HBO continued its Season 6 hype build for their emmy-winning drama Thursday with the release of a 41 second teaser trailer for Game of Thrones. Here are some thoughts and observations about the teaser (and I want to emphasize the teaser part since it is not a full blown trailer) clip, it’s content, and what it means for the upcoming season.
(Be warned, this clip is full of very important moments from previous seasons, so if you are not caught up through season 5, stop reading now.)
- No New Footage of the New Season It is important to emphasize the term “teaser trailer” here. A full blown trailer would be expected to have scenes from the upcoming season. But this “teaser” gives us no footage from season six, only flashbacks of the most important (and brutal) moments of the previous seasons as if someone is seeing them in a dreamlike sequence all-together. But there is at least one element from season six included in this “teaser:”
2. The Voice of the Three-Eyed Raven
Remember this guy from Season 4?
That old man hanging out in the tree is the Three-Eyed Raven, the man Bran’s entire Season 3 and 4 story arc was spent getting to.
The roll, played in the picture by Struan Rodger (if you’re bored and need something to do, look for this British actor in the movies Chariots of Fire and Four Weddings and a Funeral) has been recast for Season 6.
And the voiceover we hear for most of the clip is that of Max von Sydow, the man who will play Bran’s Yoda in the upcoming season (look for him as the villain in the Bond movie Never Say Never Again and in Minority Report). So if it’s the Three-Eyed Raven speaking, we can safely assume:
3. Bran is the One Seeing the Flashbacks
Of course, Bran’s face warging (if you’ve forgotten or are not familiar with the term, it’s when he takes over an animal and controls its actions) into something at 30 seconds of the clip and his voiceover at the end saying “They have no idea what’s going to happen” are dead giveaways as well.
During Season 4, Bran warged into a tree for the first time, allowing him to see visions of the past and the future. That appears to be what’s happening here. And though we see only the past visions Bran witnesses, the quote previously mentioned doesn’t give a lot of hope for the residents of Westeros based on what Bran sees for their future.
4. 15 more seconds of the “deader than dead” Jon Snow
Has a show ever used a character killed off in a previous season to promote the next season more than HBO is using Jon Snow? Just like with the first preview poster, here he is yet again. Of course, this is Bran looking at the past, so maybe he’s just remembering Jon Snow fondly. But they sure didn’t give us 15 second clips of his father, mother, and brother, who all died tragically as well.
5. Did I mention there seems to be a real emphasis on tragedy here?
Ned Stark’s beheading, scenes from the Red Wedding, Jamie Lannister losing his hand, Jon Snow’s “death” at the end of last season are all featured prominently in this flashback teaser. But amongst all the prominent tragic moments, there’s also a clip of the “Night’s King,” you know, this guy:
standing triumphantly. That, of course is another flashback. But I don’t think his inclusion here bodes well for the people of Westeros.
6. Closing Thoughts (Yes I know, it’s a stretch making this my sixth observation)
No, there wasn’t anything new included in the many visions of Bran Stark, but the final conclusion here is that things are likely to turn very dark in Season Six, maybe darker than at any point in the show’s run. And there’s also that dead bastard named Snow who keeps popping up in all HBO’s promotional stuff for the new season. So let’s all chew on that until the next bone HBO throws our way as we eagerly await Season Six.