This first episode offers the character-devoted, detail-filled hiatus before a season filled with "fire and blood". Akin to many GOT premieres, 'Winterfell' is hardly packed with action. Instead, it provides many long-awaited reunions and narrative posturing. The simmering animosity between Dany and her new Northern subjects is impressively visceral, considering the lack of time to develop these feelings. The episode is filled with strong moments like this and succeeds in setting up the "Great War" to come. However, amid this well-structured episode were some unnecessary and 'Hollywood-like' moments. A far-cry from the seasons of old, the Avatar-like dragon ride seemed awkward and misplaced. True, the special effects were very good. But this scene, and a few others, lack necessity and harm the flow of the episode which was established quite well during the opening. Quality scenes, however, outweigh the bad. For example, Tormund, Beric and Edd's final scene returns the frightening presence of the White Walkers to the fold, and highlights the quality we have come to expect from GOT. Overall, this was a great start to GOT's final season.
Review of Winterfell
