Game of Thrones season 8 episode 1: 13 callbacks, book references and Easter eggs you missed in ‘Winterfell’
From all the action at Winterfell to the crossbow Qyburn gives to Bronn
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Your support makes all the difference.The season eight premiere of Game of Thrones featured several references to past episodes as well as George RR Martin’s book series.
The return of HBO’s biggest series was heavy on the nostalgia as it spent the hour reuniting disparate characters in scenes that contained callbacks to memorable past moments.
With just five episodes to go before the series reaches a conclusion, showrunners David Benioff and DB Weiss don’t have time to cram every detail of Martin’s A Song of Ice and Fire series into the show, but there were a few references to the novels that would leave fans of the book series feeling satisfied.
They also found time to include several smaller Easter eggs in the form of some cameos.
Click through the below gallery to find the 13 callbacks, book references and Easter Eggs you probably missed in “Winterfell”.
The season premiere also featured a hilarious reference to last season’s controversial Ed Sheeran cameo as well as a terrifying death at the hands of the Night King that has people theorising over his true identity (no, not Bran Stark).
Viewers in China were left furious after six minutes of the episode – which broke HBO records – was censored by tech corporation Tencent.
The final season of Game of Thrones continues every Sunday and you can watch the brand new season eight opening title sequence here.
HBO has also released a trailer for the second episode, which teases the fallout of Jaime's return to Winterfell.
You can find our extensive ranking of every character – from worst to best – below.
The show will be available on Sky Atlantic and NOW TV in the UK.
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