Small Council: Let’s react to the official trailer for Game of Thrones season 7!

HBO released a full trailer for Game of Thrones season 7! What did we think?

RICHARD: Wowza, just WOWZA. After the long wait, the kick-a** winter is finally here. At this point, a slice of brand new footage is better than a bathtub full of donuts and ambrosia. And HBO didn’t disappoint, teasing the major storylines and characters (with a few exceptions, like Bran and the White Walkers) in a glorious cascade of ominous images and music. With a couple exceptions (Melisandre’s appearance at Dragonstone, Arya’s plan), there weren’t any big surprises or mysteries here. Instead, HBO wisely charged out of the gate with meat-and-potatoes-type footage, highlighting the power players, dragons and action.

Watching the trailer over and over again still makes my spine tingle — it captures both the immense scope and intensely intimate character drama that makes this series so special. As the images hurtle past — Cersei and Jaime with the map, Tyrion on the cliffs with Drogon, the Unsullied attacking Casterly Rock, Littlefinger whispering in Sansa’s ear, Jon and Tormund running from unseen dangers in the snowstorm, Dothraki bloodriders leaping from horse to horse — I can feel the sundial spinning, the sand running out in the hourglass, the inexorable, terrifying, heart-pounding coming of the end.

There’s also quick, deft, super-satisfying little servings of spice, including Gregor Clegane in black super armor, Jon body-slamming Littlefinger, Jorah’s greyscale-coated arm, Grey Worm and Melisandre getting it on (I’m so shipping those two kids!) and Yara and Ellaria Sand steaming up the screen (it sort of feels like Yara is cheating on Daenerys, doesn’t it?)

Arya (in the Godswood?) got the audio-highlighted puff of cold breath this time (Cersei got it in the Long Walk teaser). That looks like it’s going to be a motif this year, and it’ll be interesting to see which character gets to exhale dramatically in the next installment, and if it means anything to the story. Also, I was jazzed to hear one of my favorite characters, Ser Davos, once again deliver the most profound trailer dialog in Liam Cunningham’s high-gravitas, Shakespearean voice: “If we don’t put aside our enmities and band together then we will die. And then it doesn’t matter whose skeleton sits on the Iron Throne.”

July 16th seems so far away. Bring it on. Bring it on.

COREY: Was it just me, or was that the most action we’ve seen in a trailer? From start to finish, there was action galore. Dragons, Dothraki screamers, ships on fire, and whatever the hell is chasing Jon and Tormund north of the Wall. It was hard to keep up with everything that was happening, and from what cast members have been saying, that might be true of season 7 as well.

Most of all, I was just glad to have an actual trailer, with actual footage from the season. It feels like it’s been so long since we’ve seen anything new, and the wait was starting to gnaw at the heart of my fandom. Season 7 is going to be unique in so many ways, so it was good to get our first taste of what it might look like. And judging from what we saw, it might be the biggest season yet, despite only being seven episodes long.

My biggest question: what the hell was Melisandre doing on Dragonstone? Did she seek refuge there after being banished from the North by Jon? Is she there as Daenerys’ guest? And on the subject of Dragonstone, if it always looked that spectacular, why were we only shown Stannis’ chamber? Because damn, it looked amazing in the trailer.

My favorite moment, and the one that’s got me excited for what’s to come, was seeing Jon and Tormund dashing through the snow with looks of sheer terror on their faces. Those are some battle-hardened warriors, so whatever has them that scared has to be pretty damn impressive. I can’t wait to see what is behind the curtain.

KATIE: As thrilling as the action shots are, I don’t have too much to say about them. They do support many actors’ claims that season 7 moves at a quicker pace, which is something of a necessity, considering we have a total of 13 episodes left and quite a few plot points to wrap up. For me, the trailer was less about the action and more about the details. Bullet points or bust:

• Cersei is clearly not going down without a fight, hard stop.
• I was, for once, struck by Daenerys — but not in a positive way — when she says, “I was born to rule the Seven Kingdoms. And I will.” Big talk coming from someone who’s never been there, but that’s Daenerys for you: Steadily slipping into Viserys’ role since his death in season 1. This, coupled with the shots of her Dothraki horde violence, spells Targaryen tyranny to me. From my perspective, Daenerys has been spiraling for years, and I think we’re going to see that come to a head in the last two seasons.
• Speculation: Melisandre arrives at Dragonstone to throw down on Daenerys, as she seemingly poses a threat to Mel’s fan fave, Jon Snow, and his status as the Prince That Was Promised. Or maybe she’s just tailing Jon, but I prefer my version of events.
• “Your father and brothers are gone, yet here you stand. The last best hope against the coming storm.” This line of Littlefinger dialogue is paired with a shot of him and Sansa, but as his lips aren’t moving, we can assume it’s a voiceover from another scene. Moreover, while I believe Sansa has a significant role to play in seasons 7 and 8, it won’t be in the “oncoming storm,” i.e., the battle against the White Walkers — not directly, anyway, as she’s not a physical warrior. More likely Littlefinger is saying this to Jon, but to what end?
• This brings me to my favorite shot of the trailer — Jon Snow furiously slamming Littlefinger into the nearest wall. I’d be lying if I said I cared about the action more. After all, we see dragons every year, but Littlefinger hasn’t gotten a good Stark beat-down since Ned started what should be a family tradition back in season 1. My guess is that Jon is defending Sansa’s honor against Littlefinger’s advances, because…what’s the alternative? She’s the only link between the two men, and Jon probably doesn’t like Littlefinger sniffing around his future wife — um, half-sister. (Or cousin, and therefore marriage material, but I digress.)
• “If we don’t put aside our enmities and band together, we will die. And then it won’t matter whose skeleton sits on the Iron Throne.” As usual, Davos brings us back down to earth. Whether or not he manages the same with Cersei and Daenerys remains to be seen.

