Melisandre is there, grieving after seeing Stannis' death in the flames. She touches Jon's cheek. A sign of a resurrection to come?

Meanwhile, Ser Alliser Thorne is dealing with the fallout of his treason. He proudly owns up to killing Jon Snow. "He thrust a terrible choice upon us, and we made it," he says, amid cries of dissent.

The premiere episode did a good job wrapping up plot lines from last season's finale. Each character got some screen time (minus Bran — seriously, where is he?), so let's break it down that way.

The Boltons

Back at Winterfell, Ramsay Bolton is mourning Myranda. In a rare show of sentimentality, he remembers the first time he saw her, back when he was an 11-year-old psychopath in training. Is that a tear I spy? Nope, just the regular gleam of evil. Wiping his eyes, he instructs the Maester to feed his beloved to the hounds.

But all is not well with Ramsay. He has lost his Stark, and with that, his claim to the North. Daddy Bolton is not pleased.

Sansa & Theon

Speaking of Sansa, somehow (and I really hope we find out how) she and Theon survived the perilous jump from Winterfell's highest wall. On the run from Ramsay's hounds, they must cross a freezing river. Sansa fears she'll die from the cold, but Theon urges her on, grabbing her hand. Just as Rose promised to Jack, Theon never lets go.

The shivery crossing isn't enough to throw off the chase, though. The hounds are coming. Theon tries to do the noble thing, but you know, hounds have noses. They find Sansa.

But then — Brienne to the rescue! She and Pod do away with the Bolton men, and in an emotional moment, Brienne pledges herself to Sansa's service. It's really satisfying to see her finally save one of the Stark girls after many, many seasons of searching. Lady Catelyn would be proud.

Equally satisfying is Sansa's answer: "I vow that you shall always have a place at my hearth and..." Here, she hesitates — and Pod helps. "Meat and mead at my table," he finishes.

Sansa may have started the episode a runaway bride, but I get the sense that we'll be seeing her come into her own this season, with a little help from her Iron-born backbone.

Cersei & Jaime

Our first glimpse of Cersei is a sad one. She is told that a barge from Dorne is approaching the city, and her face lights up. She believes she is about to be reunited with her daughter. We know she's about to see her corpse. In the end, it's all very hush-hush. The barge arrives, carrying only dashed hopes and dreams. Without even a word from Jaime, she knows. She can see it in his face.

I had been looking forward to an emotionally wrenching scene between Jaime and Cersei in which he breaks the news that their daughter is dead.

What we get is even better. We never actually see Jaime telling Cersei about the death. Their scene takes place in the quiet aftermath, a sign of how far they have both come, for better or worse.

With Myrcella's death, Cersei has lost the only thing pushing her to be a better person. "I don't know where she came from. She was nothing like me," she tells Jaime. She used to think, maybe, just maybe, "If I could make something so good, so pure, maybe I'm not a monster."

Golden boy Jaime Lannister would have scoffed at such a display. He might have soothed or seduced. This Jaime has lost too much. He wants revenge. He will take everything back, and more, he tells her. Gotta trust the Kingslayer.

Margaery

Margaery is still locked up, being prayed at by evil Septa Unella. When the queen asks her see her brother, the answer comes swiftly: "Confess." Getting some Cersei flashbacks here.