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Article snippet: If you have designs on a dynasty, the first thing you have to do is get yourself a sweet map. That was one lesson from the Season 7 premiere of “Game of Thrones,” as the story’s two most powerful queens plotted on opposite sides of Blackwater Bay. But there were others: Shared leadership is best shared out of public view. Be decent to people, lest you later find their skeletons in your closet. The pursuit of knowledge can be a filthy business. And if your cantankerous uncle unexpectedly invites you to a festive party, with lots of toasting and wine, maybe let him take the first sip. [Want exclusive “Game of Thrones” explainers as well as the internet’s best articles on this week’s episode? Sign up for our Season 7 newsletter here.] Sunday’s episode, largely picking up where the Season 6 finale left off, sketched out the contours of the clashes to come, suggesting some possible paths of convergence and identifying free agents who will fill in the gaps. After years of billowing story and cast, it was striking to note how the action hinged mostly on people we have been with from the beginning: Cersei and Jaime Lannister; Jon Snow; Sansa, Arya and Bran Stark; Daenerys Targaryen and Tyrion. Even the Hound — now riding with the unkillable Beric Dondarrion and Thoros, the Myrish red priest with Brooklyn bartender styling — has been around, off and on, since the pilot. The world of the show is smaller, too, as suggested by those maps. Pretty much everyone of note is back... Link to the full article to read more