Breakdown of the newest Game of Thrones promo!

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We love a good Game of Thrones trailer here at Watchers on the Wall. And HBO has obliged us with another juicy teaser this close to the premiere. Though there’s plenty of footage that we’ve already seen in the new teaser, there’s loads of new stuff, so we have more fresh material to pore over and dissect.

Without further ado, let’s get to it!

We open on the same shot of Castle Black at the Wall we’ve seen in the first two trailers. In voiceover, Tyrion warns us, “Wherever you are, wherever you go… someone wants to murder you.”

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Jon’s corpse lies on a table.

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As usual, the footage was quite dark, so we lightened it in order to take a closer look at the scene. We saw in the last scene of season 5, Jon Snow died with his eyes open. Here his eyes are still open and someone appears to be closing them. Based on the hair and the black sleeve, we believe it’s Jon’s good friend Dolorous Edd. The assassins certainly did a number on Jon- check out the cuts in his clothing.

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In Meereen, common people run through a plaza while Tyrion and Varys look on, in surprise or puzzlement.

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Then we have an exciting new shot of the action at the Tower of Joy! We can see two armored knights of the Targaryen-era Kingsguard, drawing their swords, about to fight. The one of the left is played by Eddie Eyre (listed as playing “Alfred Hunrith”), the one on the right looks to be Luke Roberts (his CV credits him as playing “Rowland Selwyn”).

We could speculate all day which show character correlates to which book character- Arthur Dayne, Oswell Whent, Gerold Hightower- but with GoT giving the characters coded/new names, it’s all just guessing.

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We have a new shot of the Night’s King and a frighteningly large number of White Walkers and wight behind him. The army of the dead appears to be on the move.

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This brief scene has popped up in previous trailers, and it’s still a complete mystery: a man (?) taking down a runner with a flaming ball on a chain. With the frozen setting, is this from Bran’s storyline, happening near the Three-Eyed Raven’s cave?

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Sansa on the run: most likely from the first episode, I’m guessing, now that we’ve seen the clip of Sansa and Theon trying to escape through the woods.

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Several ships sailing together through a storm. We know Sam and Gilly will be traveling together, so they could be on a ship in a storm. There being several ships at once, however, makes me wonder if this is part of a fleet belong to a Greyjoy.

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Looking at the setting, clothing, and the intimacy of the situation, this embrace between Cersei and Jaime may come just after Cersei’s emotional scene that was revealed in a clip from episode 1.

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We see the late Myrcella is lying in view as Jaime confronts the High Sparrow in the Great Sept of Baelor.

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And some of the same battle shots we’ve glimpsed in previous teasers and trailers: archers and Bolton soldiers fighting, with Ramsay Bolton leading his army.

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This is from Arya and the Waif’s tussling- we saw more from this moment in the last trailer.

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The Dothraki riders Qhono (Staz Nair) and Ahko (Chuku Modu) force Daenerys along the road to Vaes Dothrak, with Qhono whipping the khaleesi. Definitely a bad situation for Daenerys in season 6.

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We finally get a look at what’s happening in Dorne! Okay, it’s not much. Nice to see Indira Varma though. Several guards can be spotted in the distance; it seems likely, since she planned the murder of Myrcella, that Ellaria is a prisoner of Doran Martell now.

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The shot of the Sons of the Harpy seen in a previous trailer. Harpies gotta harpy, I guess:

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The ever-present Drogon-over-the-Dothraki shot. Quit playing with your dinner, and go save your mother, dammit!25

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Tormund and the wildlings in battle. Our favorite gingerbeard is seeing something interesting.

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A few now-familiar battle shots of banners, shields and soldiers (Bolton, Mormont and more) –

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This is a new shot of a weirwood tree, now covered in ice, with Bran Stark standing before it in his vision. The tree seems to be surrounded by tall stones- it reminds me of the icy Stonehenge from season 4. This image blends into him turning to see the Night’s King.

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To me this hand looks like Dany’s.

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This is without a doubt the least happy Melisandre has ever looked while taking her clothes off. I don’t think this is your typical Melisandre-uses-her-sexiness scene.  She looks as completely sad and un-Mel-like as you can imagine. If she’s baring her breast a la Nissa Nissa, that could explain it. 34

Arya parkouring herself out of a jam in Braavos, as you do.

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Littlefinger, creepin’ in the woods. It’s not known who he’s looking at. The setting looks very similar to Sansa and Theon’s icy forest scenes.

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Jaime and Mace Tyrell (in his fabulous feathered monstrosity) with a host of Tyrell soldiers in beautiful floral armor head to the sept of Baelor to face the Faith Militant.

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And of course, Tyrion comes to face to face with his childhood dream only to realize what an incredibly bad idea it was.

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What was your favorite part of the new promo, readers? I’m stoked for every frame of footage I see of the Tower of Joy. Give me all the visions and flashbacks, all of ’em. I am so ready for season 6.

Sue the Fury
Susan Miller, Editor in Chief of WatchersOnTheWall.com

188 Comments

  1. Everyone always says those are several ships in the storm. I just don’t see it. It’s three sails, one big ship, isn’t it?

    As for the scene between Jaime and Cersei, it seems to be a different scene from that of the clip. He’s wearing different clothes. She may be, too.

  2. Damn. Mystery guy I reckon has to be Coldhands, or maybe I’m just too optimistic. That’s my bet anyway.

  3. Hodor?
    EDIT: Dang. But closest I’ve ever been, I think.

    I am stoked to see what we haven’t seen yet: Horn Hill, Oldtown, the Quiet Isle. And to just get on with the story after all these years!!

  4. Someone posted on reddit a while ago that Littlefinger is at (the setting used for filming) Winterfell’s godswood because the trees lineup matches that for Sansa-Ramsay wedding – those two sort of V shaped trees in the middle

  5. Luka Nieto,

    To me, it just looked like a lighting thing- and some trailers and shots are darker- but yeah I’m not sure.

    Those are definitely multiple ships though. You can especially see the one on the right- you can see the sail and the entire body of the ship below it.

  6. Ashara D,

    Honestly, I always assumed they’d show the Oldtown CG cityscape on the trailers, as they did with Braavos four season four. Now that the season is starting, I’m kind of glad they didn’t show anything. I want to be as impressed as Gilly when we see it!

  7. I think that the hand by the fire could be the new Red Priestess.

    Could that place in Bran’s vision be the Land of Always Winter? Could the White Walkers with the thousands of wights be at the 3-Eyed Ravens cave?

  8. I see only one ship too, because they (EDIT: they meaning the visible parts) move in unison. Could anyone who sees multiple ones outline them with a paint program on a screenshot?

  9. I am so ready for Season 6 to start. This week is super dragging. Have to say my favorite TWO parts of the new promo are Bran at the Weirwood and another peek at TOJ. I’m hyped!!

  10. That hand is certainly dany we covered it in last trailer…

    Everyone thinks that undressing of Mel is a scene of Nissa Nissa(which doesn’t make sense to begin with ,considering jon doesn’t love her )….so much have been mentioned about how we will come to know about Mel’s real age and look

    I now wonder whether that this disrobing scene could be when Mel shows her real body and age to Davos….

  11. Connor,

    Somebody did a comparison of the ring on that hand and identified it as the other ring that Dany was wearing at the end of Season 5 (the one she didn’t throw away).

