Monday 19 March 2012

Game of Thrones Season 2: Price of Our Sins trailer analysis

HBO showed a new trailer for the second season on March 18 2012. It is called "Price of Our Sins" and is available via the HBO website and has been kindly uploaded to youtube in lovely high definition by WatchOut4HopOns:


I will break down the shots we see and the voiceover we hear. I posted a straight forward breakdown of the trailer without the commentary about the source material on the Game of Thrones Wiki (link). Spoilers for season 2 and the book it is based upon, A Clash of Kings, herein. TV only viewers should think twice before reading on. I use the British Kindle edition of the book for reference so any page numbers will be from that version. The spoilers below do not relate to anything not seen in the trailer or give away any of the endings to character arcs in the second book. They do give away a few surprises relating to introductions. The full breakdown and analysis is after the jump.



I have written similar posts for a few earlier trailers now if you are interested:

  1. "Seven Devils"
  2. "Power and Grace"
  3. "Shadow"
  4. "The More You Love"

I have the benefit of some additional context this time around. Since I last wrote HBO have released some synopses for the first five episodes. The full press release is available at Winter is Coming. In addition HBO have also been releasing character profile featurettes over the past week and there are six available at the time of writing covering Renly, Stannis, Robb, Daenerys, Jon and Joffrey. They are all available back at the Game of Thrones wiki.

We open on a Dothraki rider crossing barren land the sun beats down a fierce red in front of him. The location here is great, the ground looks appropriately dry and difficult. At 0:02 we hear Ser Jorah Mormont in voiceover "no-one can surive in this world without help." This line is not from the books but Jorah does have a frank discussion about the danger Daenerys and her people are in during A Clash of Kings chapter 13 Daenerys I.

We have seen this shot several times before, initially at 0:10 in the "Cold Winds" teaser, then repeated at 0:51 in the "Shadow" trailer, at 0:18  in the "Power and Grace" trailer and at 0:52 in the "Seven Devils" trailer. I think this shot is likely to be Daenerys sending out scouts into the Red Waste as her people try to get across the desert.



 At 0:04 we see Daenerys cradling the head of a sobbing woman. We have seen this before from a slightly different angle in the "Power and Grace" trailer at 1:39. We see an extended version of this shot in the Daenerys character profile from 0:50 to 0:53. It looked to me like it was Irri she was comforting in that shot. Crossing the Red Waste takes a toll on Daenerys' depleted Khalasar and the old and the young alike struggle to survive the harsh desert conditions. The new angle here gives us a glimpse of an out of focus brunette with braided hair behind Daenerys - perhaps Doreah? Daenerys' troubled passage through the red wastes takes place in A Clash of Kings chapter 13 Daenerys I. She only has five POV chapters in the books so I would expect this journey to take at least two episodes.

At 0:06 we see a close-up of Jorah kneeling to talk to Daenerys. He says "They are too weak to fight, you must be their strength." He is wearing his yellow shirt and they are on desert terrain. This shot crops up in the Daenerys character profile at 1:05. In that video we see an apparent response from Daenerys in the next cut at 1:07 where she turns to Jorah and nods. This is adapted straight from Dany's inner monologue in A Clash of Kings chapter 13 Daenerys I page 139 she thinks "They are not strong...so I must be their strength." To be told this rather than realising it on her own weakens her character slightly but I would rather keep good lines and give them to other characters than lose them to the adaptation process. The framing here seems to fit with a sequence shown in the Daenerys character profile  (from 0:00 to 0:10) where Jorah warns her that heading away from the Red Waste will expose her to those that would kill her and take her dragons. In the wider shots of that sequence they are kneeling next to the horse Drogo gave her as a wedding gift, apparently dead. I think he is probably convincing her to press onwards despite their losses in this sequence.

At 0:09 Daenerys reaches out to an armored Jorah. This is a new shot and we have not seen her outfit with the high tan collar before. The style is somewhat similar to the gold lattice armor we have seen several times so it fits with the show's take on Qartheen fashion. (She wears the gold armor in this trailer at 1:07 for comparison). The next shot appears to be a reverse of this one and has a much more green and leafy background.

At 0:09 Daenerys tenderly touches Jorah's cheek in what looks to be a continuation of the preceding shot. Given the new outfit and the greener palate I think this is probably after their arrival in Qarth. We hear Daenerys in voiceover saying "As you are mine." This appears to be in response to Jorah's line about strength which would make it incongruous with these images because they were both in different costumes when we saw him give the earlier line.

At we see 0:11 a panning shot behind a caged Kingslayer. The wooden bars of the Stark camp's prison are indistinct in the background. We saw this shot in "The More You Love" trailer at 0:38. It is similar to a handful of shots we have seen of Jaime who is used minimally throughout the trailers to date. He spends the whole of A Clash of Kings as a captive at Riverrun. We know from earlier trailer footage that he is still held out in a camp for some of the adaptation. We have also been told by the producers that they are planning to give him more to do by using some material from the next book "A Storm of Swords".

At 0:12 we see a close-up of Cersei Lannister. She says "Sometimes I wonder if this is the price for our sins." (Although we only see her speaking the latter part of the the line) This line has been used before in the Seven Devils trailer from 0:30 to 0:35. In that trailer a longer version was put together "Sometimes I wonder if this is the price we pay, for what we've done, for our sins." In Seven Devils the majority of the line was delivered as voiceover but we saw Cersei speaking the middle section "For what we've done." The framing and Cersei's outfit match across the trailers so at least "For what we've done, for our sins" is all taken from one scene. I said in my analysis of that trailer that I can't find a similar line in the book and that this is a little out of character for book Cersei (but not for the Cersei established by the show in season 1). In both this trailer and "Seven Devils" the line has been paired with shots of Jaime suggesting that it is the absence of her twin that has made her so introspective but I am not certain that is the true context of the line.

