Game Of Thrones: 12 Ups And 5 Downs From Season 7

1. The Great War Is Here

The marketing campaign for Season 7 leaned heavily on the arrival of the Great War, usually with Jon and Davos giving an ominous warning about the coming dead.

That was slightly misleading because, being the penultimate season, this year was really just setup for the Great War. But as far as setup goes, it did in epic fashion.

One of the opening scenes of the season was a vision of the White Walkers and the army of the dead, now featuring giants, and even unseen their presence weighed heavily on the season. The show has been ramping up the threat they pose ever since Hardhome, but this year - and especially the final two episodes - took us into the Great War like never before.

Beyond The Wall had its issues as an episode, but the sight of the Night King killing a dragon, and then resurrecting it, was a huge moment, and that blue eye opening up won't be forgotten anytime soon.

Likewise, the closing stages of the season were spectacular, with the Wall coming down after around 8,000 years. If the Night King killing a dragon was impressive, then him riding one as it produced blue fire to bring the great structure down was doubly so, and the army of the dead flooded into Westeros at last.

Thankfully the show still has Cersei around too, so it can (hopefully) maintain its political intrigue as well, but the Battle of Ice and Fire - thanks to the closing episodes of this season - is shaping up to be a stunner.