  12. Sean C.:
    Connor,

    Somebody did a comparison of the ring on that hand and identified it as the other ring that Dany was wearing at the end of Season 5 (the one she didn’t throw away).

    Ok, thanks for correcting me!

  13. The hooded figure on the horse with the flaming ball is throwing me for a loop! Cant wait! 5 days!

  14. Connor,

    In trailer 2 we have dany being stripped by dosh khaleen in that clip you can see the same fire Brazier …so its dany and I believe this is a start of the one huge scene that has been hyped during the shooting

  15. I hope the mystery rider is Benjen. Otherwise, why remind us he’s unaccounted for in the Season 5 finale? 😛

  16. I really hope we won’t see any sexual violence towards Mel from the NW. I think it was BecauseGeek that suggested Mels sad disrobing could be NW related. I really want to make it through this season without anymore sexual violence controversies.

  17. Flayed Potatoes:
    I hope the mystery rider is Benjen. Otherwise, why remind us he’s unaccounted for in the Season 5 finale?

    I know eh? I have hopes that it’s Benjen! Would be a massive shock and surprise for everyone!

  18. cersei is wearing a black dress in the sexual scene with jaime, while she’s wearing a red dress in the premiere. its not the same scene

  19. Out of all of the speculation about that mystery man with the flaming ball on a chain …

    I think the most likely answer is Benjen Stark. There’s a reason why he was name dropped in 5.10. Part of it was to set up Jon Snow’s assassination, but the other part, I suspect, was to remind the viewers about him so that we’d be primed for his reappearance this season.

    I highly doubt it’s Coldhands. If they were going to have him in the show, it would’ve happened in S3 (then reintroduced this season). They didn’t, so I suspect Coldhands is cut.

    Alternatively, it could be a totally new character we’re not aware of.

    My guess, from most likely to least likely: 1. Benjen. 2. A brand-new character. 3. A rouge WW. 4. Jon-Snow-warging-into-Ghost-warging-into-a-Wilding. 100. Coldhands.

  20. Josh L.:
    Out of all of the speculation about that mystery man with the flaming ball on a chain …

    I think the most likely answer is Benjen Stark.There’s a reason why he was name dropped in 5.10.Part of it was to set up Jon Snow’s assassination, but the other part, I suspect, was to remind the viewers about him so that we’d be primed for his reappearance this season.

    I highly doubt it’s Coldhands.If they were going to have him in the show, it would’ve happened in S3 (then reintroduced this season).They didn’t, so I suspect Coldhands is cut.

    Alternatively, it could be a totally new character we’re not aware of.

    My guess, from most likely to least likely:1. Benjen.2. A brand-new character.3. A rouge WW.4. Jon-Snow-warging-into-Ghost-warging-into-a-Wilding.100. Coldhands.

    Agreed!

  21. I also think that Mel undressing is not her “Nissa Nissa” moment, but rather her revealing what she really looks like to Davos. Mel is not Jon Snow’s “Nissa Nissa.”

    If anybody could claim to be Jon Snow’s “Nissa Nissa” it’d be Ygritte. And that doesn’t count, because Jon Snow didn’t kill her, Ollie did. If Jon Snow is really Azor Ahai reborn, I suspect Night’s Watch is his “Nissa Nissa” and Jon Snow will have to “kill” the Night’s Watch by permanently disbanding it after he takes care of the mutineers and leaves to fight the Boltons.

    (My speculation, however, is that Jon Snow is not AA Reborn, but that Danys is. Danys was born amid smoke & salt on Dragonstone, killed her Nissa Nissa in Khal Drogo, and was reborn in the funeral pyre. She drew “Lightbringer” (aka her three dragons) from the body of Khal Drogo. Jon Snow, however, is “the Prince who was Promised.”)

  22. Anyone else see the guy in the battle scene pic above that looks like he has sunglasses on??? He’s to the mid left in the pic… lol

  23. Has it been confirmed yet that Arya will meet Sam as he goes about his travels? I think yesterday she said in an interview she learns about Jon Snows death and this seems like a good way to mix book and show although I have no idea how Sam would have heard about it
  24. Josh L.,

    Agree with what you said about dany …

    But disagree with TpTWP i believe all three TPTWP AAr and TSWMTW are one and same

    Regarding NW being Nissa Nissa is it even alive when jon joined …they are already on the path of destruction ..
    If anyone can be nissa nissa to jon it will be ygritte or arya…no one or nothing else will be ..

  25. Making the 8,

    No, Maisie didn’t say that Arya would learn about it. She speculated on what Arya’s reaction to it would be. Sam wouldn’t know about Jon’s death, so Arya couldn’t learn about it from him.

    r-hard,

    Jon’s alive, obviously, but there’s nothing as yet to indicate that the other person in that shot with Littlefinger is Jon.
  26. And that horseman with the fireball weapon is the show version of Coldhands who will take Bran, Hodor and Meera to safe after the White Walkers attack the cave.
  27. Actually, someone figured out that Littlefinger is standing in the Winterfell Godswood. I don’t have the images, but the poster did a comparison using that one small tree with several stems in the background as a reference and it became totally obvious.

    Other than that, those three riders we see in the background of that one battle shot could be Sansa with her two companions from that shot we saw in the first trailer. The wildlings and Stark loyalists seem to be surrounded, so a little help would be welcome, I guess 🙂

    Also, do we think that there will be a third kingsguard present? Not that I need one…

    Edit: r-hard posted the picture of the godswood I was refering to above.

  28. Sean C.,

    There was a leaked script on summer what said that LF and Jon hears Joramun’s horn’s sound when they standing beside Winterfell, in snow. Half of the script became true from the news with almost every character’s return, except LSH.

    Believe it or not. I don’t believe in neither, but i found interesting.

  29. Pretty sure Tyrion said: “Wherever you are, wherever you go…”

    I misheard it too the first time.

    The ship in the storm is a single ship with 3 masts.

    And FFS Mel won’t be Nissa Nissa.

  30. I don’t like LF. At all. If Sansa ends up back with him, I will rage.

    Mel stripping but having that face on her, also worries me.
    Also, she has barely any clips in the trailers and teasers combined. I don’t know if she is going to die in episode 1… though she did say she sees herself walking the battlements of Winterfell. And she meets Arya again. Its all so confusing.

    Whipping Dany really???? Shes gonna f*ck shit up after.
    And I am happy to see that Drogon found her.

  31. Two things which I feel might come out of this:

    1. Our Kingslayer might be in for some tough time with the High Sparrow and the Faith Militant. Getting stuck in the Sept surrounded by them may not be a good idea with no right hand. Death for the Kingslayer???

    2. A hot blast of fire from a dragon should be enough to make a burnt toast out of any person. The promos seem to put the Imp in the line of fire but I dont see him getting such an easy exit in GoT. So? Maybe he will survive even after getting into the fire and proves that he has Targaryen blood in him??? This could become a huge plus in favor of him being the Azor Ahai.

  32. dragonbringer,

    Agree 10000%! All those different initials are just different cultures’ versions of the same myth/legend/prophecy. TPTWP is the Andal/Westerosi version, AA is the Eastern version, and of course the Dothraki would put their myth in terms of horses with TSTWMTW.

