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Game of Thrones has smashed viewing figures for the series in the UK.
An impressive 3.39 million people watched the first episode of season eight on Sky Atlantic on Monday (15 April).
Of that number, 192,000 viewers stayed up to watch the 2am broadcast live, with that number increasing to 2.7 million when accounting for those who recorded the premiere.
Additionally, 698,000 viewers waited for the encore showing at 9pm that day.
Those overnight figures are 20 per cent up from the 2.83 million people who watched the season seven premiere, and an increase of 12 per cent from the season seven finale.
Game of Thrones season 8 episode 1 callbacks and Easter eggsShow all 13 1 /13Game of Thrones season 8 episode 1 callbacks and Easter eggs Game of Thrones season 8 episode 1 callbacks and Easter eggs Excited youngsters The season eight premiere was loaded with many references to the show's very first instalment, "Winter Is Coming," which aired in 2011. The episode began with a nameless young boy, scrambling around the castle of Winterfell to get a better view of Daenerys' oncoming army. It served as a reminder that Bran did the same when King Robert Baratheon, Cersei Lannister and company visited all those years ago.
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Game of Thrones season 8 episode 1 callbacks and Easter eggs "Winterfell is yours, Your Grace" When Sansa, the Lady of Winterfell, greets Daenerys, she repeats the same line her father said to King Robert back in the Pilot episode: "Winterfell is yours, Your Grace."
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Game of Thrones season 8 episode 1 callbacks and Easter eggs Joffrey's wedding The season premiere had several character reunions, one of which included wedded couple Sansa and Tyrion who haven't seen each other since Joffrey's dramatic demise at King's Landing in season four. "It was a miserable affair," Tyrion says, to which Sansa replies: "It had its moments," clearly recollecting Joffrey's choking face.
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Game of Thrones season 8 episode 1 callbacks and Easter eggs A visit to godswood Jon Snow assumes the role of Ned Stark in this episode and visits the weirwood tree-filled godswood and Stark family crypt much like his "father" did back in the Pilot. It was a nice touch that it was the latter where Sam Tarly told his friend of his true Targaryen heritage.
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Game of Thrones season 8 episode 1 callbacks and Easter eggs "Once or twice" The season eight premiere marked the long-awaited reunion of Arya and Jon who haven't shared a scene since the first season. When Jon notices Arya still has Needle in her possession, he asks - unaware of her status as a Faceless assassin - whether she's ever had to use it. "Once or twice," she says.
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Game of Thrones season 8 episode 1 callbacks and Easter eggs Cersei wants elephants You may have noticed that Cersei spent a large chunk of her scenes disappointed that The Golden Company representative Harry Strickland arrived from Essos without any elephants in tow. As mentioned in George RR Martin's book series, the mysterious group of mercenaries do indeed own elephants; they were probably left out of the series due to budget restrictions.
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Game of Thrones season 8 episode 1 callbacks and Easter eggs The crossbow Qyburn hands Bronn a crossbow after filling him in on Cersei's wishes: she wants him to use it to kill her brothers, Jaime and Tyrion. For those who don't remember, this is the same weapon that Tyrion used to kill their father, Tywin, with - a murder that Jaime seems to have forgiven Tyrion for.
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Game of Thrones season 8 episode 1 callbacks and Easter eggs Jon goes chasing waterfalls While not a direct callback, the scene in which Jon and Daenerys enjoy a smooch in front of the waterfall will remind viewers of his previous romance with the wildling Ygritte, with whom he consummated his feelings while lying in a waterfall cave. Viewers will remember how that relationship ended - and following Jon's discovery that he's the true heir to the Iron Throne, and Daenyers' nephew, it seems this love affair could be just as doomed.
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Game of Thrones season 8 episode 1 callbacks and Easter eggs "M'lady" Arya finally catches up with her oldest friend, Gendry, this week - and he's still as obsessed with status as ever before. At one stage, he calls her "m'lady" - a nod to the same nickname he gave the clearly rattled Arya five seasons ("don't call me that," she tells him). Only this time, it comes with added flirtation.
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Game of Thrones season 8 episode 1 callbacks and Easter eggs The Silence Euron Greyjoy tells his prisoner Yara that he doesn't want to kill her as she's the only one he can speak to considering all his sailors are mutes. This is a reference to George RR Martin's book series - his ship is called The Silence as its crew consists of sailors who have had their tongues cut out by their paranoid captain; he's fearful they'd conspire to usurp his rule.
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Game of Thrones season 8 episode 1 callbacks and Easter eggs Cameos It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia fans will be happy to know the season eight premiere featured a brief cameo from Mac actor Rob McElhenney as one of Euron's guards that Theon butchers while saving Yara. McElhenney is good friends with creators David Benioff and DB Weiss. Silicon Valley actor Martin Starr also appeared in the same scene.
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Game of Thrones season 8 episode 1 callbacks and Easter eggs The Night King's symbol The symbol that goes up in flames after Lord Ned Umber is found impaled to a wall surrounded by severed limbs recalls the same pattern left behind by the Night King on three separate occasions throughout the series: in the show's opening scene, when Jon finds the remains of horses remains assembled in a similar way and again in Bran's visions. Many fans also think it bears a striking resemblance to the sigil of House Targaryen, which lends credence to the theory that the White Walker leader could actually be the true heir of the Iron Throne.
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Game of Thrones season 8 episode 1 callbacks and Easter eggs Things come full circle for Jaime The end of the episode was a huge callback to the end of the Pilot episode, which infamously saw Jaime Lannister push Bran Stark out of a window after he catches him having sex with his sister, and King Robert's queen, Cersei. No characters have had bigger evolutions on the show than these two and this moment seems to hammer home that exact fact. As he looks at Bran, removing his hood much in the same way he took off his helmet all those years ago, it’s easy to sense his regret over past actions.
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That does not include those people who watched the episode on NOW TV, the streaming service airing Game of Thrones in the UK.
Those figures are minimal compared to the 17.4 million people who watched the HBO show on TV and streaming. The broadcaster has said it was the “largest night of streaming activity ever”, with 50 per cent of viewers streaming the episode.
The reunion-heavy episode featured a hilarious reference to last season’s controversial Ed Sheeran cameo as well as the moment that saw Snow learn of his true Targaryen heritage .
The final season of Game of Thrones continues every Sunday. The show is available on Sky Atlantic and NOW TV in the UK .
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