December 3 and February 14 are two dates that Game of Thrones fans should have indelibly etched into their collective consciousness: these are the days that HBO dropped the first two teases of the show’s highly anticipated sixth season onto the Sullied and Unsullied world.
We convened an original powwow at the Wall two months ago, after that first sneak peek, to gather some real-time reactions, then we stuffed those scrolls in a time capsule and buried them in the icy depths of the Wall to await future HBO proclamations. Now that the other shoe has dropped – just to mix anachronistic metaphors here – it’s time to dig ‘em up, add on the latest insights and reactions, and package ‘em all together for your reading pleasure.
Look into the past and the future, we shall – just like a certain Brandon Stark, yes?
What in the seven hells did you think of HBO’s first sneak peek at season six and Jon’s bloodied, beautiful face?
The two major takeaways from this teaser: Jon Snow lives and Bran is back.
A friend of mine compared the teaser to the Star Wars: Episode VII trailers in that they both play up the history of the franchises to promote the next installment. The teaser has no interest in hooking new viewers; it’s all about hyping up the viewers the show already has. And, as a thoroughly hooked viewer, that’s fine with me. The smash-cut of all the horrible things happening to beloved characters sums up the macabre love/hate relationship fans have with the show quite succinctly.
Although I’m really interested to see how the showrunners are going to backpedal on their “Jon Snow isn’t coming back” spiel.
The blood on Jon’s face is just a quick “Hey, let’s put blood on Jon Snow’s face” thing. Nothing should be discerned from that. The photo (still) was from season three, I think?
They’re just toying with us!
The Max von Sydow voiceover was nice. I wish they had given us some newer footage, other than Bran there at the end. But it basically means nothing.
I was actually more excited seeing Ramsay on a horse in the HBO preview.
I had two theories about how the show was gonna resurrect Jon before the teaser: that Melisandre was going to do it, or that he would warg. Given how the show has more or less written out Beric and Thoros – and, with them, the reminder that R’hllor can resurrect people (don’t let’s get started on Lady Stoneheart) – I was already leaning towards the latter. Having now seen the trailer and its cutting from Jon to a warging Bran, I’m convinced this is how the show will do it. Whether or not this will be the case in the books, of course, remains to be seen.
It was a nice teaser. It would have been cool to have some more new footage, of course, but the Max von Sydow voiceover was neat. And they might have felt they needed to remind casual viewers who Bran actually is…
Also where was Hodor? Hodor.
Nate:
Less is more, in my opinion, and HBO knows just how much to use.
The first Jon poster got me beyond excited for season six, and it is even giving me a certain fondness for Jon I didn’t have before. Guess you don’t know what you have until it’s stabbed repeatedly and stolen from you.
The teaser I was a little disappointed in, to be honest, since it didn’t hold any new footage. I enjoyed the voiceover, but it seemed more like a quick catch-up of the last seasons rather than an actual teaser.
What really got me, however, was the three tiny scenes the HBO video held – Cersei with Tommen, especially, because I feel like we can already see this is going to be an emotional season for our Lioness (and that haircut… damn, Lena ?).
On top of that, Nikolaj’s tweet that “the best is yet to come” has me looking ahead more than ever.
Even though Winter Is Coming, I cannot wait for spring.
Admittedly, we haven’t seen much yet, but what we have has been effective, much more than last season’s hit-or-miss – mostly miss – attempts. Trolling the fans with the Jon poster was a good move (though the CGI is shoddy). The voiceover teaser was really well done, if you ask me – I love Max von Sydow and the smart use of his lines that can be interpreted thematically. It’s all a sign of a better promo ramp-up this year, and I’m looking forward to it.
This time last year, I was still plowing through the books, so I avoided the marketing for season five. All I can say is that these promos are effectively getting me pumped for season six, possibly because last season ended on so many cliffhangers that they have more specific plot threads to tease: is Jon coming back? What’s Bran up to? How’s Dany faring? What about Cersei’s hair? Ramsay’s still around!
I mean, I’d love it if their next teaser is just a black screen with the sound of two screaming voices growing louder as they fall, then the sound of bodies hitting snow and muffled groans, and then Sansa’s voice saying, “Well, it worked so well in Frozen…”
All right, gang – now it’s time for the real (tease) deal.
Cian:
My initial impression as the tease opened with Ned’s face and voice fading in was of utter amazement. The implications of this were beyond anything I had ever expected or seen speculated upon anywhere. However, this soon turned into bitter disappointment as the tease cycled through other deceased characters, before showing a wide shot of the faces of characters still living.