  33. Luka Nieto:
    Ashara D,

    Honestly, I always assumed they’d show the Oldtown CG cityscape on the trailers, as they did with Braavos four season four. Now that the season is starting, I’m kind of glad they didn’t show anything. I want to be as impressed as Gilly when we see it!

    I agree! I really hope we get Old Town, and most importantly, Hightower. The tallest structure in Westeros needs to be seen!

  34. I’ve always considered the possibility of Rhaegar unknowingly being Azor Ahai,

    with Lyanna serving as Nissa Nissa and Jon being Lightbringer lol.
    AA had 3 attempts to make Lightbringer, and Jon would be Rhaegar’s third child. /shrug

    But it will probably be Dany in the end because she doesn’t have enough titles or people blowing smoke up her skirts already. Meh. If that’s the case, then how is Jon’s resurrection justified? What is so different about him that makes him come back? How is the resurrection presented as? I hope we get some answers. Maybe he’s TPTWP, but that wasn’t mentioned on the show…

  35. Deesensfan:
    Mel stripping but having that face on her, also worries me.
    Also, she has barely any clips in the trailers and teasers combined. I don’t know if she is going to die in episode 1…

    She makes it to episode 5, at least, going by the promo photo filenames.
  36. Luka Nieto,

    I agree that it is one big ship with three masts rather than several, much in the style of the Dornish ship bringing Jaime and Myrcella’s body home.

    Still hoping the mystery man fighting the wight with the swinging lantern is Benjen returned. Maybe he will take command of the Night’s Watch as Jon goes off to take care of the Boltons.

  37. Flayed Potatoes,

    More than one person could be AA though. AA is a legend passed down through thousands of years, things may not happen exactly the way the prophecy would have us believe. After all there are multiple warnings in the books not to trust prophecies. I think both Jon and Dany are connected to the prophecy, Dany obviously so and in Jon’s case we only have been given hints so far.
    Regarding Nissa Nissa, I don’t see Mel being NN. However there is nothing to suggest the show will even include the NN element. Show might just skip the Nissa Nissa part altogether?

  38. Ashara D,

    I have been trying to wrap my mind around why my excitement level is so high and had just reached the same conclusion: after all this time, the story finally advances.

    While I would have preferred the book(s) to be out first, it was not to be and the show will satisfy me until then. I am most excited to learn Jon Snow’s fate, see the Tower of Joy (and hope it still has the impact I think it does) and learn the truth about who Jon Snow really is. The wait is almost over! I’m so excited to get this underway.

  39. Luka Nieto,

    I agree. We’ve gotten very little of Sam and Gilly in the promotional materials, probably because their storyline is unlikely to be action-packed – at least in the first half of the season. But I’m betting that our first look at the Hightower in Oldtown will be stunning. I’m glad that we’re going to see it first in the show itself (that’s assuming, of course, that it doesn’t get teased in one of the episode previews). The look on Gilly’s face is going to be something to behold. She was impressed by the Wall, but she’s never seen anything like this! 🙂

    r-hard,

    Yeah, I agree. I think that Littlefinger’s standing in the Godswood of Winterfell.

    I’m not sure if it’s Jon who’s approaching him. But if it is, the shot is likely from Episode 10, after Jon’s wildlings, Sansa’s Northern Lords, and Littlefinger’s Knights of the Vale have successfully driven the Boltons out of Winterfell. Littlefinger looks nervous, but that could be because the new alliance is tenuous. I doubt he was expecting that he would need to deal with Sansa’s brother … who has returned from the dead no less.
  40. I must say that snowy shot of Littlefinger is still the most intriguing one to me…

    Where the hell is he ? I dont think he’ll pop up in the woods in episode 1 (although his teleporter has done wonders before), in the middle of Sansa and Theon’s hunt… so it has to be from a later episode, but I really wonder how that will come to be…

    And I’ve never been that fascinated by the character of Petyr Baelish, but that shot is really intriguing !

  41. ghost of winterfell:
    Regarding Nissa Nissa, I don’t see Mel being NN. However there is nothing to suggest the show will even include the NN element. Show might just skip the Nissa Nissa part altogether?

    The show has barely gotten into the mythology around the prophesied figures thus far. If there is going to be a modern equivalent to Nissa Nissa, we’ll hear about it closer to the end — and if there is such a re-enactment in the books, I’m sure we’ll see it in the show. I’ve been somewhat skeptical on that count, though; that theory invariably involves one of the series major female characters getting killed so that Jon can embrace his Ultimate Destiny, which is a pretty shoddy resolution for those characters (and in terms of “person you care about most”, that would basically have to be Arya, his beloved sister/cousin; I don’t think, e.g., Dany can go from “never met you” to “Nissa Nissa material” in a handful of episodes).

  42. Josh L.,

    Mel is not Jon Snow’s Nissa Nissa, but the prophecy doesn’t call for that. He will create Lightbringer by drawing his sword from fire. Mel has the fire burning within. She could be used for that. But I don’t think she’s going anywhere soon, so maybe they are just beginning to set that up for later when it will be Jon’s big reveal.

  43. Flayed Potatoes,

    Or those titles somehow resembles the parts of prophecy she is fulfilling..

    Stormborn- born amidst salt and smoke..

    Unburnt – wielding the flaming sword and pulling it from fire unhurt..bride of fire

    Mother of dragons- waking dragons from stone and pulling them from fire.

    Khaleesi of great grass sea- khaleesi of khals..

    Regarding Jon coming back why berric came back or LSH for that matter….it gives Jon a chance to finally to leave the NW and lead armies and eventually end up on the throne.

  44. Jared,

    I think it will be Littlefinger vs the wrath of new Sansa facing off for the first time after the battle is won.

  45. Flayed Potatoes,

    First, she is stunning and I love her

    Second: super excited for her in Xmen

    Third:
    “Anything else I forgot to ask you? Anything you wanna plug?
    I don’t know. Is there anything I have to plug? No. Oh! I really like Nando’s.

    Nando’s? I have no idea what that is.
    It’s N-A-N-D-O-S. It’s a chicken shop in London. It’s amazing. It’s like the world’s best. If you ever go to London you have to go to Nando’s. Like, if celebrities mention them in interviews they get black cards. A black card basically gets you free chicken for a year or something. This is me trying to get my black card.”

    I LOVE NANDOS! 🙂

  46. dragonbringer,

    Yeah I’ve said in another post that it’s an event used to get Jon out of his NW vows, but it’s clear to me that, he won’t be in the same shape as characters like LSH or Beric, which of course puts forward a lot of questions that need answered.

  47. Sullied by Knight,

    That’s a strong possibility as well!

    Perhaps he’s facing both Sansa and Jon in that scene. I’d love to see the two of them standing together, presenting a united front against Littlefinger. He may have helped them defeat the Boltons, so he’s ostensibly their ally, but neither of them are likely to trust him. Sansa should be wary of him after all she went through, and Jon and Littlefinger strike me as water and oil – those two are never going to mix well.
  48. ghost of winterfell,

    Show never mentioned Nissa Nissa. They might drop this term. Lightbringer in season 2, instead of AAR Warrior of Light. Next season we might get Prince that was promised or some other version.

