‘Game of Thrones’: Season 7 Premiere Recap With Spoilers

The episode opens at a banquet and Walder Frey slams his goblet down and addresses his entire band of men. He talks of celebrating with the people of the riverlands. He has gathered every Frey who matters into one room so that they can plan for the Winter that has finally come. He serves them “proper wine for proper heroes.”

Everyone drinks, except Walder. He tells his daughter not to drink, because he won’t waste good wine on a woman. He thanks the men for helping him at the Red Wedding. As he details the horrible actions of the wedding, he says they didn’t slaughter every one of the Starks. The men start chocking on blood and falling over.

“Leave one wolf alive, and the sheep are never safe.”

Walder Frey pulls off his face, revealing Arya Stark. She tells Walder’s daughter to tell people that “The North remembers,” and that “Winter has come for House Frey.”

Arya exits and the credits begin.

Opening Credits

A smoke slowly rolls over a land of ice. An army is revealed to be walking within it. The Night King rides on his horse, with his entire army of walkers behind him. A couple of giants walk with them.

Bran looks to have been Warging as one of the giants. When he opens his eyes, he is greeted by the men of the Night’s Watch at Castle Black. Meera introduces them. Bran tells Edd that the Night King is coming, and they are let inside the Wall.

Jon Snow addresses his people and asks them to figure out where to gather Dragonstone and that everyone from the ages 10-60 are going to fight and mine. Everyone including women and girls. Lynn Mormont agrees and says everyone on Bear Island will begin training.

Jon then says that they’re going to need the Free Folk to man the castles at the wall. Torment agrees that his people should do so.

Sansa says that new families should take the place of the Umbers and the Karstarks, but Jon disagrees. The two argue in front of everyone. Jon says that the people that made those decisions died on the battlefield. Sansa won the argument and the men agree with her. Jon quotes Ned, but he says that he will not punish a son for his father’s sins. He is making the final decision about the castles and who they belong to. He calls out to a boy, Ned Umber, and a girl, Alice Karstark.

They walk forward, and he asks for their allegiance. They kneel before him.

Jon says that the wars before don’t matter anymore, and the North must band together.

Outside at Winterfell

Jon and Sansa argue about who is in charge. Jon asks that she not question him in front of everyone. She says that he is good at ruling, and that all of the people respect him. The two talk about Ned and then Jon says he’ll stop trying to protect Sansa if she stops trying to undermine him. Sansa says that he needs to listen to her, and be smarter than Robb and Ned were.

A raven comes from King’s Landing.

Cersei asks Jon to come to King’s Landing and bend a knee or he will be killed. Jon says they need to worry about the Night King and not Cersei yet. Sansa speaks highly of Cersei.

At King’s Landing

Cersei walks over a giant map of Westeros and Jamie joins her. She says that the entire world is theirs and that they just have to take it. Cersei tells Jamie that Tyrion is sailing with Dany as her hand. She blames Jamie a bit for letting Tyrion go. He says the boats will land at Dragonstone.

The two talk about all of the enemies they have to face. Jamie says they look like the losing side at the moment. Cersei fires back and she wants to prove that she’s more in control than he thinks. He says there is no one left to build a dynasty for, then they talk about Tommen and his death. Cersei doesn’t want to spend any more time mourning over dead Lannisters.

“We’re the last ones who count.”

Cersei has something up her sleeve.

Boats Approach a Castle

Cersei tells Jamie that Euron Greyjoy is arriving in King’s Landing, and that she has made an arrangement with them. She says that Euron has ships, and that he came for a Queen.

Enron talks to Cersei in the throne room. He tells them that his family turned on him, just as their s did. Murdering his family would make him feel a lot better. He says, since their treasonous family members are fighting together, they could murder them all together. As he approached the throne, the Mountain backs him down. Jamie talks about Euron’s failures in the past. Euron says that he remembers Jamie killing the other Greyjoys and that he appreciated it.

Euron tells Cersei that she needs the Iron Fleet to succeed. All he wants to do is marry her in return, but she declines. She says he isn’t trustworthy, that he murdered his own brother.

“You should try it, it feels wonderful.”

He will gain her trust by bringing her a “precious gift.” We won’t return to King’s Landing until he has that.

At The Citadel

Sam is stacking books on a shelf and doing chores around The Citadel, including cleaning bedpans of the old Maesters. This was not the training he had in mind. He continues to stack books, serve slop, clean bedpans, and gag. Over and over again.