We get it. No one is safe. We get it. Anyone can die. We’ve understood that for years. Thank you. We get it. Valar morghulis.
It’s the same rhetoric they’ve been using ever since Ned’s execution, and, by now, it’s well past its sell-by date – at least, for me. The marketing team has missed the mark quite notably in the last few years, so with this tease, it is especially disappointing to see an overused selling point framed as something it’s not.
Of course, by its very nature, marketing has to appeal to (please excuse this horrible term) the lowest common denominator of viewers, so reinforcing this easily understood and marketable strategy is technically a smart move. But as someone who is part of a greater fan community that looks for a lot more in the show, this concept being pushed time and again completely undersells what makes Game of Thrones great and what made us fall in love with its world in the first place.
What initially seemed to be a lofty-but-promising tease undermined itself with its tired unoriginality of concept. I just hope the actual trailer – whenever it arrives – expels this negativity I’m feeling towards the show after a disappointing fifth season.
I feel a bit more lenient towards the teaser, myself. It was well executed, and while the message may be an old one, as Cian said, the last shot of still-living characters’ faces was powerful. In isolation, it’s a very good promo piece.
However, as most readers seem to agree, it’s something we would’ve appreciated a whole lot a couple of months ago – we simply want more at this point in time. (Then again, we’re rabid fans, and the promotional ramp-up timing has its own laws when it comes to the general public.)
Yeah, I thought the teaser was stylish, atmospheric, and very well-done – probably the best non-footage teaser since the Iron Throne tease from season one. And had it come out a month or two ago, I think it would have been very well-received.
But I think everyone was expecting something meatier and more substantial, something with season six footage, by now, especially after the image dump earlier in the week. Hopefully, the full trailer is only a couple of weeks away, and, if so, we can all just look back at this one as an excellent teaser released way too late in the promotional cycle.
Yes, I think this teaser was a poor choice in terms of timing. Taken in and of itself, it’s well-made and presents striking visuals. For the casual fan, it probably does the job it’s intended to do perfectly well. For people more invested, we’re just expecting more at this point. If we’d gotten this teaser in December, everyone would love it. Releasing this teaser after we’ve just seen a big batch of season six photos is anti-climactic.
I concur with all of the above: this is a well-made teaser trailer that rehashes an old selling point in a new way but was, unfortunately, released at a time when people were expecting a proper trailer that introduced new footage.
However, if I’m really being honest, my disappointment has less to do with the timing or the lack of gif-able footage than with the fact that the teaser didn’t focus on the characters and plots that I care about most. I’ve said this before, but, at present, I’m only really, intensely invested in a handful of characters, and… well, we didn’t see any of them in the Hall of Faces. If, for example, the teaser had just been a pan across the Iron Islands with some Yara/Balon/Theon dialogue from season two on voiceover, I would have been happy.
In other words, I’m disappointed because the studio didn’t tailor their teaser to suit my very specific preferences.
Nate:
I enjoyed it in terms of a teaser, but I agree with the majority that we’re expecting more at this point. Since it is so late, it’s kind of underwhelming, but I still think it teases victory for the Starks (or, at least, I hope).
I think the worst thing about it for me was that, when the teaser leaked, I wasn’t able to watch it straightaway, but I was able to see everyone’s annoyed reactions to it! When I was finally able to watch it, I was disappointed, but I wasn’t especially surprised. HBO seems to be quite fond of these murky, grey, VO teasers with no new footage, where GOT is concerned. Maybe they think they’ll really whet everyone’s appetite for the new season, but they just irritate. Especially after seeing all the amazing new photos, I was ready for some proper footage. It was nicely done and atmospheric, but this close to the new season, I was hoping for something more.
Besides, we all know the real reason they can’t show any new footage is because Jon Snow is in most of it…
Bex:
I think it’s obvious that HBO threw a lot of money at it and worked very hard to make it polished and visually stunning. It feels like a placeholder to me, so they don’t have to show more things from season six, including possible plot points that may be original to the show. At any rate, I enjoyed seeing the faces of our dearly departed even if it was the same “nobody is safe,” as was said above.
One sticking point for me: it would have been more fun for them to have shown Jon isolated before the faces of the rest of the still-living cast members to troll the audience further, rather than stick him between Stannis and Ygritte as if to say “this guy’s definitely dead,” because I don’t think the average Unsullied even believes that at this point.