    Dany is prime candidate as it was here explained AAR, Stallion or Last Hero. Different versions leading to same meaning. But hints to Jon’s involvement in this somehow are interesting. Question is how? On top of it, I think he’ll be trapped between two forces Ice and Fire. If his parentage is as we think it is. Nice parallel or nod as he might be born from those two elemnts or people representing them. Whether it’s White Walkers or R’hllor none of them seems to be any good. Both destructive and wants to control.

  49. Sue the Fury:
    Luka Nieto,

    To me, it just looked like a lighting thing- and some trailers and shots are darker- but yeah I’m not sure.

    Those are definitely multiple ships though. You can especially see the one on the right- you can see the sail and the entire body of the ship below it.

    I feel you do not see excactly how big the ship is. Where do you think the big mast in the middle is attached to? We just see it go under the wave, if that was a separate ship the ship would be much too small to stay straight with one massive big mast and no other sails and it would be really flat since we do not see any part of the ship over the wave. I mean there is just one ship with there sails sideways there with the middle part with mast the lowest so some of it is covered by the wave.

  50. Jared:
    Luka Nieto,

    I agree. We’ve gotten very little of Sam and Gilly in the promotional materials, probably because their storyline is unlikely to be action-packed – at least in the first half of the season. But I’m betting that our first look at the Hightower in Oldtown will be stunning. I’m glad that we’re going to see it first in the show itself (that’s assuming, of course, that it doesn’t get teased in one of the episode previews).

    My hope is that Sam’s absence in the trailers means that they’ve secretly found someone to play Alleras the Sphinx, my favorite character in all of the South.

  51. Chinoiserie,

    Oh! Haha! Now I see it also. Yeah, seems like just the one ship.

    On another note, total speculation of course, but the way Ellaria looks, ahe could as well be about to ascend the scaffold…

  52. Connor:
    Connor:

    “Could that place in Bran’s vision be the Land of Always Winter?”

    That place is the place Bran saw in a vision from the 3ER in book 1.

    way north in Westeros is a curtain of energy which energizes the WWs and their wights. North of the curtain is the reason Bran must live: the WWs terraforming apparatus.

    Bran, Benjen and reanimated Jon go north to destroy the WWs machineries. Without energy, the WWs dissolve into a mist and blow away, as when Sam disrupted a WW’s energy with obsidian. Without WW input, the wights die and decay. The real Problem solved and Westeros continues its petty game of thrones.

  53. Ginevra,

    For as dedicated and comprehensive as the folks who run and frequent this website are, every year there are a few castings that slip by us. So it’s possible that we’ll see her.

    For instance, we heard nothing about Lyanna Mormont being cast … until we saw Bear Island in the trailer, and Liam Cunningham let that piece of information slip in an interview a few days ago.

    We’ve heard virtually nothing about any Oldtown castings. There was one call for a “submissive maester”, but that’s it. That can’t be the only character that Sam and Gilly meet there. We’ll need to see at least see one older Archmaester (whether it’s Marwyn or just a standard authority figure). Alleras may be there as well, though the Sphinx would likely need to play a substantive role in the story to merit an appearance. I think a cameo is unlikely.

    Jack Bauer 24,

    I think it was confirmed that Girona is standing in for Oldtown (in addition to King’s Landing and Braavos) Since Sam and Gilly are traveling south by boat, they’ll need to stop there, (Horn Hill is landlocked). I would be shocked if we didn’t get a wide shot of them arriving in the city, unless the show needed to save the CGI money for other things.

  54. Sean C.,

    Okay yeah. If Jon has to kill one of the main characters to fulfill his AA destiny in the books, it will happen in the show too. If such a thing happened, it would be a callback to Stannis’ decision. He burnt his daughter because he was convinced he was AA, what would Jon do if he was faced with such a choice? Having said this, I hope this does not happen. I do not want any of the main characters to get Nisaa Nissa’d . definitely not Arya!

  55. Flayed Potatoes:
    dragonbringer,

    Yeah I’ve said in another post that it’s an event used to get Jon out of his NW vows, but it’s clear to me that, he won’t be in the same shape as characters like LSH or Beric, which of course puts forward a lot of questions that need answered.

    I think the reason he won’t be in their condition is that he’s “fresher” .. in the books LSH had been floating in river with her throat cut for a time before she was found.. and Berric suffered mutliple injuries and resurrections .. those wounds don’t get erased .. Jon will be scarred up under his clothing.

  56. I’m just going to back up here and try to take a full measure of everything we’re getting this year:

    –The return of the Blackfish
    –Some sort of awesomely huge Northern battle
    –LOTS more of the freakish Night’s King
    –Freys! Freys Freys Freys!
    –The awesomeness that is Max von Sydow
    –Yara Greyjoy, again.
    –Brienne killing more people in the woods. (Always fun.)
    –Septa Unella.
    –HODOR.
    –Dothraki!
    –Whatever the hell that thing is Mace Tyrell is wearing on his head.
    –Cersei chooses violence.
    –Davos picks up a sword.
    –Melisandre doubting herself.
    –Arya getting beaten with a stick (again)
    –Tyrion doing Tyrion stuff, and drinking more.
    –IAN GODDAMNED McSHANE

  57. as Jaime confronts the High Sparrow in the Great Sept of Baelor

    To me it looks more like the sparrows try to arrest Jaime while he is standing vigil for Myrcella.

  58. Red Amber,

    What I wrote doesn’t contradict your theory. We see Jaime getting in the High Sparrow’s face, about to draw his sword. Hence the word choice “confront.”

  59. Flaming heart,

    I agree, it seems like a lot of show is going to cover things that were skipped in Feast of Crows and Dance with Dragons. Still some characters are ahead of the books and some arcs have changed so much it doesn’t matter where they are in the books.

  60. Sean C.,

    > and in terms of “person you care about most”, that would basically have to be Arya, his beloved sister/cousin

    since GRRM likes wordplays, Nissa (Ni)ssa seems to refer to Assassin, but — if true — that could of course also simply point to AA assasinating Nissa Nissa…

  61. Greatjon of Slumber,

    That list reads like a Game of Thrones version of the old Top Gear intros.

    “Tonight,
    –Whatever the hell that thing is Mace Tyrell is wearing on his head.
    –Cersei chooses violence.
    –Davos picks up a sword.”

  62. Personally can only see one ship for my part….One of those ironic points of conversation

    Enjoyed the clarity that there is more than one Kingsguard at ToJ, my guess would be Gerold Hightower as we are going to Oldtown and presumably Randyll Tarly brings them up in his conversations with Sam and also the dual-blade wielding Arthur Dayne

    Happy to see the Frozen Weir Tree in the Lands of Always Winter, though this could be the hubris Bran talks about, he goes too far and decides to peek only the NK is like Bloodraven and can see him etc. This might be what encourages the NK to overwhelm the Cave perhaps if that is what is going to happen

    Personally reckon chain man is linked with Meera looking up etc, reckon he saves her while foraging. It is either Benjen or Coldhands, most likely Benjen IMO as they can omit Coldhands but they have to turn what happened with Benjen full circle

  63. Ginevra: My hope is that Sam’s absence in the trailers means that they’ve secretly found someone to play Alleras the Sphinx, my favorite character in all of the South.

