We had all waited SO long for the Starks - any Starks - to be reunited, and the fact that this meeting, between two characters we had never even seen interacting before, was so powerful is testament to that groundwork laid in "Winter is Coming", as well as this scene itself. The reunion of Jon Snow and Sansa Stark is one of the most memorable scenes of the entire series. It's a crucial turning point in Dany's journey and characterization - and it's also just really, really fun to watch. It's all topped off by Daenerys' iconic "Dracarys" moment after she fools Kraznys the slaver into thinking she's exchanged Drogon for the Unsullied - but actually she executes Kraznys and sets the Unsullied free, essentially guaranteeing their loyalty to herself. But one of the most dramatic and heartbreaking moments is, of course, the mutiny at Craster's Keep during which Jeor Mormont is killed. In the Riverlands, Jaime is being tortured by Locke and his men, and his bond with Brienne deepens meanwhile Arya, Gendry and the Hound meet Beric Dondarrion after being captures by the Brotherhood without Banners. We have political machinations in King's Landing, with the Tyrells and Littlefinger circling Sansa and Cersei going head to head with Margaery not to mention a big character moment for Varys, as he unravels some of his past and gets revenge on the sorcerer who abused him. There was a lot happening, and storylines weren't always well-balanced, but this episode does a good job.
No doubt about it "Winter is Coming" readied us for what was to come, even if we didn't fully realize it at the time.Īt this stage of the series, the players were really spread out. We also see very early hints for one of the biggest plot twists of the entire show ( aka R+L=J), an introduction to the White Walkers, oh, and of course the future king of Westeros gets PUSHED OUT OF A WINDOW. The episode lays the foundation for Ned as the ultimate honorable hero, readying us to be devastated and shocked over his death later in the season. In just a few scenes, we as an audience have to become attached enough to them and their bond to root for them and want them to be reunited over the course of the next eight seasons. Most importantly, perhaps, is the fact that this is the only episode where we see all the Starks together in one place, and at home. It might be a little overwhelming when you first watch it (anyone else initially think Theon was one of the Starks for a few episodes?), but the character work done here has long-reaching consequences. It earns its place in the top 20 episodes because, like "The Queen's Justice", it does a lot of heavy lifting - here introducing the world and the vast array of characters. After a notoriously disastrous first attempt at a pilot that was so bad it will apparently never see the light of day, Benioff & Weiss went back to the drawing board, recast some roles, and produced "Winter is Coming".
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