Stop what you're doing, because a new Game of Thrones Season 7 trailer has been released, and it is a lot. You might want to watch it a few times before we unpack everything that HBO is teasing in the upcoming season. We've had our breath stolen by Game of Thrones Season 7 trailers before, but this is on another level, you guys. Ready to dive in? All right, let's go. The major takeaway, once you get over being dazzled by the sheer amount of action, is the familiarity of some of the faces in it. This is a huge cast, so you should expect to recognize most of the people in the trailer, sure. But we've had so much time away from some of them that you might have lost track of whether they were living or dead.
But this two-minute glimpse into next season puts all that uncertainty to bed and gives fans an idea of which characters will be most central to the plot. The creators could still easily pull a fast one on us — and almost certainly will — with some plot twist or character reemergence we could never have seen coming. But there's more than enough in the trailer alone to grapple with right up until the July 16 premiere, so hold onto your butts.
Beric Dondarrion
It feels like the leader of the Brotherhood Without Banners is always dying and being resurrected somewhere in the background of the series. But, for the moment, it seems like Beric Dondarrion is very much alive and going to take a much more central role in whatever is to come.
The Hound
Speaking of the Brotherhood Without Banners, its newest member makes a very brief appearance in the trailer. (We're talking less than a second.) Fans already knew from Season 6 that Sandor Clegane had survived his injuries, but now he appears to be back and jumping straight into battle.
Bran Stark
No shade, but Bran Stark has gone unused for so much of the past few seasons that you'd be forgiven for being surprised to see him in the trailer. But your boy's back, he's warging, and he seems to have strengthened his connection to another figure on this list...
The Night's King
Yeah, that's right, I'm talking about the lord of winter himself, that White Walker we all love to hate, the Night's King. There were theories that he might not appear in Season 7, possibly because they were saving up a big battle in Season 8. But his icy little mug was right there in the trailer, so prepare yourself.
Crows
Speaking of warging, another indication of how important Bran is going to be this season was an extended shot of a flock of crows. We don't know what they're doing or where they're going, but it looks like the youngest surviving Stark is finally making some moves.
Bad Sansa
They did a great job of keeping the trailer pretty vague, so this is just a personal theory so far. But I'm getting a sneaking suspicion that Sansa Stark is teetering on the edge between good and evil. She's been let down by most of the people in her life, all while trying to be a good, obedient girl. So is Season 7 when Sansa tips over to the dark side and maybe even turns on her own family? Only time will tell, but this trailer was pretty foreboding.
I don't know about you, but I'm already knocked pretty flat by all of this. That's enough excitement for me for awhile, so it's probably a good thing that the Season 7 premiere isn't for a minute. (Although if anyone wants to move it up, that is A-OK with me.)
