Promotional photo by Helen Sloan/HBO, exclusively released by EW
Well, Game of Thrones fans, today is your lucky day! No, there’s no trailer yet, but – in addition to today‘s Entertainment Weekly covers and inside look at a key season 8 battle sequence – we have more promotional photos courtesy of EW to share. The stunning portraits also include hints at some of the characters’ storylines for the final season!
First up, we have a lovely look at the Stark sisters, Sansa and Arya. Sophie Turner reveals, “Sansa this season is very much enjoying becoming a leader in her own right, and this year there are certain challenges by people who threaten that.” Given what we’ve seen so far, this could be further indication of conflict with her brother (cousin) Jon Snow’s new queen – and girlfriend – Daenerys Targaryen.
As for Arya, Maisie Williams states, “There’s this split with Arya between trying to be who she wants to be — getting back to back to that naiveté and innocence with her family — and her unfinished business.” Perhaps Arya’s desire to finish her list will be at odds with Sansa and Jon’s plans for the Starks? Only time will tell…
Speaking of Daenerys and Jon, here is the Westeros power couple in all their regal glory. Jon appears to be his usual brooding self, and no wonder, as Kit Harington explains, “The end of the world might be coming soon, but at least he’s in love with somebody and knows who he is — and then comes a sledgehammer.” It sounds like his parentage reveal will be a huge blow to the King in the North.
It will be interesting to see how Daenerys reacts. Emilia Clarke teases, “There’s so much she’s seen and witnessed and been through and lost and suffered and hurt. She’s been working for this her entire existence.” Does she mean the Iron Throne, or finding love, home, and family? Maybe both?
While we’re on the subject of family, Rory McCann hints at a confrontation between The Hound, Sandor Clegane, and his undead brother, Gregor. “There will be a chance of squaring up to his brother and facing those demons,” he admits. Cleganebowl, get hype!
Samwell Tarly may also have a confrontation with his Night’s Watch “brother” in store, as John Bradley admits, “Sam is really feeling the responsibility of this information. But he knows Jon would rather hear this from Sam than anybody else.” Assuming he means the truth of Jon’s parentage, hopefully Sam can soften the blow.
Although Bran Stark discovered the truth, Sam would probably be a better messenger given Bran’s detachment from his family since his return to Winterfell. We may see a kinder, gentler Bran in the final season however, as Isaac Hempstead Wright confesses, “We see a slightly wiser Bran this year, who’s less like robot overload.” Well, that would be a welcome change! Something tells me the Starks will need to support each other more than ever as we head into the endgame.
Be sure to check out the full slate of character portraits over at EW, and let us know your theories about their fates in the comments!
