Warning: The following article contains spoilers for Game of Thrones Season 7 Episode 1 “Dragonstone.”
According to Variety , the Season 7 premiere of Game of Thrones set a new ratings record for HBO. It had been over a year since the events of Season 6 left Westeros shaken to its very core. Season 7 picked up soon after with the key players making significant strides towards their ultimate destinies.
Episode 1 did answer a few questions. For instance, what Sam’s life is like at the Citadel and whether Jorah is still alive. However, there are still a few hanging threads from Season 6 that were not resolved. Here are three questions the second episode of Season 7 will hopefully answer.
Question No. 1: Does Arya know about her family?
At no point during the Season 7 premiere did Arya (Maisie Williams) acknowledge that her family had reclaimed their ancestral home. Or that her brother, Jon Snow (Kit Harington), was the newly crowned King in the North.
Both developments should dramatically shift her priorities. The fact that half of her siblings have reunited and are living at Winterfell should be cause for celebration. So does Arya know?
Question No. 2: Why was Dragonstone abandoned?
In the final minutes of Episode 1, Daenerys (Emilia Clarke) touches down at her ancestral home, the aptly named Dragonstone. The moment is filled with emotion, but one question remains. Why on earth did Cersei leave Dragonstone deserted?
The Targaryen stronghold previously served as the headquarters for Stannis Baratheon (Stephen Dillane). With Stannis dead, it makes sense that the Lannisters would have swooped in to make sure Daenerys did not have a home base to operate out of if she made it across the Narrow Sea. Why give her another advantage when she is already armed with so many?
Question No. 3: Why didn’t Bran ask for Jon?
When Bran (Isaac Hempstead Wright) arrives at the Wall, Dolorous Edd (Ben Crompton), and other members of the Night’s Watch greet him. They ask Bran and Meera (Ellie Kendrick) to identify themselves and Meera quickly does.
Instead of Bran verifying his identity by proving he is a Stark, he shares some mystical insights into Edd’s life. All this proves is that Bran has some sort of preternatural knowledge, not that he is Bran Stark.
So why didn’t Bran ask to see his brother so Jon could confirm his identity? The last he heard, Jon was still stationed at the Wall. Does Bran know that Jon has left the Night’s Watch and is at Winterfell?
If so, how does he know that, and when did he find out? It could be part of Bran’s newfound knowledge as the Three-Eyed Raven, but it would be nice to have that confirmed.
Find out if any of these questions are answered in “Stormborn.” Game of Thrones Season 7 continues with Episode 2, Sunday, July 23 at 9 p.m. EST on HBO.
[Featured Image by Helen Sloan/HBO]