The seventh season of Game of Thrones is barreling down on us like the White Walkers of the Long Night. Well off the beaten path set forth by author George R.R. Martin, the recent trailer for HBO’s adaptation shows off how the war is coming to a head. In the words of Ser Davos, “It doesn’t matter whose skeleton sits on the Iron Throne” if the Night King destroys the world. But even without foreknowledge accorded from reading Martin’s A Song of Ice and Fire series, there are a few plot points set up in the trailer that shine like beacons in the narrative.
#1. Daenerys Targaryen returns to her birthplace. Literally.
The trailer shows Dany standing with her retinue as the gates of Dragonstone open before her. Despite the new angle, the crenellations atop the castle, as well as the scarred driftwood map she uses in the throne room are singular to Dragonstone Keep, the ancestral home of the Targaryen royal family (though the castle far outdates the Targaryen conquerors). A later shot in the trailer shows the wayward Red Priestess Melisandre is also at Dragonstone, a visual showing her keeping watch over the landscape below. It stands to reason that Melisandre fled back to Dragonstone as it was the seat of Stannis Baratheon’s power before his untimely death. In fact, I’d bet a shiny groat that Melisandre is the one to open the gate for Dany and is in the process of convincing her it is better to join forces with her nephew Jon Targaryen then to fight him for control of the Seven Kingdoms.
#2. The Lannisters are royally screwed
The trailer opens with Cersei Lannister taking stock of the situation. There are enemies to the East (Dany), the West (the Greyjoys), the South (the Martells and Tyrells), and the North (the Starks). Yet Cersei is convinced their tiny holding of King’s Landing can push back this tidal wave of enemies. Jaime seems less certain because he’s not in the grips of madness. I’m standing my by belief that the prophecy that foresaw Cersei dying at the hands of her little brother will be carried out by Jaime, not Tyrion.
#3. Arya Stark is her mother’s daughter
It’s a sad day that the undead malignancy that was once Catelyn Stark won’t be appearing in Game of Thrones, but having Arya take up the mantle of Lady Stoneheart is a fitting substitution. Someone had to kill the Freys, and it needed to be a Stark. Yet the trailer shows Arya only in the woods, alone and searching. My guess is she’s following a lead that told her a monstrous beast has gathered a pack to its side and is wreaking havoc across the countryside. Seeing Arya reunited with a near-feral Nymeria would be an emotional reunion.
#4 Jon Snow has had it with Littlefinger
A blink-and-you’ll-miss-it moment has Jon grabbing Littlefinger around the neck and squeezing. This makes sense given Petyr Baelish sold Sansa into sexual slavery and has been manipulating the game from behind the scenes for years. Now that Sansa has turned on Littlefinger entirely, his days are fairly numbered. While I’d prefer Sansa take care of him on her own, having Jon give the former Master of Coin a good choke out is extremely satisfying. This also seems like the time to remind everyone Jon and Sansa are cousins, not siblings, and cousins marrying is totally normal in this world. It’s the smart way to consolidate power in the North. Just saying.
Odds and Ends
– Happy to see Yara Greyjoy getting is on with Eallaria Sand. They both deserve a moment of relaxation.
– Tyrion’s face upon seeing the dragons fly free over Dragonstone just makes me want Viserion to go ahead and bond with the Halfman already. We all know it’s coming.
– Ser Jorah’s arm isn’t looking so hot. The rest of him is probably in worse condition. Greyscale is no joke, y’all.
– I don’t know how a eunuch has sex, but I’m glad Greyworm and Missandei are going to figure it out.
– Ships are on fire. Hopefully not Dany’s fleet.
– The Lannister army will face the combined might of Dany’s forces and, frankly, they don’t stand a chance.
