Warning: this article contains spoilers for Game of Thrones season 7, episode 3 'The Queen's Justice'.
After years and years of waiting, we finally got the meeting we all wanted on last night's (July 30) Game of Thrones as Jon Snow and Daenerys Targaryen came face to face.
The meeting of ice and fire, however, didn't exactly go down as most had anticipated – although, given Jon and Dany's different priorities by season seven, the rather tense encounter was not hugely surprising.
As the King of the North arrived at Dragonstone, the Mother of Dragons demanded he bow the knee to her, though Jon would rather she gave him a hand with defeating the White Walkers.
Dany takes a while to be convinced that the army of the dead exist in the first place – the whole of the episode 'The Queen's Justice', to be precise – but she does eventually acquiesce to Jon's request to mine the dragonglass at Dragonstone.
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Following the episode's airing, stars Kit Harington and Emilia Clarke opened up about the meeting in a new interview, revealing that they had to divorce themselves from what the viewers wanted.
"I predicted, like everyone, they would meet this season, but I don't think I predicted it quite as quickly," Harington told Entertainment Weekly.
"But then again, you've got to take yourself out of the mindset of the viewer. As far as Jon knows, he's just meeting this queen he's heard of and trying to negotiate with her — he's not meeting Daenerys, who the audience has been watching for so many years.
"That helps with the surprise of it. He walks into the room and doesn't expect to see such a beautiful young woman of similar age to him. Any young man's reaction is going to be, 'Okay…' but he puts that aside, because he has to."
Clarke added: "I had an idea it was coming this season, sure. It was fun to play — she doesn't like him and she doesn't believe him."
Showrunner David Benioff further explained: "It was really fun to watch that scene and I thought they did a great job. There isn't instant chemistry. He's annoying and she's annoying and they have to figure out how to make peace."
Of course these two will play central roles for the rest of the series, though we imagine their newfound alliance will be stressed further if the revelation about Jon's true parentage comes to light to the both of them.
Game of Thrones airs on HBO in the US and was simulcast on Sky Atlantic. Sky Atlantic will re-air the show for fans in the UK at 9pm tonight (July 31).
Watch a teaser for next week's episode 'The Spoils of War' below:
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Sam is a freelance reporter and sub-editor who has a particular interest in movies, TV and music. After completing a journalism Masters at City University, London, Sam joined Digital Spy as a reporter, and has also freelanced for publications such as NME and Screen International. Sam, who also has a degree in Film, can wax lyrical about everything from Lord of the Rings to Love Is Blind, and is equally in his element crossing every 't' and dotting every 'i' as a sub-editor.