Previous Murders
Should Game of Thrones be boycotted forever more?
“The Wars to Come,” season five, and you
Shame! ding ding
“We get it. No one is safe. We get it. Anyone can die. We’ve understood that for years. Thank you. We get it. Valar morghulis.”
Lol, I think this perfectly expressed how I felt about it. Old quotes and old information promising the things we’ve already seen many times over and nothing more. (And again trying and failing to make anyone fear for Tyrion’s life.)
Geoffrey nicely summed up my thoughts. I agree with every single word. Well done, sir.
Davos’ Luck,
Aw thank you 😀
Woah! I had never seen the tease WinterPhil posted, that’s an awesome piece!
What struck me most about it is how Jon is the only of the Stark kids to be shown sitting on the Throne and how it features Ghost next to him.
I have sneaky suspicion its going to be more than a long wait for the return of Jon Snow and that he is in fact, not coming back.
At all.
Everything will be alright in the end. If things are not alright, then it is not the end.
The timing alone makes this newest teaser just really fucking lame. I never fully understood it until these circumstances, but timing, rather than content, when it comes to teasers/trailers is literally everything.
Guess I’m in the minority, because I actually enjoyed the teaser… my first thought after watching it the first time was “It’s time for some Stark revenge”. It did indeed whet my appetite for the upcoming season. Yes, I’m disappointed that they didn’t give us any S6 content, but at the same time, it just increases the anticipation to see what B&B do with not a lot of book material to base the season on.
I think it worked…people are even more crazy for a better trailer…or any new footage.
It isn’t enough…I need more!
It’s not like anyone is saying that’s it…I’m out…the rape stuff is bad but these trailers are the last straw.
Will anyone boycott the next trailer…or episode one?
Because of Jon’s status they don’t want to show much. Or maybe its a new trend led by The Force Awakens. *Normal* advertising isn’t the key to drive these shows anymore.
As long as they aren’t mailing it in for the actual show because of their already self-sustaining money machine I’m fine to wait for the show.
A big thank you to winter Phil for putting in that brilliant first throne teaser-I had not seen that before and absolutely loved it .And of course thank you to all the other authors as well for sharing your thoughts with us.
I think we only get one real trailer for season 6 and they’ll release it in march.
r-hard,
I feel the same, I’m not expecting anything new until March.
…Would be more than happy to be proven wrong though.
I think one of the main problems people had with the teaser is it wasn’t really needed. It didn’t really tease anything, to be honest. It was more of a stall for time to continue to keep what happens with Jon Snow hidden. He’s shown last among those who are dead, and right before those who are still alive. In that regard it was actually quite clever. But I think ultimately it was just a stall for time and either wasn’t needed, or was something that could have been released in December or January. It was effective though, because it drums up interest and intrigue.
Jonathan Coldrain,
I still can’t believe that’s Jon. I’ve seen that pic before and I thought it was Prince! (the singer) You know, kind of like how we’ve seen Franco and others in parody’s.
I thought the teaser started off well but when it showed all the characters near Tyrion it was ruined. They should’ve put generic faces near him instead of characters and at the end have Tyrion’s eyes open and ended it there. That would’ve been more amazing and left us actually thinking what does this mean? This teaser left us with nothing but the same spiel that no one is safe (which we already know!).
Shurlock,
Well if he doesn’t then this show will have lost it’s luster for me. And I wouldn’t be apt to read the books in the future knowing what I do about the build-up leading to nothing. Not my cup of tea in storytelling if that’s the case. It’s like being left high and dry. Not trying to be all stompy foot, the dust will settle and I’ll deal with it lol.
I think I watched the teaser that Phil posted close to, no, more than 100 times back when it was released. I showed everyone I knew. To that point in my life, I don’t think I’d ever been more hyped about any television show or movie than I was about GoT.
And there we go again. Entitlement left and right.
flintstonewielder,
I’m seeing more people complain about complaining, than I’m seeing complaining. Your last fifteen posts have been about complaining, from what I can tell.
flintstonewielder,
I don’t see anyone saying “we deserve this” or “we deserve that”. I see opinions on the timing and content of a teaser. In case you haven’t been here (and/or there) for the last 8ish years, welcome to the site where many of the GoT fan base discuss everything about the show. This includes teasers, trailers, episodes, seasons, rumors, casting announcements and speculation of all kinds. This particular thread is based around the latest teaser for the show. What the fans here generally do is discuss what they liked, what they didn’t like, and why.
caliopesnow,
You lot are being so lovely to a young Geoffery today :3
Sue the Fury,
Then we see differently. And considering the butthurt reactions to my observations or anybody commenting the same way I may be onto something here.
