WE'RE BAAAAAAAACK
THE TRAILER IS HERE!
It's been nearly two years since we've seen relevant Game of Thrones footage, and if you're anything like me you've been FEENIN' for any type of content you could get. I've re-watched the series three times since we last spoke. I've watched reaction videos, I've filmed reaction videos. I've read the books, and I've gotten tattoos. But the absolute main thing i've been waiting for all this time is the Season 8 trailer. Ladies and gentlemen, I'm here to announce that the wait is finally over. If by some unknown reason you made your way to my obscure website and even more obscure blog without seeing this trailer, please do yourself a favor and feast your eyes on the (first?) trailer for the final season of what could very possibly be the greatest television show of all time.
*waits*
Incredible. Awe inspiring. Delightful. Terrifying. OH SHIT.
Just a few words I've used to describe this beautiful 2 minute viewing experience since I first pressed play at approximately 10 AM yesterday at work. Immediately I thought to myself, "KP, it's time." So I decided to pick up the ol' quill and ink once again and return to my blog to breakdown this masterful piece of art. I'm about to dissect this bit frame by frame leaving no stone unturned, so if you're not a fan of intense theorizing I'd advise you to look away (boss the f*ck up and read this shit, scary ass). There's been some speculation that this trailer only contains footage from the first three episodes because the Battle of Winterfell is supposedly in episode 3 (and the longest battle scene in TV or movie history.. bruh) so there's a pretty good chance we're only seeing a sneak peek of half of what this season is going to be. I'm not even close to being ready. After the breakdown, I'll give you my eight (8) predictions for the new season and it'll be all great. 39 more days.
Disclaimer: This shit long as hell. This breakdown is meant for you to read while watching the trailer. Or you can just read it. It's good either way.
PS: Where's Hot Pie? Ghost??? smh.
Shall we begin?
0:04 - What better way to start off the most anticipated trailer of all time than with America's Sweetheart, my pride and joy, Arya Stark. But something's wrong here. She doesn't look like the cold-blooded killer we saw last season, she looks like a scared little girl. On one hand I appreciate Arya showing some emotion that we missed out on last season, but on the other hand I'm HIGHLY concerned for the safety of the future queen of the Seven Kingdoms. Arya Stark's death is really the only fictional death that could make me cry, let's hope this ain't it. Mixed in to this montage of a bloodied Arya running away (or to) something is a quick clip of Davos walking the battlements of Winterfell (probably before the big battle), Varys holed up with the women and children in the crypts (I guess), and an awesome Arya voiceover that completely contradicts the scared little girl we see running through the tunnels under Winterfell.
"I know death. He's got many faces. I look forward to seeing this one"
Be careful what you wish for, love. She's holding a dragonglass dagger as she speaks the final sentence of this quote. Probably the same one she's seen running with in the clips before. There's a lot to unpack in this trailer so for time's sake I'll let you do some detective work on your own but a little bird told me if you look hard enough you can see a shadow chasing her. I hope she has a praying grandmother (they dead) because it ain't looking good for my girl.
0:26 - Euron Greyjoy's fleet is returning to King's Landing with the Golden Company on board. If you know anything about Game of Thrones lore or have read the books, you've heard of the Golden Company. If you haven't, they're a famed sellsword company from Essos that claim to have never broken a contract. "Our word is as good as gold." We'll see about that. The Golden Company was founded by a Targaryen bastard, Aegor 'Bittersteel' Rivers after the first Blackfyre Rebellion. Do they still hold some Targaryen allegiance? Will they break their first contract to side with Daenerys and Jon? Probably not but we shall see.
0:30 - I told you guys Tormund and Beric weren't dead. Game of Thrones wouldn't kill those guys off-screen. Here we see Our favorite wildling, our second favorite resurectee, and Dolorous Edd walking through a tunnel. I'm guessing it's some secret passageway under the wall since that's where we last saw them, but it may just be a tunnel under Winterfell.
0:32 - "Everything you did brought you where you are now. Where you belong. Home." Who is Bran talking to here? We see him and Samwell in what I think is the crypts (lots of crypts stuff in this trailer), and I originally thought he could be speaking to Jaime until he says "home." Maybe he's talking to Jon, telling him that he's still a Stark after he breaks the news of his parentage. Maybe it's just a one-off conversation with one of his siblings. It's hard to tell with trailers, but there's nothing wrong with a little (a lot) speculation.
0:37 - A cool shot of King's Landing and the Red Keep precedes a shot of Cersei and Qyburn presumably welcoming Euron and the Golden Company back to Westeros. We'll talk more about Cersei later, but these shots are followed up by an amazing visual of a little boy watching the Unsullied march through Wintertown from an elevated point, much like Bran climbed a tower to watch Robert's arrival to Winterfell in the very first episode of the series. Gotta love those callbacks.
0:42 - DANY AND JON RIDING TOGETHER WITH THE UNSULLIED. DRAGONS FLYING OVER WINTERFELL AS SANSA WATCHES IN AWE. Just incredible stuff here.
0:51 - "They're coming. Our enemy doesn't die. Doesn't stop. Doesn't feel."
Well shit, Jon. That'll boost morale. But seriously, this part of the trailer has some great stuff in it, starting with Dany walking up on Jon in the crypts. He's down there brooding, as he does, and she comes up to him and it looks like she's comforting him about something. Do they know about Jon's parentage at this point or is she just consoling him about the impending doom of humanity? We'll find out soon enough.
0:56 - Ah yes, the Winterfell smith station being ran by Gendry just like the gods intended. Am I tripping or is that a big ass pile of dragonglass behind the forge? Good shots of a few of our favorites here. Gendry, Jorah on horseback. Grey Worm and Missandei get one last smooch in before G's almost guaranteed demise. I feel like Jorah and Grey Worm are definitely gone. What other purpose would they serve other than dying heroically in service of their queen? I hope I'm wrong, but I'm not.