    I find Alleras interesting, a woman passing herself off as a man to study in the Citadel and “play her games”…whatever those may be! The fact that she seems to be Marwyn’s apprentice helps in the allure, too. I hope she is included, but… She remains a character with no development as of yet and even less presence than her sisters. She has appeared for half a chapter. The South must include half the characters in the series because of King’s Landing. You like her more than Cersei, Margaery, Olenna, Tyrion, Jaime, Tywin, Qyburn, Pycelle, Oberyn, and the many other southern characters?

    Maybe you weren’t including the Crownlands as part of the South. In that case, I get it. Believe me, I don’t mean to disparage your opinion, or at least your right to believe what you may, but it does baffle me a bit if you were including King’s Landing, which has sheltered half the cast in the books and show.

  64. Greatjon of Slumber,

    I have already decided that my favorite new character this season is going to be Whatever the Hell that is on Mace Tyrell’s head!

    5 more sleeps!!!

  65. I’m looking at one of the last screen captures in main post. The one of Tormund with his hand on another wildling’s weapon–seeming to push the point of the weapon downward. Also recalling a scene in an earlier trailer where, in the middle of a battle Tormund looks over his shoulder and his eyes widen. And I’m wondering if these might not be moments from a battle being interrupted by another battle. In particular, when I look at the shot in this post, I can imagine Tormund saying to the guy beside him, “Never mind those guys you were about to stab with that thing, there’re 200,000 blue-eye corpses coming over the hill behind us.” or something like that.

    I know this is a pretty far stretch on very thin evidence, but does anyone else see something similar?

  66. With regard to the photo of the Tyrell soldiers where they angle their spears towards the faith, the one where Jaime is half-way up the stairs…I can tell it’s the high sparrow stood in the middle and possibly Margaery Tyrell is stood with him? (To his left) But between the two there seems to be a smaller figure? Can anyone shed any light on who this may be?!

  67. dragonbringer,

    That fire pit is in the background of the scene where the dothroki women are undressing her. Definitely Dany! My guess is that fire pit is going to be turned over. (hope).

  68. ATrueFool,

    Maybe Tormund

    is seeing resurrected Jon Snow leading the Stark supporter troops charging forward to help the Wildlings? And until that moment Tormund doesn’t know about Jon coming back to life?
  69. Greatjon of Slumber,

    Septa Unella is a goner. Cersei twice told her that her (Cersei’s) face would be the last one she would see before she died. To me, this foreshadowed the Septa being killed by Ser Robert Strong in some gruesome way.

  70. Flora Linden,

    Yes, that’s probably a better explanation. Especially if we assume that most of the trailer footage is from fairly early in the season.

  71. The picture of the Battlefield below the picture of Tormund..

    Do you see the three figures on horseback way in the top-right of frame? I wonder who they are, maybe characters of importance (Brienne, Sansa, Theon)…. such a menacing vibe, I love it.

  72. Ashley,

    Thanks for posting.
    And let me just say – because I didn’t get to it yesterday – that I really enjoyed your research concerning the gold reliefs on that door inside the Bank of Braavos you posted on the other thread. It amazes me every time when I read how much detail goes into making this show. Very interesting stuff!

  73. Who’s the bald guy behind Ellaria?

    And why you keep saying those are 3 ships? haha
    It’s just one ship in the storm.. there’s absolutely no doubt.
    You can see the complete ship from side.. fore and aft.

    So, for the banners we can see, the battle is going to be:
    Bolton-Umber-Karstark VS. “Stark”-Wildling-Mormont-Hornwood

  74. Ashley,

    They will burn Jon’s body Night’s Watch way and that’s will be the cliffhanger of episode 1. The dead Jon Snow burning. But in the background Melisandre already did some magic stuff. Maybe some ”only death can pay for life” stuff. So there will be hope.

    Michael McElhatton: “I can’t believe they burned Jon Snow!”

  75. dragonbringer:
    That hand is certainly dany we covered it in last trailer…

    Everyone thinks that undressing of Mel is a scene of Nissa Nissa(which doesn’t make sense to begin with ,considering jon doesn’t love her )….so much have been mentioned about how we will come to know about Mel’s real age and look

    I now wonder whetherthat this disrobingscene could be when Mel shows her real body and age to Davos….

    My speculation as well. That might be the disturbing thing she does in episode 1. Explaining glamour to Davos. And then … Davos will be glamoured as Jon Snow for the battle of bastards while the real Jon Snow … stays dead?

  76. So, for the banners we can see, the battle is going to be:

    Bolton-Umber-Karstark
    Vs.
    “Stark”-Wildlings-Mormont-Hornwood

  77. The pictures in the sept make me wonder if Cersei cannot see her daughter /attend her funeral because it’s not safe for her to return there? Or if she tries to that could lead to the “I choose violence” scenario. This scene also raises a question about Tommen’s safety when he visits the sept in the images they gave us. I hope he takes more kingsguard than just one-handed Uncle Jaime. They could take the young king prisoner, though I suppose that is unlikely because we know they don’t take his “Uncle” Jaime.

    This post reminds me of my fave line from Love Actually: “I hate Uncle Jaime!”

  78. Ashley,

    I really cannot think of anything for the first episode that will be Mel related, confusing, give the audience a surge of emotions, inspires a round of applause, yet still leaves Jon Snow dead.

    It’s either empty hype or they have something planned not many people have even come close to predicting.

    Hm. Right before I hit post comment I thought that maybe it involves Ghost. Or Mel recognizing something, or someone, inside the Wolf.

  79. dragonbringer:
    That hand is certainly dany we covered it in last trailer…

    Everyone thinks that undressing of Mel is a scene of Nissa Nissa(which doesn’t make sense to begin with ,considering jon doesn’t love her )….so much have been mentioned about how we will come to know about Mel’s real age and look

    I now wonder whetherthat this disrobingscene could be when Mel shows her real body and age to Davos….

    The other part is the fact that Nissa Nissa has never been mentioned in the show and it’s the dumbest damned name there is.

  80. alienarea: My speculation as well. That might be the disturbing thing she does in episode 1. Explaining glamour to Davos. And then … Davos will be glamoured as Jon Snow for the battle of bastards while the real Jon Snow … stays dead?

    that is terrible. No one wants a fake version of jon.

  81. Luka Nieto: You like her more than Cersei, Margaery, Olenna, Tyrion, Jaime, Tywin, Qyburn, Pycelle, Oberyn, and the many other southern characters?

    Tyrion is tied with Arya as my favorite character. I would consider The Westerlands and even The Crownlands to be central Westeros and not South. Perhaps I’m wrong in that.

    I wouldn’t say that Alleras’s character is better drawn than most you’ve listed, but I certainly like her better, so far, than any of these. I love her struggle to gain the education women have been denied. I love the mystery that surrounds her, the Spinx. I love that Aemon seems to place her in a spotlight: the riddle is the Sphinx. I love that she’s associated herself with the biggest misfit in Oldtown. And I love that she’s the daughter of a hellraiser. I love everything to do with the Citadel and Maesters: if I wrote fan-fiction, this is exactly where I’d set it. I desperately hope we get more of it in the last two books.

  82. alienarea: My speculation as well. That might be the disturbing thing she does in episode 1. Explaining glamour to Davos. And then … Davos will be glamoured as Jon Snow for the battle of bastards while the real Jon Snow … stays dead?