Could it be that this year there won’t be a trailer for the new season. I mean they left so much as a cliff hanger for last year… that it might be more fitting to leave the entire season as a mystery. Still shots are really just for the hardcores…
On top of the cliffhangers is the book spoiler material potential too. Everything is uncharted. And we could all go in with no unspoiled. (theoretically)
Shurlock,
There were photos of Kit Harrington filming Jon in Stark attire. He’s coming back, lol. Just not as “Jon Snow.”
umuckurlife,
Which includes pretty much my angle on this. You can discuss any thing you want, I am not contesting your right to do so while you are contesting my right to express what I think abut it.
And before the time our discussion is done, the trailer will be out anyway.
Just want to put it out there I’ve tried to see if anyone else had noticed but can’t see anyone mention it anywhere…do you think the giant looks a lot like uncle benjen..long black hair in same style black goatee..and he can never seem to look directly at Jon snow.. I’m probably 100% wrong but I really wanted to know if anyone else has noticed it sorry if what I’ve said goes against the rules!!!
The other aspect with the “anyone can die” tease is that I don’t believe that any of the living characters shown there will die this season, so it falls flat as something to try to get you hyped.
I think we are definitely going to see some of the main cast die however. I have read the books, so beware if you read.
Roose Bolton is quite likely to die this season, think somewhere around the middle of the season.
Littlefinger is quite likely to die this season, episode 8 or 9 of the season.
Cersei may die this season.. not entirely sure, definitely last 10-15 minutes of ep 10 material
I think chances are someone of Dany’s crew is going to die. I think Jorah Mormont is quite likely but perhaps it’s Missandei. Somewhere around the middle.
I’d see Gilly die this season, perhaps during a siege of oldtower? Don’t think this will happen in the books though.
I also expect Bronn to die in the later half of the season.
Last I expect Tommen to die this season, episode 8 or 10.
Not sure if all are main cast.. so maybe better “long term cast” is a good word. I expect atleast half of this list to actually die this season.
ShadowStalker,
I hope they’re not withholding S6 footage due to “book spoilers.” If the season is going to air before TWOW is published (which it will) than it doesn’t matter. They gave us real S6 photos. Just give us a real damn trailer. I wouldn’t be so annoyed about this if it wasn’t mid-February already.
Davy,
None of those people were among the heads the final image centered on, though. It was Tyrion, Dany, the Stark kids, etc., i.e., people who, if they die at all, will die in the home stretch.
I think this teaser achieves its aims which are:
a) Remind the casual viewer that GOT Season 6 is around the corner and that is reason to get excited
b) For that audience, put the Starks and their terrible history (and the need for potential revenge) front and centre of mind, to set up Season 6
This teaser aint for us, guys.
flintstonewielder,
What first triggered my response was my disagreement with your use of “entitlement” as a way to describe the commentary above. What people want and what people feel they deserve are very different. Many people, including myself, wanted more from the teaser. I also want vast amounts of wealth. I don’t presume to be entitled to either of those things, however.
Furthermore, I do not contest your right to express what you think; I encourage it. Please feel free to post your opinions. So, how do you feel about the teaser? Why do you feel that way? In what ways do you agree/disagree with the commentary in thread?
flintstonewielder,
Entitlement: The belief that one is inherently deserving of privileges or special treatment.
Opinion: an opinion is a judgment, viewpoint, or statement about matters commonly considered to be subjective.
What am I missing? I don’t see anyone acting like they deserve “special treatment.” If you disagree with an opinion or feel differently just counter with your own. No need to bring negativity with personal judgments. If that is not how you meant it then I do apologize.
Ser Roger Sterling,
Stills are really only seen by us hardcores. So just because they released them doesn’t really mean much. Marketing wise there isn’t a huge benefit to showing a bunch of new footage. Especially if you can create excitement with smart/visually pleasing teasers.
People who are hooked on the show, are hooked. Not going anywhere. This will just serve to get them alerted to a new season.
I could see more teasers/trailers with very minimal footage. 2 seconds of a couple characters/dragons.
I think I might actually prefer this. So much of last season was left hanging… why hint to where any of it is going. Won’t that have a bigger buzz impact?