1:03 - In this round of "Guess that Pokemon!" try and guess who this heroic silhouette who's cutting mfers to pieces is. On first glance I thought it was Jaime because they cut to him screaming at someone right after ("RUN!"??). But I noticed the mystery man is using his right hand. Jaime doesn't have one of those so he's out. Based on the hair length and shoulder pads, I deduce that this person is either Theon or the Hound. My guess is Theon because we see the Hound a little later and if this isn't Theon then he wouldn't be in the trailer at all. Not a problem for me, but some people still like the guy for some reason.
1:05 - Here we have a very dark and very empty throne room at the Red Keep. If you look closely, you can see that it's Euron and the Captain of the Golden Company approaching Cersei's throne. What do they tell her to make her react the way she does in the next shot?? Are the two shots even connected? Probably not but WOW WHAT A COMPLEX FACE. It looks like she's about to cry! Damn. Did she find out Jaime died in combat up at Winterfell? I feel like that's the only thing that could bring tears out of those eyes at this point.
BUT WAIT!!! SHE'S DRINKING!!!
Is she still pregnant? Can't be, right? Did she just say f*ck it and pour up? Miscarriage? Oh my damn that face could mean anything. Not ready at all,
1:10 - Lowkey, these are my favorite shots in the entire trailer. Look how good these damn dragons look flying over these snowy forests and canyons. The CGI is incredible. These shots look like they could be off Planet Earth, no lie.
1:14 - Here we see the same shot of Arya looking up at the dragons in amazement that we saw in HBO's "Coming Soon" promo video. Grey Worm is putting on his helmet and preparing to die. Jon is brooding in the Godswood under Ned's favorite weirwood tree, and we get a close-up of the Hound with flames roaring in the background??? All of these visuals are beautifully voiced-over by a great Jaime quote.
"I promised to fight for the living. I intend to keep that promise."
You've come a long way, Ser Jaime. This is great because you can't just have Jaime pull up to the North alone like nothing happened. He's probably going to tell Jon and Dany that Cersei had no intentions of marching her armies North to help defend humanity. Will he tell the whole truth about her hiring the Golden Company? Damn I hope so.
1:20 - Somebody gripping something. Jon running. Unsullied running. Horses galloping.
WOAH IS JON GONNA RIDE A DRAGON?!?!?!
Yes.
Yes he is.
1:25 - Quick cuts.
Sansa is looking at something.
ARYA IS BUSTING ASS WITH A STAFF/SPEAR YESSSSSSS!
Dany closes her eyes.
WE HAVE A TYRION SIGHTING FOR THE FIRST TIME ALL TRAILER WOW. He looks worried.
Boom. Dragonfire in ya face.
1:32 - The music mellows out to an eerie, high-pitched sound as the camera pans across the army of the living (sporting a new Targaryen/Stark sigil???) ready to do battle with death. We see Pod and Brienne for the first time on the front lines and Jorah looking ready to die for his Khaleesi.
1:37 - F*ck.
.......
...
None of this shit matters does it?
Predictions
1. This shit DOES matter! - The army of the living will emerge from the Battle of Winterfell victorious! But not without massive casualties, including some of our favorites. Grey Worm? Outta here. Jorah? It's been real. Brienne? You hate to see it. Arya? I'll be damned.
2. Jon will ride a dragon - I mean, the other dragon's name is Rhaegal... He has to ride the dragon named after his father, right?
3. Arya survives! - Watching the trailer so many times has prepared me to prepare for Arya's death. Here's the thing. Game of Thrones doesn't give a damn about whether or not I'm prepared for shit! So using that logic, Arya will live to see the dawn. Plus, she still has to kill Cersei. I'm taking all bets.
4. Daenerys gets pregnant - Why bring up all the stuff about her not being able to have children last season if she's not gonna have children in the final season to further her line? Duh.
5. Daenerys and Jon get married - The ABSOLUTE LAST thing Jon wants to do is father a bastard. Remember the story he told Sam in Season 1 about why he didn't have sex with Ros?
6. Daenerys dies during childbirth - In every interview with a cast member, director, or show runner, the buzzword they've given for the ending of Game of Thrones had been "bittersweet". Nothing would be more bittersweet than Daenerys dying while bringing new life and hope into the world after most of our heroes have been taken from us. Mother's of Targaryen babies often experience birth complications. Dany's mother died during childbirth. Jon's mother died during childbirth. Elia Martell almost died during childbirth... Aye man.
7. Howland Reed returns - If you don't know, Howland Reed is Meera and Jojen's father and the Lord of Greywater Watch. He was one of Ned Stark's closest friends and the man who saved his life when they went to rescue Lyanna from the Tower of Joy. Howland Reed may be the only person outside of Bran and now Sam that know's the secret of Jon's parentage. He also may have some keys on how to defeat the army of the dead based on his time studying with mysterious mystics on the Isle of Faces. The Ringer did a great piece about his importance to the story that you can check out here.
8. Jon becomes a White Walker - Shit man, I don't know. Why did they show us how the White Walkers were created? The Night King has to want something, and he seems to have taken a special interest in Jon. There's a lot of evidence that points to the Night King being a Stark once upon a time in his human days. Read into that theory if you like. I just know that the Night King is not Bran. And if he is, then I'll be physically ill.
If you read this far, I love you. But really though, I appreciate it. The rest of my posts won't be this long but it's been a minute ya know? If you have any questions, comments, complaints, or suggestions just let me know! 39 more days.