As we return to Westeros, there’s a lot to catch up on, so find out what you missed tonight with our Game of Thrones premiere recap of “Dragonstone.”
The finale of Game of Thrones saw Jon Snow and Sansa Stark take back the North from Ramsay Bolton as Arya began her mission to avenge those who wronged her. Walder Frey finally got his after the massacre of the Red Wedding, thanks to the girl with a name. Meanwhile, Daenerys’ army grew to its biggest size yet as she united the Greyjoys, the Sandsnakes of Dorne, the Tyrells, the Dothraki, and of course, her trio of dragons to sail across the sea. Though Cersei currently sits upon the Iron Throne and Jamie remains at her side, there’s an entirety of fleets coming after her. Especially since she’s made so many enemies. (I will never be over Margaery’s death.) And to really set speculation rampant before going off the air for a year, Bran discovered the truth of Jon Snow’s parentage and will make his way back to the wall to reunite with his family.
So to find out what happened next, here’s our Game of Thrones premiere recap of “Dragonstone.”
In the North
Bran Stark and Meera make it to the Wall and are let inside once they prove who they are. Bran warns them about the Army of Undead once again.
Meanwhile, King Jon Snow asks each Maester to find information about Dragonglass. More importantly, he tells each House in the North to train all men, women and children to fight in the army. Lady Mormont comes to his defense again and receives varying approving glances from Brienne of Tarth and Davos. Then, the Wildlings agree to become the new Night’s Watch as Sansa argues that only loyal families should be rewarded and anyone who fought for the Boltons should be punished.
Of course, by trying to be honorable, Jon disagrees. He asks the Karstarks and Umbar to re-pledge their allegiance if they want to stay in their ancestral homes.
Afterward, Jon scolds Sansa for undermining him, but she believes that some of his decisions must be questioned or else he will become Joffrey. And if he’s not smarter than Ned or Robb, he’ll suffer the same fate. As they talk, they receive a raven from Cersei, who tells them to go to King’s Landing and bow to her, or they will die. Sansa admits she learned a lot from Cersei and that they should prepare for her as much as the White Walkers.
Afterward, Brienne tries to teach Podrick some sword moves. He’s not very good, but they do manage to catch the eye of Tormund … and Lord Baelish. As Littlefinger asks if Sansa’s happy, Brienne interrupts and warns that he’s after something. (Love Brienne and Sansa time.)
In King’s Landing
Standing over her map, Cersei and Jamie look at all the enemies surrounding them. She knows Daenerys and Tyrion are on their way to Dragonstone, Jon and Sansa rule the North, and everyone else sucks. “Whoever wins could launch a dynasty for a thousand years,” Cersei says. But Jamie knows he’s on the losing side. Plus, he’s still mourning the death of Tommen, but Cersei has better things to do.
To gain more allies, Cersei invites Euron Greyjoy to King’s Landing. Jamie’s not exactly happy to see him considering what happened at Casterly Rock, but Euron enjoyed the show because he doesn’t exactly love his family. He talks up his big game and asks to marry Cersei, but she declines. Since he’s not very trustworthy, he implies that she ought to kill Jamie. Instead, he offers a gift and promises not to return to King’s Landing until he procures the gift.
The Riverlands
Following Walder Frey’s murder in the Riverlands, Arya continues to pose as him. She serves the Frey family another feast and proposes a toast. Of course, the wine is poisoned, so she tells the one woman in the room not to drink. As she recounts the horrors of the Red Wedding, she explains that one Stark lived on. After pointing out their mistake (“leave one wolf alive, and the sheep are never safe”) and they die, Arya reveals herself. She tells the surviving handmaiden to tell everyone the North remembers and that Winter came for House Frey as she walks across their corpses.
As Arya rides her horse off in the direction of King’s Landing, she comes upon a group of Lannister soldiers chilling in the forest. One man (yes, this is the Ed Sheeran cameo) sings before inviting Arya to sit with them and eat. She hits it off with one boy, then eventually reveals that she’s on her way to kill the Queen. But they just laugh.
At the Citadel
Sam continues his lessons to become Maester, but it’s not that glamorous. He mostly does a lot of dirty work and serves others while working as a part-time librarian. It looks like a really gross job, but he appears to be really committed. One night, he looks into the restricted section of the library and wonders how to get inside.
Later, while he works with the Archmaester (on an autopsy), he asks for access to the restricted section. Since he’s seen the White Walkers, he thinks he deserves the right to check it out. Though the Archmaester believes him, he doesn’t give Sam permission. So good ol’ Sam steals the keys from another Maester and gets inside. He steals a few books, too.
As he tries to study, we see Gilly and a much larger Baby Sam. While flipping through pages, he finds a map of Dragonstone and realizes that there’s a mountain of Dragonglass just beneath the castle. He sends a raven to Jon immediately to alert him (which means Jon’s sending someone to Dragonstone and this someone will meet Dany, right?). The following day, as Sam makes his rounds, one man in his cell asks if Daenerys Stormborn has arrived.
Unfortunately, this man is Jorah and his ailment has gotten much, much worse.
Elsewhere
The White Walkers continue to their march with an entire reanimated army.
Clegane and Dondarrion march too, with a group of dudes/fire worshippers, and the weather’s pretty harsh. They find a farm to rest, but Clegane doesn’t feel right about stopping. As it so happens, it’s the same home he and Arya stopped at during one of their trips. If you’ll recall, Clegane killed the family and ransacked their stuff, much to Arya’s horror.
After he has a vision of sorts of the White Walker army, he buries the corpses of the man and his daughter in the middle of the night. Dondarrion realizes that Clegane knew them and starts to help. Clegane’s final words to the pair include, “I’m sorry you’re dead. You deserved better.”
At Dragonstone
Daenerys doesn’t make it to Dragonstone until the very end of the episode. When she takes a small group to the shores, she enters the castle and purposefully makes her way to the throne, tearing down old banners along the way. Before she even sits down, Tyrion follows her to the war room, where she asks, “Shall we begin?”
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Game of Thrones airs new episodes every Sunday at 9 p.m. ET on HBO. Stay tuned for all our Game of Thrones coverage right here on Culturess.