Recently released was the Season 6 trailer for the popular HBO show, "Game Of Thrones." It is relatively short, clocking in at a minute and 41 seconds, and is packed full of content. A lot of it is potential storylines the creators are hinting are going to be highlighted in the upcoming season. To help fans sort out what could be happening, I did a deep dive in order to help decipher what the hell could be going on.
The North:
In Season 5, the North proved to be a war zone. Stannis and his army was massacred outside the walls of Winterfell, and Jon tussled with an army of the dead. Looks like not much is changing, as a whopping 38 seconds of the trailer was devoted to the frozen parts of Westeros. In that half-minute plus, you see a lot of familiar faces, and interestingly enough, some not-so-familiar faces.
At least a good 10 seconds of the time in the North is devoted to pitched battles. In these battle sequences, the banner of the flayed man is prevalent in most scenes, representing that the Bolton’s are to continue their struggle to retain the North. They clearly did not sustain many losses to their army in their “battle” against Stannis’ forces, with a clear route to the Baratheon army. Their hold of the North was now sealed with blood, more important than any kingly seal. The books do not provide much background to this situation, as it is the one that the show writers most altered, and is one of the few places they skipped ahead of the books.
The Kraken is also prominent in these scenes, displaying a reintroduction of the Greyjoy storyline and the Iron Islands. The Iron Islands have been significantly cut out of the show the last few seasons, with Yara Greyjoy's (Theon’s sister) rescue attempt at Theon being the most pivotal scene involving the seafaring peoples. But in the trailer you see Iron Islanders in pitched battle with Bolton soldiers. In the books, the Greyjoy’s take up a significant portion of pages, as George R. R. Martin outlined a power struggle for the driftwood crown. Balon Greyjoy, Theon Greyjoy’s father, died early on in the books. But he’s still kicking in the show, and the prominence of the House of Greyjoy may be signifying the show is ready to catch up, as it looks like their are a few characters in the trailer (i.e. the badass in Kraken armor) that could be Balon’s brothers returning to make a claim for the crown.
You also see Tormund Giantsbane looking worried with flayed man shields in the background. With the (SPOILER ALERT) death of Jon Snow, there is no longer any protector of the Wildling people. So what happens to them seems to be something the showrunners are interested in. Are the Boltons enlisted by the Night's Watch to massacre them? Do they team up with the Greyjoys to retake the North? Or are they lead by a vengeful undead Jon Snow against his enemies? With this also being one of the parts of the show that skips ahead of the books, the possibilities are endless.
One minor scene that could get lost in the shuffle is Petyr Baelish, a.k.a. Littlefinger, standing in snow-covered surroundings. In Season 5, there was a scene during which he postured about attacking the winner of the Stannis vs. Bolton smackdown. His presence in the ice could signify him finally bringing the Vale into battle, one of the few areas that stayed neutral in the War of Five Kings. With the rest of the kingdom so weakened, is this the time Littlefinger makes his move for the Iron Throne?
Other characters show in the North, including Sansa Stark and Theon Greyjoy, are magically fine after their drop from the walls of Winterfell. Theon and Sansa look to be captured by the Boltons until a possible rescue by Brienne of Tarth. Even if not, she seems to continue her run of killing people. Bran Stark makes his TV return, seemingly picking up a second supernatural stalker in the Ice King. And like his original stalker, it seems to be in his dream, as Bran looks to be standing on his own two legs.
Now, I would be remiss if I did not speculate on what everyone has been speculating about since the end of Season 5. The trailer opens and closes with views of Jon Snow’s lifeless body. It seems to be clear that the showrunners are feeding into the speculation of the return, especially with the Red Lady in Castle Black at the time of his death. Also, with what seems like Ser Davos with a group of armed watchmen, are preparing to make a stand around his body. But for those theorizing about a resurrection performed by Melisandre, her faith in the Lord of Light is clearly shaken, believing that the flames had lied to her. Without a 100 percent commitment out of the priestess, could she perform such a ceremony? Also, for those wargheads who think Jon Snow is going to possess the body of his wolf, you clearly see Ghost laying under Jon Snow’s head in the final scene. Coincidence? Maybe. Sidebar: gotta feel bad for whoever Melisandre is getting naked for in the trailer. Every time she does that, the people either die or get a leech to the penis (i.e. Gendry in Season 3).
The South:
You are left at the end of Season 5 with Jaime sailing towards King’s landing with his recently deceased daughter, Myrcella. In response, Jaime espouses in the trailer that the only people that should matter to him and Cersei are themselves, and that everything taken from them will be taken back. But the road to vengeance doesn’t seem to run directly to Dorne. The Lannisters first have to carve their way through the High Sparrow and, possibly, the Tyrells first. Evidenced by Princess Margaery bowing to the High Sparrow, it seems there is a possible alliance in the making. Also, the scene showing King Tommen walking with the royal crown upon his head should be mentioned. Clearly a show-made character, as Tommen is naught but a young boy in the books, it’ll be interesting if he continues to be manipulated by outside forces of his mother Cersei and his wife Margaery. Whatever happens, it seems like blood is going to run through the streets in the capitol of Westeros before it does anywhere else.
Abroad:
The image of Daenarys you get is herself walking, dirty, among the Dothraki horde. There may be multiple reasons for this. First, the Dothraki may not have recognized who she was when they stumbled upon her, and simply took her as one of their slaves. Second is that the Dothraki view anyone not traveling on horseback as dishonored. Her use of blood magic in the attempt to restore her late husband may have given her a bad representation among his people. Either way, she doesn’t seem to be under heavy guard or near the leaders of the army of Dothraki. The heroic quest undertaken by her two lovers, Jorah Mormant and Daario may be more uneventful than previously thought. They clearly find her trail as Jorah is shown holding her wedding band in the trailer. Whatever happens it seems like Daenerys isn’t in the danger that people speculated after the finale.
The other main character now residing in Essos, Tyrion, has been given the task of policing the violent city of Meereen. You get a quote from him about the dangerous game, and a view of him holding a torch in the dark. Since the only underground place we have previously seen in Meereen is the tombs Daenerys chained her dragons in, it’s possible Tyrion intends to use them or release them. You previously saw Daenerys use this tactic in interrogating the masters and they seem to be one of the biggest, if most dangerous, tools Tyrion has in his arsenal in order to subdue the city.
And lastly is the little assassin Arya. It seems like she comes out relatively unscathed, minus her eyesight, of stealing a face before she was ready. What we learned from last season is she had not completely given up who she was. It looks like she may have learned her lesson, as she looks to still be in Bravos and in the House of Black and White, even if she's getting her ass kicked. It'll be interesting whether or not they decide where her training is going to take her this season and if she makes a return to Westeros.
