Ever since the third season ended I’ve made an
effort to not think too much about when the next season would start. I’ve
gotten invested in other shows (such as Breaking
Bad and The Walking Dead) and
found all manner of distractions to occupy my time until the fourth season is
released. This is a strategy I have also been employing whilst waiting for ANY
news whatsoever on when the next book in the Song of Ice and Fire series will be released! But now the first
full trailer has arrived, I find myself drawn right back in to the excitement
and intrigue of the world of Westeros.
The trailer starts off with a very large dragon’s
shadow, gliding above an undetermined city. Daenerys’ conquest looks set to
continue this season, as her dragons continue to grow in size (much like her
army and her followers).
The trailer then reintroduces everyone’s least
favourite King: Joffrey, who wastes no time in taking all the credit for
winning the War of Five Kings – but then it cuts to his uncle Jaime (sporting a
shorter hairstyle) who points out that “the war is not won”. This is an
exchange that doesn’t take place in the books – much like the exchange between
Tywin and Joffrey last season – so I will be very interested to see this
particular scene when it occurs.
In addition to his shorter hair, Jaime Lannister is
seen being fitted with a new golden hand in a blink-and-you’ll-miss-it frame of
this trailer. His character underwent some significant changes during season
three, and it will be interesting to see how he interacts with the rest of his
family now that he is back in King’s Landing (and not forgetting that he is
also Lord Commander of the Kingsguard). There have not been any scenes between
Jaime and any of his relatives (Tywin, Cersei or Tyrion) since Season One, so
there is a lot of potential there.
Jon Snow is back at the Wall, and appears to be
warning the Night’s Watch of all that he has seen and learned about Mance Rayder’s
army. Another returning face, conspicuous by his absence since the first season
is Owen Teale as Alliser Thorne – the Man at Arms for the Night’s Watch – who is
seen rallying his sworn brothers together for battle. I’m always pleased to see
the same actors reprising their roles after lengthy absences, it wouldn’t feel
the same with a different actor (I am aware that some roles have been recast).
There were a lot of tensions between Jon Snow and Alliser Thorne in the first
season, so that will be another interesting dynamic to see now that the Wall is
under threat and they have to fight together.
“There’s good and evil on both sides in every war
ever fought” says Jorah Mormont, the loyal protector of Queen Daenerys. It’s
very true, and it impresses upon one of the most intriguing elements of the
show. In season two the Battle of the Blackwater took place, and good men
fought on both sides – it wasn’t a straightforward case of good against evil.
It looks as though there will be several battles during this season, where this
factor will come into play once more.
Another factor is that we’re further into the series
by now, and more time has been spent with all these characters, so whenever a
major battle occurs there is a greater sense of risk that we could be saying
goodbye to some of our favourites.
Elsewhere there are several sightings of a new face,
Pedro Pascale as Oberyn Martell “The Red Viper” of Dorne. We have seen very
little of House Martell up until this point, but they are another powerful
house who have a significant part to play in the Game of Thrones. He is seen
meeting with Tyrion when he arrives at King’s Landing, and boldly states that
the Lannisters aren’t the only ones who pay their debts.
One thing I’ve noticed is that Gregor Clegane (The
Mountain) has been recast once again, but from the glimpses seen in this
trailer I think they’ve done a very good job. There is a very significant duel
that will take place this season, which I couldn’t get quite so excited about
when Ian Whyte was playing The Mountain, as he never looked right for the part.
Many characters also show face within this trailer,
but just fleetingly: there are brief glimpses of Arya, Stannis, Davos, Bran,
Hodor, Theon, Yara and others. Not a great deal is given away about what their
storylines will be this season, but this is just the first trailer, and since
its purpose is to create intrigue, I would say that it most certainly succeeds.
There is a lot more within this trailer which I haven’t covered, but there will
be plenty of time for that before the season itself arrives in April.
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