WARNING: The following contains spoilers for the Season 8 premiere of Game of Thrones.
In its Season 8 premiere, HBO's Game of Thrones finally brings Daenerys Targaryen to Winterfell with her armies of Unsullied and Dothraki warriors. She comes asserting sovereignty over the North, after Jon Snow bent a knee and gave up his own crown, but Daenerys also brings something extra to the looming war against the Night King: her remaining dragons, Dragon and Rhaegal.
However, as excited as viewers are to witness the beasts lay waste to the White Walkers, the Mother of Dragons is already facing major problems, with a scarcity of food for her children, and their dislike for the icy temperatures of the North.
In the season opener, "Winterfell," Jon Snow (Kit Harington) and Daenerys (Emilia Clarke) assess the landscape, particularly her cold reception, when she's informed by her Dothraki soldiers the beasts had only 18 goats and 11 sheep to eat. It's actually something Sansa (Sophie Turner) warned her about, as she hadn't stocked Winterfell to feed so much people, let alone two dragons.
There's now the matter of what, or who, the dragons will eat when supplies inevitably run low. The latter proves a problem because they were allowed to feast on Daenerys' enemies, but here everyone is an ally, and unleashing the beasts upon the countryside to forage would undoubtedly further destabilize the fragile coalition in the North.
In addition, the dragons are homesick, as Daenerys reveals they don't like the North. It could be the frigid conditions, as they're accustomed to warm climates, or maybe they're feeling unwelcome, as this region still harbors resentment toward the Targaryen family.
At first glance, this may seem a trivial matter, but sustenance is a hell of a thing when the fate of Westeros is at stake. It doesn't matter whether you're a soldier or a Direwolf, as long as you're not one of the ice zombies, you need to be fed. And already saw this become a huge problem in Season 4's "The Children," with the dragons leaving Dany at Meereen to attack flocks; Drogon even burned a child to charred bones during a frustrated hunt. That led to Dany chain Drogon's siblings in the crypt below her throne room, as she realized how uncontrollable they could become if not satisfied.
While the dragons have now matured and listen more to their mother, they'll weaken without proper meals. With their zombified sibling, Viserion, heading toward Winterfell with the Night King's army, now is not a good time for this complication. We thought the dragons' biggest problems would be that beast, but food sources may be just as tricky to solve. Jon knows the terrain, so he'll have to come up with a solution fast, because the Night King's army faces no such obstacles, and is marching full-steam ahead.
Game of Thrones Season 8 airs Sundays at 9 p.m. ET/PT on HBO. It stars Peter Dinklage as Tyrion Lannister, Nikolaj Coster-Waldau as Jaime Lannister, Lena Headey as Cersei Lannister, Emilia Clarke as Daenerys Targaryen, Sophie Turner as Sansa Stark, Maisie Williams as Arya Stark and Kit Harington as Jon Snow.