My two cents on the GoT Season 7 trailer

So the trailer came out for Season Seven of Game of Thrones, and of course it has already broken records for viewership.

First I checked out my friend Pat’s blog to see what he thought of the trailer and get his input.  If you want the opinion of another person who has read all of the books and is a fairly obsessed ASOIAF/GoT fan (like myself, and in a good way) then go check him out.

So here’s my thoughts.

First, it appears that Cersei really is under attack from all four directions. Obviously, Daenerys is coming to land in the East and she takes Dragonstone first.  Of course Dragonstone is where the Targaryens first established themselves in Westeros, and now it is where Daenerys will establish her own forces before moving on to the rest of Westeros.  And for those paying attention, it is also the home of a massive supply of dragonglass, which will become a lot more important in the near future.

In the West, we see Unsullied (dressed a bit more warmly than they were in Essos) storming a castle that appears to be a Lannister castle.  I am guessing that this castle is none other than the Lannister’s home, Casterly Rock.

So now we know why Grey Worm was on a separate ship from Daenerys and everyone else.  He went to the Western coast of Westeros with most or all of the Unsullied to take Casterly Rock.  And that pleases me for several reasons.  It is an idea first suggested in the series by King Robb Stark before he was betrayed at the Red Wedding.  Then it was also suggested by Daario Naharis at his last meeting with Daenerys Targaryen, when she “broke up” with him (for lack of a better way of putting it).  I guess Daenerys took his advice and sent the Unsullied to attack from the West, rather than the Second Sons.  So I am psyched to see this because I really hate the Lannisters, and now the Lannisters have lost their ancestral home.  I also think that the odds are whatever Lannister distant cousins or whoever were left are now dead.  Thus Cersei’s comment that she and Jaime are the last Lannisters (except for Tyrion, of course).

Third, the North is now in full-on Rebellion against Queen Cersei.  I imagine that she was quite disappointed to learn (as I imagine she does) that not only did the Boltons betray her by marrying Ramsay to Sansa, but that Petyr Baelish also betrayed her by joining the forces of the Vale with the remnants of the Stark forces against the Boltons and then wiping them out.  And remember, there isn’t exactly a lot of love for the Lannisters in the Riverlands after all that they (and their allies the Freys) have done.  So an area even larger than Robb Stark’s old kingdom now calls Jon Snow the King in the North.

Fourth, historic enemies Dorne and the Reach have somehow become allies (only someone like Cersei could accomplish this amazing feat, uniting her enemies against her) and are undoubtedly going to muster their full power and march on King’s Landing.

So Cersei is, in every sense, surrounded by enemies.  Naturally, this means that she will rely even more on her Queensguard, and we get to see what can only be Ser Gregor Clegane, aka Ser Robert Strong aka Zombie Mountain wearing his new outfit, which somehow manages to make even his towering hulk of rotting flesh somewhat respectable.  But who can she trust, really?  No one likes her.  Qyburn is loyal, at least for now, as is (at least for now) her brother Jaime and his sidekick Ser Bronn of the Blackwater.  But she hardly inspires the love of the common people.  I can hardly wait to see what extreme measures she undertakes to get everyone in Westeros even more angry with her.  She just can’t help it.  Like I said before, she’s the President Trump of Westeros.

And what else do we see in this trailer?

We see Jon Snow going in what appears to be some sort of expedition beyond the wall.  I am curious what the purpose of this is, but I suspect that its purpose may be, among other things, to capture a wight.

We also see the new KITN get into some sort of… disagreement… with Petyr Baelish, who is certainly one of the most dangerous people in Westeros and definitely not someone I would ever, ever trust.  Eons ago Brandon Stark managed to mess up Littlefinger pretty seriously, and obviously Lord Baelish did not learn the proper lesson* from this.  Too bad Ned didn’t wipe the floor with him when he had the chance.  He and Catlyn should never have trusted him.  I am still hoping that Littlefinger runs into Arya and/or her direwolf Nymeria and has a very painful and protracted end.

And speaking of such, I am guessing that Nymeria will in fact come back to Arya.  It is kinda sorta hinted at when we see Arya in the wintry woods all alone.  Seems like a good time to run into her wolf, who has been hanging out in the Riverlands ever since Season One, when she was just a big overgrown puppy who chowed down ever so slightly on Joffrey Baratheon Lannister’s arm.  So here’s hoping she chews up some more Lannisters soon.  After all, she has six seasons’ worth to catch up on.

Anyway, that’s it for now.

~Geoff

*Forget the whole “I’m going to fight them my way” crap that Baelish talks about during Season One.  The lesson he should have learned is…

Do. Not. Mess. With. Starks.