    Yeah! Let’s have all of that character build up for Jon only to have someone else be him and he will stay dead!

    No, that is stupid and i hope it doesn’t happen. Please don’t let it happen…

  83. Flayed Potatoes,

    That’s because AA/PTWP are 2 people at the same time and represent the song of ice fire, Dany and Jon are the same and are not meant to rule but to save, to give a chance, isolation from the rest of the characters in extreme hot/cold areas, the magic they face and have in them. That’s the point of duality, it requires a 3rd dimensional perspective to understand it, that’s why the dragon most have 3 heads, otherness comes from a individualistic perspective, a 2nd dimension perspective will perceive the other as the enemy or villain. The throne is not important. I know a lot of people can’t conceive a person as flawed as Dany to have a such important role beyond their idea of her becoming a mad queen, they are 2 dimensional minded, good and evil, up and down, cold and hot, black and white, so Dany most be mad and Jon the hero. Masculinity/Feminity, Adam/Eve. I guess the the end of the day A song of Ice and Fire is a tale about how we need to grow up, expand our minds and get our shit together.

  84. I thought it was multiple ships too until someone suggested it was just a large one with three sails. One of those really long ships where the front and back are much higher than the middle, which might explain why the middle sail appears to be by itself with no ‘ship’ below it, but the ones on the left and right (the back and front) are clearly attached to parts of a ship(s). If the one on the right is a ship by itself the sail looks rather out of proportion for the amount of boat it’s attached to, although obviously we aren’t getting a clear look at it and it might just be at an odd angle.

    Whatever the case is, Mace Tyrell’s helmet is one of the greatest things I have ever seen and is my new favourite thing in the show. I hope it ends up on the Iron Throne! 😀

  85. r-hard,

    Agreed. She doesn’t have to die in order for Jon to rise … else why that detour to the Riverlands to meet with Thoros … they could have used a second bastard (as in the books Edric Storm) instead of Gendry … but they needed her to know it was possible to resurrect a person without life having to pay for death

  86. Ginevra,

    I would say Pate or Marwyn in Oldtown

    Pate previously the Alchemist previously Jaqen (why was he in the black cells) … and Marwyn … who is linked through the glass candles to Quaithe (who is my favority mystery of the minor characters)
  87. Wylie,

    Glad you enjoyed the research! I got a little caught up with the set production and architecture stuff yesterday 🙂 I was amazed at how much goes into each shot on the show. Speaks volumes to the quality of work from the production crew.

  88. I’m thinking

    Mel does some crazy f’d up stuff to a few NW mutineers that try to rape her

    Explains the cast comments regarding magic as well as the look on her face.

  89. Kamali:
    Ashley,

    I really cannot think of anything for the first episode that will be Mel related, confusing, give the audience a surge of emotions, inspires a round of applause, yet still leaves Jon Snow dead.

    It’s either empty hype or they have something planned not many people have even come close to predicting.

    Hm. Right before I hit post comment I thought that maybe it involves Ghost. Or Mel recognizing something, or someone, inside the Wolf.

    If you read the first review carefully, the applause is for Brienne saving Sansa and Theon. The twist with Mel is the thing that will leave us all confused.

  90. ATrueFool,

    The image under the one you’re talking about, there are three figures on horseback at the very back of the battle so I think it’s entirely possible!

  91. alienarea: My speculation as well. That might be the disturbing thing she does in episode 1. Explaining glamour to Davos. And then … Davos will be glamoured as Jon Snow for the battle of bastards while the real Jon Snow … stays dead?

    Not exactly, though my speculation is that glamor plays a role in the first episode and it is what Mel’s big twist is all about……

  92. I’m not so sure that’s a weirwood tree as the trunk is dark instead of white, but perhaps it’s the filter they’ve used. It’s almost certainly in TLOAW and the same location where we see the NK and the army of the dead.

    I seem to be the only one who doesn’t think Littlefinger looks worried in that shot.

  93. Ok,here’s what I see:
    1. The hand near the fire is definitely Dany’s, coz aside from the ring,even the fire cauldron is same as in the scene where she is being stripped. http://imgur.com/6XLFWl2 I hope she freaks out the khalasar with some Daenerys the Unburnt action.

    2. The mystery rider appears to be a hooded figure. http://imgur.com/kg0y4jB

    so it could be Coldhands or a Coldhands impersonator.

    3.Mel is baring her chest in front of somebody who is probably sitting on a chair & has curly hair,but not like Jon Snow’s.http://imgur.com/6hc7cHY

    4. The bloodied hand that was seen on a previous trailer was probably Arya’s ,hopefully after she killed someone. http://imgur.com/MKDQiPh .

  94. Kamali,

    Agreed. Still not sure what the “confusing” part of the episode is but

    I so badly want to believe that Ghost is somehow involved in Jon’s resurrection. It makes sense, given the Stark’s propensity to warging, that Jon would warg into Ghost in his final moments. I could see Melisandre recognizing Jon in Ghost or figuring out a way to use magic for the resurrection in the final scene of episode 1 (thus causing all the shock but sorta confusing to the masses of unsullied) [/spoilers]

    I know Jon Bradley shot down the warging theory last week on Conan but he could be calling our bluff. He did make a good point though – if Jon wargs into Ghost how long will viewers be okay with Jon the direwolf? And what happens to his (beautiful) body?

    Demon Monkey,

    I did see that review that said the crowds cheered when Brienne shows up and finally fulfills “a long-held ambition and making her loyal presence felt.” Meaning [spoiler] she rescues Sansa and makes good on her oath to keep the Stark girls safe

    . But I’m still wondering about the EW review that said ‘There are some scenes that are genuinely shocking. As in: Even hardcore fans full of speculation about the new season won’t see some twists coming.” Coupled with Maisie’s statements about the confusion I guess I’m left wondering – what is this Melisandre twist that will shock even those sullied reddit-loving fans that have speculated for years?

    I suppose we will find out on Sunday but until then I will continue with my speculation. Also I hope I used the spoiler function correctly 🙂

  95. Greatjon of Slumber,

    Yep, that just about sums it up for me also. All pretty obvious including the feathers (or is it a nesting bird of paradise) on Mace’s helmet 🙂

    I’m not going to speculate on anything as seen in the trailers… Well, maybe just the ‘Jon warging into Ghost’ possibility that Weiss let slip to Harington at that Oxford Union meeting before he gets rezzed by Mel, Thoros (or whoever) and returns as Jon (whoever) 😉

    I’m just going to chill out, go with the flow and enjoy whatever Season 6 has to offer. I expect the cinematography and SFX will be the best ever. Can’t wait to see what happens when Tyrion releases those other two dragons! Just hope he doesn’t get toasted 😉

  96. Has any one noticed the correlation/juxtaposition of the frozen heart tree with the burning heart of the fire god? It seems as though this is significant especially as we have never seen a tree like this before. For example the heart tree at WF is surrounded by snow but still has it’s leaves. What also does it say about the past and the changes in this world? I mean trees to do not grow above the permafrost belt, (apologies to actual scientists for the use of incorrect terms and or actual facts, etc.) so how did this tree grow in this environment? Was this once a land of summer? Is the tree dead or alive? Is it the oldest heart tree, in existence or is to the tree of the dead?