At 0:16 we see Robb, Catelyn and Brienne walk over the crest of a hill. They are silhouetted by the sun low behind them and a Stark pennant flies overhead. At 0:17 we hear Catelyn in voiceover. She says "You have inherited your father's responsibilities." This shot and this line were also paired together in the "Power and Grace" trailer at 0:30. A longer version of the line appeared in "The More You Love" trailer, there Catelyn says “I wish that you were free to follow your heart but you have inherited your father’s responsibilities, they come at a cost." We also see footage of her speaking the line in that trailer. She is wearing a green cloak, is being followed by Brienne and is talking to a fully armored Robb in the midst of a camp. Seeing the three of them together in this shot makes it likely that the line and the image are taken from the same sequence.

At 0:19 we see a closeup of Arya in a study. The desk behind her is littered with papers. This is new. I suspect this comes from Arya's time at the castle Harrenhal where she poses as a common girl. She becomes the cupbearer to the Lord in residence at the ruined castle which would give her access to the kind of setting we see here. Her hair is a little longer than in earlier images off her too adding to my impression that this comes later in the season. In the book Arya gets the cupbearer job in A Clash of Kings chapter 48 Arya IX.

At 0:20 we see a closeup of a shivering Bran, clothes wet and shoulders hunched. A solider carrying what looks to be a Greyjoy banner (I think I see a yellow tentacle) stands behind him. I think it is a nice narrative move for the trailer to show Robb's younger siblings as Catelyn reminds him that he has inherited his father's responsibilities. This shot of Bran is new and I again think it comes from later in the season because of the presence of the Ironborn at what looks to be Winterfell. Theon and his men arrive at Winterfell in A Clash of Kings chapter 47 Bran VI.

At 0:21 we see a closeup of Catelyn saying "I am afraid they come at a cost." She is talking to Robb and Brienne is behind her. We have seen this shot in both the "Power and Grace" trailer at 0:32 and the "More You Love" trailer at 0:07 but this is a slightly extended version adding the words "I am afraid" to the line. The whole line stitched together across all three trailers is “I wish that you were free to follow your heart but you have inherited your father’s responsibilities, but I am afraid they come at a cost."

At 0:22 we see a reverse of Robb's reaction to Catelyn's admonition. I think this sequence also comes from the latter half of the season. We know from the episode synopses that Catelyn is off to treat with Renly in the show and will not leave his camp until episode five. She does not meet Brienne until she finds her way to Renly in the books. Brienne being with Catelyn in Robb's camp therefore places this late in the season and completely outside the scope of the source - in the books Catelyn goes to Riverrun when she returns from Renly's camp and does not see Robb again until the next book. I am still wondering if us seeing their reunion means that the adaptation has Catelyn following Robb into the Westerlands or Robb returning to the Riverlands a bit sooner than he does in the books.

At 0:23 we see a sobbing Sansa has her dress torn from her shoulders by a member of the Kingsguard in the Iron Throne room. This again fits in with the idea of Robb's siblings being his responsibility after his father's death. The trailer neatly establishes this by placing Catelyn's line against shots of Arya, Bran and Sansa. This shot of Sansa has been shown before in the "Seven Devils" trailer at 1:03 but this is a longer version. It is a horrible situation for the character and comes straight from one of her chapters. In A Clash of Kings chapter 33 Sansa III Joffrey orders his guards to "Make her naked." In the book it is Ser Boros Blount who performs the task but in the show I think we can see a glimpse of Ser Meryn in other shots of this sequence and they will probably give him that action as they established his willingness to abuse Sansa on Joffrey's orders in the first season.

At 0:26 we see Melisandre facing a burning statue. This shot is new. We have seen her gazing into the flames in the "Seven Devils" trailer but the framing and the distance of that shot are very different. I am sure that this shot is related to the burning of statues of the seven outside Dragonstone which occurs in A Clash of Kings chapter 11 Davos I. The seven are the commonly worshiped Gods of Westeros and Stannis' growing allegiance with Melisandre and the red god R'hllor leads to him allowing her to burn the statues. Melisandre claims to be able to see the future amongst flames.

At 0:27 we see a closeup of Maester Cressen telling Davos "This woman will lead him into a war he cannot win." This is a new shot and our first decent look at Oliver Ford Davies as Cressen. Again the night-time setting and flames seem to suggest the burning of the seven on Dragonstone. Cressen is the point of view character for the prologue in the book and does not attend the burning of the seven. He does have a conversation with Davos about the futility of Stannis attacking King's Landing without a larger army in the prologue (page 9) but does not lay the blame on Melisandre at that stage. We see a very similar shot to this one in the Stannis character profile where Davos tells Cressen "Stannis is our king, we follow where he leads."

At 0:29 we see Stannis walk past Melisandre and she turns to watch him go. We are again seeing them at night, lit by flames. We have seen this shot before in the "Shadow" trailer (it was the second shot there). We have also seen an extended version in the Stannis character profile. At 1:26 in that clip Melisandre stands before him and says "Stannis Baratheon, your sword awaits you." He then walks past her. I think that places us squarely before he pulls the sword she has named Lightbringer out of the burning statue of the mother.

