The newest Game of Thrones trailer is here, and it promises fabulous cinema, visceral action and heartstopping emotional payoffs in season 7.
Like any well-crafted trailer, it’s also designed to punch and tease without giving too much away, story-wise. Lets take a look at some of the questions it raised and surprises it delivered. (Note: I haven’t read any leaks or spoilers.)
What the heck did Sansa do?
Striding out of the Winterfell Godswood towards camera in slow-motion, Sansa Stark looks like someone who just made a big decision. Her eyes dart — she looks harried, furtive — perhaps wondering if bystanders had witnessed her transgression, or to see if there are any witnesses at all. She doesn’t look like a person with a clear conscience.
What has Sansa done? Her walk is accompanied by a great game-themed voiceover by Littlefinger. And at the end of the trailer, she whispers that “the lone wolf dies, but the pack survives.” We know Sansa is prepared to do anything and everything necessary to make certain the Stark “pack” emerges victorious, even if what she must do is brutally distasteful to her, such as betraying the wishes of too-honorable-for-his-own-good-or-anybody-else’s Jon Snow.
Where is Arya Stark, exactly?
The trailer has a nice shot of Arya riding along on horseback with absolutely no background reference. The open sky could suggest a shoreline, but that’s pretty thin. In her thick clothing, she’s certainly dressed for cold. She appears to be looking intently at something. Winterfell? The previous trailer showed her in a snowy forest. But this could be almost anywhere.