Every detail we noticed from the new 'Game of Thrones' Season 8 trailer
PHEW. The Game of Thrones Season 8 trailer just dropped. And we are in full tin foil hat theory mode.
Take a look at the full thing here, then join us below for a second-to-second breakdown of what's happening and what it means for the final season when it premieres on April 14.
When Arya is running, she doesn't appear to be wearing any armor. So despite appearances, this might not actually be during the Winterfell battle we know is happening. Or rather if it is, then it will begin as a sneak attack. But that seems counter to all the other images we see, of prepared Unsullied and Winterfell soldiers fighting the enemy. Maybe there are two White Walker attacks on Winterfell?
Also, the huge contrast between Arya's desperate running, and her speech about wanting to see the many faces of death is notable. It's hard to imagine Arya actually running from any fight, even one where she seems doomed to lose.
Don't forget that in the past, Arya's run in seeming fear from an enemy before as a trick to trap them (the Waif in Season 6 right before she kills her and leaves the Faceless Men). She won that battle, so don't be too sure this means she's doomed to die at the hand of whoever's chasing her.
She's also holding a dragonglass blade in her hand while giving her speech, so we suspect she does have to the tools to kill whatever's chasing her -- at least if it's undead.
Our worst possible answer for what's chasing her and why she won't fight it, though, is that it is an undead King of Winter from the Crypts of Winterfell. Check out our analysis of the teaser trailer here for a more in-depth discussion on that theory.
But the tl;dr is: There's a lot of indication in the books that the dead Starks buried in the crypts will rise again. The Night King could do it with a flick of his wrist. So we imagine Arya would be prepared to fight and kill all the many faces of death -- unless it was the face of her undead father, Ned Stark. She'd probably run from that one.
Varys is down below in the crypts or some other sequestered location with the women and children. Aside, that is, from what appears to be some guy in the background who looks like he has a massive sword. I guess if everything goes to shit up above in the battle, you need someone to kill whoever's left in a way that won't let them come back and join the army of the dead.
Who is that on the Greyjoy ships? The blonde hair does not at all look like Euron. Those soldiers are not ironborn, but dressed all in gold. They are definitely the Golden Company, the sellsword army that Cersei mentioned she'd be sending for in Essos at the end of Season 7. Boy, do they have no idea what kind of war they just walked into.
The shot of Bran and Sam is a reminder that they are tasked with telling Jon the truth of his parentage, which will be awkward for them when they see him walk into Winterfell all snuggled with Auntie Daenerys.
Then there's Dany and Jon in what appears to be the Crypts of Winterfell, looking like Jon just found out the devastating news of their incest. Daenerys looks totes chill, while he looks pained as always. Will Dany be a true Targaryen and accept their incestuous union as just a normal part of her lineage, only making her claim to the throne stronger by marrying Jon?
This trailer all but confirms that Gendry will be the one to teach people how to forge more Valyrian steel. There were subtle hints of that throughout Season 7.
The basic idea is that we're pretty sure the ultra-rare Valyrian steel (which is the only thing that works against the White Walkers) is some combination of regular steel + dragonglass + dragonfire. But only a few smiths in the world are left who even know how to properly rework or forge Valyrian steel. And Gendry's blacksmith mentor in King's Landing was one of them.
Another practically confirmed theory this trailer teases is that Jon will ride Rhaegal. After all, the dragon is named after Rhaegar, his real father. And his Targaryen blood makes him one of the only people qualified to become a dragon rider.
Just about the only person who looks pleased in all this misery is Cersei. She's probably over the moon that her scheme is going according to plan: Her enemy forces have presumably been wiped out in the north, fighting the army of the dead. It's notable that Qyburn looks kind of horrified by her, which is tough to do for a guy like Qyburn!
But there are also hints of tears when she's sipping that wine, perhaps because she's also learned that means Jaime is dead. Also, she must know this also means the dead are probably coming for King's Landing next (it was in the prophecy in Season 2 when the throne room was covered in snow).
There's not much in the trailer to support this theory, but Cersei is definitely giving off some serious Night Queen vibes, meaning she'd actually join the army of the dead.
If you want to catch up on all the best theories and loose ends from all the previous seasons, be sure to check out our ongoing Rewatching for the Throne series.
Topics Game Of Thrones HBO
Jess is an LA-based culture critic who covers intimacy in the digital age, from sex and relationship to weed and all media (tv, games, film, the web). Previously associate editor at Kill Screen, you can also find her words on Vice, The Atlantic, Rolling Stone, Vox, and others. She is a Brazilian-Swiss American immigrant with a love for all things weird and magical.
