The final season of Game of Thrones will premiere on April 14, and it’s the end of an era. Here’s what we know so far about season eight!
Along with everyone else in the world, we’re looking forward to the final season of Game of Thrones. It’s going to be six episodes of breathless action and a culmination of nine years of story-telling. It’s rare for a series to be able to have an endpoint in mind when they start, but that’s what Game of Thrones has done. Everything means something. If you rewatch, chances are you’ll find something new to support a theory you’re currently obsessing over.
Now, I said we’re looking forward to the final season, but when you translate that into what’s happening in our minds, it’s just a bunch of vowel sounds and flailing. We’re invested in this conclusion.
Over the last few weeks, HBO has released character portraits and the first trailer for the final season. I highly doubt we’ll get much more, but we can always hope.
To start things off, let’s take a look at the series of character portraits that HBO dropped on Twitter. Someone is definitely missing from these, *coughGendrycough*, but the internet has poured over them. One of the first things I noticed wasn’t the picture, but a certain sequence on EW’s Instagram of some of portraits.
If you click through, you’ll see Bran first, and on the next swipe, is the Night King.
Y’all, I know it’s a prevailing theory, but these portraits add something to that for me. From their posture to their placement. If Bran is the Night King, does that mean he went too far back and couldn’t return? Will there be a place in these final episodes where we see Bran make that jump when things get close during a battle?
This would also make sense in terms of the prophecy the Three-Eyed Raven told him:
“You will never walk again, but you will fly.”
This could be a nod to his warging and being the new Three-Eyed Raven, but I feel like he could mean that Bran as the Night King will fly Viserion this season. I’d be very surprised if the Night King had no connection to the Bran or the Stark family.
Another detail that stuck out to me was Sansa’s clothing.
We see her presumably hand over Winterfell to Daenerys when she arrives with Jon, but we all know Sansa well enough to know she’s not going all in just yet. No matter what Jon believes about this Targaryen. If you look closely at her clothing, though, it looks like dragon scales. I know she might not actually kill Drogon or Rhaegal, but the visual is enough.
You can take a look at all the portraits below as each character takes a seat on the Iron Throne.
In addition to the portraits, HBO also released the trailer. In it, Arya Stark is racing through the crypts of Winterfell, and she’s terrified. This is greatly at odds with her voiceover:
“I know Death. He’s got many faces. I look forward to seeing this one.”
Judging by the running, maybe it’s not a face she wants to see? Or maybe Arya is setting a trap much like she did for the Waif? All I know is Arya is holding a dragon glass dagger, and a few shots later we see Gendry walk beside a huge pile of dragon glass and his forge. I need this reunion like I need air.
Another important detail in the trailer, is we see Jon and Dany approach her remaining dragons. Could this mean we’ll see Jon Snow become a dragon rider this season?
A moment of relief is seeing Tormund and Beric Dondarrion safe after the fall of the Wall in season seven. Also in the trailer, there are several battle scenes from the Battle for Winterfell, along with the Unsullied awaiting battle. The Hound is surrounded by fire, and we see Cersei’s new warriors from Essos, the Golden Company arrive. Cersei herself looks sadden by something, and Jamie Lannister chooses his side once and for all:
“I promised to fight for the living. I intend to keep that promise.”
Our favorite Lannister, Tyrion, is only seen for a split second, though. It’s a shot we’ve seen before, of him looking up at the sky. Perhaps he’s watching Jon and Dany fly around Winterfell? What does this mean for the Hand of the Queen that we only see him for a brief moment?
Watch the trailer below and share your thoughts with us!
P.S. This gif gives me life. I’m pretending there’s not a sad ending here.
Game of Thrones premieres Sunday, April 14, on HBO. Be sure to live tweet with us @WeSoNerdy!
