Warning: contains spoilers

With dragons and White Walkers on the hoof, it’s likely to be a spectacle-packed year on Game of Thrones. So it made a certain amount of sense that the returning HBO blockbuster would open on a note of muted contemplation.

This wasn’t quite an episode where nothing happened: Jon Snow and Sansa’s sibling rivalry looks certain to develop a sharp edge very soon and, golly, didn’t Daenerys appear determined as she inspected the facilities at her new lodgings at Dragonstone (definitely a fixer-upper with potential). Nonetheless, the tone was one of bleak understatement. Winter is here – and before the fireworks kick off, Game of Thrones wants us to stick out our tongues and taste the snowflakes.