At long last , it is here : our first right look at the last episodes of HBO ’s Game of Thrones . And while it does n’t really give us a lot to go on other than the fact that every single eccentric on the show is contemplatingtheir inevitable icy end , there ’s still a few nuggets of information to parse .
The dawdler opens with a bloody , aggravate Arya Stark ( Maisie Williams)—in a near - pitch - sullen corridor at Winterfell . A lot — a lot — of this trailer is very darkly lit , but if you brighten it up a little you’re able to see that Arya ’s got a pretty nasty gash on her os frontale , blood ooze all over her ripe center .
What ’s assault her is left unseen — and whether it ’s human or undead — as we cut between Arya pass for her life and coup d’oeil of two other characters , Davos ( Liam Cunningham ) and Varys ( Conleth Hill ) . You get some effective glimpses of Arya ’s head lesion here in the flutter of torchlight answer to say : it ’s kinda gross . “ I experience death , ” Arya says all over this . “ It ’s generate many face . ”
Let ’s number back to those brief glimpse however , first we have Davos , standing atop Winterfell ’s wall with a group of archers …
… and meanwhile , Varys is hiding out in Winterfell ’s underground crypt with the women and kid of the palace . Which is a very Varys affair to do , after all , as this is patently an early glance of what we now know is theBattle of Winterfell : a monumental clash between the Night King and his White Walker hordes and the united forces of Daenerys Targaryen ( Emilia Clarke ) and the Stark menage .
But then we cut back to Arya , this time pre - head lesion , as she contemplates a dragonglass tongue . “ I look ahead to seeing this one , ” she concludes . run topic of this drone ? Everyone knows everything ’s gone to hell , and they ’re kind of accepting of it .
Elsewhere in the demesne of much better lighting , a Greyjoy fleet sets sail . But observe : the serviceman aboard it are not your typical Iron Islanders — after all , they ’re all clad in golden armour , and led by someone who does n’t look like any of the Greyjoys we get laid .
At the end of season seven , Cersei ( Lena Headey ) mention to Jamie ( Nikolaj Coster - Waldau ) that Euron Greyjoy was heading to Essos to recruit the freelance force known as the Golden Company to pad Cersei ’s forces , whether it ’s in a fight against the White Walkers or a battle against Dany come for her throne . These are presumably the Golden Company then , contribute the aesthetical , lead by a new character we ’ve not interpret before . Unless Euron decided to get in the temper and produce out his hair and slick it back a moment .
The next shot in the trailer may be the close thing to new information it really give us : TORMUND ( Kristofer Hivju ) LIVES , YOU ridicule . Yes , everyone ’s favourite fire - kissed wildling bro seemed like he was in a dire place at the climax of the last season , considering he was literally on the Wall when the Night King used zombieViserionto wreak it all tumble down . Joining him in the “ I Survived the White Walker Invasion at Eastwatch - By - Sea and All I Got Was This Lousy T - Shirt ” club are Edd ( Ben Crompton ) and Beric Dondarrion ( Richard Dormer ) , who light up the way with his flaming sword .
The struggle itself will of course of study get its own instalment , take by Miguel Sapochnik , the director behind the massive battles in “ Hardhome ” and “ Battle of the son of a bitch . ” Over all these stroke , Bran — presumably talking to Jon ( Kit Harington ) , but it could be to any of his remaining siblings in context really — offer the skinny thing to reassurance he can : “ Everything you did brought you where you are now . Where you belong . Home . ” That ’s all well and good Bran , but home ’s about to be assaulted by ice zombies !
Who ’s not miserable ( at least not yet ) , though ? Cersei , who ’s back down in King ’s Landing where everything is shot in literal daylight and is courteous and visible , and smirk to herself at the docks alongside Maester Qyburn ( Anton Lesser ) . Given the snap of Euron ’s fleet in the first place , maybe she ’s witness the reaching of the Golden Company to help stiffen her grip on the Iron Throne .
Back in the North , a young boy watches the Unsullied march back from an outlying village to Winterfell proper , lead by Dany and Jon , presumptively in preparation for the struggle to come . As this is the first time we see them in the trailer , fun reminder from last season : they boinked ( ill - advised ) ! And are related ( super badly - advised ) ! Ah , Game of Thrones .
Sansa ( Sophie Turner ) watches them yield , as Rhaegal and Drogon soar overhead . This is presumably after Dany and Jon have returned from their ill - fated attempt at convincing Cersei to team up against the White Walkers in the time of year finale , which is why Sansa is not forthwith as miserable looking as 90 percent of the lineament in this laggard . But we do know that at some point in the time of year Dany and Jon do seemingly venture on another escapade of their own , and this could be them returning from that — more on that in a bit .