At 0:30 we see Soldiers clash outside a stone wall. Siege ladders are propped against the wall and a fire burns at its base. We have seen this in the "Power and Grace" trailer at 1:58 and a similar shot in the "Shadow" tease at 0:55. I think this is likely a sortie by the defenders of King's Landing against the attacking forces during the Battle of the Blackwater, perhaps based on the sortie led by Tyrion in A Clash of Kings Chapter 62 Tyrion XIV. That likely places it in the ninth episode of the second season "Blackwater".

At 0:32 we see a wide shot of the painted table in Stannis' solar on Dragonstone. Melisandre is seated to his right while Davos and Cressen are to his left. Stannis says "The time has come to choose. Joffrey. Renly. Robb Stark. They're all thieves." As he speaks we see images of his opponents. He delivers a similar line in the Stannis character profile at 0:33. There he says "Joffrey, Renly, Robb Stark. They're all thieves. They will bend the knee or I'll destroy them. The line here seems to be the same but with much larger gaps inserted between the names. I wonder if "The time has come to choose" is from earlier in the same scene as the context doesn't quite work in the edit here. This image is new and quite lovely. Stannis's table being carved into the shape of the map of Westeros is described in the books and well realised here. In terms of a source for the line in the book I cannot find Stannis saying either "Bend the knee" or calling his opponents thieves. The people present for his counsel are also not a fit with the books. He speaks with Cressen and Selyse in the Chamber of the Painted Table in the prologue and then meets with his lords bannermen there individually in A Clash of Kings chapter 11 Davos I. I suspect this scene will be the adaptation's version of one of those meetings.

At 0:33 Joffrey stands on the edge of the wall in front of his marquee. Sansa is seated to his left. Tommen and Myrcella are to his right. This fits with other footage that we have seen of Joffrey hosting his siblings and his betrothed captive for his name day tourney. I wonder if he is on the edge to see the knight that the Hound knocked over it. The tourney takes place in the books in A Clash of Kings chapter 3 Sansa I.

At 0:34 we see Renly straightening his head. He is seated in his personal tent and wearing his armor. A bowl of fruit, maybe peaches, is behind him. We have seen behind the scenes footage of shooting a scene between Renly and Littlefinger where Renly is eating fruit in the Renly Baratheon character profile at 0:41. I wonder if this shot is from that scene. It would constitute an added scene as Littlefinger is still at King's Landing while Renly is at his camp in the book.

At 0:35 we see Robb crossing a smoky battlefield as the Silent Sisters tend to the casualties behind him. This is a popular shot of the HBO trailer makers and it has appeared in the "Shadow" tease at 0:37, in the "Power and Grace" trailer at 0:31, in "Seven Devils" at 0:26 and in the "More You Love" trailer at 0:06. Here it is used to illustrate Robb as Stannis's fourth opponent in his war for the Seven Kingdoms. I have speculated before that the battle is Oxcross simply because that comes first in the book. Realistically it could be from any of Robb's victories in A Clash of Kings or a new battle entirely. We see none of his victories firsthand but notable successes are reported at Oxcross (in A Clash of Kings chapter 33 Sansa III), while scouring the Westerlands (in A Clash of Kings chapter 40 Catelyn V) and in storming the Crag (in A Clash of Kings chapter 56 Catelyn VII.

 At 0:36 we see a wide shot of Renly and Stannis meeting atop a cliff. Renly is accompanied by Catelyn, Briene, Loras Tyrell and four other men. Stannis is with Davos and Melisandre. I couldn't pick out Loras the first time I saw this but the high definition and seeing more of him in the Renly character profile help. We have seen this shot before in the "Power and Grace" trailer at 0:23. In the books this scene takes place at Bitterbridge in A Clash of Kings chapter 32 Catelyn III. Davos is not present in the book because he has been sent to deliver Stannis' letters denying Joffrey's claim to the throne. The coastal setting here leads me to believe that the parley has been moved to the coast of the Stormlands. Davos is present for a later parley outside the Baratheon seat Storm's End (A Clash of Kings chapter 43 Davos II) but Renly is not at that one and his interests are instead represented by Ser Cortnay Penrose.

At 0:38 there is a closeup of Stannis saying "The iron throne is mine." Three of his men are visible behind him. This appeared in the "Power and Grace" trailer at 0:26. There we got a slightly longer version of the line "The iron throne is mine by right." I think the series may have amalgamated the two parleys into one and done away with Penrose's character. I think this is a sensible enough move to reduce complexity and running time from the Catelyn / Davos stories but I will miss seeing both instances of sorcery that Stannis uses to get his own way after the each of the two parleys.

At 0:39 a flaming sword is drawn from a burning statue. This is a significant moment from early in Stannis's storyline in the book and takes place during the burning of the seven in A Clash of Kings chapter 11 Davos I. Melisandre tells his people that the sword is the legendary Lightbringer which was forged by the messianic figure of her religion Azor Ahai. She is a follower of the Lord of Light R'hllor and comes from the East.

At 0:40 Stannis walks through a field of burning statues, flaming sword held aloft. She presents Stannis retrieving the sword as evidence that he is Azor Ahai reborn and makes his claim into a religious crusade for his followers who have converted to her religion. I wonder which statue it is that Stannis is walking past in this image - can anyone enlighten me? The Faith of the Seven believes in seven aspects of one deity; the father, the mother, the warrior, the smith, the maiden, the crone and the stranger. The beard says father but the chefs hat doesn't seem to fit with any of them!

