We begin in the far north, where Sam Tarly and the remainder of the Night’s Watch are making their way back to The Wall to warn the rest of the kingdom that the White Walkers have returned, with a legion of undead wights alongside them. Jon Snow, meanwhile, is playing turncloak and infiltrating the Wildling encampment. He manages to convince Wildling King Mance Rayder that he means to join them, but how much is he actually playing a part?

 

Kit Harrington as Jon Snow is often something of a drip, but the heightened stakes of this plot seem to have given both actor and character new drive, while Ciaran Hinds as Wildling King Mance Rayder, is a welcome addition to the cast; he’s just the sort of naturally charismatic actor that this series seems to attract.

In King’s Landing, Tyrion continues to be the show’s greatest asset, as he recovers from his near-beheading at the hands of one of his own men last season. Terrified of everyone – sister Cersei in particular – and feeling under-appreciated given his sacrifices, he seeks recompense from his father Tywin. Bad move. Charles Dance is marvellously cold, and his complete and utter deconstruction of his son’s character is frightening to behold, and the helpless look of shock and despair on Peter Dinklage’s ruined face will break your heart.

Davos, meanwhile, turns out to have survived the battle of the Blackwater, and is found washed up on a tiny rock in the middle of the sea. Liam Cunningham is as eminently watchable as ever, but most of Davos’ story revolves around would-be-King Stannis Baratheon, and the show simply hasn’t spent enough time with Stephen Dillane’s character to be fully engaging.

Still, with Carice van Houten’s sultry, sinister red woman Melisandre on hand, there’s fun to be had.

Elsewhere, another of season two’s new character begins to step further to the fore, as Margaery Tyrell – newly betrothed to the monster Joffrey – arrives in King’s Landing and, rather than plotting, scheming and betraying people, instead heads to the city’s slums to offer gifts and support to the orphans who lost their parents in the war (of course, all of that could just be part of some plot and scheme…) The notion of charity definitely throws Joffrey for six, and the look on Jack Gleeson’s face is almost as entertaining as the bitter, catty family dinner that they all share with Cersei later on.

Across the Narrow Sea and Dany – another character who faltered somewhat in season two – has also found her footing again. Her dragons are maturing, and she’s made her way to a new city – Astapor – with the aim of purchasing an army.

However, her morals are clouded when the army available turns out to be made up of dehumanised slaves, as demonstrated by a piece of casual physical mutilation that you’re not likely to forget in a hurry. She also comes across a forgotten character from the first season in renowned but aging knight Barristan Selmy. Hopefully with these additions to the cause, her push to the Iron Throne will begin in earnest.

The nature of Game of Thrones means that we really only get a few scenes/minutes with each character per episode, and so each encounter has to be engaging and memorable, and it’s remarkable how often Game of Thrones achieves this. The colourful support cast certainly help, with Jerome Flynn’s Bronn and Lucian Msamati’s pirate Salladhor Saan providing much humour and livening up this first episode.

The striking visuals created by a team of talented directors are also a factor – just witness the evocative Wight attack in the fog and snow at the episode’s opening. The production values appear to have increased further, and the attention to detail remains astonishing (note the newly ruined Winterfell in the gorgeously mounted opening credits).

A subdued episode, then, but a necessary one. And if this is Game of Thrones just getting the groundwork out of the way – and still managing to be funny, scary, exciting and heartbreaking along with it – then we can’t wait to see what’s in store when we get to the real meat of the series.

Aired at 9pm on Monday 1 April on Sky Atlantic.

> Order the Season 3 boxset on Amazon.

> Buy the complete Season 1-2 boxset on Amazon.

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