Imagine a Dany centric teaser trailer… Replay the Dothraki coming all around her… Voiced over with the tease with the Flags (done in Dothraki with subtitles)…. Quick clip of her Crying or screaming or something… end it with a clip of Drogon and fire… Boom…
Reminds viewers where she left off… and gives an ominous sign for next season. Boom suspense and hype and excitement.
You could do this with Cersei (images of her walk… with flashes of next season… speech from the High Sparrow)
The teaser definitely teased me, and I loved it! Stark revenge baby
When they announced the tease I wasn’t expecting a full-on trailer, but I was expecting a teeny bit of new footage at the end, so in that sense the trailer was disappointing. However, I agree with the posters who said this is a perfectly adequit tease for ‘average’ viewers , instead of uber-fans like us. I always judge these things by my husbands reaction (he has read the books and enjoys the show but doesn’t give two thoughts about it between seasons, and when I was traumatised that Winds wasn’t going to be published he said he probably wouldn’t read anymore as the show will tell him what happens anyway), and his view – when I showed him the trailer as he had no idea it was out – was that it was good, got him looking forward to the new season and he hopes Tyrion doesn’t die. I’m guessing that’s about the reaction HBO would have been after from their average viewers.
This probably sounds a bit odd, but one of my dearest hopes for S6 is that they sort out the lighting, a lot if S5 was so dark I could hardly see what was going on.
Longest they’ve gone without showing footage is February 23rd, which is next week. That was for Season 3.
ShadowStalker,
I agree. I think it’s going to be hard to put out a trailer that shows new footage without giving spoilers away. They aren’t going to show Jon or his funeral pyre. Again Dany footage that is dramatic will invariably have dragons in it, tell us how she overcomes the new Khal and convinces his followers to join her. Etc, etc, etc….
I’m with those (the majority of us, looking at the poll) who would have appreciated the teaser a lot more if it had been released a little while ago, rather than around the time we were expecting a trailer with new footage. I don’t know what it looks like on tv (we don’t have HBO here, gotta wait until it turns up on the channel that shows GoT) but on a computer screen it’s so dark it’s difficult to see who the faces are and the lack of hair doesn’t help. If I were a casual viewer and didn’t recognise the voices I’d just be really confused! 🙁 It’s quite a contrast to the Jon Snuuh poster in terms of immediately knowing what you’re looking at.
Still, these things aren’t designed for people like us, it’s for the very large proportion of viewers who like the show but don’t really think about it between series. I’ll be very interested in how spoilery the actual trailer is as so many plot strands ended on cliff hangers and there’s so much more potential for book spoilers than ever before.
We need to get the person (can’t remember who it was, apart from them being one of the Ladys who post regularly) who jokingly suggested the teaser’s content and ended up being spot on to guess what’s in the new footage when we eventually get to see it 😉
This has nothing to do with the teaser, more to do with the pics that were released the other day. Is it possible that Jaime doesn’t realize that Myrcella was murdered? As far as I know, he had no exposure to the poison or any of the effects. Would he think at first that she just got sick and died? Can’t remember if Bronn’s nose bled before Tyene gave him the antidote. Of course Bronn would immediately suspect that she’d been poisoned.
I guess I was more taken by Myrcella and Trystane than I thought. Young love, and all. I thought she would make it back. Cersei looks weirdly calm in that picture of her and Jaime – in fact, it’s Jaime that looks to be more angry. I expected pics or hints that Cersei went ballistic at the news.
Totally with you on that Ser/Lady. It’s ok on a big screen tv when you can play with the settings but often waaaay too dark for viewing in other formats. I think the solution is for the whole show to move to King’s Landing, Dorne or Essos and only shoot outside in bright sunshine. Alters the tone somewhat but at least you’ll be able to see properly. And it’ll take the white walkers so long to get there everyone will have died of old age before they arrive: problem solved! 😉
Lulus Mum,
I liked the teaser much better on my television than I did on my computer. It brought back that initial feeling I got when I saw the Hall of Faces, which I didn’t really get when I saw it on the computer. Then again, I also knew what to expect, so any disappointment I felt over no new footage had already gone by the wayside, and I was focusing on what I liked about the teaser.
I can’t imagine that she won’t have a nervous breakdown upon the arrival of Myrcella’s dead body. Qyburn may give her some kind of tranquilizer afterwards or she is just apathetic and depressed because she is in mourning.
