Screencap breakdown: The Game of Thrones season 7 teaser trailer
By Dan Selcke
Next, we have a rapid-fire depiction of the violence that’s dominated Westeros for the past few decades. First, we see a stag, the symbol of House Baratheon, fighting with a dragon. Robert Baratheon’s voice comes up: “Kill every Targaryen I get my hands on.” That line is significant in light of recent events, as we now know that Jon Snow, rather than being Ned Stark’s bastard, is actually the son of Lyanna Stark and Rhaegar Targaryen. You missed a Targaryen there, Robert.
But Robert probably didn’t have time to worry about that, because before long the stag has the Lannister lion at its throat. As this image appears, we hear Cersei’s line to Joffrey way back in season 1: “Everyone who isn’t us is an enemy.”
Naturally, that segue’s into Joffrey’s line from “Baelor,” the one that kicked off the War of the Five Kings in earnest: “Ser Ilyn, bring me his head!” At that point, we see our first glimpse of the Stark direwolf.
After Joffrey cut off Ned Stark’s head, all hell broke loose. Next, we see the tentacles of a stone kraken wrap themselves around the Stark direwolf, representative of the Ironborn invading the North in seasons 2 and 3. Balon Greyjoy’s voice bubbles up: “We are Ironborn. We take what is ours.”
Finally, we camera zooms in on the Lannister lion, and we hear Roose Bolton’s line to Robb from the Red Wedding, right before he stabs the former King in the North: “The Lannisters send their regards.” Catelyn screams.
When I watched this trailer casually, I didn’t immediately notice how specific the sequencing was. HBO isn’t just throwing up random images here. It’s telling the story of the show in precise chronological order, starting with the Mad King, working through Robert’s Rebellion, and summarizing the War of the Five Kings. That tells me the show is keeping its rich history in mind as it heads into the endgame.