Ah. Finally, after a few extra months of waiting, the Season 7 premiere of Game of Thrones has finally hit us like a cool err…I mean hot summer breeze. I feel like, personally, I’ve waited so long, my anticipation of what is to come is so much worse than normal. And by anticipation, I mean absolute dread. When friends asked me, one of the biggest GoT nerds you will ever meet, if I was ready for this season to start, I started answering with a fearful “NOPE!” Can you really blame me with the absolutely earth shattering last season we’ve had? I’m afraid my poor frail heart can’t take any more favorite characters dying, horrible decisions to being made, landmarks I like being raised with fire to the ground. But who am I kidding? My fear of these things will never prevent me from watching an episode as soon as it comes out. And watch it I did…

Notable Happenings in the Season 7 Premiere (Yup, Spoilers Ahead!)

• Sweet Seven Gods! Arya, you continue to be one of my favorite characters. First, she continues her roaring rampage of revenge very successfully against the Freys. “Winter came for House Frey,” indeed. When she comes across a pretty surprisingly nice group of Lannister men and hangs out with them without immediately killing them…even acting like she is a pleasant person for a while. Many people have already raised criticism for “novelty casting” because one of these said Lannister men is none other than singer Ed Sheeran making a cameo. I personally don’t mind this sort of thing in any series I enjoy as long as it doesn’t become too prevalent and the casting fits the character well. We did get a Lannister soldier with a very pretty singing voice as a result…
• Yeah! Bran crossed back through the wall! Doesn’t seem like a big moment, but he has a lot to talk about with everyone else.
• Sam Tarly continues his adorable little rebellious streak and sneaks a secret book out of the locked part of the hall of records. He discovers a large cache of much needed dragon glass…underneath Dragonstone, the very spot that Dany is about to land.
• Jon Snow is shaping up to be a great leader of his people…with one big flaw. Unlike his sister Sansa, he does not know how to “play the game”, much to her frustration. Please be nicer to your sister (ok, cousin now), Jon.  She is obviously already very sick of bullshit from every man she has ever met.
• Sandor Clegane has officially been traveling with the Brotherhood Without Banners. He is still his gruff, unfriendly self, of course. Except now, he feels some guilt for his past actions. Also at the behest of Thoros of Myr, Clegane not only looks into fire (something he could never do comfortably before), but sees actually visions of things to come. The Lord of Light truly does work in mysterious ways.
• Cersei continues her evil plotting bitch ways. Except now she is officially queen, so it can be far worse for everyone else involved. Even worse, it looks like she will soon be in cahoots with Euron Greyjoy, just about the biggest crazy asshole left in the world since Ramsey got killed off.
• Daenerys finally lands on Westeros. It’s been seven seasons coming, but it finally happened. It’s at once a well-earned, solemn, and epic moment.

As per usual for a season premiere, it’s a chance for us to catch up with what’s happening with the characters and the world, rather than a major advancement in plot. And I’m totally fine with this. We need to ease gently into this world after all, before the hardcore suffering starts.

What I Want To Happen (Very Wishful Thinking)

I’m almost afraid to write this because wishing for good things to happen in this story will most likely make them less likely to happen. *Deep breath*

• I hope Dany sits on the Iron Throne, with or without Jon Snow. Yes, I love them both, and I realize Dany has continued to make some mistakes in the past few seasons. But so has Jon. So has everyone else. I want everyone to realize that no character is perfect in this world. People who point out that Dany has made some dumb decisions need to take into account that she is still very young and trying her best to practice to be a great leader before she actually reaches her goal of the Seven Kingdoms. Yes, it sucks that the Free Cities of Essos had to suffer an upheaval of sorts for this to happen. But they were corrupt as hell anyways. I want her to rule and of course, I want Tyrion to be her hand and finally get the respect he deserves.
• Don’t get me wrong, I want Jon Snow to rule as well, if not over everything, at least all of the North. He deserves it.
• I want Jaime to be the one to kill his awful sister, Cersei. I felt some sympathy for her a few seasons back, but at this point, she deserves it, and he should be the one to do so.
• I want Sansa and Arya to finally be reunited, make up with each other, and just…chill out a bit. I just want both of them to have a happy life for once.
• Take back what I said about Dany. I want Lyanna Mormont to be the supreme queen not only of the Seven Kingdoms, but the world. (That girl is awesome!)
• Finally, I want every good faction left in the world to unite, beat the white walkers in an epic battle with dragons, dragon glass and awesomeness. Then, once its over, hold hands and sing songs in a brand new  better fantasy world with sparkle magic and elves and rainbow unicorns.

….But I know that is not how George R.R. Martin nor the show runners minds work. We are in for a lot more suffering over the course of the next two seasons. Brace yourselves everyone, Winter is Here.