Sam stops to look back into a gated area. He looks around to see if anyone else is nearby. The gate is locked, but he peers into the room behind it to see a large book open. An older Maester walks by Same, and enters the gated room. He locks the door behind him.

Along with another Maester, Sam helps to examine the dead body of one of their own. He asks the Arch Maester if he had considered giving Sam access to the restricted are of the library since he had seen a lot while at the Wall. Sam says he has seen the army of the dead, but that no one else at The Citadel believes him. The Arch Maester seems to know that he has some truth to him, and that Sam indeed saw what he says he did. The Arch Maester tells Sam that they are the memories of men, and they are necessary for life to continue.

He tells Sam that the Wall has stood through every Winter that has ever come, so there’s no reason to think that it won’t this time. He tells Sam to clean the body up.

Sam wheels the body out and passes by Maesters who are sleeping. He steals a key and goes to the restricted area of the library where he steals some books.

Back at Winterfell…

Podrick is training with Brienne and she is getting the best of him. Tormund approaches. He gives a Brienne a look and she notices. She beats Podrick down and Tormund says he is a lucky man.

Sansa and Little finger watch the group fight below. He says that he wants her to be happy and safe, while she argues that she already is safe. He asks why she isn’t happy.

Brienne walks upstairs to address Sansa, Baelish leaves. Brienne then asks why he is still around and Sansa says that the North needs the Vale in order to win the war.

Arya rides through the snowy forest and she hears a man singing near a fire. A group of soldiers sit by a fire, and the singer addresses Arya. It’s Ed Sheeran and he invites her to eat with them. She agrees and comes to sit with them. Arya tells the men that she is heading to King’s Landing and they bash the city. She examines all of their swords and they call King’s Landing that it’s the worst place in the world. They were sent to keep the peace in the Riverlands. The men give her the first of the food. They go on to explain that being a soldier isn’t glorious and that their lives haven’t been such. All of the men in the group seem incredibly kind. Arya tells them honestly that she is going to King’s Landing to kill the queen.

Everybody laughs.

In the Snow of The North…

The Hound rides with the Brotherhood Without Banners. Thorns says that The Hound is a grouch and asks why he’s always in a foul mood.

“Experience.”

The men stop at an old barn house where they will stay for the night. The Hound says that something about the situation doesn’t feel right.

The brotherhood enters the abandoned house and begin to search it. The Hound sees skeletons of the former residents in the corner on the bed. Beric says that they were starving and the father likely killed his little girl and himself so that they could end their suffering.

The Hound asks Beric why the Lord of Light continues to bring him back, since there is nothing special about him. Beric says that he asks himself that all of the time, but he has no answer. He doesn’t know what the Lord wants with him. Thoros invites the Hound over to the fire and the two bicker. Thoros asks him to look into the flames so that he can understand what the Lord of Light wants. Only the fire can tell him. In the fire, The Hound says that he sees The Wall of Ice, where the wall meets the sea. There is a castle there. He says that there is a mountain there that looks like an arrowhead, and the dead are marching past it. There are thousands of them. He looks terrified.

Thoros wakes to the sound of someone digging outside in the snow. The hound is burying the head people from the house. Thoros says that The Hound knew these people, to which he replies “Not really.” The two dig together. The Hound says he’s sorry that the people are dead, and that they deserved better.

At The Citadel

Sam looks over the stolen books in a small house with Gilly and Little Sam. She opens a book called “Legends of the Long Night.”  Sam is trying to figure out what’s going on with the dragon glass. He finds a map of Dragonstone, and he notices that the castle is built on a mountain of Dragon Glass. He begins to write a letter to Jon to tell him.

Sam walks through a line of prison doors, passing plates to the men inside. None of them are seen. He is startled when one arm reaches out to grab him. The man asks if the Dragon Queen as come to Westeros. The man is Jorah Mormont.

Daenerys sails toward Dragonstone with her people at her side and her dragons flying overhead. She’s finally home.

Dany approaches her castle and she kneels in the sand, touching the ground. Everyone walks up the stairs to the front doors of the castle. Tyrion looks on as the Unsullied open the grand gates. They all enter through a long tunnel/walkway.

Daenerys walks into her throne room, and up to the enormous throne, which is made of Dragon Glass. Dany asks Tyrion, “Shall we begin?”

The End.