Game of Thrones Season 8 trailer: Seven key takeaways

After a long wait, HBO has finally debuted the trailer for the final season of Game of Thrones. To say it is going to be grand will be stating the obvious. Much of it will centre around the war between the dead and the living and we expect epic showdowns as well as strong character work throughout the six (curtailed from 7 episodes from last season but reportedly feature length) episodes.

The trailer has also given us much to talk about. Here are seven key points.

The final battle is going to be monumental: The last few seconds of the trailer are about the final battle between the living and the dead. The living (we see Brienne, Jorah and others) stand on a vast open space, perhaps before Winterfell, and in the final shot, a horse puts its hoof into view. It is a desiccated hoof and the horse is undead. And riding it is a White Walker, though we do not see that.

To leave fans hanging at that point is an audacious movie by the makers. It also promises a scale that will be similar to the Battle of the Morannon in the final Lord of the Rings film when Aragorn, Legolas and others fought hundreds of thousands of Orcs. It has been easy to forget during many battle scenes in this show that it is ultimately a television production since such has been the scope and quality of visual effects. But the Battle of Winterfell is clearly going to make everything that came before — including Battle of the Bastards and Hardhome — look puny. This also explains why it took so long to shoot.

This battle is also going to be the longest ever put on the screen, according to Entertainment Weekly’s coverage of the final season. Bring it on, already.

Arya is frightened: You know things are not looking good for anybody when Arya Stark is running scared. It is easy to guess it is the White Walkers. She is seen scurrying away from somebody or something in dark corridors (Winterfell, most likely) in the first scene itself. This scene is juxtaposed with she boasting earlier, before White Walkers invaded, that she has seen many faces of death, and she looks forward to seeing this one. Not so eager now, is she?

Things have come full circle: Remember how we started this show from Winterfell and much of the major cast, including Starks and Lannisters, was together in one location? And how the White Walkers (or at least their ice-zombies called wights) were the focus? It is all going to come back, except this time the cast is much bigger (despite so many important character deaths) and this time, the living are actually going to strike back.

Jon Snow or Aegon Targaryen?: I think the closest to a central character Game of Thrones, with its dizzying number of characters, has is Jon Snow. The book series, on which the show is based, is titled A Song of Ice and Fire, and many take that as a reference to Jon’s true parentage — Lyanna Stark (Ice) and Rhaegar Targaryen (Fire). Jon Snow is also rumoured to be the Prince That Was Promised or Azor Ahai (many theorise that both are different), a saviour of humanity who rose to defeat the White Walkers the last time they invaded, and only after they were driven back to the northernmost part of Westeros that the Wall was built to permanently keep them out.

Jon certainly is the heir to the Iron Throne, being Rhaegar’s son, with a stronger claim than Daenerys and anybody alive. Will this raise a problem between Jon and Dany? If not, then the fact that they are nephew and aunt might. Or at least should. We see Sam and Bran in one shot and they are probably thinking as to who is going to tell Jon. And Jon’s world will turn upside down, again. This revelation might have an effect on who ends up on the throne in the end. Amid all the talk of White Walkers, we tend to forget the show’s title.

Cersei is still scheming: If everybody else in Westeros died, Cersei will still sit on the Iron Throne, paranoid, and wondering if there is a threat to her rule. Nearly everybody else in the world of Game of Thrones has a redeeming quality no matter how evil they are (except Ramsay Snow, but he is dead), but Cersei is beyond saving. Even Jaime Lannister, who almost killed a kid for no fault of his, was disgusted by her the last time we saw him. We see Cersei in King’s Landing, and she looks self-satisfied.

Jaime Lannister is a good guy now: Arguably one of the most complex characters on television, Jaime Lannister has seen more development than most. He lost his right hand and with it his peerless swordsmanship and smugness. He is also no longer rash and cruel. In the final season, he will fight alongside Jon and others against the White Walkers as a quick shot tells us.

Tormund Giantsbane and Beric Dondarrion survived: If you thought the Night King and undead Viserion’s attack on the Wall and its subsequent destruction killed Tormund and Beric, you were wrong. They survived and appear in the trailer, and will take part in the battle against the Night King.

Daenerys and her (remaining) dragons: The last season showed us Dany losing her dragon, Viserion, to a superhumanly powerful throw of an ice spear by the Night King (which inspired jokes saying he should compete in Olympics). We know he can kill dragons easily. But dragons, of which only Drogon and Rhaegal remain, can also be destructive against the wights and can turn the tide in the favour of the living.

Also Read | Game of Thrones Season 8 trailer: Jon, Daenerys and Arya are ready for the ultimate battle

It will be interesting from a strategic point of view to see how Dany and Jon use them as just going all guns blazing might not be the best idea. Then again, dragons are not particularly known for their stealth.

Game of Thrones Season 8 arrives on April 14.