Earlier today at SXSW, HBO released the firstGame of ThronesSeason 7 poster, which I postulated is ahint at the series' fire-and-ice endgame(as in dragons vs ice zombies, but more specifically, about the reinstatements of House Targaryen and House Stark into the power positions in Westeros through Daenerys and Jon). Now, HBO is reminding is not just that Winter Is Coming, but that is has indeed arrived, with a new tagline “Fear the Winter” (or “Fear Is for the Winter,” their branding is a little conflicted), unless you have a blowtorch. Maybe.
During aFacebook Liveevent, we all sat there watching a block of ice melt for over an hour (seriously … better or worse than watching paint dry?) as someone off-camera occasionally put a flame thrower to it. Then the ice didn’t melt, and the video cut out after fifteen minutes. GUYS. You did not plan this well (but the Tweets making fun of it were great)
Ultimately (after the feed was restored, another flamethrower was added, and more cast members showed up to ask people to comment “Fire” to release the premiere date, and then the video feed diedagain, after which the comment and “flame timer” conceit was abandoned and they just max-flamed it), the result was the reveal of the Season 7 premiere date, which will take place July 16th.
As far as any details for what the new season will entail, well, we’re all still in the dark. In Season 6, the TV show surpassed the books, so there are no more “book spoilers” or anyone who can know anything for sure other than showrunners Dan Weiss and David Benioff. But while the marketing materials are teasing a fire and ice showdown and the ascendency of the Night’s King in the North, all of that will likely play out very slowly – there is a lot to tackle first, like Cersei burning everyone alive in King’s Landing (Goodbye House Tyrell!)
What are you hoping to see in the new season? And what are some of your theories on how the show will wrap up? And do you think the showrunners will stick with George R. R. Martin’s original ending, which he revealed to them in secret when they started making the show?
Though there is a bit of a wait this year forGame of Thrones, there’s plenty of TV to catch up on in the meantime. For some recommendations, we have our newBest TV Shows on Right Now list, and for a list of many, many more premiere dates, check out ourcalendar.
