With Season 7 feeling like eons ago, HBO finally released the Game of Thrones Season 8 trailer this morning. The final season begins on April 14, 2019, a mere forty days away. If you are a mega-fan, that means you will have to watch 1.675 episodes per day to be all caught up by the season premiere. After delving in to the trailer several dozens times, here are some thoughts on what we see in the clips.
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The two-minute trailer starts with a close-up of Arya Stark, who appears dirty and almost scared and frantic as she runs through what appears to be a dark hallway, perhaps the crypts of Winterfell or another part of the castle? What is she running from? Perhaps White Walkers, the undead army, or (even worse and my personal suspicion) a horde of undead Starks risen by the Night King? Only time will tell.
Much of the trailer’s scenes appear to take place before the clash at Winterfell between the living (which currently features pretty much the entire cast, minus Cersei, Euron Greyjoy and their men) and the dead. Prior to the cut-away, we see Davos atop the castle’s walls while Varys and some other characters appear to be hiding in the crypts.
In the North, we see a boy overlook the Unsullied Army as they march through Wintertown as they head towards the Winterfell castle. On horseback, Jon and Dany ride side-by-side with the army as it approaches Sansa, who seems amazed at the sight of Drogon and Rhaegal. We get a glimpse of Jon and Dany in the crypts, which unsurprisingly should be a focal point of several episodes at the beginning of the season, as Jon will likely learn his true lineage and the fate of his mother. Arya has a dragonglass knife (or spear). We see glimpses throughout of Gendry, Jorah, and Grey Worm as they prepare for battle.
One of the more emotional parts of the trailer comes when we hear the voice of Jaime say “I promised to fight for the living.” By turning his back on Cersei and heading north in the season 7 finale, Jaime is trying to break the “oathbreaker / kingslayer” title he had obtained in his past. I expect this will be early on in the season as he pledges his life to the realm to fight for and with Jon and Dany.
I am not sure if it was intentional, but I found the trailer had a theme of “two” throughout as it related to Jon and Dany. We see various clips of the two dragons flying together. We even see the dragons amongst a plethora of charred bones as Jon and Dany walk towards them. This is particularly interesting to me given that they appear to be Beyond the Wall and it appears that it is a start of a sequence for Jon to learn how to fly a dragon. It is abundantly clear that Jon and Dany, along with their Targaryen lineage, should be a focal point in the show’s final season.
There are some scenes that are not from our Northern heroes. It appears that the Golden Company is being carried from Essos aboard Euron Greyjoy’s Iron Fleet to the Westeros action. Cersei is seen drinking wine in the Throne Room, which causes me to question the validity (or end?) of her pregnancy. I am intrigued with how the war against the dead will clash with the war for the Iron Throne throughout the final season. Will they be fought simultaneously? Or one after another? Given what we learned in Season 7 and the nature of the geography of Westeros, I would expect the large battle of Winterfell to occur, with the fight for the throne thereafter. But with Game of Thrones, you never really know until it’s shown on-screen (and even then, questions abound… still hoping for those Syrio Forel, Blackfish Tully and Stannis returns!).
The trailer concludes with the clip of Brienne, Poderick Payne, Jorah, the Unsullied and numerous other soldiers (from the North, the Eyrie and elsewhere in Westeros) awaiting the Night King’s army outside of the Winterfall walls as the undead horse’s hooves land on the icy tundra in the North. Many questions remain unanswered and more questions arose through the run of this trailer. The anticipation and desire for the final Game of Thrones’ season premiere continues to grow as we head into the final stretch of waiting for April 14!
A graduate of Xavier University, Chris began his writing career as a Xavier Musketeers Athletic Communications Intern where he wrote previews and post-game recaps for men’s basketball, women’s basketball and other Olympic sports. He has worked in the sports industry in various capacities for over 5 years. Chris is a fan of the Xavier Musketeers, the Baltimore Ravens and the Baltimore Orioles. Other hobbies and passions includes Game of Thrones and, as an Eagle Scout, volunteering as a Boy Scout Troop Assistant Scoutmaster. Chris was born in Baltimore, raised in Baltimore County and currently resides in Canton.