Tonight I was fortunate enough to attend the season 8 premiere of Game of Thrones in New York City. The experience was unforgettable and, guys … episode 1 is spectacular.

I was invited by HBO and Magic Leap to ride the HBO luxury bus, the Dragon Wagon, from Boston to New York City.

After two hours of playing trivia games and rewatching some of Game of Thrones’ most pivotal episodes-

-we stopped at HBO headquarters where food was served and Urban Decay artists offered us Thrones-themed “touch ups.”

We then headed for the red carpet at Rockefeller Center. While not every actor chose to greet fans, the vast majority did, including:

Kristian Nairn

Jerome Flynn

Isaac Hempstead Wright

Mark Addy

Jacob Anderson made a point to high-five every single fan present.

Liam Cunningham made a point to shake everyone’s hand.

Conleth Hill

Pilou Asbæk, who was friendly and engaging, even if the only good photo I took of him doesn’t indicate it.

Maisie Williams

Iain Glen

Charles Dance

Alfie Allen kissing my hand was a personal highlight.

Nathalie Emmanuel

Gwendoline Christie

Emilia Clarke

Peter Dinklage

George R.R. Martin

Nikolaj Coster Waldau

Sean Bean

Natalie Dormer

and Rose Leslie

Then, it was time to file into Radio City Music Hall to watch episode 1 of season 8.

So.

I’m not allowed to disclose plot details or anything even remotely resembling a spoiler. So, I’ll just say this: episode 1 is exactly what I hoped it would be. It wastes no time in giving us those moments we’ve been anticipating but it also artfully incorporates callbacks to earlier seasons, which serve as poignant yet thematically satisfying reminders that this is the beginning of the end.