army is to Winterfell, and offers a peek at the chaos that is about to arrive.
