'Game of Thrones' Season 8 premiere recap: Secrets, Starks and spirals in 'Winterfell' usatoday.com

Spoiler alert! The following contains spoilers from “Game of Thrones” Season 8 Episode 1, "Winterfell." Read our recap of the Season 7 finale here. You can relax now. Few pop-culture events have been as anticipated as much as the eighth and final season of HBO’s “Game of Thrones.” The hype for Sunday’s season premiere was astronomical, and the possibility that the fantasy series would letdown its legions of fans very real. Many of those fans likely expected fire, death and destruction from the first moments, and those who did might be disappointed by the gentle and typical opener that accomplished what nearly every season premiere in “Thrones” history has done: Re-established characters, locations and relationships, and set the table for greater things to come.