Logging onto Facebook last night, I was greeted with a strongly worded warning from a friend who posted something along the lines of “Don’t you dare post any GOT spoilers on Facebook else you’ll be unfriended”.

You see, the first episode of Game of Throne’s penultimate season aired last night, and if you didn’t wait up until 3AM this morning to watch it, you might be sitting in the same boat as her.

You might as well abandon Facebook and the internet, then, because headlines will be doing the rounds throughout the day.

However, if you, like me, don’t let spoilers ruin your viewing experience, read on – CNN has given us a breakdown of what happened:

From the inordinately satisfying pre-credit sequence on, not a scene was wasted, serving notice that while winter is indeed here, for fans, this promises to be one hell of a summer.

Although the HBO adaptation of George R.R. Martin’s story has never exactly dawdled, there was a bracing aspect to Sunday’s episode that every scene conspicuously advanced the larger story — or, in the case of Arya Stark (Maisie Williams) exacting vengeance for the Red Wedding, fabulously paid off something that had come before.

At the forefront of it all is Jon Snow (Kit Harington), rallying the forces of the North in anticipation of battle against an existential threat from White Walkers and the Army of the Dead. Elsewhere, Queen Cersei (Lena Headey) is still fighting the last war, looking for ways to consolidate power as she sees potential foes on all sides.

Even a comedic sequence involving Sam (John Bradley) fed directly into the larger plot, with his scholarly pursuits offering hope of delivering weapons that will serve Snow and company against the Night King and his horde. The writers also continue to have considerable fun with Snow’s barbaric pal Tormund (Kristofer Hivju) and his lecherous interest in the towering knight Brienne (Gwendoline Christie).

If there was one quibble to be registered with an otherwise-splendid hour of television, singer Ed Sheeran‘s cameo — playing one of Arya’s wayward soldiers — while sort of cute, felt like the kind of stunt to which the series needn’t resort.

Got it? Chilled. I’m sure we will have another one for you next week, so you don’t have to watch the second episode either.

[source:cnn]