By The long night is nearly over as Game of Thrones have announced the premiere date the final instalment in a new disturbing trailer for season 8.
Titled “Crypts of Winterfell”, the trailer opens with Jon Snow carrying a flaming torch down a tunnel in the underground crypt at Winterfell. Then we see Sansa and Arya also pacing the burial place of their family members - is it impossible to get five minutes alone at Winterfell? - meanwhile, the soundtrack plays in an extremely ominous manner.
At the end of the corridor they each stand face to face with statues of fallen family members Ned Stark, Catelyn Stark, and Lyanna Stark ( Jon's real mother)—before arriving at their own graves. If this is a hint they're all toast in season eight then Game of Thrones really has lost some of its subtlety.
The trailer ends with the light in the crypt being suddenly extinguished and the icy blue of associated with the White Walker creeping toward them as they draw their swords. If the trailer is indicative of the final instalment, it looks like it will be torn between the race for the Iron Throne and the battle to save Westeros from the creatures beyond The Wall, something George R.R. Martin has said before.
There's other potential ciphers lurking too. In the crypt we see a feather blowing in the wind as Sansa walks past the statue of Lyanna Stark. As she does so, we hear Lyanna saying, "you have to protect him" - the words she said to Ned Stark when handing over baby Jon to save him from being killed by King Robert.
The blink and you miss it clue has appeared in several moments in past seasons to hint at Jon Snow's true parentage, including a scene in the pilot episode where Robert places the feather on Lyanna Stark's crypt statue . In the same episode, Ned Stark tells Robert Baratheon, "the Targaryens are gone" and Robert replies "Not all of them".
The next time the feather surfaces, Sansa Stark picks it up while visiting her aunt's statue and discussing with Littlefinger what happens between Rhaegar and Lyanna - Jon Snow's parents.
Season eight consists of eight episodes, each of 8 minutes of more and will be released April 14. Sharpen your Valyrian Steel, lads, the final answer just got a lot closer.
