The wait is finally over, and the Game of Thrones Season 7 trailer is here. HBO decided to forgo the publicity stunts when it came to revealing the teaser for the upcoming season, premiering Sunday, July 16. (Let's be real. No one had the stamina to wait for ice to melt again.) Instead, the new trailer shows us what we're in store for now that Cersei sits atop the Iron Throne. And what we're in store for might be Cersei turning into a White Walker.
The trailer, dubbed "Long Walk," shows just that: Jon Snow in full fur walking the halls of Winterfell, Daenerys breaking down doors to find her own throne at Dragonstone, and Queen Cersei walking the halls of King's Landing with her glorious crown atop her head. The three say nothing as James' 1989 song "Sit Down" plays while they all find a seat. Sadly, this promo seems to tease a truly vicious game of musical chairs. But while there is no dialogue in the teaser, what's seen coming out of Cersei's mouth is hard to ignore.
Near the end, the camera gets real close to Cersei's face. The music stops, and you can hear the sound of Cersei breathing — and see her breath as well. A sign that it is getting cold in King's Landing. Perhaps a little too cold. It's hard not to wonder whether Cersei may not be fighting the White Walkers, but turning into one.
It's clear that Season 7 deals with the very real fact that the White Walkers are coming and everyone needs to do something about it. It's hard to believe that Cersei would be willing to form an alliance with, well, anyone, but certainly not a Stark nor someone as strong an adversary as Daenerys. Especially when she's already been given the prophecy that, “Queen you shall be, until there comes another, younger and more beautiful, to cast you down and take all that you hold dear.” Being that this was told to her by a witch who accurately predicted her marriage to Robert Baratheon and the deaths of her children, she may be a little superstitious.
The face Cersei makes as she releases that breath is hard to read. It's neither happy or sad, and it certainly doesn't look triumphant. Could that be concern on her face? A hint that things aren't going to end well for her? That she may actually end up becoming a White Walker? The fact that we zoom out from her, then through the eye of a White Walker (who every well could be the Night King), definitely helps give that theory legs. Very, very frozen ones.
Now, there's always the the chance that she's not actually a White Walker, but will have a little fun ruling while everyone else is busy worrying about the damage they're going to cause. After losing her kids, Cersei doesn't really have much to live for, so let's expect a little madness. There's the very plausible theory that Cersei will become a Mad Queen and try to burn King's Landing like Aerys Targaryen. She sure rivals him in the vengeance department. Could that air Cersei breathes actually be a nod to the fire she's going to start? Or is it the perfect way to unite the Songs of Ice and Fire? She burns King's Landing down, only to be reincarnated as a White Walker.
There's always the possibility that her breath has nothing to do with the White Walkers. Perhaps, it's more of a nod to the idiom that revenge is a dish best served cold. As the Daily Beast pointed out last year, Maggy the witch's prophecy also includes the line: “And when your tears have drowned you, the valonquar shall wrap his hands around your pale white throat and choke the life from you.” "Valonquar" means little brother, which could mean Tyrion or Jaime will choke every last breath out of her. With Game of Thrones, anything is possible.