At 0:42 we see a closeup of Renly saying "No-one wants you for their king." This has been shown before in the "Power and Grace" trailer at 0:28. Renly uses this rebuke in reply to Stannis' claim that the Iron Throne is his by right in A Clash of Kings chapter 32 Catelyn III page 347. There he says "The whole of the realm denies it, brother. Old men deny it with their death rattle and unborn children deny it in their mother's wombs. They deny it in Dorne and they deny it on the Wall. No-one wants your for their king, sorry." Renly's vehemence in the shot we see is different to the delivery I had imagined from reading the book but probably makes more sense than the jocular tone I imagined; Renly is cutting his brother out of his rights and that action must be underpinned by an intense dislike of Stannis.

At 0:43 Archers fire flaming arrows from atop a stone wall. This shot has been show before at 1:11 in the "Seven Devils" trailer and at 1:36 in "Power and Grace". We have also since seen behind the scenes footage of Lannister archers atop a similar wall in the "Making Game of Thrones: Weapons" featurette. I think these archers are Lannister men defending King's Landing during the battle of the Blackwater and that we will probably see this shot in the "Blackwater" episode.

 # 0:43 A mass of rowboats surge across a river, oarsmen working hard. In the prow of the boats are armored men with shields. We have seen this shot before in the "Power and Grace" trailer at 1:23. Given the nighttime nautical setting I'd again guess at this being part of the Battle of the Blackwater and at these being Stannis' men but I can't pick out any heraldry to support that. We haven't seen these two battle shots together before and bringing them next to each other here helps to reassure me that they are both from the Blackwater sequence.

At 0:44 we see a long lense focus shift from the eye of Robb's horse onto his face. It is night and Robb is dripping from the heavy rain. This has been shown before in the "Shadow" trailer at 0:27, in "Seven Devils" at 0:27 and in "The More You Love" at 0:55. I'm hoping there is a four uses then retire it policy for some of the trailer footage but I doubt it. A good looking bit of camera work like this one is bound to be an editors favourite. I think this may be Robb preparing for a battle as it has previously been paired with him leading a group of cavalry (in "Seven Devils").

At 0:46 we see Robb leading a counsel in his tent. Theon is seated to his right. Robb says "We are a free and independent kingdom." The shields hanging on the walls of the tent are a fit for what we saw in season one but the rest of the tent looks different to me - it might just be the change to this being a night scene. We see more footage of the location in the Robb Stark character profile. The positioning of Theon and Robb here seems to fit with the sequence of Robb giving terms to Alton Lannister in that video from 0:06 to 0:20. I wonder if this is from within that speech or earlier in the meeting.

At 0:47 Joffrey smirks from atop the Iron Throne. This has been shown before in the "Shadow" trailer at 0:20, the "Power and Grace" trailer at 1:25 and the "Seven Devils" trailer at 1:03. The cape and darker robes don't instantly strike me as something I have seen in another scene. Am I failing in my costume watch? I have yet to break down Joffrey's own character featurette so perhaps I might be able to put this one in context after I do so.

Next at 0:47 we see a closeup of Jon Snow troubled and battered on an icy landscape.  This has been shown before in the "Shadow" trailer at 0:14 and reused in the "Power and Grace" and "Seven Devils" trailers. In "Shadow" and "Power and Grace" it was paired with a shot of Jon from behind but that is absent here. I suppose this is during the great ranging and judging from the terrain and the healing cuts on his face from later in his journey after the encounter he has in the woods that left his face bloodied (seen in "Power and Grace" at 1:28). During A Clash of Kings Lord Commander of the Nights Watch Jeor Mormont decides to take a large party of men North of the wall to find out where his people (Benjen Stark, Waymar Royce etc.) have been disappearing to and to investigate the rumors regarding the return White Walkers. Jon accompanies Mormont as his steward.

At 0:48 we see a closeup of Tywin Lannister. We have seen an extended version of this in the "Power and Grace" trailer at 0:17 where Tywin says "The War of the Five Kings they are calling it. Nothing matters but how it ends." The second part of that line is used as a voiceover later in this trailer. I suspect he will be talking to someone in Harrenhal - perhaps Gregor or another of his subordinates. We know this scene takes place after the Iron Islands enter the war because otherwise it would not yet be the War of the Five Kings.

Also at 0:48 we see a closeup of Stannis looking at Melisandre. There is a crowd bearing torches behind him. I think this is edited out of order and that this shot actually comes before the one of Stannis walking past Melisandre that we saw at 0:29. As I said there this is her urging him to pull Lightbringer out of the burning statue of the mother on Dragonstone. A scene lifted from A Clash of Kings chapter 11 Davos I.

At 0:49 we see a wide shot of Theon burning a piece of paper, lit only by the candle in front of him. This is a gorgeous shot. The paper might be the letter Robb sends with Theon to the Iron Islands. In the book it is burnt by Theon's father Balon in A Clash of Kings chapter 12 Theon I page 137. Balon could still reject his contents and having Theon burn it himself might be used to signify abandoning the plans he made with Robb. I might be entirely wrong about the subject of his pyromania of course.

