Tuesday 16 / April / 2024
It’s not uncommon for us to count down the days towards an event for which we’ve been waiting for, particularly when you’ve been waiting for that day for more than a year.
The closer we come to that day, the greater our excitement, the greater our anxiety, the greater our tension as we obsess about how long we have to wait, as a singular thought cuts through the many others we have in our head...‘just get it over with, already!’
Surely, that’s a thought that Game of Thrones fans have had on several occasions throughout the last year or so. Yes, HBO’s smash hit is normally out every July, but the show has only increased our agony further this time around, by planning to launch its final season this April.
We’ve had to make to with watching and re-watching older episodes of the series again and again (and again), and have tried to glean as much information as possible from the conspiracy theories and fan forums online, as well as greedily gobbling up whatever snippets of information (and video) HBO does choose to show us.
If the build up to Game of Thrones had been steadily building over the past year, then it has surely spiked with the arrival of the trailer for season 8, which was released recently. And while it has answered one key question – when the new season is out – it also raises several more pertinent ones, the answers of which we are itching to discover.
Season 8 of HBO’s Game of Thrones will begin on 14 April, and will be available to watch online, much to the joy and excitement of fans across the globe.
But while the show is about few weeks away, the trailer does raise many questions we want answered. First-off, while the Unsullied are indeed marching to war against the Night King, whose minions are fast closing in on Winterfell, the ancestral seat of House Stark, that’s not where Jon Snow and Daenarys Targaryen seem to be headed. Neither do Drogon and Rhaegal, Khaleesi’s two remaining dragons. In fact, while one telling shot does have Jon and Dany approach the two mythical beasts, who’ve done well to stun Sansa as they fly over Winterfell’s battlements, almost as if they’re preparing to mount and ride them.
It’s quite clear that they’re not travelling the short distance to the scene of the battle – they’ve just seen off their soldiers while riding on horseback, so where are they going? A subsequent shot sees them fly over a frozen, snowy, uninhabited landscape that can only be found north of the Wall, which was breached by the Night King, who used dragonfire from a resurrected Viserion to cross it. Could it be that Jon and Dany have found out that the secret to what began this Great War lies north of the Wall? If they have indeed, what is it, and more importantly, who could have told them? Our best guess would have to be Bran Stark, aka The Three Eyed Raven, who can now see visions of the past and the future.
But how long before they find out the other secret, the one which Bran shared with Samwell Tarly? R+L is indeed equal to J. Yes, Jon may have bent the knee to Daenarys, but does he know that he is her nephew? Jon is not the illegitimate son of Eddard Stark, who was arguably the most honourable man in all of Westeros, but the offspring of his sister Lyanna, and Rhaegar Targaryen, Dany’s eldest brother.
The two had expressed their love for each other on the way to Winterfell, but little do they know they are going down a very dark path, one from which it is hard to return. Just ask Cersei Lannister, who plots to now tighten her grip on the Iron Throne. Her brother Jaime has left her to travel north and re-join Tyrion, who serves as Hand to Dany, but she won’t be alone for long: Euron Greyjoy has returned from the Narrow Sea, and on his Iron Fleet stands the Golden Company, the best mercenary company gold can buy. There are, of course, several questions that require answers, all of which are sure to be answered in the next couple of months. Whether you like them or not is another matter entirely. – [email protected]
The Short and Skinny
Name: Game of Thrones Season 8
Genre: Fantasy/Drama
What it’s about: The much-awaited final season of Game of Thrones is here! Return to Westeros and find out how this epic Song of Ice and Fire finally comes to and end!
Produced by: David Benioff and Daniel Weiss, based on the books by George RR Martin
Produced for: HBO
Runtime: 90 minutes
Number of Episodes: 6
Where to watch: HBO.com, Amazon, Hulu, HotStar, various streaming sites
IMDB Rating: 9.5/10
