I mean, it was there, but I don't think it resonated the way it should have. I do wish, and this more has to do with last year's finale, that they'd made it a bit more clear that Jon was actually going undercover when he killed Qhorin. The real Rayder, played by Ciarán Hinds, wants to know why Jon's turned his cloak on his fellow crows and Jon, thinking quickly, comes up with decent enough reason.Īctually, the motivation for Jon leaving The Watch wasn't, technically, a lie since he was disgusted with the way Commander Mormont had turned a blind eye to the fact that Craster was sacrificing infants to the White Walkers. Plus, he mistakes a big red-bearded fellow named Tormund for Mance Rayder, leading to further chuckling at his expense. Yes, we start off the episode spending some quality time Beyond The Wall, with Jon Snow getting hit with rocks, laughed at by Ygritte, and intimidated by an honest-to-goodness giant. There is another "king" who has plans for Westeros who we meet in the first ten minutes, although he seems way far off from the thick of all the warring down in the Riverlands. Stannis' forces were crushed in the Battle of Blackwater, Theon's whereabouts are unknown (only the smoldering Winterfell graphic in the opening credits remains) and douchebag Joffrey's hind quarters still sit firmly on the Iron Throne. The time has come! HBO's Game of Thrones is back in our lives, and it's brought dragons, giants and menacingly-sized green scorpion creatures with it! When we pick up things in the Season 3 premiere, "Valar Dohaeris" (a Valyrian phrase that's actually a wee bit ahead of the TV series), the "War of the Five Kings," which took up the bulk of Season 2, is on a bit of a break.
Warning: Full spoilers for the Game of Thrones: Season 3 premiere follow.