"It is known!" Thrones returns!

Sorry for the unspeakably long absence, it's been a crazy couple of months around here. We still have to keep the forces of darkness at bay and that means working on the railroad, swinging a hammer.

Best part of Easter Sunday? Other than the kid's birthday party? That would be the return of HBO's Game of Thrones. Based on this first hour - featuring a canvass of characters so vast that the first hour only reintroduces half of them - we are in for a spectacular feast.

Season 3 tackles the jaw-dropping third volume of Martin's Ice and Fire opus - A Storm of Swords. Rightly referred to as The Empire Strikes Back of the books, this part of the saga is truly an astonishing series of twists and turns that we can only hope the sixth and seventh books somehow manage to equal. How hefty is Swords? HBO is wisely dividing it up into two seasons - the show has already been renewed for a fourth season following Sunday's best-ever ratings.

I take my Night's Watch vow, and promise to be spoiler free, but know that Tyrion Lannister is still not getting the respect he deserves from patriarch Tywin - a scene between the two of them was a real standout on Sunday.

 

We now find Daenerys in the far country of Astapor, looking for an army, far from having escaped her former enemies.

Jon Snow continues his mission as the spy who went into the cold, seeking to infiltrate the Wilding army beyond the wall and find their leader, Mance Rayder. He's only just reached their camp and has already seen eye-popping new wonders.

That's really just a taste. Joffrey is busy with a new betrothed and there are enough exciting differences from the books to keep us on our toes and itching for more. There are several characters I would have thought we'd have met by now who we haven't, but I'm staying optimistic. Strong Belwas? Vargo Hoat? There are bound to be plenty of unexpected happenings along the way - the books aren't the Torah, gang - we have to allow for that.

As the story progresses we are gradually encountering more fantastic and potentially supernatural beings - and the Thrones visual effects crew is more than up for the task. Distant castles and battlements look tangible and painterly, not computer-generated. There were at least two creatures (not to mention the dragons) seen Sunday night that are among the best effects I've ever seen on television. If this is the level of commitment and scope of story the Thrones crew is preparing to unleash, we'd best bar the door, grab an axe and an ale... and ask the Seven to save us! Season three made it clear that they're taking no prisoners.