Even though I wasn’t as roused by the battles as I was by the details, I’ve been riding the trailer hype since it aired and there’s no stoppin’ it now. Who needs June? Bring it on, July.

RAZOR: Since Katie started the bullet point train, I see no reason to stop. Game of Thrones season 7 truly does look like something we’ve never seen before, and that’s a very good thing. Most shows that get into their seventh season tend to plateau, or even go completely stagnant, but after watching this trailer, I am confident Thrones won’t fall into that category. I was taken aback by the beautiful cinematography, the high-impact action sequences, and the noticeable lack of White Walkers. Here’s what made the biggest impression on me:

• The Unsullied taking the fight to Casterly Rock.
• The Dothraki Screamers finally loosed upon the Seven Kingdoms.
• No Bran and Meera. I’m worried.
• Jon and Tormund look frightened, terribly so.
• Dany’s dragons are really big.
• Jorah’s hand and arm looked more like a charred piece of meat than a limb infected by greyscale.
• Theon looks absolutely despondent.
• The Iron Throne finally has a ruler worthy to sit upon it.
• No White Walkers. Why?
• What’s Arya looking for under that bed?
• Jon is going to physically assault Littlefinger, and I love it.
• I can’t freaking wait until Dany and Drogon, along with the Dothraki, decimate the Lannister army.

I could go on and on, but you get the point. Game of Thrones season 7 looks like a breakneck speed thrill ride, and I can’t wait to hop aboard.

DAN: You guys covered a lot of the meaty stuff in here. It definitely looks like they spent a lot of money and time on action sequences and I’m looking forward to seeing it pay off.

I don’t agree with you completely about Dany’s coming tyranny, Katie. Yes, she feels entitled to the Iron Throne, but when the alternative is Cersei…she’d definitely be a step up.

Not that Cersei didn’t rock in this trailer. She was probably my favorite part, from her clenching fingers to her opening monologue to that shot of her standing on a floor-sized map of Westeros. What a great idea on her part! She might be a dangerous megalomaniac, but I love what she’s doing with the Red Keep.

Also, I’d like to applaud HBO for not using a dreary cover of a pop song as background music. *soft clapping*

SARAH: Okay, I have some questions.

• Does Gemma Whelan have a clause in her contract which stipulates that she must kiss another woman in every trailer? And if so, how did she swing that?
• What’s under the bed, Arya?
• I’m fairly certain that the short-haired guy running in the background at the 1:21 mark is Gendry, after watching this trailer at least 10 times on a huge screen and puzzling over the shape of his head/hair length with my brother, but maybe that’s just wishful thinking.
• Screw it, I don’t care. It’s GENDRY, and I will continue to believe as much until proved wrong.
• Jaime was not, as I predicted, seen riding pensively on a horse, but his angry nostril flare has me intrigued
• Have the Northern lords been screaming “The King in the North!” this entire time? I mean, I wouldn’t put it past them, but Jon and Sansa must be so tired.
• Did anyone notice Davos sitting to Jon’s right at the high table at Winterfell? Hand of the King (in the North) confirmed?
• I have a feeling that the three shots of Arya we saw are all from her first couple of episodes, and that she’ll be home by the time we’re halfway through the season.
• I see that Petyr Baelish has hiked up his creep levels to new and unfathomable heights this year. Now he is literally lurking in the shadows. To channel Chandler Bing, could this guy be any more of a Scooby Doo villain? If he goes down this season, I’m really hoping his last line is, “And I would have gotten away with it, if it weren’t for you pesky kids!”

I agree with others that Daenerys’ lines reeked of entitlement and despotism, and the trailer only feeds my theory that this season will lay the groundwork for a shock villainous turn in season 8 when she learns that Jon Snow is (probably) the true Targaryen heir. The only real positive development I’ve seen from her recently is a willingness to listen to Tyrion, and I honestly don’t see that lasting very long.

I don’t really agree that Daenerys is a step up from Cersei. They’re both power hungry, they’re both prepared to be utterly ruthless if the need arises, they’ve both taken pleasure in watching others suffer (in Cersei’s case, via torture, and in Dany’s case, girl just loves watching people burn) and they’ve both blown up a place of worship. Daenerys has never killed a character to whom we’ve felt any attachment, but Cersei killed Margaery, so only one of those acts registers as villainous. I think that if Daenerys were a male character, she’d seem more obviously tyrannical. The fact is, Tyrion had to tell her not to burn cities and slaughter a whole bunch of people when the slave masters attacked Meereen, and any leader who needs that much supervision probably shouldn’t be leading. Cersei, at least, is aware that she’s evil. She owns her evil, and she owns this trailer. More of her shenanigans, please.

What did you think of the season 7 trailer?