Yesterday was the first day of summer, and HBO, being clever, chose this time to release the second official trailer for Game of Thrones season 7, because winter is coming. Haven’t seen it? Watch it!
Now that you’ve absorbed it, join us as we walk through every shot looking for clues about what’s coming. We’re obsessed, and we’re okay with that.
We start with Sansa Stark, who features prominently in the trailer, walking purposefully through the Winterfell godswood as Littlefinger’s narration turns over in her mind. “Don’t fight in the north, or the south,” we hear him say. “Fight every battle, everywhere, always, in your mind.” Creepy advice.
The score that plays during the trailer, by the way, is “Light of the Seven,” the song that played during Cersei’s destruction of the Sept of Baelor at the end of season 6. We approve.
Next, there’s a shot of the gate to Castle Black rising. We saw this shot in the first trailer, as well.
But this time, we see who’s on the other side of that rising gate. Or at least that’s the implication. It’s Bran and Meera, who are finally ready to cross back into Westeros:
Cut immediately to a shot of Jon Snow in a thick furry coat and snow in his hair. Is he there to greet his little brother, or is this from a separate scene?
Okay, the trailer has been very blue and cold up to now. Let’s head south.
Next: Wishin' and hopin' and schemin' and plottin'
Above is our first glimpse of King’s Landing — note the lion banners. Citizens cheer as a group of soldiers march through the streets. This could be part of a certain parade sequence we’ve heard about, but the weather doesn’t look quite right.
Next up: Cersei, hanging out somewhere dark.
Next, we hop across Blackwater Bay to Dragonstone, which Daenerys makes her home base after she arrives in Westeros. She contemplates the Painted Table, which Stannis used to plan his invasion of King’s Landing. He also used it as a surface for sex with Melisandre, but that’s probably not on Dany’s mind.
Speaking of Dragonstone, that could also be where this shot takes place:
It could also be the Iron Island. Hard to tell.
Elsewhere, Arya Stark sits astride a horse. She looks dressed for cold weather. Is she headed home to Winterfell?
And in another elsewhere, Jaime Lannister stalks away from the camera. He could be in King’s Landing, or he could be somewhere else.
Here’s a shot of Littlefinger glowering at someone from the shadows. The guy just can’t not be creepy.
And here’s a shot of someone sharpening a weapon. This shot also turned up in the first trailer. It came up when Cersei said “enemies to the south,” so the consensus is that it’s someone from Dorne — possibly Obara Sand — sharpening a spear.
And here, Dany walks across the sands of Dragonstone to her new home. Welcome home, my queen, and so forth.
Inside Dragonstone, Dany sees one of Stannis’ old flaming heart banners, and tears it down. Time to redecorate.
While outside, Drogon, Rhaegal, and Viserion get used to the skies around their new home…
…while Tyrion adjusts to the cliffs.
While these shots are being played, we hear Jon giving a speech, although we’re not sure to whom. “For centuries our families fought together against their common enemy,” he says. “Despite their differences, together. We need to do the same if we’re going to survive. Because the enemy is real. It’s always been real.”
It’s clear Jon is trying to convince people to join him in the fight against the White Walkers here, but I’m not sure who he’s talking to? What family has fought with the Starks (or is he speaking as a Targaryen now?) against a common enemy for centuries? Or maybe he’s speaking to a group and just using sweeping language.
In any case, as Jon says this, we see quick flashes from various scenes. There’s Theon in a boat, looking apprehensive as licks of flame fall down around him…
…Grey Wrom in a different boat during a different time of day, giving someone a nod as he sails toward an opening in a rock. Could this be preparation for what looks like an Unsullied invasion of Casterly Rock, as we’ll see later?
We’ve also got Brienne and Pod in the Winterfell courtyard. Pod’s trying to grow a beard. You do you, Pod.
We get a very quick shot of the Hound looking angry. Last we saw him, he was headed north with the Brotherhood Without Banners, so there should be plenty of opportunities to get into stressful situations.
