Game of Thrones season 8 premiere: The bond between the Stark sisters is the real victory of “Winterfell”

The final season of Game of Thrones is here, and Sansa’s already ruffling feathers. Thankfully, Arya has her older sister’s back.

“Winterfell,” the first episode of Game of Thrones‘ final season, premiered last night, and fans are understandably freaking out. The premiere shows Daenerys Targaryen and Jon Snow arriving at Winterfell, and it showcases plenty of similarities between the dragon queen’s visit and Robert Baratheon’s arrival seven seasons ago.

And since the episode is so much like the series’ pilot, it only makes sense that Sansa Stark is already ruffling the feathers of both fans and characters once again.

If there’s one thing to take away from “Winterfell,” it’s that the Northerners are not pleased with Jon’s decision to bend the knee to Daenerys. Sansa’s bold enough to voice that opinion to Jon, and to make her feelings abundantly clear to her new queen.

Daenerys is already questioning what to do with the older Stark sister’s insolence, and Jon is frustrated. Still, even if the show’s two biggest characters are upset with her, it doesn’t change the fact that Sansa—and the North—have plenty of reason to be questioning Jon’s choice.

But even if her older brother can’t see things from Sansa’s perspective, she can count on her younger sister to have her back. During Arya’s reunion with Jon, the tension between Sansa and Daenerys comes up, and Jon immediately jumps to his new queen’s defense.

“Sansa thinks she’s smarter than everyone,” he tells Arya, clearly expecting her to join in on his dismissal of their sister’s concerns. Thankfully, Arya and Sansa have come a long way from season one, and Arya steps in to defend her older sister.

“She’s the smartest person I know,” Arya tells Jon, and it’s a clear victory for the relationship between the two girls.

Arya has gone from being Sansa’s biggest critic to her greatest defender, and unlike many of the other characters, she’s not going to dismiss everything that her sister has been through. Unlike Jon, Arya can understand what women in Westeros are forced to endure, and she’s able to give Sansa credit for it—as well as for everything Sansa has learned during her time with both Cersei and Littlefinger.

Arya’s comment is also a refreshing one because, for all of its satisfying moments, “Winterfell” isn’t exactly an episode that showcases women supporting other women. Sansa and Daenerys are ready to tear one another down after one meeting, and Lyanna Stark isn’t too fond of the dragon queen either. Most of the interactions between the women of the series are hostile during the season premiere, but Arya and Sansa offer some hope for the episodes to come.

And even if Daenerys and Sansa never warm up to one another—though hopefully Arya can play a role in making that happen—at least fans can officially count on the Stark sisters for some sisterly moments throughout the final season.

It’s a testament to how much they’ve both grown that we can say that, and even Jon can acknowledge what an impressive accomplishment that is.

Game of Thrones airs Sundays at 9 p.m. ET on HBO. 

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