It's finally back — in all its gory grandeur.
Sunday’s eagerly awaited “Game of Thrones” Season Six premiere picked up right where the Machiavellian mayhem left off last year, starting with an overhead shot of Jon Snow’s body lying face-up in a pool of blood.
The savagely stabbed fan favorite (Kit Harrington) doesn’t gasp or become an undead warrior, as characters have in the past on “GoT,” so there’s no immediate resolution to the central question plaguing mankind: Will he or won’t he come back to fight another day?
But we also get a tantalizing twist in what doesn’t happen: No one burns or buries Snow’s body.
Ser Davos Seaworth (Liam Cunningham) hustles the body indoors with a ragtag band of friends. It looks frozen, almost cryogenically preserved, behind a locked door at Castle Black. Snow’s trusted direwolf, Ghost, is standing guard as his armed pals hatch a plan to recruit the rogue Wildlings for a fight.
When mystical Melisandre (Carice van Houten) comes knocking, the suspense spikes. She has dark magical powers — surely she can do something here.
It’s the episode’s final scene that is the most gasp-worthy — and we won’t ruin it here.
Elsewhere in the kingdom, beloved character Tyrion Lannister (Peter Dinklage) is thrust into chaos when he finds the river city entrusted to his care engulfed in flames. We don’t see nearly enough Tyrion in this first hour, but he clearly has a hot mess on his hands, so it’s all very promising.
Elsewhere up north, Sansa Stark (Sophie Turner) and Theon Greyjoy (Alfie Allen) flee across an icy river to escape her sadistic husband Ramsay Bolton (Iwan Rheon). Just as his hounds close in, a sword-swinging hero drops in, culminating in the kind of blood-soaked battle “GoT” is famous for.
Yuck.
We also get to check in with dragon mom Daenerys Targaryen (Emilia Clarke), last seen captured by an army of horse-riding warriors.
The episode is devoid of dragons, White Walkers or any dangerous and magical creatures. But it scores some sizable laughs along with its action and suspense — and we have nine more hours to savor through late June.
Winter may be setting in, but the coveted Iron Throne is as hot as ever.
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