Small Council: We react to the first footage from Game of Thrones Season 7!

Game of Thrones Season 7 doesn’t premiere until next summer, but HBO teased some new footage in its end-of-year promo. Not only that, but Sophie Turner (Sansa), speaking pretty far ahead of schedule, gave an interview about her role in the upcoming season. What do these bits of information tell us? Nothing? Everything? Let’s chat.

Below is the footage. Beware SPOILERS:

DAN: Even though Game of Thrones started filming later in the year that usual, it’s good to see that HBO is committed to giving us snippets of new footage at the end of every year. It’s also good to see that it’s committed to slipping that new footage into a promo that the network hasn’t uploaded to the internet in any official form. Make us work for it, HBO.

Anyway, the footage itself is interesting purely by virtue of the fact that it’s new. I mean, it’s new. We haven’t seen it before. It’s new images of stuff that will happen that hasn’t happened yet. Obviously, the clips are too brief to tell us a ton about what’s going on, but just seeing Sansa walk purposefully toward the camera (in the Winterfell godswood, right?) is enough to build anticipation.

Of the three flashes, the one of Arya on the horse is the most interesting. There have been suggestions, both photographic and round the rumor mill, that Arya may return to Winterfell at some point during Season 7. Seeing her here, wrapped up tight in what looks like a cold-proofed cloak, seems to back that up. It’s winter in King’s Landing, too, but I don’t think she’d have to dress as snugly if she were headed south. That looks like a Northern outfit to me.

It’s just a lovely shot, Arya silhouetted against the blue sky. What must she be feeling as she approaches her home (assuming that’s what’s happening)? Excitement over seeing her family again? Fear they won’t accept her after all she’s done? I’m sure it’ll be a complex cocktail of emotion, and I’m sure Maisie Williams will pull it off beautifully. I’m eager to see more.

Also, does anybody have opinions on Sophie Turner’s red wig? I know there have been some complaints.

SARAH: First, I think the wig is fine. I’ve seen worse wigs on Emilia Clarke and Natalie Dormer in this show.

The combined powers of Arya and Sansa in one promo have excited me in a big way. It’s refreshing to see these two girls looking so very fierce, especially after seeing a lot of other characters in on-set photos. I firmly believe that the Starks have always been the real heart of the Game of Thrones universe, and I also believe that the advent of winter in Westeros heralds a victory for them. I’ll repeat an opinion that I know most people don’t agree with: I don’t think we’ll lose any more Starks in Season 7.

As my favorite character in the series, Arya’s photograph has majorly revved me up. Her outfit, and the blurry green background, practically screams the North. I know next to nothing about clothes, but Arya looks as if she’s dressed like a highborn to me. In fact, I wouldn’t be surprised if Arya had already returned to Winterfell and reunited with Sansa by the time she climbs on that horse. It’s also nice to see her wrapped up warm, although she seems to have a superhuman ability to survive fatal stab wounds, so I doubt a winter flu is going to finish her off.

If Arya does return to Winterfell, she could change the dynamics there. Outspoken, tough, quick to anger and near impossible to manipulate, Arya will only need five minutes in a room with Littlefinger before he recognizes her as a threat. It makes sense that he would try his hardest to keep her away from Sansa and make the mistake of ignoring quiet, non-threatening Bran, who undoubtedly poses the biggest danger to him. My first reaction when I saw Arya on her horse was this: watch out, Petyr Baelish.

COREY: I don’t remember getting official images from an upcoming season this early before, but with a longer wait than usual between now and the next Season 7, I imagine HBO is throwing out all the rules in order to keep fans interested. (Not that I think that’s a problem, but feed the beast and what not.) Either way, I also think the shot of Arya was the most revealing. I agree with Sarah that it looks like Arya has been back at Winterfell for awhile. But why the look of shock or concern on her face? What is she seeing? I’m going to throw this out there: I say this is the moment Arya sees Bran for the first time since Season 1. I’m not sure what else would shock her like that, other than the Wall coming down. Arya doesn’t shock easy, so it has to be something big.

I also like the fact that all the images are of the Starks, as they’re the first family of the show. Daenerys has always been a loner. I think the hardest challenges for House Stark are still to come, but it looks like they’re going to face them as a family again, and that’s great.

