Trailer Talk: ‘Game of Thrones’
For the first time in HBO’s “Game of Thrones,” the show has overtaken the book series by George R. R. Martin. The series’ ending has already been set by Martin, but getting to the end is up to the show’s producers. (Courtesy of Game of Thrones via Youtube)
By Matthew Fernandez
March 14, 2016 10:14 p.m.
Warning: This article contains plot spoilers.
Movie and television trailers are like free samples at Costco: The good ones excite you and leave you wanting more, while the bad ones make you cringe. Each week, A&E columnist Matthew Fernandez will dissect trailers and analyze the Hollywood fare to come.
The queen has been disgraced, the warg has met the raven, the Khaleesi has become the prisoner and the Lord Commander has been betrayed.
This is where the last season of “Game of Thrones” left its viewers. Having exhausted the book source material, season six ventures into uncharted territory, premiering on April 24.
For the first time in the series, the show has overtaken the books. Although the producers know how author George R. R. Martin plans to end the story, how they arrive at that conclusion is entirely up to them. Considering how many characters still alive in the books have died on the show and how many subplots have been cut from the show altogether, it looks like there will be two different versions of the story.
Season six is already generating tremendous excitement among its fan base. The trailer broke records, reaching 30 million views within 24 hours. Since HBO is doing its best to keep this season a surprise and refusing to send out any advanced press copies following last year’s online leak, the trailer is the first good look at what is to come.
The fate of Jon Snow, played by Kit Harrington, is a particular point of emphasis in the new trailer. The fan favorite character was betrayed and murdered in the season five finale, leaving fans in uproar and creating fan theories about Snow’s possible resurrection. Despite sightings of Harrington on the set, the actor stated he only appears as a corpse. The trailer does its best to support Harrington’s claim with multiple shots of Snow’s dead body; however, some fans have found shots in the trailer that might depict Jon Snow very much alive, riding into battle.
The trailer pays special attention to the relationship between incestuous twins Jaime, played by Nikolaj Coster-Waldau, and Cersei Lannister, played by Lena Headey. In the past couple of seasons, the Lannisters lose two children to poison, their father is murdered by their brother Tyrion, played by Peter Dinklage, and their seemingly unbreakable bond begins to fracture. With only one child left, the Lannister twins appear to have come together once again to protect their son and wreak vengeance on those who wronged them.
The trailer sets up a clash between the religiously fanatical Sparrows and the Lannisters. The best moment comes when one of the Sparrows tells Cersei and her bodyguard, Robert Strong, to “stand aside or there will be violence,” to which she chillingly replies, “I choose violence.”
It’s “Game of Thrones.” Of course, she chooses violence.
Other plots are briefly teased, including that of Daenerys Targaryen, Mother of Dragons, played by Emilia Clarke. She was captured and presumably forced into slavery while friend-zoned and rejected knight Jorah Mormont, played by Iain Glen, leads a search party for her.
After his absence in the fifth season, crippled warg Bran Stark, played by Isaac Hempstead Wright, is briefly shown in the presence of a white walker. The scene teases a welcome return to Bran’s storyline, although his visit by the walker may be nothing more than a vision since Bran is standing in the scene but was paralyzed from the waist down last time audiences saw him in the season four finale.
After a year of stressful waiting, “Game of Thrones” fans can finally return to Westeros and discover the fates of their favorite characters. The trailer promises to maintain the same level of violence and sex that fans have come to expect from the show, while hopefully alleviating their apprehension over the lack of source material to guide the show.
That’s it, the last installation of Trailer Talk. These last 11 weeks have been a lot of fun and I want to thank everyone who’s been reading the column. As long as Hollywood exists, the studios will keep cranking out trailers to promote their films. Some will knock your socks off, others will scar your eyes. Either way, they are the most fun and easiest way to sample what Hollywood has to offer and get excited about the infinite possibilities of film.
– Matthew Fernandez
What did you think of the new “Game of Thrones” trailer? Email Fernandez at [email protected].
