Winter is here and is bringing the great war with it. Let’s break down the newest Game of Thrones Season 7 trailer!
Friends, it might be the official first day of summer (Summer Solstice FTW!), but Game of Thrones is quick to remind us that #WinterIsHere, and in less than a month, we’ll finally be able to see the full consequences of this change in seasons.
First, can we talk about how brilliant this promotional strategy is? HBO totally hijacks our summer celebrations by releasing the new Game of Thrones trailer and then launches a social media campaign on Twitter for fans to unlock 12 new “Winter is Here” character posters. Even more fun, other HBO shows like True Blood, Insecure, and The Sopranos have gotten in on the fun by sharing their own winter-fied posters. It’s been awesome!
So, now let’s get to the trailer itself:
Three characters, Petyr Baelish, Jon, and Sansa, narrate different parts of the trailer while the video highlights the goings-on across Westeros and beyond.
We begin with Sansa in Winterfell walking outside, and in the background we hear Littlefinger, who (I assume) is counseling her.
“Don’t fight in the North, in the South. Fight every battle, everywhere. Always, in your mind.”
Simultaneously, we see scenes of Jon beginning a journey north of the wall, Cersei welcomes Euron and the Iron Born fleet/soldiers into Kings Landing, and Dany reacquaints herself with Dragonstone. As Littlefinger warns us, war is coming from all directions, and while most of Westeros has been focussed on the battle for the Iron Throne, this will no longer be possible. Jon certainly knows this and has for awhile.
We then transition to Dany at Drangonstone, who has been joined by her dragons and her Hand, Tyrion. Meanwhile, we hear Jon making a case for unity:
“For centuries our families fought together against their common enemy, despite their differences, together. We need to do the same if we’re going to survive, because the enemy is real. It’s always been real.”
Given Jon’s location in the North and his experiences in the Night’s Watch, it shouldn’t surprise us that he’s much more interested in assembling a force to tackle the White Walkers. It seems likely that he’s speaking to Dany and Tyrion in order to gain their support. With that said, many in Westeros have other priorities, and we see evidence of that as Theon and the Iron Born loyal to Yara fight a fiery battle, Greyworm leads the Unsullied in an attack, and the Dothraki + dragons charge on… perhaps against Casterly Rock? (We get images of Jaime gearing up for a fight and making a charge of his own, while, in another scene, Tyrion looks kind of stricken.)
We know Bran would understand Jon’s urgency, because he’s likely (and literally) seen it ALL. It will be interesting to see what Bran plans to do as soon as he and Meera return south of the Wall.
As for Jon (who is joined by Tormund, Beric Dondarrion+ flaming sword and the Brotherhood without Banners), he eventually makes his way into another massive fight against the White Walkers and the Night King.
And we end with Sansa issuing a warning of her own:
“When the snows fall and the white winds blow, the lone wolf dies, but the pack survives.”
At first, this sounds like a sort of omen. Even with a reunion between Jon and Sansa, the remaining Starks are alone for the most part. Are we about to see the decimation of the rest of this House?! But the more I think about it, perhaps this is a positive sign. Maybe Sansa is calling upon the rest of her family to rally together, because the only way they can survive the impending doom is together… so the Stark Family reunion that Entertainment Weekly facilitated last month, might not be so farfetched after all.
Ultimately, I think it’s clear that there are going to be some very significant deaths in Season 7. War is here, along with all the horrors associated with it.
Like a fool, I still have hope! I don’t like that Jon and Sansa will be separated and she’ll be left to Littlefinger’s machinations. But we do see that Brienne and Pod arrive in Winterfell, so Sansa will have someone trustworthy at her back. I’m just hoping that, in the end, Sansa is playing the hell out of Petyr Baelish.
Also, Jon is taking on the White Walkers, and even though I’m not sure why he takes the fight to them, by the end of the trailer, Jon is kicking ass and standing tall.
In King’s Landing, it looks like Euron takes his offer for soldiers and himself to Cersei (since Yara beats him to Dany). Does this mean Cersei will marry Euron? (Incidentally, I saw a CRAZY theory on twitter that Euron will be the valoqar who kills Cersei. He is Balon Greyjoy’s younger brother, incredibly power hungry, and not afraid to kill for what he wants.)
We still haven’t seen much of Arya, but she’s on the move. Where is she headed to now in her quest for revenge?
Speaking of revenge, we get a quick glimpse of Sandor Clegane… is it possible that he might be about to face off against his brother/Franken-Mountain? (Cleganebowl FTW!)
What are some of the theories and questions you have in mind?
Take a look at the 12 new posters, where Jon, Sansa, Arya, Bran, Dany, Tyrion, Cersei, Jaime, Brienne, Tormund, Theon, and Littlefinger all proclaim that “Winter is here.”
Game of Thrones premieres Sunday, July 16 at 9p/8c on HBO.