After a year-long wait, Game of Thrones is finally back. The Season 7 premiere, Dragonstone, did lack spectacle and shocking moments. But, as an opening to what’s promising to be the biggest and most important season in the series yet, it did its job reintroducing fans to what’s going on this massive and complicated story. This premiere set the tone and laid the groundwork for the remaining six episodes, hinting at what’s awaiting all the main characters.
Right out of the gate, Arya Stark single-handedly took out the Frey house. Many were wondering whether Arya would travel back up north to join Jon Snow and Sansa, or continue on her revenge quest and go after the queen herself, Cersei Lannister. It turns out, Arya is still very much out for blood. While fans might be disappointed if Arya never actually rejoins any of her family members, it’s the direction in which this character should head.
Her story is destined to close out with her coming face to face with Cersei and, unfortunately, all signs point to her tale being a tragic one. Remember, in order to get through the queen she also has to murder the Mountain, who’s on her list of people to kill as well. It’ll be difficult to see her being the one to successfully finish off Cersei, given just how much the show has been hinting at the inevitable bloody confrontation between Cersei and Jaime. Who knows, maybe Arya makes it out alive at the end. But it looks unlikely, for now.
As for Cersei, well, she’s definitely being set up as the main villain in Game of Thrones Season 7, with the White Walkers seemingly the main baddies in the final season. Euron Greyjoy is her only ally now and her relationship with Jaime is anything but stable and healthy. All signs point to Cersei finally losing her mind and Jaime having to do the seemingly impossible and murder yet another mad ruler.
Dragonstone also reaffirmed that, while the main antagonist in Game of Thrones Season 7 is Cersei, Euron is not that far behind. With Ramsay Bolton out of the picture, Euron is looking to become one of the most hated characters on the show. He’ll be battling Daenerys Targaryen, who finally arrived at Westeros and is readying her battle plan at Dragonstone. She’ll be mostly occupied with Euron throughout this season, who promised Cersei he’ll return with a special gift.
What that gift may be is a mystery, but it is possible that Euron will figure out a way to severely damage one of Daenerys’ dragons, as the show needs to establish that they can be defeated. Perhaps the gift would be proof of the dragons’ weakness?
Daenerys’ role in the battle against the White Walkers will come into play because of none other than Sam Tarly, who just discovered Dragonstone is the home of Dragonglass. The next episodes hint at Jon Snow finding this out from Sam via a raven, and he’ll beg the rest of the north to join forces with a Targaryen—which is something all the lords and soldiers are reluctant to do. This is the connection between Jon and Daenerys fans have been clamouring for. They’ll inevitably join forces to fight off the White Walkers, but the long journey to their partnership will come with plenty of obstacles and bloodshed.
The North seems to be where the focus will lie in Season 7. All of the trailers and the premiere indicate that most of the shocking moments and battles will centre on the Wall, with the Hound, Beric Dondarrion, Tormund, and the Wildlings all heading to Eastwatch-by-the-Sea, the easternmost castle at the Wall. This is where the White Walkers are said to be marching, so fans should expect plenty of crazy and memorable moments at this particular setting.
There are only five episodes left in this penultimate season of Game of Thrones and, with such a limited runtime, the pace should pick up considerably very soon. Remember, winter is already here, after all.
