The first thing we see in HBO’s new trailer for Game of Thrones’ sixth season is Jon Snow’s body, lying still in the bloody snow. “He’s gone,” a voice says, in an attempt to put to rest the persistent belief that Kit Harington’s character is not as dead as he seemed at the end of Season 5.
To the strains of Chris Isaak’s “Wicked Game” (as covered by James Vincent McMorrow) we get quick glimpses of what the Lannisters are up to. Most powerfully, when religious zealot Lancel tells Cersei to tell her man—a reanimated Gregor Clegane, AKA “The Mountain”—to “step aside or there will be violence,” she replies, “I choose violence.”
We see Melisandre come to terms with the failure of her prophecies and the demise of her king, Stannis Baratheon. “The great victory I saw in the flames, all of it was a lie.”
At the very end, we see Bran Stark, who was absent from Season 5 and looking much more like a man than the young boy he once was, come face-to-face with the White Walker known to some as the “Night’s King” who wreaked havoc on the Night’s Watchmen and Wildlings alike during last season’s battle at Hardhome. And while it’s likely inside one of his warg visions, Bran, who was paralyzed in the show’s pilot, walks on two feet.
Yet, for those who still want to believe that Jon Snow will live to see another day, this trailer does contain a flash of hope. Among the images that fly by in the final few seconds is what appears to be Melisandre placing her hand over Snow’s eyes in what we can only believe to be an attempt to bring him back from the dead. (Or a very cruel editing trick.)
We will all have to wait until Game of Thrones returns on Sunday, April 24 to find out.