  97. Mel seems to be baring her chest in front of someone who is probably sitting on a chair & has curly hair, not like Jon Snow’s though

  98. Uh..the temporary glitch on this website has resulted in multiple posts from my side.Apologies all around. *hides face*

  99. Greatjon of Slumber:
    I’m just going to back up here and try to take a full measure of everything we’re getting this year:

    –The return of the Blackfish
    –Some sort of awesomely huge Northern battle
    –LOTS more of the freakish Night’s King
    –Freys! Freys Freys Freys!
    –The awesomeness that is Max von Sydow
    –Yara Greyjoy, again.
    –Brienne killing more people in the woods. (Always fun.)
    –Septa Unella.
    –HODOR.
    –Dothraki!
    –Whatever the hell that thing is Mace Tyrell is wearing on his head.
    –Cersei chooses violence.
    –Davos picks up a sword.
    –Melisandre doubting herself.
    –Arya getting beaten with a stick (again)
    –Tyrion doing Tyrion stuff, and drinking more.
    –IAN GODDAMNED McSHANE

    When you lay it out like you just did – it’s an embarrassment of riches! Thank you GreatJon

  100. Flayed Potatoes: But it will probably be Dany in the end because she doesn’t have enough titles or people blowing smoke up her skirts already. Meh. If that’s the case, then how is Jon’s resurrection justified? What is so different about him that makes him come back? How is the resurrection presented as? I hope we get some answers. Maybe he’s TPTWP, but that wasn’t mentioned on the show…

    I don’t know how the show will do it, but I strongly believe that the books won’t tell us who is what and that by the end, we’ll be left with characters’ actions and we’ll have to judge for ourselves, very much like the characters in the story will and are doing. I’d love it if the show maintained that level of ambiguity towards the various prophecies too.

    That shot of Bran in front of ice stonehenge though….I’m trying not to but I’m excited.

  101. Maybe it’s just me, but the NIght’s Watchman closest to Davos in the scene with Jon’s body looks a lot like one of the guys that attacked Sam.

  102. IT’S NOT ‘SEVERAL’ SHIPS sailing through a storm. It’s ONE SHIP!!! (sorry for shouting) It has a bow, middle, and stern sails. And I believe it’s actually the ship that Sam and Gilly are on. I think it’s called the LOVEBOAT.

  103. ghost of winterfell: there is nothing to suggest the show will even include the NN element. Show might just skip the Nissa Nissa part altogether?

    Precisely. The show has never mentioned Nissa Nissa, and it would be very clunky to shoehorn-in a paragraph of exposition about her legend in time for an early-season Mel scene.

    In fact, the show has never even mentioned Azor Ahai by name. Mel only ever says ‘the Lord’s Chosen.’ There has just been no setup, and any ‘Nissa Nissa moment’ would just seem arbitrary this late in the game. We need to stop scouting for this one, folks.

  104. Wall Builder:
    Greatjon of Slumber,

    Septa Unella is a goner.Cersei twice told her that her (Cersei’s) face would be the last one she would see before she died.To me, this foreshadowed the Septa being killed by Ser Robert Strong in some gruesome way.

    Could also foreshadow that Unella’s face is the last thing that Cersei sees before she dies! Doesn’t quite fit with the Valonqar prophecy, but…

    Just because that Septa is a nasty piece of work doesn’t mean that viewers will get their wish about her fate.

  105. Ginevra: Tyrion is tied with Arya as my favorite character.I would consider The Westerlands and even The Crownlands to be central Westeros and not South.Perhaps I’m wrong in that.

    I wouldn’t say that Alleras’s character is better drawn than most you’ve listed, but I certainly like her better, so far, than any of these.I love her struggle to gain the education women have been denied.I love the mystery that surrounds her, the Spinx.I love that Aemon seems to place her in a spotlight:the riddle is the Sphinx.I love that she’s associated herself with the biggest misfit in Oldtown.And I love that she’s the daughter of a hellraiser.I love everything to do with the Citadel and Maesters:if I wrote fan-fiction, this is exactly where I’d set it.I desperately hope we get more of it in the last two books.

    I’m right on that same wavelength with you! Hoping to see Sarella/Alleras become a much more significant character in the last two books, and turn up in the show as well. We have seen several female characters wielding or striving to wield power in the Game, but she’s the only one who gets it that knowledge is power – and she’s not going to let any patriarchal system keep it from her. Subvert the dominant paradigm, sister!

  106. No, Mel is not Nissa Nissa, nor is anybody else in the current story. According to the Asshai prophecy, the reborn Azor Ahai doesn’t have to go through the process of forging Lightbringer that the original AA did, he just needs to pull the sword from the fire. Why does everybody overcomplicate things.

  107. simon:
    Has any one noticed the correlation/juxtaposition of the frozen heart tree with the burning heart of the fire god? It seems as though this is significant especially as we have never seen a tree like this before. For example the heart tree at WF is surrounded by snow but still has it’s leaves. What also does it say about the past and the changes in this world? I mean trees to do not grow above the permafrost belt, (apologies to actual scientists for the use of incorrectterms and or actual facts, etc.) so how did this tree grow in this environment? Was this once a land of summer? Is the tree dead or alive? Is it the oldest heart tree, in existence or is to the tree of the dead?

    What I noticed is that the main trunk appears to be split right down to the ground, as if struck by lightning. But that could be an indicator of great age as well. Could be the mother of all weirwoods!

  108. Deesensfan:
    Nishant,

    I think they are editing it in that way to make us think he is getting toasted

    I agree. This looks like clever editing to increase the hype, as if it were necessary!

  109. That shot of Littlefinger has the same snowy conditions as when Sansa & Theon escape. There’s no snow on the battlefield. Maybe after getting Yohn on board, Littlefinger goes to Winterfell to check on Sansa. He goes straight to the Godswood because Sansa is always praying. Ramsay greets him there & tells him “Winterfell is mine. Come and see.” Littlefinger’s spidey senses tingle & he tells Ramsay he just remembered he left the kettle on.

  110. Why do people keep thinking that the hooded rider hitting a wight with a fire ball on a chain to be Coldhands? It has to be Benjen Stark, I dont see Coldhands making it into the show at this point only to have him do a couple things and thats it. It might be Benjen, a more likely candidate.

  111. I suspect the show may combine Benjen and Coldhands. That way they bring back someone we know and introduce an interesting character from the books at the same time and give Meera, Hodor and Summer something to do while Bran is busy at tree school 🙂

  112. Mace Tyrell´s helmet looks like something you would wear in the Rio de Janeiro Carnaval! 🙂

  113. Man I really hate that double sword guy 🙂 … what’s up with that??? Who fought like that? nobody. If he had a sword and a dagger, sure, it kind of works, it was used during the Renaissance… I don’t think they can make it look realistic. I’m probably wrong :)))

  114. The Targaryen Kingsgaurd in the foreground of the ToJ shot has a bastard/hand-and-a half sword, and a fairly impressively crafted one at that.

    He’s Arthur Dayne, or a GoT analog of The Sword of The Morning.

