It’s been a long wait, but HBO has finally released the first trailer for Season Seven of Game of Thrones. The new, and penultimate season of the award-winning HBO show will premiere on July 16th, and from what we tell from the trailer, its going to be nothing short of amazing. Last summer, Game of Thrones ended dramatically with Cersei Lannister sitting on the Iron Throne, Jon Snow hailed as King in the North, and Daenerys Targaryen finally headed to Westeros to reclaim her right to rule. Now, Season Seven looks to explore the consequences of each major character’s rise to power, and the ensuing clashes that will determine who wins the final claim to Westeros’ most uncomfortable chair.
Take a look at the trailer and then join us below:
Season Six was a dark season– from the muted, shadowy frames that made up almost every shot, to the brutal, mass destruction that filled a great deal of the plot. In stark contrast, the Season Seven trailer is bursting with color and vibrancy. The cinematography in the trailer is simply stunning, from the soaring dragons to the more subtle flare of explosions or formation of White Walker pursued wildlings. You can certainly see where the extra budget that comes from a shortening of the upcoming season has gone– every frame is artful and well-articulated.
The trailer begins with a focus on Cersei Lannister– a woman who has ascended the Iron Throne in the wake of wildfire and what is clearly becoming sheer madness. Cersei seems to have learned that being crowned Queen doesn’t really solve your problems– she stands on a large painted map of Westeros and declares that there are enemies to the East, West, South, and North. Cersei has realized that she is cornered and wild-fire simply isn’t going to cut it anymore. We get a good look at some of Cersei’s enemies– Grey Worm stands in for Daenerys’ forces, while Arya Stark rides through some snowy region of the North, personifying the Stark’s lasting resentment against all the pain the Lannisters have inflicted on their House. Elsewhere, a Greyjoy ship lurks menacingly, and someone polishes a Dornish blade.
Is Cersei concerned? Not at all. “Whatever stands in our way, we will defeat it,” she says. You can tell she means business by the large number of Lannister soldiers in the next shot. Her brother Jaime, however, looks like he has his doubts.
Meanwhile, Tyrion Lannister goes for a dragon admiring hike near what appears to be Daenerys’ headquarters in Westeros– her old family home Dragonstone. Daenerys is glad to be home, a place she announces she was born to rule. She brushes the ground with her fingers– she has waited a long time for this moment. Moments later, we find her on the rough-hewn, albeit hugely imposing throne of Dragonstone. Something tells me Cersei isn’t going to like another Queen so close at hand.
We move on to Jon Snow with a rousing “King in the North!” Jon is still brooding over the Starks old dining table and Sansa is still taking what is no doubt bad advice from Littlefinger. Some things never change.
Meanwhile, Theon Greyjoy stares with horror at something beyond a blazing shower of sparks. We later see evidence of a sea-battle with several explosions. Things could get interesting for Theon and his sister, Yara this season, with their uncle, Euron, still out to get them and now no doubt equipped with his 1,000 ship fleet which was only a gleam in his eye the last time we saw him.
It would be so much easier if everyone just got along. Ser Davos seems to agree– “If we don’t put aside our enmities…we will die,” he says, “and then it doesn’t matter whose skeleton sits on the Iron Throne.” No one seems to take his advice– Dothraki launch screaming into battle against Lannister soldiers, Arya plots revenge, Littlefinger lurks suspiciously in the darkness (later, a fed-up Jon Snow grabs him by his lapels and throws him against the wall in a move that is reminiscent of Ned’s frustration in Season One). Unsullied and Lannister forces clash, a mangled hand emerges tenuously through a door, Missandei and Grey Worm, followed by Yara Greyjoy and Ellaria Sand provide the necessary intimate inclusions one has begun to anticipate in Game of Thrones trailers.
Soldiers pursued by dragons surge across the screen. “The great war is here,” Jon Snow announces, and we can’t wait for it. If only July wasn’t so far away.
What did you think of the Season Seven trailer? Comment below!