The show began with the Starks and expanded to include all these other Houses and characters. But as we near the end, it’s begun to refocus on that first family, and I am very excited about that. Sure, there might be some tension between the siblings next season, but it will still be a joy to (hopefully) see them back together. I might get as emotional as Razor.

KATIE: I like to think that shot of Arya happens some time after she’s thrown Littlefinger’s head into the nearest sea. Her expression seems to say, “Huh. Didn’t think it’d go that far.” Meanwhile, Bran and Sansa are somewhere off-camera, both impressed by their sister’s shot put skills.

Hey, a gal can dream. Besides, I (like Sarah) firmly believe that the Stark siblings will bring about Littlefinger’s downfall this season. Whether or not his head winds up bobbing merrily, merrily, merrily along a stream remains to be seen.

I do wish we’d gotten a shot of Bran here, so we could see all the remaining Starks together once more. But personally, I figure that Jon will be well away from Winterfell before Bran can deliver the news of his Targaryen roots. The truth has only evaded Jon his entire life, after all—what’s one more season?

Concerning Turner’s interview on the subject of Sansa’s newfound power, I think it’s something of a red herring. It’s true that Sansa will be wielding power in a new way in Season 7. While before, she has only had power over herself, now she holds it over the entire kingdom of the North. It’s going to be an adjustment. Littlefinger will take this opportunity to try to manipulate her further. But Sansa has found a reinvigorated strength within the walls of her reclaimed home. Now, all she needs is her family to cement her victory. Arya and Sansa will probably always butt heads, but one has to wonder if they won’t feign some acrimony to lull Littlefinger into a false sense of security before they take him out. After all, he did as much to Sansa—made her feel safe, and then took that security away—so it would suit him to die in that same vein.

I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again: Sansa’s confession to Littlefinger in the Season 6 finale (“Back then I only thought about what I wanted, never about what I had”) says everything regarding Sansa’s perspective. It encompasses the major theme of Sansa’s character development, and indeed those of the Stark siblings in general. The lone wolves are coming home to reunite with their pack. And after all they’ve been through separately, they’ll face the rest together.

RAZOR: Both Arya and Jon’s photos interest me the most for the same reasons: They share the same looks on their faces. On our Take the Black podcast, Isis brought up a great point that I hadn’t thought of until now. Arya had a look of anxiety on her face, as she was possibly looking upon her childhood home of Winterfell for the first time in years. Outside of Jon, Arya has killed more people than any living Stark. And she’s definitely murdered more people than any living Stark. She’s not the plucky little girl that used to try to show up her older sister and hang with her brothers anymore. She’s a stone cold killer who can literally change her face to to get the job done. Is she really even Arya Stark anymore? All that doubt may be creeping through her mind as she stares across the frozen tundra of the North, at the walls of Winterfell.

To me, Jon shares that same look, only he’s inside those walls. Jon seems like he’s bearing the weight of the world on his shoulders. It’s like he is about to leave home once again and isn’t happy about it. This could be Jon’s reaction after receiving a summons from the self-styled Dragon Queen to come to Dragonstone and bend the knee. What should the new King in the North do, especially if there are caches of dragonglass beneath the castle? Jon and Arya were very close in Season 1, and I have been waiting for their reuinion. Hopefully, these two troubled siblings/cousins will get the chance.

ANI: For heaven’s sake does no one care about Sansa’s photo? Is the Sansa hate still so strong in Westeros? Well I care about Sansa, damn it! Especially since, unlike the other characters here, Sophie Turner actually had an exclusive interview with EW where she talked about her character in Season 7.

Sansa is back in her safety zone in this image, in a way she wasn’t before. The godswood is where Sansa always fled to feel safe, no matter where she was in Westeros…at least in the books. The show cut a lot of that out, but the book readers remember! And we see her now in her world of safety, walking towards….something, though we don’t actually know what.

But the reason I bring that up is due to Turner talking about how insecure Sansa will become this season as she becomes more invested in maintaining her newfound power. Her fear of losing it, and going back to being someone else’s pawn will grow this season. So where does one go when they’re insecure and fearful? To their safe space! And that’s where Sansa is in this shot….in her safe space, looking like she’s just discovered it’s very unsafe indeed.