    You just don’t put that kind of money and craftsmanship into a prop for anything less than an A-List legendary figure, and, if memory serves, I believe Arthur Dayne is the only KG from ToJ that’s mentioned anywhere in the series- specifically in ‘Two Swords’ (make of that what you will…) when Joff’s going through the KG book of deeds. Might even be the kind of money you spend on a prop that’s going to see a LOT of use going forward…

    And I’m with everyone else (and apparently their proverbial grandmothers) in the “Please let the Mystery Rider be Benjen Stark!” camp.

    Benjen’s hit the point where, he’s either got to come back now, in shocking, just in the nick of time to save someone important to the story fashion, or the only way his return doesn’t end up a major fizzle is if he’s a major figure himself because of something that happened to him while he’s been away.

    For my money, I think it’d be kinda cool if

    not only is he Mystery Rider, but he returns wielding the original Ice– the first Stark sword to bear the name, with some sort of connection to The Long Night, and it’s been his quest to find Ice that’s had him gone for so long.
  115. Jared,

    Especially as LF’s betrayal caused Ned to lose his head. I guess, that will be made known to Sansa somehow, and time for DARK SANSA’s revenge!

  116. I find it curious that Melissandre wears such thick robes in her shot on a horse, when she tells to Jon previously, that she doesn’t feel the cold as the Lord’s fire burns in her. So maybe, after all that had happened to Stannis, she lost her faith, and she is no longer warmed by the Lord. And if she is so much older, maybe it is for this reason, that her body no longer looks young and beautiful, as her faith no longer sustains her.

  117. There seems to be a large set-up for the Tyrell vs Faith Militant scene.

    Early reports stated that this confrontation in episode 6 is supposed to erupt in a fight but later comments stated it isn’t. Does someone know the “truth” ?
  118. House Applebee: Damn. Mystery guy I reckon has to be Coldhands, or maybe I’m just too optimistic. That’s my bet anyway.

    I would go with Benjen over Coldhand’s: the latter’s book role has come and gone. However, Benjen’s has not.

    That written, it probably is not either of them.

    Lord Farstark,

    As absolutely nothing like that has been introduced in either the book or on the show, that will not be what is happening. One of the things that makes SoI&F stand out over the typical epic fantasy schlock as that MB&W write like normal novelists/TV series writers: and that means that major plot elements are introduced in some way before they are become important in the tale. Part of the reason why this series is so popular despite the magic and dragons is that it is unusually free of Deus ex Machina!

    That is why we should prefer the Benjen Stark conjecture to the Coldhands conjecture: the show has introduced Benjen, and the last episode re-introduced the notion that Benjen might still be out there. (He could simply be lost, too: one thing that both book and show stress is that rangers are lost all the time.)

    But, again, this could just be nothing: movie and TV trailers frequently use good action shots involving nobodies simply because they look good.

    tiny direwolf: I suspect the show may combine Benjen and Coldhands.

    It is a bit too late for that. Basically, the show skipped Coldhands: and, let’s face, it is not as if anyone other than people who have read or thought about the books very recently noticed his absence! (My anecdotal experience is that the “Crow Casualty” crowd has no memory of Coldhands, or much else surrounding Bran.)

  119. Rygritte: It’s definitely going on tour.

    I’ve never bought any GoT merchandise but I would buy three of those helmets in a flash, one each for me and the cats, and we would wear them whenever a suitable occasion arose. Or any time at all really. If you’re gonna be conspicuous you might as well go the whole hog and have something that’s visible from space! 😀

  120. That bald man in a sandy cloak behind Ellaria, could that be Maester Caleotte? He is bald in the novels, and there was a casting call for ‘submissive maester,’ which actually fits Caleotte quite well. The cloak is sandy though, not the usual maesters grey, but in the show the maester don’t appear to be wearing a single unifying color. Luwens robe was grey as well as Grand Maester Pycell, but Cressen in dragonstone had a brownish robe and Qyburn is all in black. Could be Caleotte. I would like to see him

  121. TL,
    I think there was some confusion over the word “confrontation” which doesn’t necessarily mean anything physical happens, could just be people eye-rolling each other and blowing raspberries.

    The throw down on the steps scene was obviously filmed outside and witnessed by lots of members of the public, but as far as I remember no-one actually saw any fighting, which presumably would have been filmed there as well rather than trying to recreate the steps somewhere else?

    In conclusion: unlikely but not impossible.

  122. Flayed Potatoes,

    They all will be. Azor Ahai himself is not coming back. The figurative Azor Ahai will appear to be Jon, Daeny and one other: at this point, I would go with Tyrion.

    However….. do NOT expect the truth about Azor to be what many people have surmised. And do not expect Jon or Daeny to follow his path. Of course, the one tinfoil idea that I espouse is that the vestige of AA has been here all along and now masquerades as a god!

  123. DragonsBane,

    Yes she was wrong about Stannis. Arya nothing to do with Stannis. That scene is not meaningless, so she will survive atleast until she meets Arya again.

  124. Can someone please enlighten me?
    I never really got why the Kingsguard and Ned’s men were fighting at all at the ToJ.
    Did anyone assume that Ned would harm his own sister and her newborn?
    Why did this fight have to happen at all? What was the danger Lyanna and the child were in?
    Either there is more to it or all brave fighters involved were just too dumb to sit down and talk – or to get a midwife or a maester in time, far more productive than killing each other.

  125. Inazea: Did anyone assume that Ned would harm his own sister and her newborn?
    Why did this fight have to happen at all? What was the danger Lyanna and the child were in?

    Ned and his men almost certainly attacked the Kingsguard. After all, they were holding his sister hostage against her will. We have zero reason to think that Ned ever suspected otherwise before he found Lyanna. Knowledge of a child would only have further inflamed Ned: that only meant that Rhaegar had been raping Lyanna with great frequency and had left a tangible reminder of how he had dishonored House Stark.

    And of course they did not sit down and talk. After all, Ned Stark and his lot were treasonous rabble: people with so little honor as to rebel against their king obviously were not people with whom one could reason. The Kingsguard were complicit in kidnapping: knights with so little honor as to betray such basic vows obviously were people with whom one could reason.

  126. PB THA GOD: I THINK WHAT TORMUND WAS LOOKING AT WAS THE UMBERS ATTACKING THE BOLTONS..

    Given what we know of the Umbers in the books,

    they would attack Wildlings before anyone else. Jon warns Stannis of this in the books when Stannis wants Wildlings in his army: even though the some of the Book Umbers are rebelling against the Boltons, Jon tells Stannis that the Umbers would attack any army with Wildlings in it on sight.
  127. Flayed Potatoes,

    He was mentioned in the finale as an excuse to lure Jon outside of his cabin to kill him…
    I sure hope Olly gets his!!
    I hope all of NW responsible for Jon’s death get a visit from the WW.

  128. Ashley,

    I know what you mean!! It has me confused already lol!!
    What could that be? I don’t know if I should be happy about the idea of being really confused at the end of the episode. I hope it’s nothing too weird
    We will find out soon enough!

  129. Lady Stark,

    Why? Olly knows the real danger that the Wildlings present. He knows that the purpose of the Nights Watch is to keep Wildlings out of Westeros. He knows nothing of White Walkers other than what fairy tales say: and he is savvy enough to know that most of that is nonsense.

    And Olly knows that sometimes you have to do the right thing no matter how hard it is: and executing the man who let the enemy into Westeros is the right thing to do even if that man was a mentor.

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