At 0:51 we see a closeup of Varys wearing gold robes and drinking wine. He says "Power resides where men believe it resides." This is a line from a longer speech that was used at the beginning of the "Shadow" teaser and the "Seven Devils" trailer. In the "Shadow" teaser Varys' speech is:

"Three great men, a king, a priest, and a rich man. Between them stands a common sellsword. Each great man bids the sellsword kill the other two. Who lives, who dies? Power resides where men believe it resides; it's a trick, a shadow on the wall, and a very small man can cast a very large shadow."

At 0:53 we see Margaery drop her dress and stands before Renly in his tent. They are in Renly’s tent. We have seen this shot before in the "Shadow" tease at 0:58 and again in "Power and Grace" and "The More You Love". We hear Magaery in voiceover saying "Whatever you need to do." The line here is new and I can't place it in the book - Renly is not a point of view character and this is not the kind of moment Brienne or Catelyn would be privy to. It certainly seems like the sort of thing a woman willing to marry her lover's brother might say.

At 0:54 we see a closeup of Renly looking at Margaery. He is in his tent and wearing the same white undershirt as in the preceding shot. We have seen similar footage of them together in "The More You Love" trailer and the Renly Baratheon character profile but this particular shot is new. I am confident that it comes from the same sequence of Margaery undressing for him though. Renly is a closeted homosexual in the first season so her motivations here are hopefully more complex than they might first seem.

At 0:54 we see Margaery kissing Renly. The framing and lighting of this seems similar to the shot in "The More You Love" trailer where she tells him "You are a King." I hope she is trying to seduce him in order to produce an heir rather than out of a genuine desire to alter his feelings as I like the idea of her as a politically astute realist. I like the idea that Loras and Margaery are working together to build his confidence and assertiveness in the role.
At 0:55 we see a revese of the kiss. This shot was used in "The More You Love" trailer at 0:54 and again seems to fit in the sequence here in terms of lighting, setting and costumes (or lack thereof). I thought the first time I saw this shot that Renly was holding back somewhat in the kiss but I am not so sure I wasn't just being influenced by my interpretation of his character now.

 At 0:56 we see a closeup of Varys saying "It's a trick..." As noted earlier (see 0:51) Varys has a speech about the nature of power that has feature prominently in two other trailers - "Shadow" and "Seven Devils". We saw Varys saying the last part of that speech ("and a very small man can cast a very large shadow") at 0:31 in the "Shadow" trailer. In the "Seven Devils" trailer we see him at 0:13 saying "It's a trick". He is wearing the same outfit in both shots so it follows that the various voiceover parts have been stitched together from the same scene. The line "Power is a curious thing" was used in the "Power and Grace" trailer at 1:12 and we see Varys speaking the line and again wearing the same robes. This means that the full version of the speech is yet to appear in any trailer. This speech is adapted from the riddle that Varys tells Tyrion in A Clash of Kings chapter 4, Tyrion I.

At 0:57 we see Margaerys telling Renly "You are a king." This shot and line appeared in "The More You Love" trailer at 0:40. Once again I think it shows that Margaery is trying to become an advisor to Renly and is working to build his confidence in his new role as a ruler. She certainly needs him to believe in himself is she is to reap the political rewards their marriage was arranged to deliver.

At 0:58 Renly walks through his camp, Brienne and two other guards fall in behind him. The clifftop setting and the green stag banners clearly identify this as Renly's camp. This shot is new to trailers but did appear in the Renly character profile at 0:08. I wonder about the guards we see here. In the books Renly names his Kingsguard the rainbow guard and assigns each of them a colour. Brienne is blue, Guyard Morrigen is Green, Emmon Cuy is Yellow, Bryce Caron is Orange, Robar Royce is Red and Parmen Crane is Purple.  Loras is their commander and has no colour. I'm not sure they will feature the organization enough to establish this detail in the show but it seems the production design team may have left some small references. The guard on the right of the screen is wearing armour with sunflowers on it which would make him Emmon the Yellow. I imagine these characters will be played by featured extras rather than being named but time will tell.

At 0:59 Melisandre throws her head back and moans. Her shoulders are bare and it is dark. We hear Varys in voiceover saying "A shadow on the wall." The line is one that has been used before in Varys' speech about power. We have seen this shot before at 1:16 in "Power and Grace" although we couldn't here her moan there. Pairing this shot with Varys line about shadows is telling and this line was similarly close to the shot in "Power and Grace". There is a similar shot from a different angle in the "Shadow" tease at 0:57. I think this is Melisandre performing shadow binding sorcery in an altered version of a scene from A Clash of Kings chapter 43 Davos II.

 At 0:59 Davos raises a lantern in front of himself. He appears to be behind a metal grate. This seems similar to the shot we see of him in "Power and Grace" at 1:16 and seems to fit with him aiding Melisandre in infiltrating somewhere by boat.  In the book Davos sails underneath Storm's End with her but it seems possible that given the relocation of Renly's camp Davos now takes her under the cliff face instead.

