'Game of Thrones' Premiere Features SPOILER Riding a Dragon

Winter is here. Game of Thrones returned tonight with the premiere of its eighth and final season and brought with it a lot of action, the fate of fan-favorite characters, and some huge surprises. Indeed, there's a lot at stake in Season 8 as the series makes its way towards a final battle against the Army of the Dead, but tonight's season premiere gave fans a truly dramatic moment off the battlefield with a stunning dragon flight.

WARNING: This article contains spoilers from the Game of Thrones Season 8 premiere. Continue reading at your own risk...

The season premiere finds Daenerys Targaryen (Emilia Clarke) at Winterfell with her dragons, but, while Daenerys and Jon Snow (Kit Harrington) were walking in the yard talking, one of Dany's Dothraki soldiers approached, telling her that the dragons were not eating enough. Dany blamed the dragons' eating situation on the cold of the rigid north and went, along with Jon, to comfort them. Much to her surprise, the dragons were very interested in Jon and, in short order, the smaller dragon Rhaegal, lowered his head for Jon. At Dany's encouragement, Jon climbed on -- and took flight.

Yes, you read that right. Jon Snow rode Rhaegal by himself in a stunning solo flight.

This is a huge development for Game of Thrones. Thus far in the series only Dany can truly ride dragons (the exception here being the Night King riding an undead Viserion) and it's something that even she didn't do until Season 5 when Drogon rescued her from the fighting pits in Mereen. She's been able to bring other people up onto Drogon's back with her, but the joy of solo flight has belonged to Dany and only Dany.

The idea that Jon can solo ride a dragon is huge for more reasons than him being a rarity in dragon flight. It also is another clue about Jon's true parentage. As fans discovered last season, Jon is the secret son of Rhaegar Targaryen and Lyanna Stark. This parentage means that Jon is, for lack of a better term, a natural when it comes to dragons. It's his birthright. Also his birthright? The throne. Of course, that's something that will likely play out over the remaining episodes in the series. For now, Dany and Jon both are unaware of the situation and, after the dragon flight, the pair land near a waterfall and kiss -- something that the dragons watch with great interests.

Were you surprised to see Jon Snow take flight tonight in the Game of Thrones Season 8 premiere? Sound off in the comments below.

Game of Thrones airs Sundays at 9 p.m. ET on HBO.

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