Game Of Thrones returned for its 8th and final season on April 15 after a near two-year absence.

HBO aired episode one simultaneously in the US and UK.

Secrets were revealed and families reunited as the battle for the Iron Throne intensified, with the ‘undead’ army inching ever closer.

According to Variety , the Game of Thrones writers have done something new this time around: “Hitting the accelerator and delivering major plot developments, hurriedly, in its home stretch.”

One of the most eagerly-anticipated TV moments of the decade is expected to have drawn a huge audience.

HBO said last month that 81 million people watched the trailer across all online platforms (including Twitter, YouTube, Facebook) in just 24 hours.

Game of Thrones return lit up social media again on the premiere day.

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Many of the stars stepped out on April 12 for a screening in Belfast, where large parts of the series were filmed.

Maisie Williams, who has played Arya Stark since she was a teenager, was there and she told the Observer she has no intention of chasing more fame than she already has, once the show wraps up at the end of the series.

The first episode of Game of Thrones, starring Maisie Williams, Kit Harington as Jon Snow and Emilia Clarke as Daenerys Targaryen, as well as Lena Headey’s Cersei Lannister, had a running time of 54 minutes which is, apparently, the shortest of the whopping big-sounding eighth season.

The third installment is set to be the longest, running to 82 minutes.