SPOILER alert: do not read if you haven’t seen the first episode of the new season.

“When people ask you what happened here, tell them the North remembers. Tell them winter came for House Frey.” And with this Arya Stark avenges her family in one of the most satisfying season openings this year, in the first episode of the seventh season of George R. R. Martin’s Game of Thrones (GoT) on Sunday night in the US and early Monday morning in Pakistan — where citizens have eagerly been watching their own version of the show starring the Sharif family. The episode was well worth the wait.

When Walder Frey (who was killed by the young Stark in the last season after she served him a pie made from the flesh of his two sons) toasts a candle-lit room, the viewer knows that something is not right. In a scene very reminiscent of the Red Wedding from season three, the evening turns bloody within seconds after Arya, disguised as Frey, toasts his army and they drink poisoned wine.

From the Freys, we are taken to meet the Night King and his army, including a few wight giants marching towards the South — via Bran’s vision right outside the Wall. Then we head to Winterfell where Jon Snow and Sansa Stark are discussing strategies with other leaders. Sansa undermines Snow — the king of the North — who is determined to focus all his energy and army on fighting the Night King. Here we are also reunited with two favourite characters — Brienne of Tarth and Lyanna Mormont, and a crooked one, Lord Petyr Baelish aka Littlefinger.

At King’s Landing we see the newly-crowned Queen Cersei and Jamie Lannister discussing Daenerys Targaryen, her three dragons and their brother Tyrion, who is her Queen’s Hand. Here we also meet Euron Greyjoy — who comes to persuade the Lannisters to form an alliance with him against his niece and nephew, Theon, who ran off with his ships and joined Daenerys.

In the end we head to Dragonstone (also the name of the episode) which is Daenerys’ ancestral home. It is built on top of dragonglass — something that Snow (her nephew as we learnt about R+L=J in the last season) desperately needs to fight the Night King and his army.

Characters we hadn’t seen in a while and missed dearly such as the Hound, Ser Jorah, Sam, Tormund and Podrick make an appearance. And actor Jim Broadbent, who played Professor Slughorn in the Harry Potter series, also joins the cast as Maester and mentor to Sam at the Citadel. There is also a surprise cameo by singer Ed Sheeran which is a little over the top.

New-York based architect Alyzeh Rizvi started paying for the HBO subscription a month ago in preparation for this event. “We had a screening at our place for friends, threw in a little biryani,” she said. “But the episode was nothing amazing or out of this world, the season opening is always a little slow. What I was excited to see was Ed Sheeran’s surprise entry and a jacket that Euron Greyjoy was wearing.”

Zehra Hussain said that she was most excited to watch women make all the important decisions and Ed Sheeran’s not-so-very-subtle guest appearance. “Sam finding vital details about dragonstone was the peak nerd moment and very relatable for me,” she said.

Lawyer Fahd Sami and his friend Omair decided to watch the season opener right after breakfast. The 28-year-olds said that the episode was more of a recap, with the main characters laying out their agenda. “Just glad it is back,” they mused. “Some of the best moments of this episode were with Arya, Euron Greyjoy and the Hound.”

Taimoor Khan said that the highlights of the episode for him were two things: Winter has finally come and “The North remembers”.

Published in Dawn, July 18th, 2017