The time to go Arya-mad-laugh-at-the-Bloody-Gate-crazy and way way beyond that would be when her last child dies, IMO. That is when I see Cersei lose it completely (and never come back from it). But when will that be? Somehow I expect Tommen to be king when Daeny arrives next season, but who knows how things go in King’s Landing. Would the trials be the climax?
Lulus Mum,
All sarcasm aside, the lighting was also a legitimate problem for me last season, and it’s not a simple case of being unable to see the scene. A lot of environments looked drab and dreary from a visual point of view (the HOBAW being the most notable example). There’s a lot more to lighting on a set and the subsequent colour grading than how bright or dark the scene is.
Lulus Mum,
I’m wondering if the Long Night will actually come to Westeros. If so will S8 play out in total darkness while everything is covered in snow? No more lush greens in the Riverlands, no more warm colors in King’s Landing, probably no more Essos, because everyone should be in Westeros by then ? (Poor Dothrakis. Such a long journey and then in the end everything freezes over…)
ShadowStalker,
I understand what you’re saying and I agree. I just don’t like it. 🙂
Cian,
Glad it wasn’t just me (and I Dream of Spring)! The HoBaW had a strange haze effect to it I thought, but assumed it was deliberate, like woo look at this magical place, everything about it is odd.
Generalising massively here but the southern places are obviously sunnier than the northern ones and the colours seem to be much brighter in everything from clothes to buildings: red, orange, yellow, even the bright blue sea, compared to dark browns and greens. Even so the whole of the North seemed drabber than usual in S5? I don’t know much about lighting but I wonder if the snow had any effect, contrast wise. Maybe the brightness made everything else look darker in comparison? Mel’s hair and dress looked distinctly darker to me but I’m sure I read they hadn’t changed any either of them. Anyway, hopefully we’re not the only ones who noticed and they’ve done something about it for S6, otherwise I’m gonna have to buy a torch.
Lulus Mum,
The lady who guessed the teaser content is Pigeon, the Seven bless her! I’m going to ask her to read my future, she’ll certainly speak the truth 🙂 Maybe she could think of a career change… Pigeon, good lady, I hope you are reading this 😉
I have HBO and I was impacient to see the teaser on TV. It’s bigger and scarier (but it hasn’t more teeth, it’s not Jurassic World!) and, indeed, the light and sound are better.
Thronetender,
I think Bronn’s nose bled, so he would know. I didn’t care for Trystane, but Myrcella had just begun to be sweet and loving towards Jaime and… shit! I felt sorry for her, but more for Jaime, the hidden parent who lost another child (this time, a nice one, not deserving to die).
Wylie,
Mmmm it’ll be the entire land of black and white, never mind just one House. Not a book reader but if the white walkers bring winter with them, won’t all the southerners die from the cold that they’re totally unused to (and unprepared for?). Have they said what happens in the books? I seem to remember in an early episode someone says they have enough food in the south for 5 years, but if winter lasts longer and they can’t grow anymore due to the cold won’t they all slowly starve? *imagine a thoughtful face here, I don’t know how to do one*
This, exactly this.
Lulus Mum,
Tbh I haven’t read the books in quite a while, so from the top of my head I don’t really remember if there are accounts of hard winters in the south. But I would hope before everyone dies our beloved characters will help restore balance in the world (that sounded like The Last Airbender) and get the seasons maybe back to normal or at least save the realm from the influence of the White Walkers somehow so that the winter will not be too long… A person can dream of spring 🙂
Ooh more people to reply to.
Hi Queenie *waves* Gonna record loads of random programmes in the hope they show it and get a proper, lingering, freeze-framing look.
Hi Shy one *waves in opposite direction to Queenie* Of course the mighty Pigeon, I knew it was one of the regular gang. Maybe she can predict what happens and tell GRRM so he can write it, win/win all round I think. Also, win one of those mega millions lotteries and buy some better lighting equipment. We’ll have to start calling her Pigeon the Frog…..mmmm maybe scratch that last idea 😉
Wylie
I think it was Littlefinger when he was Master of Fiddling the Books talking about how much food they had in KL and he probably sold or nicked loads of it when they were under siege. It’ll be like when they have snow storms in places that don’t normally have any snow, bearable for a short while but end of civilisation as they know it if it lasts. EDIT: Pigeon will know! 😉
Sorry everyone else I seem to have taken over this thread. As you were 🙁
About Jon’s bloodied eye; Is it just me or is there hope for a connection between one eyed characters ? Beric Dondarion, Three Eyed Raven ( in the books…tho he is sans eye patch on TV)…and if Jon wasn’t stabbed in the eye… Mormont’s raven? The subtle texts are tremendous for WARG & Resurrection
I generally agree with the sentiment that the teaser is well-made and thematically compelling, but this probably should have come out sooner and especially before the photos.
