If you think Daenerys (Emilia Clarke) looks distraught in the new “Game of Thrones” promos, the cause could be Reddit.
HBO over the weekend dropped two new promo reels showing additional footage from Season 8, with one titled “Survival” …
… and the other titled “Together.”
They feature Arya (Maisie Williams) and Jon Snow (Kit Harington) having their long-awaited reunion, Tyrion (Peter Dinklage) making a plea to the North and everyone likely watching Jon fly around on a dragon.
Fans immediately broke out their tinfoil hats to analyze the promos ― and it just so happens one of them may have found the mother of all spoilers.
Does the new footage show Dany at Dragonstone?
This revelation from the “Together” promo (also titled “Die” on Amazon Prime) spread around the internet, thanks to some sleuthing from Reddit user Spiral66, who posted the discovery on the FreeFolk subreddit.
As the Redditor pointed out, if you compare the image of the Dragonstone fireplace from Season 7 with the scene in the promo, which features Dany and Jon, the images seem to line up. A GIF of the moment gives a better look:
Here’s the deal: The Season 8 premiere is showcasing Jon and Dany arriving at Winterfell. The big Battle of Winterfell, where the living take on the army of the dead, is said to take place in Episode 3. Dany and Jon are reportedly taking part in that battle, so any Dragonstone scene with both of them would likely happen afterward.
If true, this would confirm a whole slew of things, including Jon and Dany’s survival in the first battle against the Night King’s forces. This find is even more important, considering HBO just released another promo titled “Aftermath,” which seems to tease everyone dying at the Battle of Winterfell:
If Jon and Dany are at Dragonstone, that’s clearly not the case.
We reached out to Spiral66, who told us: “When the promo came out, most people assumed, including myself, that the shot of Dany was before the big battle at Winterfell. But as this sub has a tendency to overanalyze things, I started thinking, ‘What if this was somewhere else?’ And sure enough, after looking up the Dragonstone fireplace, the carvings from both images matched. After that I checked what the Winterfell fireplaces looked like and they seem to have a much more traditional style so then I became certain this scene was at Dragonstone.”
If the scene does confirm the survival of Jon and Dany, it doesn’t look good for literally anyone else who’s not pictured.
“Dany and Jon (who is briefly in this clip) at Dragonstone suggests that after presumably losing Winterfell, they retreat to Dragonstone and use it as their new base of operations likely in” Episode 4, Spiral66 speculated. “As others have noticed, Dany seems to be contemplative ― maybe even mourning over the lost battle and lives. Jorah or Greyworm maybe as some of the casualties?”
(Jorah goner, Mr. Mormont.)
Aside from the human casualties, if this shot is from Episode 4 or later, there are all kinds of possibilities. For one, Jon and Dany probably know they’re related at this point. We could be peeking in on an awkward date night … or … is it more of an awkward family reunion?
You also have to wonder: Why is Dany at Dragonstone?
Spiral66 noted that Dragonstone could be the new “base of operation,” but what if it’s less of a headquarters and more of a hiding place? Could Dany be going there to give up?
After all, in the Season 7 finale, Euron Greyjoy (Pilou Asbæk) tells Dany to wait out the White Walker invasion on Dragonstone, saying, “I’m going back to my island. You should go back to yours. When Winter’s over, we’ll be the only ones left alive.”
If Dany’s squad takes heavy losses during the battle in the North, what would stop her from heeding Euron’s advice, retreating to Dragonstone and ruling over whatever ends up being left of Westeros?
It’s hard to trust anything in the HBO promos ― let alone a snippet of a brief clip from a trailer ― when the network has pulled some trickery with trailers in the past. Still, the Reddit user makes a convincing case. It could turn out to be a huge spoiler, but nothing is set in (Dragon)stone.
This article has been updated to include HBO’s “Aftermath” tea. What is dead may never die.