At 1:00 Littlefinger blinks as he looks through a peep hole. We have seen this before in the "Power and Grace" trailer at 0:40. It was paired with the same next shot in that trailer. The higher definition and consistent pairing of the shots makes me more confident now that this is Littlefinger looking through the peephole but I still cannot muster an idea as to what or who he is spying on.
At 1:00 Littlefinger turns away from a hole in a door. Again this was seen in the "Power and Grace" trailer at 0:40. I suspect Littlefinger might be proving himseld more useful to either Cersei or Tyrion than he did in the book. I would guess at this being before he leaves King's Landing for Renly's camp so quite early in the season given that we have seen him sharing scenes with Catelyn once he gets there.
At 1:02 Tyrion walks through a group of cheering Lannister men-at-arms. Podrik Payne and two of the Kingsguard follow him. We hear Varys in voiceover saying "...and a very small man can cast a very large shadow." This shot is another trailer favorite and appeared in the "Power and Grace" trailer at 1:26, slightly extended in the "Seven Devils" trailer at 1:10 and again in "The More You Love" at 0:19. I'm unsure which members of the Kingsguard are with him but I feel confident this is also from "Blackwater".

At 1:03 we see Tyrion being led through a darkened tunnel by a man with a dangling lantern. A similar shot appeared in the "Power and Grace" trailer at 0:53.  I think this  is likely to be Varys teaching him to use secret passages to visit Shae. This occurs in A Clash of Kings chapter 16 Tyrion III.

At 1:05 we see Tyrion turning a green jar around in his hand while gazing at its contents. Light streams down through a barred window behind him. We have seen a glimpse of this in the "Invitation to the Set" featurette but it looks different here. I think this is likely to be Tyrion being shown the large stocks of Wildfire (a volatile combustible) ordered by the Mad King before his death. Tyrion first hears about the city's supply of the substance from the Captain of the Lannister guards in the city in A Clash of Kings chapter 4 Tyrion I. He is shown the stock of the pyromancer's guild in A Clash of Kings chapter 21 Tyrion V.

At 1:06 A party of Qartheen delegates walk forward from a large gate. They are behind a row of spearmen. Nicholas Blane as the Spice King leads the dignitaries and is clearly visible between two of the spearmen. Xaro Xhoan Daxos is at the back of the group. The top of Pyatt Pree's head is visible over the shoulder of the darker haired spearman. We have seen this shot before in the "Shadow" tease at 0:49 and again in the "Power and Grace" trailer at 1:46. We have also seen reverses and wide shots that show that the delegation is meeting with Daenerys and the remains of her khalasar.

At 1:07 Qartheen spearmen assemble outside the striped wall of Qarth. This has been shown before in the "Power and Grace" trailer at 1:05 and the "Seven Devils" trailer at 0:45. The order of this shot has been reversed compared to previous pairings. I think the original order probably better fits the source scene as the dignitaries seem not to have emerged yet in this shot. In the book Daenerys arrives at Qarth in A Clash of Kings chapter 28 Daenerys II.

At 1:07 we see Daenerys wearing a lattice work gold high collar saying "I am Daenerys Stormborn and..." An out of focus man is behind her - perhaps Xaro Xoan Daxos. We have seen this before in the "Shadow" trailer at 0:50. There she was saying "I am Daenerys Stormborn and I will take what is mine with Fire and Blood." I wonder who it is that has annoyed her in this sequence. She is definitely wearing a different costume to her dothraki garb so I think this comes after her entry into Qarth.

At 1:08 we see Daenerys and Jorah stride forward from their diminished Khalasar. Daenerys continues in voiceover "...I will take what is mine." As noted the line is incongruous with the image because we have seen Daenerys saying this line while dressed in a different costume in the "Shadow" trailer. This seems to fit with the shot of Daenerys and her khalasar before the gates of Qarth in the "Seven Devils" trailer at 0:46 but the angle is tighter here. I imagine they are walking forward to speak to the delegates.

At 1:09 we see Brienne in Renly's tent. She draws her sword and rushes forwards. We have seen this shot before at 1:17 in the "Power and Grace" trailer. I think this is likely to be Brienne seeing Melisandre's magic taking shape and therefore based on A Clash of Kings chapter 34 Catelyn IV. This would fit with merging the two sorcery scenes from the book and having Davos bring Melisandre under the clifftop camp where this tent is located.

At 1:09 we see Brienne duelling Loras in front of a circle of onlookers. We have seen this shot before in the "Shadow" tease at 0:58 and in the "Power and Grace" trailer at 1:17. I think both characters are identifiable by their armor. I think this comes from earlier than the preceding shot and is adapted from A Clash of Kings chapter 23 Catleyn II. In the chapter Catelyn arrives in Renly's camp to find him hosting a tourney and witnesses Brienne fighting Loras.

At 1:10 we see Brienne kneel next to a downed Loras and holds a dagger to his visor. The crowd are quieted behind her and several Tyrell shields are visible among them. We have seen this before in the "Power and Grace" trailer at 1:40. Brienne overpowers Loras to end the grand melee in the book but this seems to have been a single combat. Brienne wins some honor with her victory over the Knight of the flowers. Brienne using her dirk to open Loras visor is straight from the book and there ends a lengthy duel between the two which begins on horseback. This does seem to follow the preceding shot which seemed to be the middle of their duel.

 At 1:10 we see Robb kissing Jeyne. Catelyn (and readers) do not learn about Robb's relationship with Jeyne until the next book (A Storm of Swords) but he reports that it began after he stormed the Crag. She nursed him after an injury and they fell into bed and then in love. Catelyn learns of his victory at the crag in A Clash of Kings chapter 56 Catelyn VII so the beginnings of his relationship do take place in the timeline of the second book but are not revealed to the reader until the third book. I think it makes sense for the television adaptation to include their relationship now as a way to give more material to Robb when he is not with Catelyn. The show established that it was going to do this in the first season by featuring scenes focused on Robb without a point of view character present (e.g. discussing strategy at Moat Cailin before Catelyn's arrival) and will clearly be continuing to do so this year.

