WARNING: Contains spoilers for Game Of Thrones season eight.
After a long wait, Game Of Thrones returned to the world and it was filled with laughter, deaths, reunions … and a bunch of sheltered Northerners meeting black people for the very first time.
The first episode, Winterfell, saw characters from throughout the Seven Kingdoms meet after years of separation, or for the first time ever.
Some meetings were highly emotional, while others left viewers in hysterics.
As Jon Snow walked back into his home town Winterfell with Queen Daenerys and her Unsullied soldiers and Dothraki army, the good people of the North looked very confused at the sight of non-white people – and even more terrified as dragons Drogon and Rhaegal glided through the cold winter air.
The scene involved a little dialogue but became one of the main talking points with viewers online.
At the very start of the premiere Daenery’s most trusted advisers, Greyworm (Jacob Anderson) and Missandei (Nathalie Emmanuel) exchanged a knowing glance at each other as the Northerners gawped at their mere presence.
The exchanged looks were called ‘relatable’ and ‘hilarious’ on Twitter, just seconds after the opening scene aired in the early hours of Monday.
Of course, with any big television event, the creative memes are inevitable. These are some of our favourite online reactions:
It would be interesting to see if the topic of race is ever addressed in the fictional fantasy, as the HBO show has faced criticism for not having many non-white actors on the show.
Black characters are originally from the Summer Isles – as depicted in GRR Martin’s novels – however, the series has so far opted out from visiting the location and restricting itself to briefly mentioning the place.
The Summer Isles is not even on HBO’s official map for Got, but readers know that it’s towards the southeast of Westeros and its citizens are described as ‘nut brown, teak, ebony, and jet black’.
Greyworm once said he was abducted from there when he was a baby, while Xaro Xaro Xhoan Daxos, portrayed by British-Nigerian actor Nonso Anozie in 2012, said he grew up in the Summer Isles before moving to Qarth.
With only a few mentions since the show first aired in 2011, it is no surprise that the people of Winterfell looked on the way that they did.
Episode one, Winterfell, aired at 2am GMT last night on Sky Atlantic (9pm ET on HBO) but will be airing again tonight at 9pm on Sky Atlantic and NOW TV.
With another five episodes to go, fans can look forward to a lot more side-splitting content.
Make sure to check out Metro’s review of Game of Thrones season eight, episode one here.
Game of Thrones season 8 airs tonight on Sky Atlantic and NOW TV at 9pm.
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