It’s been a fairly quiet winter for fans of Game of Thrones, but it looks like HBO has decided to break its silence at last and start promoting the much-anticipated show which will air sometime this summer. In the past two days, HBO has dropped two, short teasers for Thrones, each featuring a small video clip that reinforces the teasers’ short message that the show is “in production.” With teasers rolling out in fairly short succession, we can’t help but hope that a full-length trailer is around the corner. In previous years, full-length Game of Thrones trailers were usually out in February, but given that the show has decided to premiere in summer rather than in April, as in previous years, it seems that the show’s promotional schedule has been pushed back. So, while we wait for a trailer, let’s examine the teasers HBO has released and see what we can glean about the upcoming seventh season of Game of Thrones.
So what is HBO trying to tell us? The first teaser features a lingering shot of Oathkeeper, a sword with a long history and a great deal of meaning in Game of Thrones. Oathkeeper was one of two swords Tywin Lannister had made from Ned Stark’s iconic sword, Ice, which was lost to the Lannisters when Ned was executed back in Season One. Although Tywin gifts the sword to his son, Jaime, Jaime eventually gives it to Brienne of Tarth– it symbolizes her promise to him to find and protect the missing Stark girls, Sansa and Arya. Ultimately, Brienne, sword in hand, fulfills her promise and plays an instrumental role in rescuing Sansa from Ramsay Bolton. In the end, Oathkeeper represents the resiliency of House Stark, both in its origins and also in its role as a rescuer and restorer of Sansa. The theme of Stark resilience and resurgence is especially timely for Season Seven, with Sansa and Jon once more restored to their rightful home in Winterfell. Perhaps, we can expect more success for the long under-trodden Starks in the upcoming season.
The second, short teaser shows us a tantalizing peek behind the scenes– Lena Headey sits in a make-up chair as several people prepare her to play the role of Cersei Lannister. After killing most of her enemies in a memorable blaze of wildfire, Cersei ascended the Iron Throne in the last episode of Season 6, and she looks to have a major role in the upcoming season. With Daenerys en route to Westeros, to reclaim her family’s throne, and Jon Snow recently named King in the North, Cersei may have more trouble than she assumes keeping her position…and her life. It will be interesting to see what Cersei’s reign will look like, and just how long it will last.
Both Game of Thrones teasers stress that the show is still “in production,” most likely hoping to suggest we keep our excitement reined in, at least a little while longer. Nonetheless, more promotional material for Game of Thrones should be rolling out fairly soon, and hopefully, it will give us more hints about what awaits us in Season Seven.
What do you think of the teasers? Comment below!
