it's back ... game of thrones

Even though I've read all the books up to this point, and considered myself fairly up to date on the Game of Thrones universe, I felt a bit out to sea after the season five premiere, "The Wars to Come," last night. The scheming of Varys and Littlefinger and all the rest of the population of the Seven Kingdoms was off and running, and it was an unsettling yet exciting feeling to realize I had no idea where they were going next.

It was great to see Tyrion (Peter Dinklage — Dinkles is my jam!) again. And even greater was the hint that his story was being streamlined, and that some pretty annoying characters from George R. R. Martin's A Dance with Dragons might not be making an appearance. Dany (Emilia Clarke) was back and living large as the queen of Meereen, but seemed not to be in control of her dragons. She has two in chains beneath an enormous pyramid, while the largest, Drogon, has gone missing. As her current boy toy and chief warrior Daario reminded her — a dragon queen with no dragons is not a queen.

Young Cersei and friend — always a mean girl

The episode opened with the first-ever flashback, or maybe more accurately, back story scene, of a young Cersei and a friend off to see a local witch. Cersei was told a prophecy which still haunts her to this day - She will not marry a prince but a king, and be queen, but another, younger, more beautiful one will take all she holds dear. But that's not all. That her king will have 20 children, but she will have only three, which makes no sense to young Cersei. And, just wait ... and that of her children, "Gold will be their crowns, gold their shrouds." The present day grown woman Cersei assumes that the younger, prettier schemer is perpetual almost-queen Margaery Tyrell, and fears what she will do to her youngest boy, King Tommen, but my money is on Daenerys.

The showstopper of the first episode however, took place up at The Wall, where Jon Snow (Kit Harington) tried to save his former enemy Mance Rayder (Ciaran Hinds) from a fiery end. The two men share a deep respect for each other, even when they rarely see eye-to-eye. The unyielding "true king" of Westeros, Stannis Baratheon (Stephen Dillane) and his witchy woman Melisandre (Carice van Houten), are as creepy and inflammatory as ever, and I felt for Jon Snow trying to make sense of their manipulations.

Varys and Tyrion — on the road again

The Game of Thrones fifth season is off to a good start. I'm looking forward to what show-runners David Benioff and D. B. Weiss have in store for us next, especially the new road trip odd couple duo of Varys and Tyrion. They just may surprise me.

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