Monday 5 March 2012

Game of Thrones Season 2: Seven Devils trailer analysis

HBO released a new trailer for Season 2 of Game of Thrones entitled "Seven Devils" on 3 March 2012. It was initially given to Entertainment Weekly but is now up for everyone to see on Youtube.



I thought I'd break down the shots we see and the voiceover we hear. Spoilers for season 2 and the book it is based upon, A Clash of Kings, herein. I posted a straight forward breakdown of the trailer without the commentary about the source material on the Game of Thrones Wiki (link) so TV only viewers should think twice before reading on. That said 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. The full breakdown and analysis is after the jump.



We open with a fast camera move through a snowy valley with an ice floe at its base. This is new. The landscape certainly fits with the time the production spent filming in Iceland for scenes north of the Wall so I will guess that this is an establishing shot for some of those scenes.

At 0:02 we see Daenerys watching a rider departing from behind. This angle is new but it fits with previous footage where we see her watching a rider departing from the front. We first saw this shot in the "Shadow" tease at 0:17 and it crops up again later in the "Seven Devils" trailer. I think it relates to Dany sending out scouts while crossing the red waste on her way to Qarth. This occurs in A Clash of Kings chapter 13 Daenerys I.

At 0:05 Cersei enters the Iron Throne room with her guards, it is filled with workers and ladders. This is new. There is no remodelling of the throne room in the book as far as I remember but this shot reminded me of the preparations for the King's arrival in the first season premiere "Winter is Coming" and I wonder it the throne room is being decorated for Joffrey's name day celebration here. He holds a tournament for himself in A Clash of Kings chapter 3 Sansa I.

At 0:08 Melisandre walks among the burning statues of the seven. This is new and the framing of her over the shoulder of the mother is really well done. At 0:09 Davos, Cressen and a crowd of onlookers kneel before the flames. This has been shown before in the "Shadow" trailer at 0:23. At 0:10 there is a wide shot of the crowd kneeling before the burning statues. This has been shown before in the same order, appearing in the "Shadow" trailer at 0:24.  I am certain that this trio of shots are all 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. This offends some of his supporters but causes most to join him in adopting the new religion. They're indistinct but you catch a glimpse of Liam Cunningham as Davos and Oliver Ford Davies as Maester Cressen at 0:09. I wonder if the red haired woman in the same shot is Stannis' wife Selyse Baratheon but with no casting announcement we cannot be sure. Cressen is an adviser to Stannis who has known him since his childhood. Davos is a smuggler who helped Stannis when he was besieged during Robert's rebellion and was knighted as a reward. He is a loyal supporter of Stannis and the main new point of view character in the second book. This suggests some things have been moved around; Cressen is not present for the burning of the statues in the book.

Varys has a voiceover that cover the first fifteen seconds of the trailer. He says "Power is a curious thing" and then "Who lives, who dies. Power resides where men believe it resides. It's a trick, a shadow on the wall." The latter part of this (from "Who lives" onwards) is the end of his speech that was used to back the "Shadow" teaser trailer minus the line about small men casting large shadows. 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. Here 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 "Power is a curious thing" part of the voiceover did not appear in the "Shadow" trailer but was used in the "Power and Grace" trailer at 1:12 (we see Varys speaking the line in that version and he is again wearing the same robes). This speech is adapted from the riddle that Varys tells Tyrion in A Clash of Kings chapter 4, Tyrion I. At 0:14 we see a closeup of Tyrion, seemingly reacting to Varys speaking. This is a new shot and shows Tyrion in a woolen outfit that we have not yet seen in previous trailers.

At 0:15 "Seven Devils" by Florence and the Machine begins playing. The song is from her latest album Ceremonials. It is the first bit of popular music used to score a second season trailer. The song plays in the video clip below and its a good tune so I recommend putting it on in the background as you read on. Unfortunately you will have to open a seperate window to do so because it is copyright restricted on youtube. Florence's red hair puts me in mind of Melisandre!