Below, an Unsullied soldiers hits the ground with an arrow in his chest…
…and a line of Dothraki horses crashes through Lannister guards holding spears. This is probably all footage from an epic Lannister vs Targaryen smackdown scheduled to happen in the middle of the season.
Back on Theon’s burning ship (or at least that’s what it looks like), someone leaps from one deck to another. Has Uncle Euron caught up with his niece and nephew?
Back to the Lannister-Targaryen smackdown for a second, Jaime and Bronn sit horses behind a line of Lannister archers, probably telling them to kill all the Dothraki they can.
Here’s an intriguing shot: a flock of ravens flying through the winter air — you can tell it’s the North of the land beyond the Wall because of the blue tint.
It’s the Night King! Run!
The next shot is Bran having a wierwood vision. Is he seeing the Night King and the ravens using greensight? Or perhaps he’s controlling the ravens to accomplish some sort of task? He is the Three-Eyed Raven now, after all. Ravens are kind of his thing.
He’s out of immediate danger in this shot, at least, safe in the Winterfell godswood.
That’s likely Maester Wolkan — the maester at Winterfell during the Boltons’ tenure there — standing to the side. It looks like he found Bran a wheelchair. That’s overdue, frankly.
Next up: Beric Dondarrion and his flaming freaking sword! We haven’t seen that since season 3. No doubt it can be put to good use against some wights.
Next, Greyjoy ships sail into Blackwater Bay. Is Euron Greyjoy here as a friend or foe to Cersei?
We also see a few flashes of the Unsullied invasion of Castlery Rock, which we glimpsed in the first trailer.
And in the shot below, a few Unsullied open a gate to let others in.
What I’m betting happens here is that Grey Worm and a few other guys sneak into Casterly Rock via a hidden entrance (see that shot of Grey Worm sailing toward a fissure in a cliff face above) and let the rest of the army in.
Back on Dragonstone, Dany is chilling:
You know that Lannister-Targaryen smackdown we mentioned? It looks like one of Dany’s dragons drops in, because when we check back in with Jaime, he’s riding his beautiful white horse pell-mell through a scorched wasteland.
This next shot technically comes a little later, but it’s clearly from the same sequence so I’ll put it here: Dothraki horsemen emerging from a wall of flame.
Hot damn, that sequence is gonna be nuts.
Speaking of fire, we see something explode on a boat, probably part of the sequence with Theon that keeps popping up.
In another shot, we see fire literally raining down from the sky onto the boat.
Theon and Yara do not look pleased.
How is Euron Greyjoy (I’m assuming Euron is attacking the ships here) managing this? Is it just flaming catapults, or does he have something else up his sleeve?
Speaking of Euron, we also get a quick shot of him tearing into an unfortunate someone.
And here, we see a shot of how Euron and company board Theon and Yara’s ship.
In other desperate battles, Tormund swings an axe into someone.
Here’s Drogon riding alongside the Dothraki, probably moments before he chars the battlefield:
The Lannister lines are strong, but are they going to hold against that?
If I were a betting man, I’d say no.
Back up north, we get this terrifying shot of Jon and company standing on some raised ground surrounded by what I’m guessing are wights.
But at least Missandei and Grey Worm are finding some happiness in all this chaos.
It confuses Tyrion, though.
Here’s an interesting shot: a figure in silhouette draws a sword.
The background kind of looks like the ruins at Italica, where the production filmed a particularly important scene. The figure looks like the Hound, but we can’t be certain.
Back int he land of certainty, Jon Snow and Davos commune. I’m betting they’re at Dragonstone.
And from that we cut to someone fighting a freaking White Walker! Quite the transition!
And from there to someone — I think Theon — collapsing on a beach. Perhaps he just narrowly survived that burning battle at sea and returned to Dragonstone.
And then a big close-up of Drogon (notice tiny little Dany on his back)…
…takes us into Sansa’s closing line, which is something Ned Stark says in A Game of Thrones: “When the snows fall…
…and the white winds blow…
…the lone wolf dies…
…but the pack survives.”
I’m not sure who that lone figure on the horse is, but the final shot is of Jon facing down a legion of wights, Longclaw in hand.
Game on, people, Game on.