Over the weekend, HBO released a new Game of Thrones TV spot during March Madness (that’s a basketball thing, for those who aren’t into sports). The teaser first became a bit of legend on Twitter, as very few Thrones fans were watching college basketball at the time. Eventually, it made its way online and is now ready for close inspection.
It’s only 30-seconds of footage, but much of it is new and all of it is thematically relevant. As we’re told by The High Sparrow, we all deserve death. Which is an escalation of the theme from previous seasons: that all men must die. This season appears to dive deep into the nihilism.
Have a look for yourself, then we’ll talk about it:
Below, a breakdown of all the wonderful and death-deserving things we’re seeing in this short clip. It’s a surprising amount for a 30-second spot. Just be warned: spoilers and speculation will run rampant.
Instead of taking this chronologically, let’s break this down by character/location. Up first is Daenerys, who appears a little worse for wear but mostly in good shape considering she was kidnapped at the end of last season by a horde of Dothraki. We know that she will be brought back to Vaes Dothrak to live among the widows of Dosh Khaleen. We can also surmise based on the big shadow being cast by Drogon that she won’t be staying long. For Daenerys, this could be the ultimate turning point. And as Emilia Clarke explained in a recent interview, she’s in the midst of learning something important, “This season it feels like she’s learning the last lesson she needs to learn. She’s not being swayed by anyone. She knows what’s-what. There’s just few remnants of being a human being that she’s shaking off.”
What that final lesson is remains to be seen, but one could safely assume that it has something to do with burning everything to the ground. If she brings back that classic Targaryen exceptionalism — the firm belief that she is the rightful and chosen ruler of Westeros — perhaps she stands a chance in the wars to come.
Next is Tyrion, who was last seen being left in charge of Meereen. Alongside Missandei, Grey Worm and Vary, he’s been tasked with bringing order to the former slaver city and keeping the Sons of the Harpy in check. Though in the third image below, he appears to be in full “Let’s get the fuck out of here” mode, perhaps looking around in the dark for a dragon or two.
In the North, we see shots of Sansa running, Theon running, Brienne mean-mugging and ultimately, Theon crying. Here’s a theory: Brienne and Pod find Sansa and Theon, who are being tracked by Bolton soldiers. But they can only save one of them. Obviously it’s Sansa who is saved and taken to shelter with another Northern lord. That last shot looks a lot like Theon’s reaction to being returned to Winterfell to meet Ramsay. It’s just a theory, but it makes sense.
Elsewhere in The North — at The Wall and beyond — we get some Bran, some Night’s King and Wun Wun busting through a door at Castle Black. The shot of The Night’s King’s silhouette against a wall of fire might be my new desktop wallpaper. Let’s hope that is fire from a dragon.
As for the rest of The North, Ramsay is here. Horses are here. One Bastard is ready for battle. Will the other one join him? This trailer isn’t going to tell, but we all know the truth in our hearts.
Down King’s Landing way, Cersei and Jaime continue to go round-and-round in the increasingly insignificant political battle for the Iron Throne. The shot of Cersei might be on the docks outside King’s Landing, where we’d have to assume she’s finding out about her daughter’s death. The rest is the High Sparrow and Jaime, flanked by a massive garrison of Tyrell soldiers, probably negotiating the release of Queen Margaery. Now that Jaime is in full dad-mode, he’s likely going to help his son get his bride back.
We get a few shots in Braavos to remind us that Arya is blind, has learned parkour and is still kicking around her summer internship with Jaqen. He gets one of the big lines of the trailer, stating unequivocally that sooner or later, everyone’s face ends up on the wall of the dead.
Here’s more shots from The Tower of Joy, including a much more clear look at young Ned Stark fighting Ser Arthur Dayne. Why would they show us the presumptive origin story of Jon Snow’s parentage if he’s deader than deader than dead? Hmm…
Game of Thrones returns on April 24. Between now and then, it’s likely that we’ll have more thoughts to share.
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