At 1:10 Joffrey stands before his throne and proclaims "You're here to answer for your brother's treason." Now I recognize that the outfit he wears when smirking from the throne is the same as this one so I guess I have answered part of my earlier question (see 0:47). I think he is addressing Sansa here and the subsequent shot certainly seems to suggest that. His line is adapted from A Clash of Kings chapter 33 Sansa III page 356 where he says "You're her to answer for your brother's latest treasons." In the book this is the scene where he threatens her with his crossbow. He is not holding it here and we have seen footage of him with it in the "Shadow" tease at 0:38 where he is in the same outfit.

At 1:10 Sansa is knocked down by a member of the Kingsguard in front of the court in the Iron Throne room. Lancel Lannister (played by Emun Elliot) stands behind her. This is likely the same scene and the Kingsguard is probably Ser Meryn Trant as noted earlier (see 0:23).

At 1:11 we see a Lannister man-at-arms and armored knight draw their swords. It is dark. This is a new shot and I wonder if this relates to the next couple of new shots.

At 1:12 we see a black clad swordsman cut the throat of a Lannister man. The shot is new. The Lannister man is wearing a helm and leather amour - he is not as well equipped as the fully armoured men we usually see in King's Landing. It is night and his opponent carried a torch. I think the swordsman is Yoren and this could be him defending his recruits against the Lannister forces under Ser Amory Lorch in A Clash of Kings chapter 15 Arya IV. We have seen a similar shot in the "Shadow" trailer at 0:58.

At 1:13 we see Gendry fighting Lannister men at night. I think this is likely to be from the same action sequence. Can anyone make out what Gendry is hitting the man-at-arms with? It looks like a lead pipe to me which would be anachronistic! We first saw this shot in the "Power and Grace" trailer at 1:37 but this is a slightly extended version where Gendry gets to land a few more blows.
At 1:14 we see a closeup of Robb saying "No matter where he runs we will hunt him down." He is lit by candles and wearing a leather doublet. The layout of the candles seem to place him in his command tent. I can't tell who he is talking to but it is presumably one of his bannermen perhaps Roose Bolton or Rickard Karstark? As to who he is talking about I think it could be one of two possibilities but both are fairly large spoilers. I would guess at it being either Jaime following an escape or Theon following his betrayal.

At 1:14 we see four Soldiers burst through a wooden door. This is new and I think it is likely to be the Ironborn raiding in the North on the orders of Balon Greyjoy. There is a saddle on the back of the door so I wonder if this is Bran's room.  If so this would be Theon and his men capturing Winterfell. This occurs in A Clash of Kings chapter 47 Bran VI on  page 487.
At 1:15 a knight lands hard in a courtyard of the red keep. Lannister men are standing guard in the background. We have seen this before in the "Power and Grace" trailer at 0:09 and the "Seven Devils" trailer at 0:42. There it was linked with shots of the Hound fighting someone with a mace and I think this is the conclusion of a duel for Joffrey's name day tourney from A Clash of Kings chapter 3 Sansa I. The Hound fighting represents an added scene as in the book he just stands guard at the event.


At 1:15 A gold cloak stabs a man pinned against the wall. A child rushes past another gold cloak behind him. Light streams into the room from a high window behind the gold cloak. This scene looks like it is taking place in Littlefinger’s brothel to me but I don’t recognise the victim. I wonder if this relates to the murder of Mhaegen and Barra (a whore who was a favorite of Robert's and their bastard daughter) by the City Watch within the brothel. We learn about these events when Tyrion questions Janos Slynt about them in A Clash of Kings chapter 9 Tyrion II but it seems the show is going to put them on screen. The following shot is likely from the same sequence.

At 1:15 a gold cloak pushes a black haired boy under water. I wonder if this is another of Robert's bastards or just someone being questioned about their whereabouts. In the book we learn that the Gold Cloaks killed Barra and Tyrion suspects Cersei of being behind the orders. Varys admits that he knows of eight of Robert's bastards in A Clash of King's chapter 16 Tyrion III page 178. Varys is not clear whether any more of them were in King's Landing.

At 1:16 we see a closeup of Cersei in the small council chamber wearing an embroidered blue gown. We hear Cersei in voiceover saying "This is what ruling is." We saw Cersei finishing this line in the "Power and Grace" trailer at 1:22, she concludes "Lying on a bed of weeds, ripping them out before they strangle you." She was wearing the same dress in that shot so they could be from the same scene. It looks as though she is talking to Tyrion here but I don't think I can match her costume to other footage of them together.

At 1:17 we see a closeup of Joffrey turning away from someone. He is wearing the red robe with the gold pattern that he has on for his name day tourney so that makes this shot likely to come from the season premiere "The North Remembers". I don't believe it is from the same scene as the preceding shot of Cersei as we have seen her talking to him while wearing a red gown when he has this on but I could be wrong.

At 1:17 we see Osha undoing her clothing in front of someone. An armored man stands behind her. He looks to be one of the Ironborn raiders we saw at 1:14. I think Osha is undressing for Theon here after he takes Winterfell. In the book he sleeps with a servant named Kyra in A Clash of Kings chapter 51 Theon IV so it seems her role might have been given to Osha. This shot makes me think that I am more likely to be mistaken about Theon being with the Captain's daughter in "The More You Love" at 0:52 and that Osha was in that shot too. 