Back in Winterfell ’s crypt , Dany and Jon partake in a brief second together — once again , remember the boinking — while the latter get his own department of ill voice over , describing the scourge the White Walkers typeface , presumably dialogue that ’s either just for the trailer or aim from him rallying the troops before the liberal battle . “ They ’re come . Our opposition does n’t tyre , does n’t stop … doesn’t spirit . ”
Speaking of tease the troop , here ’s your compulsory collage of mass getting ready for the fight : We ’ve make Gendry ( Joe Dempsie ) handle Winterfell ’s forge , Jorah Mormont ( Iain Glen ) riding up to confront something that ’s clearly spooked him , and Missandei ( Nathalie Emmaneul ) and Grey Worm ( Jacob Anderson ) inspecting the Unsullied gather in Winterfell ’s courtyard …
… Before sharing what could be a final candy kiss . Awww .
But hey , now that all the lovey - dovey stuff is out of the way , it ’s time for the struggle for Winterfell to begin ! And our first material shot of the activity in this trailer reveals a very intriguing arrival on the prospect : Jaime Lannister , having left Cersei behind at the conclusion of season seven , has made his elbow room to the action .
As if to hammer family that divide between the Lannisters , we cut back to King ’s Landing , as Cersei adjudge a rather empty audience with an nameless figure ( it ’s hard to differentiate if this is that Gold Company commandant from earlier , or perhaps Euron , or someone else ) , before tearily enjoying a cup of wine all by herself . What ’s the point of a throne to rule if the brother you have an incestuous relationship with is n’t there to share it ? And also if a clustering of undead ice ogre could be about to come and kill everyone ?
Here ’s your pre - requisite “ look at our VFX budget ” shooter of Rhaegal and Drogon . Pretty ! But remarkable that they ’re very understandably further up north than Winterfell here , and likely beyond the Wall . Not like it was unsurmountable by a dragon before , but now that there ’s a giant hole in it , much easier to cross to .
verbalize of Dragons , we cut back to what is presumably match with the earlier blastoff of Sansa , the Dragons returning to Winterfell — or rather we see it from Arya ’s perspective now , the first clip she ’s ever in reality find out Dany ’s brood in soul . She ’s rather captivate , unlike literally everyone around her .
in short back to the Battle for Winterfell , as Grey Worm assume his helmet . But interestingly , it ’s Jaime we hear from over this “ I promise to defend for the sustenance , ” he recite someone unobserved ( presumably the Starks or Dany whenever he arrive at Winterfell ) . “ I designate to keep that promise . ”
Meanwhile , Jon pays a visit to the Godswood at Winterfell , presumably after his comeback from the sick - fated parlay with Cersei .
But back to the bloodshed to come though : we get this ominous , fire - tinged shot of another guest participant at the conflict at Winterfell against the Night King : The Hound ( Rory McCann ) !
Jon nerve himself to present the ultimate fight of his aliveness , as the Battle for Winterfell truly commence .
But before ( or maybe even after ) all that , we finally see the connection between the earlier stab of Rhaegal and Drogon beyond the Wall and the late released picture of Dany and Jon in a similar environ : At some peak this season , whether it ’s before or after the massive scrap at Winterfell Keep , the duo venture past the ruins of the Wall . What are they look for — answers ? More ways to terminate a 2d Long Night ? Some Targaryen family bonding time ? The dragons have at least found something to flame broil in the meanwhile .
The trailer ends in the manner in which most of it progress : shots of our heroes looking distraught and a teeny bit more of the action from the struggle for Winterfell .
First , the despair : Here we ’ve get Sansa ( so this is presumably after she ’s learn the meeting with Cersei did n’t go well ) , Tyrion ( Peter Dinklage , in our one and only look at him in this poke ) , and then Dany . Everyone is so tired and miserable , you ’d think it ’s the end of the human beings as they know it .
But then here ’s the detached shaft of the action mechanism from the battle , only because , hey , look , it ’s Arya ! Finally contract to enter in her very own elephantine Game of Thrones struggle after neglect out on all the past ones . And it seems that dragonglass dagger from earlier might now be a dragonglass lance . That ’s fun .
After a abbreviated blast of dragonfire , the trailer ends with the most ominous of all shots : the gathered force at Winterfell , let in Brienne ( Gwendoline Christie ) and Podrick ( Daniel Portman ) , as they do face to face with the first skeletal hoof of the Night King ’s vanguard . After all that build up , after all that despair , it ’s sentence for the Battle of Winterfell to sincerely begin .
intelligibly , at this percentage point , HBO is keeping as much close to its dresser as it peradventure can when it comes to Thrones ’ final time of year . This trailer , while incredibly dense , does n’t really tell us anything beyond thing we already know were come , like the massive fight at Winterfell . It ’s mostly a tonal piece rather than a trailer pack with reveals — a dreadful portent that what ’s coming is not just the fight of our heroes ’ lives , but the end of it all .
The end begins when Game of Thrones return April 14 .
For more , verify you ’re follow us on our new Instagram @io9dotcom .
Game of ThronesTrailer Breakdown
Daily Newsletter
Get the best tech , skill , and culture news in your inbox daily .
newsworthiness from the time to come , fork over to your present .
You May Also Like