At 0:17 A black brother and a group of nine white clad people cross a frozen lake. This is new. I believe it comes from near the end of the book and won't give details as they would constitute spoilers. At 0:19 we see a closeup of Jon Snow looking at an icy landscape. This has been shown before in the "Shadow" trailer at 0:14 and reused in the "Power and Grace" trailer. In both of those instances it was paired with a shot of Jon from behind but that is absent here. He seems to be among the terrain rather than at the wall so I suppose this is during the great ranging. 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 0:21 Tywin rides into a castle. This is very similar to a shot seen at 0:53 in the "Shadow" trailer. Tywin's costume is the same and the motion appears identical but the background has been changed - in "Shadow" we can see the sky and a ruined wall behind Tywin while in "Seven Devils" walls and people are behing him. I wonder if this is the finished version of the shot with a digital background. At 0:23 we see Arya dirty and downcast. This is new. Behind her is a blacksmith, perhaps Gendry. I think this pairing of shots relates to Arya's arrival at Harrenhal which occurs in A Clash of Kings chapter 27 Arya VI.

At 0:25 we see two Stark bannermen on the field of battle, seemingly in the aftermath of a conflict. This has been shown before in the "Power and Grace" trailer at 0:14. At 0:26 we see Robb crossing a battlefield, a silent sister behind him tending to the dead. This has been shown before in the "Shadow" tease at 0:37 and the "Power and Grace" trailer at 0:31. I had speculated in my analysis of the "Power and Grace" trailer that these shots were related so it is nice to see them paired directly here. They could be from any of Robb's victories in A Clash of Kings - we see none of them 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. I think this is most likely to be his victory at Oxcross.


At 0:30 Tyrion sits in a large chair, nervously rubbing the arm and staring defiantly while Cersei says (in voiceover) "Sometimes I wonder if this is the price..." This is new and the pairing of the shot with the voiceover made me wonder if this relates to Cersei confronting Tyrion with the discovery of his lover in A Clash of Kings chapter 55 Tyrion XII. At 0:32 we see Cersei in closeup continuing her line "...For what we've done..." This is new. At 0:33 we see Jaime imprisoned in the Stark camp. This has been shown before in the "Shadow" trailer at 0:30. During this shot Cersei completes her line in voiceover "...For our sins." I cannot find dialogue in the book that relates to Cersei's line here; it seems more remorseful than book Cersei tends to become. I did find a passage where Tyrion is told by the new captain of the city watch that the people hate him for the sins of House Lannister in A Clash of Kings chapter 42 Tyrion IX.

At 0:36 A title card reads "On April 1." At 0:39 we see Sandor Clegane duelling a smaller knight on the walls of King's Landing. Onlookers are visible in the background. This is new but it fits with previous footage of this duel. At 0:40 Sandor knocks his opponent over the wall. This has been shown before in the "Shadow" trailer at 0:55 and the "Power and Grace" trailer at 0:08. At 0:41 we see the knight falling from the wall. This has been shown before in the "Power and Grace" trailer at 0:09. As the knight falls we see a window with the seven pointed star of the Faith of the Seven and Joffrey's personal banner with the lion of House Lannister and the stag of House Baratheon combatant. At 0:42 the knight lands in a courtyard. This has been shown before in the "Power and Grace" trailer at 0:09. I think these four shots relate to Joffrey's name day tourney (A Clash of Kings chapter 3 Sansa I) and represents an added scene where the hound duels someone (in the book he just stands guard at the event). The Hound avoids fighting in tourneys in the book because he detests knights and their feigned chivalry due to his hatred of his brother Ser Gregor Clegane. Having him fight here is plausible if Joffrey asks him to do so as he always does what Jofffrey asks no matter his own feelings.

