The opening scene of the Season 8 premiere, “Winterfell,” reminds us of a simpler time in Game of Thrones. The arrival of Daenerys Targaryen (Emilia Clarke) and Jon Snow (Kit Harington) at Winterfell echoes that of Robert Baratheon and Cersei Lannister in Season 1. It hearkens back to a child’s excitement at seeing a royal procession and antiquated notions of heroes and villains. By the end of Season 1 we were thoroughly disabused of any fairy-tale conceptions of morality. At the start of Season 8, Winterfell has been through the worst of the War of the Five Kings, and remains under threat from the North and the South. Continue reading →