Dany’s interactions with Sansa drive the only true dramatic conflict of this episode, opening up another window into the former’s current mindset. Sansa’s priority is the security of the North, but their welfare is under threat. Not because Daenerys or her forces bear them any ill will, but because her forces are taking up precious resources in winter — even with the dragons on restricted diets. “What do dragons eat, anyway?” Sansa asks in a sharp, accusing tone. Sophie Turner’s performance bristles with the kind of irritation only felt when your brother turns up with his new girlfriend and her ginormous lizards. Dany’s response (“Whatever they want”) effectively ramps up the tension, but it displays a somewhat cavalier attitude to the scarcity of food. I’m sure we were laughing along at the time, certain that the initial culture clashes would be overcome by communal spirit and mutual respect once the Night King was dispatched. But looking back, Dany’s behaviour towards the North in these moments showed not only a lack of respect, but a dwindling ability to spot friend from foe. Sansa isn’t completely justified in her frosty reception at this stage because we know her suspicion of Dany comes from ignorance rather than foresight, but it’s hard to view her prioritising her own people as anything other than pragmatic.

With that said, as much as coming to Westeros didn’t change Dany, it did trigger a dark sense of entitlement that she’d previously worked so hard to quash. That hard work paid off in Essos because her idea of justice and swift retribution placed slave masters in her crosshair — it’s a more black and white world over there. But Westeros is different. The people ruling its regions and cities are more complex figures, and they’re open to a limited form of diplomacy. It’s hardly an egalitarian society, but they’ve at least outlawed slavery. With the Iron Throne now in her sights, Dany’s quest to claim her birthright suddenly has more complicated hurdles to overcome. Ruling the Seven Kingdoms could potentially result in Sansa, Jon, or Tyrion facing the same fate as the Tarlys if they refuse to comply. Incinerating slave masters is one thing, but slave masters are in her rear-view mirrors. The common people of Essos devoted themselves to Dany without question because she erased a line of brutal fascists with fire and blood, but fire and blood doesn’t work in Westeros and the common people aren’t ready to devote themselves — that’s why the Targaryens were banished in the first place. Just as Ned Stark struggled to stamp his honourable authority on King’s Landing, and just as Tyrion struggled to control Meereen, Daenerys will never find devotion in Westeros, and especially not in the North, because the people are generally happy with their lot. There are no slaves to liberate, no common people in desperate need of a new queen, and no leaders deserving of execution. Her usual options have dried up.

(I’m going to put a pin in this for now because there’s so much more to say about Daenerys in the final season, and I don’t think this was a Dany-centric episode.)

Now, if this isn’t a Dany-centric episode, then who does it belong to? With so many of our favourites inside the same four walls, it’s hard to tell. But considering his actions essentially bookend the episode, I’d like to argue the case for Brandon Stark. The boy in the opening sequence calls back to one of Bran’s first appearances in the pilot, the closing shot is Bran staring at Jaime Lannister across the Winterfell courtyard, and his positioning throughout proceedings suggests that he’s sitting directly in the middle of the action — observing character behaviours and studying their various moves. In this episode alone he takes on the role of the audience by watching life go on around him, he takes on the role of a key plot device by encouraging Sam to make Jon aware of his lineage, and he takes on the role of an exposition bomb as he recaps the season 7 cliffhanger. The closing shot, as Jaime climbs from his horse and turns around to see the result of his actions all those years ago, has also been memed and remixed into oblivion ever since. Bran has never been my favourite character but it was heartening to see so many people embrace him in the aftermath of this new season premiere. He’s never been my favourite but he has always deserved better.

With that in mind, it’s a shame that the subsequent reaction to the final scene overlooked Nikolaj Coster-Waldau’s wonderful facial acting — Jaime’s calming glance around Winterfell suddenly morphs into an expression that suggests his past wrongdoings have have flashed before his eyes in an instant. It’s hard to describe the rush of excitement I got while imagining Bran confronting Jaime in the following episode, and it all came from the regret, horror, and shame that spread across Coster-Waldau’s face in a flash.

‘Winterfell’ might well tie with a later episode for season 8’s weakest offering, and it is one of my least favourites of the whole show, but having this much to write about it suggests that, while it’s not firing on all cylinders, it’s definitely firing on most of them. There’s still so much here to interrogate and to get lost in, so much in the way of character history and context to remember and recall, and an even greater chunk to look forward to — this episode’s visit further north to Last Hearth begins as a comedy sequence, with Edd mistaking Tormund for a wight, but Ned Umber’s reanimated corpse turns it into a glimpse of what’s coming for those at Winterfell if their forces can’t hold strong. Expository and slightly stilted dialogue can’t take much away from what Game of Thrones was producing by default at this stage: good drama that was situated in a rich, dense, and immersive world, created by an immensely dedicated crew who had a wonderful eye for location and set design. And those sets were filled with iconic, multi-dimensional characters played by actors producing their very best. It felt so good to be home again at the time, and it still does now, which means the episode mostly achieved its ambitions.

Grading

Story: B

Delivery: B

Overall: B

Stray observations

— It got a brief mention during the main body of the article but I think the new title sequence deserves more than a cursory glance. Starting at the Wall this time instead of King’s Landing, and with the plot now collapsed into two locations (as opposed to several), we get to have a deeper look into how the hidden parts of the Red Keep and Winterfell fit together. We also stop off at Last Hearth for the very first time, as the icy blue squares (representing the Army of the Dead) surround the former Umber homestead.

— There are several indications during this episode that Arya has the potential to spring a surprise attack on someone. Sansa remarks that her sister is “lurking somewhere” in a manner that suggests she’s always hiding, Jon then asks how she manages to “sneak upon [him]” in the godswood, and finally she ghosts into a conversation between Gendry and the Hound. That skill might become important later, who knows?

— There’s a momentary glance between Tyrion and Bran this week that’s nice to notice in the aftermath of the season finale, especially now we know that the pair of them will be running Westeros for the foreseeable future. Bran clearly had an interest in Tyrion, and Tyrion’s actions over the next group of episodes will display his keen sense of curiosity for Bran’s story.

— There’s a pair of cameos in this episode from none other than Rob McElhenney and Martin Starr, who play Euron loyalists killed by Theon’s men during his rescue mission to save Yara. And speaking of cameos, Ed Sheeran’s character is mentioned in this episode by one of the sex workers hanging out with Bronn. Apparently poor Ed had his eyelids burnt off during Daenerys’ attack on the Lannister loot train last season.

— Speaking of Bronn, his murder mission from Cersei is perhaps the least compelling storyline of the final season. It’s now absent from the season for the next two episodes. I think this is the one storyline that really suffered from the final season being almost half the length of a normal one. It has good results, but we’ll talk about that more when we discuss ‘The Last of the Starks’ and beyond.