 At 0:44 a title card reads "The Epic Series." At 0:45 we see Gold clad spearmen march before a large gate. This has been shown before in the "Power and Grace" trailer at 1:05. At 0:46 we see Daenerys and her khalasar standing before the spearmen. This is new but it fits with previous footage. At 0:47 we see a group of dignitaties walk out behind the spearmen. This has been shown before in the "Shadow" trailer at 0:49 and in the "Power and Grace" trailer at 1:06. At 0:48 Ser Jorah Mormont nods as he looks at Daenerys. This is new but the framing as the same as the shot of Jorah stood beside Dany in the "Power and Grace" trailer at 1:07 when she says "When my dragons are grown they will lay waster to armies and burn cities to the ground." At  0:50 a title card reads "Returns." At 0:52 we see a Dothraki rider on desert terrain with the sun bright above him. This has been shown before at 0:10 in the "Cold Winds" teaser, at 0:51 in the "Shadow" trailer and at 0:18 in the "Power and Grace" 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. There has been casting news of a new Dothraki character, Kovarro, and I wonder if he will be one of these scouts. I also very much hope that Elyes Gable is back as Rakharo and that we will see more of Amrita Acharia as Irri as they both did great work with small parts in the first season - I can't be certain but I think that they are visible in the wide shot of the khalasar remnant. 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 0:54 we hear Jaime in voiceover "Three victories don't make you a conqueror." as we see Robb Stark sitting atop his horse in the rain. This has been shown before in the "Shadow" trailer at 0:27 and has a nice long lense focus shift from the horses eye onto Robb's face. At 0:55 there is a wide shot of Robb and other riders in the rain. This is new but seems to fit with the preceding shot. I wonder if this is Robb preparing for a battle. At 0:58 we see a closeup of Robb in the camp prison, seemingly replying to Jaime. He says "It's better than three defeats." This is new and Robb makes a fair point. Neither Robb nor Jaime are point of view characters in the books so this is an added scene. I wonder what the three victories are - probably the Whispering Wood and Oxcross but the third might be the Crag or another battle in the Westerlands. I would guess that this confrontation comes later in the second season so that these events have had time to take place. At 1:00 there is a dolly shot of Jaime in the prison looking up at his captor, with fires behind him. This is new and nicely creates the impression of Jaime in hell in the context of this trailer and its religious theme.

At 1:01 Sansa stands from a kneeling position in the Iron Throne room. This is new but fits with the other shots in this sequence. At 1:03 Joffrey smirks from atop his throne. This has been shown before in the "Shadow" trailer at 0:20 and the "Power and Grace" trailer at 1:25. At 1:03 there is a very brief reverse with Sansa kneeling before Joffrey stood in front of his throne. Someone tears her dress from behind. Sandor is also visible in front of Joffrey. At 1:04 we see Sansa kneeling as her dress is ripped from her shoulders by a member of the Kingsguard. This pairing of shots has been shown before in the "Shadow" trailer at 0:20 and 0:21. Sansa is a more difficult character to like than her siblings and contrasts poorly with Arya in the first season but her abuse at the hands of Joffrey should make her more sympathetic this year. Joffrey has his Kingsguard strip and beat Sansa in A Clash of Kings chapter 33 Sansa III as revenge for Robb's victory at Oxcross.

At 1:05 Sandor leads a force of Lannister men in a charge before a stone wall with fire burning at it's base. This has been shown before at 0:55 in the "Shadow" trailer and very briefly at 1:08 in the "Power and Grace" trailer but this is an extended version of the shot that pulls back through the intense fighting. I believe this is likely to be during the Battle of the Blackwater; Sandor is described as having fought bravely in the early stages of the conflict in A Clash of Kings chapter 60 Tyrion XIII.

At 1:08 we see Jon running through a wooded area at night, unsheathing his sword longclaw as her does so. This is new. At 1:09 we see a closeup of Jon running through the trees. This is also new. Most of the action for Jon comes in the later part of his story when he is in the far North and this terrain seems to fit with the haunted forest to the immediate north of the wall. I wonder if this is an added sequence around the time the ranging reaches Craster's Keep. I wonder if these shots are related to the footage we saw in the "Power and Grace" trailer at 1:28 where Jon is telling the Lord Commander that he has seen something. Perhaps there is an added encounter with a wight or a white walker in the show. In A Clash of Kings chapter 24 Jon III we do learn that one of Craster's wives has encountered the supernatural enemies that the ranging is seeking.

At 1:10 Tyrion walks through a crowd of his men. He is in armor and wearing his chain of hands. Behind him are an armored youth and two members of the Kingsguard. This has been shown before in the "Power and Grace" trailer at 1:26 but this is an extended version of the shot. I am more certain now that it is Podrick Payne (played by Daniel Portman) who is trailing behind Tyrion. Pod is his squire and did appear in the first book but not the first season. In the extended version it is more noticeable that the men are cheering Tyrion. He wins the respect of his men by leading a sortie through the Mud Gate in A Clash of Kings Chapter 62 Tyrion XIV. At 1:11 Bowmen shoot fire arrows from atop a stone wall. This has been shown before in the "Power and Grace" trailer at 1:36 . I believe the archers are Lannister men from their red garb and that they are defending King's Landing during the Battle of the Blackwater.

