Game Of Thrones Season 7 Premiere: 9 Ups And 3 Downs From 'Dragonstone'
Tell them winter came...
Season Seven Hells, welcome back Game of Thrones!
After an unbearable, extra-long wait between seasons, we finally returned to Westeros with 'Dragonstone', the first episode of the penultimate season.
The episode follows directly on from the stunning Season 6 finale, The Winds of Winter, which - among other things - saw (*deep breath*): Arya return to Westeros, murder Walder Frey and bake two of his sons into a pie; Jon Snow crowned King in the North, much to Sansa's chagrin; Cersei blow-up a Sept full of enemies with wildfire and name herself Queen; and Daenerys at last heading to Westeros.
Dragonstone, as you might expect, picks at all of those threads in turn. Rather unlike you might expect, though, it isn't predominantly focused on Daenerys Targaryen, despite her claiming the episode's title (as if she didn't have enough titles already).
It assembles the pieces back on the board and starts manoeuvring them anew, providing the basis for a mostly solid opener, if not a spectacular one. It doesn't all work as Season 7 kicks off, but there is plenty to love as Thrones makes its return. Shall we begin? (Contains spoilers.)