After months of few updates on the upcoming season of Game of Thrones, HBO has released an outpouring of new content hinting what we can expect from Season Five. While most are probably still processing all the new information we got from the trailer that was dropped yesterday, HBO has given us even more to think about in the form of 18 new stills from Season Five. The pictures mainly feature characters we have already come to know, but there are also some new faces including Doran Martell, Ellaria Sand, and the High Septon. View the new pictures below, but before you do, here are a few insights into what you will see.
Warning Spoilers Below
Dorne
We’ve seen glimpses of some of the new characters we will meet in Dorne this season, thanks to grainy leaked photos and a few quick shots from the trailer. But these new high quality photos give us a chance to get our first good look at several important characters that we will be introduced to in April. The first picture portrays Doran Martell, the head of House Martell and the Prince of Dorne. Plagued by gout and desperately attempting to keep Dorne neutral in a time of turmoil in Westeros, Doran has his work cut out for him this season.
In another photo set in Dorne, we see Ellaria Sand angrily staring down Areo Hotah. Viewers will remember Ellaria from last season where she accompanied Oberyn Martell to King’s Landing as his beloved paramour and witnessed his gruesome death. Areo Hotah is the captain of Doran Martell’s guards and plays a major part in the upcoming plotline in Dorne. Due to the tense atmosphere in the picture, one can assume that Ellaria is pushing for revenge for Oberyn, but Doran has refused.
Essos
Two of the show’s most popular characters are now on the same continent, and we get a look at both of them in the newly released pictures. Tyrion is shown, lightly disguised, with Varys close by.Tyrion looks quite different from how we have grown used to seeing him, trading out his King’s Landing attire for a simple outfit with a heavy hood. The show is taking a different approach to Tyrion’s arrival in Essos, having Varys guide him through his travels, rather than Illyrio, whom some may remember from Season 1.
The other still set in Essos shows Daenerys dressed in a white dress that appears to be the same one from the leaked images of her wedding and the chaos that ensues in the fighting pits. Daenerys looks cool and collected in this image, but readers of A Song of Ice and Fire will know there is a lot on her mind–from an unwanted marriage to a missing dragon.
Finally, we see a picture Missandei and Grey Worm. After last season, it is obvious that the two have affections for each other and it will be interesting to see how that plays out in the upcoming season.
King’s Landing
Several of the images from King’s Landing feature Cersei. First she is seen with her youngest son, Tommen who has recently become King in the wake of his brother, Joffrey’s death. The two look to be in deep conversation, and judging by their dress, in deep mourning. Perhaps they are discussing Tywin’s death.
The next photo of Cersei features her speaking to Jaime. One could speculate that this is the scene in which she asks Jaime to go to Dorne to bring back their daughter Myrcella, who may no longer be safe with the Martells after Oberyn’s death.
Finally, Cersei is seen meeting a smiling Margaery Tyrell. The two will be involved in struggle, this season, for Tommen’s affections and thus power over him, and their smiles most likely hide their mutual loathing for each other.
In the last picture set in King’s Landing, we get a good look at the new character of the High Sparrow. The current High Septon, the High Sparrow is set on reform, and will play a large role in upcoming events related to Cersei and Margaery. He is not as easily manipulated at the High Septons that have preceded him, and this will greatly affect the fate of both women.
Locations Unknown
Petyr Baelish and Sansa are shown, both darkly garbed, in an unknown location. What the two may be planning is certainly a mystery but if the trailer is anything to go by, it certainly has to do with vengeance–or at least that is what Petyr would have Sansa believe.
Brienne and Podrick Payne are also featured. It will be interesting to follow them through Westeros as their search for Arya and Sansa continues. However, depending on whether HBO decides to include a very important character, the two may find someone completely different than who they set out to seek.
Winterfell
We get one good look at the main members of House Bolton in their new residence of Winterfell. Roose Bolton, his wife Walda, and his newly legitimized son stand together, as if waiting for someone. The plot-line in Winterfell this season will revolve around the Bolton’s domination of the North, but they may not be as secure in their newly found power as they think.
The Wall
As viewers will remember from Season 4, Stannis Baratheon is now at the Wall, having saved it from Wildling invasions. We get our first look at Stannis this season, in the newly released photos, as he confers with Jon Snow. Stannis is anxious for Jon to support him as king and offers him Winterfell if he accepts. Jon has other plans, however. The final picture set at the Wall shows Melisandre, with her signature fire at hand. Melisandre will play an important role in the events to come this season.
Another picture, set beyond the Wall, features a group of Wildlings, lead by Tormund Giantsbane. The Wildlings may have been vanquished by Stannis’ forces, but their story is not over.
Braavos
Finally, in Braavos, we see Arya, superimposed against the doors of the House of Black and White. Arya is on her way to learning the ways of the Faceless Man, and as we watch her this season, we will see her ability to kill grow in prowess, even as she abandons more and more of her old self along the way.
Game of Thrones season 5 premieres April 12th on HBO, of course.
