We’ve seen the Game of Thrones season 5 premiere, and here are six things you’ll definitely want to know.
So much man flesh
You knew we had to go there. And yes, there are boobs as well, but it’s the male form which stars predominantly in the Game of Thrones season 5 premiere. And it’s not merely for the sake titillation (though frankly, it’s past time Game of Thrones started to send some manservice fan service regularly in both directions.)
Evolving to a more sophisticated form of its earlier and clumsier “sexposition,” the premiere lays important groundwork for both story and character as the camera explores those appreciable dudes. These are scenes we will remember, and not just for the nudity.
Someone dies
All right, a few someones die in “The Wars to Come.” But one of those someones is not only a relatively major character, but a potentially significant change from the course of events in George R.R. Martin’s A Song of Ice and Fire novels.
Though the death itself is not exactly a surprise in context (this is no Mountain-verses-Viper scenario) it is extremely disconcerting. Presented slowly, deliberately, and painfully, the scene had us yelling at our screens as we watched this life wither away.
Peter Dinklage will need an Emmy… again
Yes, again. Tyrion Lannister is a changed man in the Game of Thrones season 5 premiere, and it’s not just because of that beard. Tyrion is a man without a home, without a name, and without hope when we meet him again. If that sounds maudlin, don’t worry — Dinklage handles Tyrion’s defeat and depression with incredibly honesty, balancing the character’s empathy and bitterness on a finer point than ever before.
And that’s only in episode one, so do your own math.
Political pieces are constantly clicking
With the incredible volume of storylines, Game of Thrones premieres always do a lot of setup for the coming season, but “The Wars to Come” lays the groundwork for the turmoil ahead with particular grace.
Related: Game of Thrones season 5 clips and stills star Tyrion and the Dornish
The return of an unexpected Lannister to Kings Landing heralds a new element in the political power vacuum left by Tywin death; up at the Wall, Stannis’s leans palpably on the inner workings of a Night’s Watch still without a Lord Commander. Across the Narrow Sea, Varys draws back part of the curtain on his web of mysteries, revealing designs more extensive than many could have imagined.
And in Meereen, Daenerys already finds herself walking on the knife’s edge between right and wrong — but as blades draw blood all around her, it seems impossible to tell which side is which.
Seriously, everything is getting super real.
Little ironies
This is a small thing, barely a moment, but the Game of Thrones season 5 premiere contains one of the most frustratingly ironic moments in the entire series. The episode doesn’t spend much time with its disenfranchised characters — Brienne and Pod, to name a few — but the flashes it does offer deliver exceptionally well, and leave us hungry for more.
A crucial flashback
The Game of Thrones season 5 premiere opens with a distinct first — a flashback to a pivotal moment in Cersei Lannister’s past. Constantly churning forward, Game of Thrones has never looked backward for very long. But this foray into flashback is incredibly effective, offering an intriguing element of pathos to Cersei’s behavior, and makes us hope that the series peeks over its own shoulder more frequently in the future.
You’ll have to wait on a few things
One thing that the Game of Thrones season 5 premiere doesn’t do is deliver on every story front. Obviously, that would be all but impossible, but “The Wars to Come” chooses to omit several pressing storylines entirely.
Arya Stark, heading to Braavos, is nowhere to be seen; Sansa and Littlefinger appear only briefly. The pitiable Theon and the dastardly Boltons are also on the back burner, as — perhaps most significantly — are the simmering Dornish down in the south. Prince Doran Martell, and Oberyn’s bastard daughters, remain in the wings, waiting (potently, if not patiently) for their turn in the sun.
And we can tell you — what a turn it will be.
The Game of Thrones season 5 premiere, “The Wars to Come,” airs this Sunday at 9:00 p.m. on HBO.