At 1:14 we see Melisandre gazing into a fire. This is new but could fit with the burning of the seven. It has been paired with another shot from that scene here; At 1:15 Stannis walks towards the burning statues as his people watch. This has been shown before in the "Shadow" trailer at 0:22.


At 1:16 we see a slow motion shot of Sandor swinging a wide cut into an opponent during nighttime fighting. This was glimpsed in the "Power and Grace" trailer at 1:17 but is much more clear here. Again I think this is from the early stages of the Battle of the Blackwater like the shot at 1:05 and relates to the description of the fighting from A Clash of Kings chapter 60 Tyrion XIII.

At 1:19 we see a group of soldiers carrying shields emblazoned with Renly's sigil charging seen from above. This has been shown before. I think this relates to the arrival of Renly's forces in the later stages of the battle and is drawn from a mention in A Clash of King's chapter 68 Tyrion XV. At 1:20 an explosion on the deck of a ship knocks two men overboard. This is new but seems to be the same ship that we saw in the "Power and Grace" trailer at 0:49. It might even be the same two men who appeared to be fighting in that shot. I think this relates to the Battle of the Blackwater from Davos' point of view and he describes Stannis' fleet being bombarded in A Clash of Kings Chapter 59 Davos III. At 1:21 there is a wide shot among the charging Baratheon soliders. This is new and gives a better view of their shields.

At 1:22 we hear Tyrion in voiceover saying "I will hurt you for this.." and see a closeup of a woman undoing a mans clothing. He reaches for her arm. This is new but seems to relate to the glimpses of a love scene we have seen before; At 1:22 we see Robb kissing a woman passionately. This has been shown before in the "Power and Grace" trailer at 0:35. I said there that I think this is likely to be Robb kissing Jeyne Westerling and this event has been moved to its right place within the timeline of events; in the books Catelyn learns about it after it has happened when she reconnects with Robb in A Storm of Swords.

At 1:24 we see a mob of smallfolk fighting with Goldcloaks. This is new but seems to fit with previous footage we have seen of rioting in King's Landing. Tyrion cointinues in voiceover "...A day will come when your joy will turn to ashes.." At 1:25 we see Cersei being escorted through a rioting crowd by Lannister men-at-arms. This has been shown before in the "Shadow" trailer at 0:45. This seems to be from the riots at King's Landing which take place in A Clash of Kings chapter 42 Tyrion IX.


At 1:27 we see a closeup of Tyrion seemingly completing his line "..and you will know the debt is paid." This is new. At 1:28 there is a closeup of a smirking Cersei, dressed in gold and drinking wine. This is new. Tyrion's line here is a modified version of what he says to Cersei when she kidnaps what she thinks is his lover in A Clash of Kings chapter 55 Tyrion XII. In the book he says "I have never like you Cersei, but you were my own sister, so I never did you harm. You've ended that.
I will hurt you for this. I don't know how yet, but give me time. A day will come when you think yourself safe and happy, and suddenly your joy will turn to ashes in your mouth, and you'll know the debt is paid." This scene should be amazing and follows a long buildup of tension between the two of them. I am looking forward to this but expect it late in the series, perhaps episode 8.

At 1:31 we see a panning shot of Daenerys watching as riders depart in desert terrain. This has been shown before in the "Shadow" trailer at 0:17 and as I said earlier I think it relates to the shot at 0:02 here in the "Seven Devils" trailer.

At 1:35 a title card reads "Game of Thrones."

At 1:39 we see a closeup of Arya saying "Anyone can be killed." This has been shown before in the "Shadow" trailer at 0:54. As I said in my analysis of that trailer this is not a direct quote from the books but is nevertheless fitting for Arya given the painful reminders of mortality she has experienced in the first season and will experience in this one.


At 1:41 we see a  Stark bannerman looking at distant Winterfell. This is new and is a great image. At 1:43 the trailer finishes with a title card that reads "04.1.12 #GAMEOFTHRONES".

2 comments:

  1. Nice analysis! I see you put a lot of thinking in this. I just hope that we'll see some larger battles this season, with CGI that shouldn't be impossible to produce

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  2. Thank you. I feel the same way about getting some battles in this year the show is great but that is one element where the adaptation suffered.

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