The first teaser for Game of Thrones’ seventh season has arrived, and with it, questions about what the next season holds.
The teaser isn’t very long, and the characters don’t actually appear on screen. Instead, it’s a series of quotes from various factions as their family sigils float across the screen. There are moments with Daenerys Targaryen, Cersei Lannister, and Lady Olynna, but the most important moment comes at the very end.
Jon Snow, who was crowned the new King of the North in last season’s finale, ends the clip by warning someone that the smaller wars they’ve been fighting for the past six years aren’t going to matter when they’re confronted with the last, great war.
“The same thing is coming for all of us,” Snow says as the statues begin to crumble. “There’s only one war that matters: the great war, and it is here.”
The question is what could Snow be talking about? The most obvious answer — and our speculation — is that Snow is talking about the White Walkers. For the past six seasons, the show has been built up of smaller wars. The battle for King’s Landing, the battle for the North, and the multiple, smaller wars fought between Daenerys and the various armies she encountered on her travels.
This is also the first time that Snow referenced “The Great War.” It’s an important moment for the character — who again, just recently became the King of the North — as he prepares to take on the army he’s previously encountered during his time in the Night’s Watch. Snow is one of the only main characters to encounter the White Walkers and the Night King’s army. In terms of leaders, such as Daenerys and Cersei, he’s the only king who has fought the White Walkers and lived to tell the tale.
He’s more aware of what’s out there and how dangerous it is than anyone else. It will be interesting to see if he bands together with the other region’s leaders to try and defend Westeros from the army of undead beings.
Game of Thrones will return on July 16. The sixth season is currently available to stream on HBO Now.