Since this is an opinion board, how about this one, I hope that HBO gives us ZERO new footage. None, zip, just pics and old images. Why?! Because we are all unsullied.
We have a great show, we’re watching it by the millions, so let’s all enjoy the ride of being unsullied together. I think that’s what is happening here, we don’t know what happens next, well other than a few minor plot points. But think about this, how nervous, scared, curious are you to know if Jon is alive or dead or if/how he is resurrected. Stannis the Mannis, did Brienne hit the tree? Euron??? Are we going to get Lem? I just want to be surprised, so at first I was a little bit disappointed, but now, I’ve realized I just want to watch this unsullied and not know whats going to come. It’s hard because I love coming to this site and gobbling content, paying their bills and all so I hope they try to keep the trailers and info masked, but I’m going to try to avoid all spoilers before every episode. I dare those who are upset with the teaser to do the same because I think on that Sunday in April, you’ll thank me.
(I liken it to seeing too much in the Star Wars ep VII trailers, like Fin wielding the lightsaber in the trailer, that would’ve had a way more awesome if i didn’t see that before the movie, stupid trailers).
HBO should not waste their time marketing to die hards who will watch no matter what. All of you will watch, HBO knows it. It is only reasonable that they would instead market to a potential new audience tuning in to a new, different, anticipated show like VINYL. The whining entitlement due to the lack of new footage just comes across as arrogance. HBO was debuting a new show, and teased its most popular right before. Seems smart to me.
Obviously, because they don’t put snow tires on their carts and wagons and have no clue about how to get around in wintry weather, just like Southerners here in the US. Thousands will die just from haywains rolling downhill backwards because their drivers didn’t realize that you need to work up some momentum to make it up a snowy hill!
is that bronn beside joffrey? any other faces people noticed?
Hey, All! [waving] Already gave my opinion on this teaser in the last two threads. Just wanted to jump in about the darkness of the show. Last February, the hubby and I decided that fixing our ancient big screen for the 3rd time in 5 years was foolish, so we purchased an HDTV and upgraded to an HD cable signal. The difference in the darker images was…well, night and day! The lovely HD made everything clearer. I’m not a techie (obviously!) but it may be a signal thing.
Seems to me you sound like someone from the HBO marketing department who got sharply questioned about the choices made in making the teaser, and is a little pissed, dude.
I hate reading that honest criticism or disappointment reads as “entitlement.” WTF? The articles prior to the teaser being shown asked readers to post what we were most looking forward to seeing in either a teaser or trailer. So everyone gets busy thinking about what they’d like to see. We were prompted to expect something and that’s ok. That’s part of the fun in being on one of these sites. So, the expectations were a little dashed, and we registered disappointment. That’s not the annoying part.
The most annoying part is the number of critics who come on here to criticize other posters with that word “entitled”. Not specifically or only you, but the whole lot of self-righteous jerks who seem to think it’s their place to say that no criticism is warranted and you have a right to shame us because we would be so bold as to want anything out of a show we invest so much time following. Nuts to you and all the rest of you who used that word entitled. I’m entitled then to protest your opinion. And I do protest.
The word ‘entitled’ is not itself the problem. There are times when its use is entirely appropriate, like when people say, ‘George owes me another book RIGHT NOW because I spent my hard-earned money on his previous one,’ and times when it isn’t, like when people say, ‘I didn’t much care for that particular teaser because blah blah.’ The latter is merely criticism.
A proper teaser would be some dialogue from season 6 relevant with the plot, with no visuals. The 2 teasers reveal nothing about S6(which is good) but dont really leave anything to speculate upon and garner hype either.
Eh, I find the fan reaction a bit overblown. The point of the teaser from HBO’s perspective is not to shed some new and unique light upon the upcoming season, but to simply remind HBO subscribers who checked out Vinyl — not the hardcore fanbase which frankly doesn’t need more hype or reminders — that the show is soon returning to TV screens near your location! Stay tuned!
Would I like to have seen something a bit meatier? Sure, who wouldn’t? But for what it set out to do, the teaser is perfectly fine. It did its job.