At 1:17 Littlefinger is restrained by a group of Lannister men-at-arms. I wonder if he is standing up for one of his whores against Joffrey. We have seen a shot of Joffrey abusing Ros in "The More You Love" at 0:39 and Littlefinger comforting her in "Power and Grace" at 0:11. I can't recall a time in the book when Lannister men put a knife to Littlefinger's throat. However, standing up for one of his whores seems out of character for him too. Maybe he is arrested for sheltering Barra? Do you have any ideas about this one?

At 1:18 Shae leans down to kiss Tyrion. We hear Tyrion in voiceover saying "I understand the way this game is played." We first saw the image in the "Power and Grace" trailer at 1:35. I think this is probably from early in the season. In the books Tyrion and Shae liase in King's Landing for the first time in A Clash of Kings Chapter 4 Tyrion I. We have seen Tyrion speaking this line to Vary in the "Shadow" teaser at 1:01 so it does not fit with the image here.

At 1:19 we see Tyrion punch a squealing Joffrey. His nepew is armored and they appear to be outside. A member of the Kingsguard is visible behind Tyrion. Apologies for the blurriness of the image, it is such a brief shot with so much movement that I cannot find a clearer frame. I think this shot is of Tyrion berating Joffrey for causing a riot in King's Landing with his complete disregard for the well being of his people. "The dwarf slapped his flushed face so hard the crown flew from Joffrey's head." - A Clash of Kings, chapter 42 Tyrion IX page 436.

At 1:19 we see Cersei being escorted through a baying mob by Lannister men-at-arms. This has been shown before in the "Shadow" trailer at 0:45 and in the Seven Devils trailer at 1:25. This seems to be during the riots at King's Landing and therefore takes place before the preceding shot of Tyrion disciplining his nephew. The riots are earlier in A Clash of Kings chapter 42 Tyrion IX. The rioters are upset over lack of food under Joffrey.

Also at 1:19 we see a mob of rioters trying to push past gold cloaks. The smallfolk are grappling with the gold cloaks over their spears and seem to have the upper hand in this brief glimpse.


We have seen this once before in the Seven Devils trailer at 1:24 This seems to fit with previous footage we have seen of rioting in King's Landing.


At 1:20 Twin moves past a stone wall. We hear him in voiceover saying "Nothing matters but how it ends." We have seen Tywin riding into the courtyard of a castle wearing this same cloak over his armor. I thought he was waking in this shot when I first saw it but on my second viewing I wondered if he might still be atop his horse here. The voiceover line has been used before - we saw him delivering it in the "Power and Grace" trailer at 0:17. In that shot he is in his black leather raiment and so I think the line is unlikely to be related to the image here.
At 1:21 The hound batters a knight using a mace. The sun is bright behind him. We see a similar shot in the "Shadow" tease at 0:55. I think this shot is part of a an action sequence of the Hound fighting on Joffrey's name day as discussed with the shot of the falling knight at 1:15. I cannot identify his opponent but it could be Ser Dontos Hollard. Otherwise it is likely to be an unnamed participant in the tourney.

At 1:22 we see the Hound fighting with a greatsword at night. A battle rages around him. He is not wearing his helm. We have seen this before in the "Power and Grace" trailer at 0:15. It is difficult to identify any of his opponents - they wear brownish armour and rounded helms so are either Stark or Baratheon men. I believe this is likely to be during the Battle of the Blackwater; he is described as having fought bravely in the early stages of the conflict in A Clash of Kings chapter 60 Tyrion XIII.

At 1:22 we see two men cowering from flames aboard a burning ship. Stannis' fleet attacks King's Landing in the Battle of the Blackwater and some of those ships are burned so I believe this shot is from this part of the book (A Clash of Kings Chapter 59 Davos III). I wasn't able to identify the men fighting on the boat - was anyone else able to identify the actors or stunt performers here?
At 1:22 a burning man collapses to his knees. We have seen this before in the "Power and Grace" trailer at 1:08. It seems to be a Baratheon guardsman based on his armour  so I think this is also going to be during the Battle of the Blackwater. I think this is probably a stunt performer and he is clearly a lot braver than I am!
At 1:23 we see a closeup of Daenerys saying "We will burn you first." She is wearing her Dothraki garb and Jorah stands behind her in his armor. The line here is new but the framing of the shot is familiar and fits with others from her confrontation at the gates of Qarth ("Power and Grace" at 1:07 and "The More You Love at 0:48). In "Power and Grace" Daenerys says "When my dragons are grown they will lay waste to armies and burn cities to the ground."  Here Daenerys says "We will burn you first." This seems like it could be an appended warning to the Qarth delegation not to turn her away.

At 1:24 A title card reads "The Night is Dark and Full of Terrors" over a circle of flame. The words are already difficult to read when they appear and the message collapses into embers. This ending is a reprise of the pyrotechnics featured in the "Terror" tease and cuts them a bit short so you cannot quite make out the words here.

The embers reform to read "Game of Thrones Season 2" within the expanding circle. This is the same as what we saw in the "Terror" tease.
A more legible look at the title card. This was used as a title card in the "Shadows" tease.
The logo fades and April 1 replaces it. This has been updated from the "Terror" tease which read April 2012 as the actual date had not been announced when that was released.

Many thanks for reading and well done if you made it through my thoughts on all 84 shots! Please let me know what you think of my speculation in the comments, particularly if you disagree with anything.

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