The fifth season of Game of Thrones premiered April 12 at 9 p.m. with viewers glued to their TVs and computers anticipating another heartbreaking thrill ride of a season.

The first episode, titled “The Wars To Come,” sets the tone for what is expected to be a season that changes everything. Viewers thought they knew what would happen to the Seven Kingdoms of Westeros until this premiere. “Game of Thrones” not only has a talent for character development, but also for putting forth unanticipated events that make viewers beg for another episode.

Watching this last episode, makes viewers think back to the beginning of the series. So much has changed since we left the show. Key characters have grown, family ties have bridged and new alliances have been formed.

The recap in the beginning of the episode captivated all of the high intense moments of the last season leaving many stories a clean slate for the director’s creativity. The season started off with a flashback to Cersei Lannister as a child, played by Nell Williams. This flashback was a genius transition into the new season. Not only did it reference what has happened, but it also revealed an unavoidable outcome. The parallel between child Cersei and adult Cersei was unmistakable. The mannerisms and the dialogue of child Cersei was almost identical to adult Cersei.

We then jump forward as Cersei is mourning the death of her father Tywin Lannister, who was killed by Tyrion Lannister. The next scene jumps to Tyrion escaping the capital and his execution to across the Narrow Sea. Tyrion’s current rigid look contrasts to the high class, eloquent style Tyrion had in previous seasons, yet the wine glass in his hand shows that he did not lose his personality. This episode reveals the potential for Tyrion to cross paths with Daenerys Targaryen. The thought of two fan favorite characters meeting creates more anticipation for viewers eager to know more.

Daenerys Targaryen will experience her own challenges this season as queen of Meereen. Once returning to her locked away dragons, the audience gets a sense of a mistake that might affect her in the long run. If she completely loses control of the two dragons that she has, she doesn’t have much to defend her credibility to reach her goals of retaking  the Iron Throne of Westeros.

The timing of Brienne of Tarth played by Gwendoline Christie almost crossing paths with Arya Stark shows the writer’s use of plot and character placement that teases the audience. The character of Sansa Stark, played by Sophie Turner, has showed a slight change throughout the seasons yet the audience can only hope that her new position with Littlefinger, played by Aidan Gillen, will give her the power she needs to reaffirm her family’s place in power.

Traveling north, after Stannis Baratheon and his army defeated the Wildlings, the conflict between these two groups highlights the ongoing political conflicts that exist throughout the whole season. The Wildlings act as an outsider group to the more civilized Baratheon army. Yet this episode really captures the honor that still lies in the Wildlings despite the contrast in their uncivilized behavior. Jon Snow plays a major role in this episode, which leaves viewers predicting that he will become stronger and have more of a leadership role. This sense of honor hits a peak with a proud and                                    poignant ending.

The premiere set a great layout for another emotional season, yet the episode left the audience still wondering about the stories untold. Such as the fate of the rest of the Stark children and other important families, which leaves the audience waiting for intrigue and danger in the next episodes.