Preferred the first Teaser with Max Von Sydow; this teaser seems more like a filler to give the restless masses a bone to chew on in terms of whose face is it anyway and any possible associations or predictions for the season. At least from the photos we know Sansa and Theon survived and that Myrcella didn’t manage to get the antidote. Que sera sera. Valar Morghulis.
The blood on Jon’s face isn’t his. He kills someone and that person’s blood splash on his face. (I believe that person will be Roose Bolton and Jon chops his head off)
Nicely written piece and I agree with it , the ‘teaser’ just wasn’t a teaser at all ,other than the fact that GoT is back on tv soon it teased nothing , we saw nothing new , heard nothing new and learned nothing new so what exactly was teased? 2 months ago it would have been great but so close to April it was a let down.
And if any of the GoT marketing dept read this stuff ,please , for the love of god we get it , nobody is safe , anybody can die , we understand that , we got it since the end of season one for gods sake , stop using that concept in your marketing ….
ugh god , they even have the cast doing the rounds still touting the ‘nobody is safe’ thing that everybody got 4 years ago, taken from a BBC interview today.
http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/p03jw6f9
ploppy,
But do we need speculation? I mean, we basically know how the season will go.
I mean, either you are a fan and you already know about Snowbowl or you are not and will have the opportunity to experience it Unsullied. Either way, pretty cool, and, apart from Stannis, a first for this show.
smitzzz,
Yeah, except it’s not it. Stop looking at the teaser on a character level, start looking at it on a story level. What it’s telling you is that the show has already told and closed several stories (the downfall of Ned, Robb, Stannis, Joffrey…) but there are several stories still outstanding (Jaime/Cersei/Brienne, Jon/Dany/Tyrion and Arya/Sansa/revenge). The next seasons will be closing these stories. It’s a positive thing, not just a ‘these people will die’. Of course they will. Some day. Whether on screen is a different matter.
Firannion,
*sigh* Some things never change, modern technology or not. There are quite a few people in GoT I’d like to see frozen in the snow like a certain someone in The Shining. Mind you, the fact there are so many dislikable characters is part of what makes it so compelling. Imagine how fantastically dull it would be if everyone was nice and reasonable! 😀
That is so ironic what they say
Ned: ‘The man who passes the sentence, should swing the sword’
His head was though choped off by another person.
Robb: ‘I’ve won every battle, but I’m losing this war’
At the end he lost not in a battle, but because of love and traiture
Catelyn: ‘Show them how it feels, to lose what they love’
In the last moment of her love she expereinced it herself
Joffrey: ‘Everyone is mine to torment’
Said the king and died in the most stupid way, while everyone was seeing him tortured
Jon Snow: ‘The long night is coming, and the dead come with it’
said Lord Commander (whose words are Winter is coming) and got killed
I keep thinking about Robb for some reason. Marrying Talisa is not what put him in immediate dire straits – killing Lord Karstark against all advice is what changed the game. When the Karstarks took all their men and left, that made it necessary for him to go to Frey, all humble and apologetic. “The man that passes the sentence should swing the sword.” He was in too much of a hurry to emulate Ned. If he had all his men, he could have avoided the Twins completely, gone right around. He just had to swing that sword.
I just hope it means it’s time for a little Stark vengeance. That’s what I took the splash of blood on Jon’s face in that poster to be – he, too, is swinging the sword because he finally, finally is in a position to get revenge.
Now that I think about it, if Bran can get into his head, Bran will be in a position to help get that revenge. I didn’t make anything much of Jon telling Bran not to look away when Ned beheaded the deserter. Bran didn’t look away, and NOW will be looking even more closely. He too, will be “swinging the sword.” Tin foil hats are in season, I guess.
Trailer in March probably.
GoT/ASoIaF has given us death in many gruesome forms, but not so much in the way of everyday human stupidity. If you look at reports of how people died in military service in recent times, for instance, it’s rather remarkable how many stepped in front of a moving Jeep in their own encampment or the like, rather than being killed by the enemy. Life is full of mischances, sometimes fatal. I think that they could give us some good comic relief by having some character we don’t like die in a dumb, Darwin-Awards-candidate sort of way. Not so satisfying to those who hunger for vengeance, maybe, but fun for those of us who relish irony.
r-hard,
BUt there was no blood on his face when he beheaded Slynt nor on Ned when he did the deserter. If it really is splatter from a killing I’m thinking it’s a different method.