It felt like Christmas morning to wake up, look on my phone, and see that I had a link to the season 5 trailer streaming on youtube from the IMAX showings of last season’s final two episodes. And finally, we get an ACTUAL TRAILER, not some ten second snippet of a bird with three eyes while nonsense is professed on the screen. Thank you HBO!!! But more appropriately, thank you Youtube poster for taping the trailer illegally and posting so we don’t have to pay fifteen or twenty bucks to see this two minute clip.
But while the trailer does get me excited for the new season, much of it is hard to discern any key plot points, splicing half-second to one second clips of random soldiers marching or characters looking concerned about their situation. There were some notable scenes and dialogue worth discussing, which I shall be discussing below. But first, here’s the trailer (assuming it has not been pulled for copyright infringement). Warning: If you want the entire season to be a total surprise, you may want to stop reading now. Also, stop reading if you are not caught up through Season 4. But there will be no season 5 destroying spoilers here, so most of you can read ahead free of worry.
Observations:
1. Jamie is standing over a body in the Holy Sept.
I think it is safe to say the body is Tywin Lannister, killed at the end of last season. And much like last season, it appears this will be another place for Cersei and Jamie to have a discussion about where things stand with House Lannister (let’s hope they avoid the sex/rape confusion scene from last season).
2. Littlefinger is still trying to manipulate Sansa…
and is still doing it in such a creepy way, holding her head still while he tells her “There’s no justice in this world.” But the end of last season revealed “dark-haired Sansa,” who seems to have taken all the lessons she’s learned from being around master manipulators like Cersei, Margaery, and Littlefinger to become quite the gameplayer herself. Will this change her interactions with Littlefinger, or will she be just as uncomfortable as before?
3. There’s another wedding.
The young man getting married has a crown on his blond head, so I think it’s safe to assume this is Tommen and Margaery’s wedding. I assume this wedding will go on without a hitch just like all Game of Thrones weddings.
4. Wildlings are marching.
Now, I thought Stannis showed up beyond the wall last season and took care of this whole Wildling invasion thing. So why are they marching with weapons as if they intend to attack again? And will Jon Snow, who later appears to be leading an attack of some sort, be the man trying to stop this repeat invasion attempt? I sure hope not.
5. Jorah Mormont is fighting in some sort of Gladiator like pit.
When we last saw Dany’s trusted advisor, he was being banished from her presence for spying on her back in season one. What chain of events will lead him to fighting for his life (at least it appears that way) in front of large crowd?
6. Melisandre, the Queen of Thornes, and Ellaria Sand oh my!!!
All three of these strong female characters make brief appearances in the trailer. Melisandre is doing something with fire (imagine that) and seducing someone (imagine that part 2). The Queen of Thornes (Grandma Tyrell) is giving out advice (I will assume it is Margaery, but cannot confirm it). And Ellaria (Oberyn’s paramour from last season) is just standing there (back in her homeland of Dorne or someplace else?)
7. Arya standing before the large black and white door and holding needle.
I received more questions about Arya’s future storyline than any other character after last year’s finale. And it makes since for non-book readers since everything she is getting ready to do has been hinted at very little in the show. All I will say is that large black and white door is a very massive hint as to where she will be.
8. Varys and Tyrion are having conversation across the Narrow Sea.
The best part of the trailer in my opinion are various snippets of conversation had between these two who appear to be off the boat they boarded last season discussing their situation. The largest reveal of the entire trailer comes towards the end, where Varys seems to reveal his allegiance to Daenarys, saying “Who said anything about him?” when Tyrion questioned who this perfect candidate for the Iron Throne Varys describes is. And speaking of Daenarys….
9. A giant statue falls from the pyramid Daenarys has been doing business in since taking over Meereen.
The final scene of the trailer is this falling statue, which I have two theories for it’s meaning:
Theory 1: Daenarys ordered they be taken down
-The statues on top of the pyramids in Meereen represent the gods of the old Ghiscari Empire, originating from the city of Ghis. When the empire fell to the Valyrians, they allowed the cities on Slaver’s Bay to stay as a holding center for all the people they conquered. These statues represent some of the last remnants of Ghiscari culture. Is Dany taking a stand, attempting to eliminate any part of the old culture that might oppose her?
Theory 2: Riots in Meereen are threatening Dany’s rule.
-At the end of last season, rumblings were being mentioned (I emphasized mentioned, not actually seen, which would’ve been much better) that many were rising up to oppose Dany’s rule in Slaver’s Bay and her slave freeing policies. Are some of these groups rising up and expressing their displeasure?
I don’t care if it is either one of these scenarios or a different one, I just want Daenarys to get out of her pyramid and do something instead of the snorefest that was the second half of last season for the Mother of Dragons.
(Editor’s Note: As usual, this article was written by 4LN’s resident Game of Thrones corespondent, Jeff Merrick.)