Updated | After six seasons of being warned that winter is coming, Game of Thrones is finally plummeting into subzero temperatures in Season 7. And if frostbite doesn't kill off a few characters, impending war certainly will. "The great war is here," says Kit Harington's Jon Snow at the end of the first full-length trailer for the Emmy-winning fantasy drama's penultimate season.
HBO released the first extended footage from Thrones Season 7 Wednesday, raising the stakes this year with an all-out war looming. All our key players, Cersei Lannister (Lena Headey), Daenerys Targaryen (Emilia Clarke) and Jon, have a stake in the game. But who will come out on top?
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The clip opens with the new queen of Westeros, Cersei, bracing herself for imminent attacks from all sides trying to claim the Iron Throne, which she usurped at the end of Season 6. "Enemies to the east, enemies to the west, enemies to the south, enemies to the north," she says. But just when you think Cersei is going to break into a rendition of "Stuck in the Middle With You," that Lannister arrogance shines through. She tells her brother and lover, Jaime Lannister, "Whatever stands in our way, we will defeat it." That immediately strikes me as the last words of a villain about to get her comeuppance, but, hey, I'm no Three-Eyed Raven.
There is a lot to unpack in the trailer. Here are some key things to watch out for.
Daenerys arrives in Westeros
When we last saw the Khaleesi at the end of Season 6, she and her army had just set sail for Westeros. But there's no time to waste on the journey—there are just 13 episodes of Game of Thrones left, after all. The trailer shows Dany has already touched down in her homeland, which she had fled when her father, the Mad King, was overthrown by Robert Baratheon. "I was born to rule the Seven Kingdoms, and I will," she says. (Note the poignant music that scores Dany's arrival—a nice touch by composer Ramin Djawadi.)
Several Game of Thrones cast members told Entertainment Weekly this week that the show will have a much faster pace this season, and Dany's accelerated homecoming is a good indication of that.
The war of the queens
Last season set up a battle between Cersei and Dany for the Iron Throne, and, judging by the trailer, we won't have to wait too long to get it. The trailer shows what looks like Dany's Unsullied army storming the Red Keep—the residence of the monarch—and slaying Cersei's Kingsguard. Later, there is more battle footage between the Unsullied and the Lannister army, who are distinguished by the Lannisters' gold lion sigil emblazoned on their shields. We cannot wait to see Dany and Cersei finally come face to face.
Is Jon Snow onto Baelish's plan?
One fleeting moment in the trailer could have some huge ramifications for the Stark family, who have already been torn apart, with many of them murdered in the last six seasons. Jon is seen slamming Petyr Baelish, aka Littlefinger, against the wall. Jon is not happy with Westeros's resident pot-stirrer.
After the heart-melting reunion between Sansa Stark and her half-brother Jon last season, Baelish sparked some seeds of mistrust in Sansa, making her question whether she can really trust Jon. Baelish again seems to be doing that here, telling the eldest Stark daughter in the trailer, "Your father and brothers are gone, and yet here you stand."
Perhaps Jon will be the one to finally unravel Baelish's scheming?
The great houses come together?
Game of Thrones would not be Game of Thrones without some titillation. The trailer teases the possibility of two trysts—one obvious and one not so.
Dany's right hands Grey Worm and Missandei look like they're going to get it on. But the question is, how? The Unsullied are castrated, so they can be good little soldiers with no distractions. Perhaps Missandei will teach Grey Worm in the bedroom, just as she taught him English.
We also see Yara Greyjoy and Ellaria Sand lock lips in the trailer. That hints at a very strong alliance uniting some of the great houses from Thrones together against the Lannisters. By Season 6's end, Yara and her brother, Theon Greyjoy, pledged their fealty to Daenerys, while in Dorne, Ellaria floated to Olenna Tyrell the idea of a union between the Martell-Sand and Tyrell houses—and then in came Varys, the master of spies who has been advising Daenerys.
Ellaria said she could offer Olenna "vengeance" against Cersei, who, last season, killed her granddaughter Margaery and grandson Loras in the Great Sept explosion. Varys suggested they use "fire and blood" to exact the revenge—a reference, perhaps, to Dany's dragons.
If the Martell, Greyjoy, Tyrell and Targaryen families stand together, not even Cersei's FrankenMountain can save her.
Season 7 of Game of Thrones premieres on July 16.
This piece incorrectly stated that Dany's grandfather is the Mad King. He is her father.
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