“Game of Thrones” Season 4 Preview Video and Thoughts

Yesterday, the wonderful people at HBO released a 15 minute video previewing the next Game of Thrones season.  Here are some quick hits from that glorious piece of Youtube heaven.  FYI, I have not read any of the books and do not intend to until the television series is over.

• First off, whoa.  That was a lot to digest and kudos to HBO for making such a long, detailed teaser for the fourth season.  The show is hyped enough as is, so this felt like a nice treat for all of the GoT diehards out there.
• We learn right off the bat that some of this season will deal with revenge for the horrifying actions of the Red Wedding.  Since I am a huge fan of the Stark family, it excites me that their story won’t fade away much.
• It also appears that our boy Tyrion is going to be in some serious danger from the jump.  Since Peter Dinklage plays the most entertaining character in the series, especially when he is trying to outsmart his enemies, this should lead to a lot of fun.  The sibling rivalry between him and Cersei will probably be more vicious than ever.
• I do not know who this Oberyn Martell character is, but anyone who hates the Lannisters is cool with me.  He seems like a Mack with the ladies and a hell of a fighter.  The “hand over the candle flame” move is legitimately bad ass.
• Hearing Emilia Clarke’s British accent trying to politely say that Joffrey the character is an asshole is cuter than a litter of puppies.
• I feel like Arya is going to start becoming a killing machine this year.  The team of her and the hound have some serious comedic potential ahead of them as well.
• It seems as if the tide of popular opinion will continue to sway towards Jamie Lannister this season.  When we met him in Season 1, he seemed like an entitled and arrogant prick.  But upon further review, his character is one of the more layered and fascinating ones in the series.
• Speaking of Jamie, it should be a blast watching him and Tyrion back together.  Those two characters and actors showed chemistry during their brief time together in the first season.  I hope to see more of the same going forward.
• I have never been one to really notice how great the scenery and set design is in television shows.  But Game of Thrones changed all of that.  You truly feel like you are in a different world for that hour or so after the best opening credits in TV.
• On that note, the Royal Wedding should be a masterpiece visually.  And I say that as someone who haaaates Joffrey.  But the setting looks great.
• Natalie Dormer (the actress who plays Margaery Tyrell) is a straight up smoke show.  Nothing else to add, just thought I should mention that.
• It looks like we will again have to wait a while before we see Khaleesi sail to Westeros.  I guess she still has business to take care of on the other side of the pond.  It’s a bummer, but I’m sure there is a reason for George RR Martin’s madness.
• Dragons.  DRAGONS!  DRAGONS!!!  While I am sure the dragons will not get a ton of air time due to the tremendous expense it costs to make them, I do think they will have more of a presence this season.
• The Jon Snow story started to get interesting at the end of Season 3, but it looks like we are back to the same old boring crap again.  Add in my least favorite character in the show (Sam), and I am going into this season with low expectations for the scenes near The Wall.  However, this show often zigs when you think it will zag.
• The actress who plays Brienne sometimes seems to have a little bit of Hordor in her voice when she speaks.  Definitely reminiscent of an old Billy Madison favorite.
• Bran is smack dab in the middle of his awkward years right now.  Poor kid.  It’s hard enough to go through that when you aren’t on the biggest show on television.  Hopefully his storyline picks up this season as well.
• The actress who plays Arya seems to be funny and goofy in real life.  It is very cool to see the actors outside of the realm of this heavy, dramatic show occasionally.  Her Youtube reaction to the Red Wedding was awesome.
• Even though he is only on screen for a short time in the above trailer, I am reminded how much I like Bronn.  He has a witty line for almost every occasion and plays real well off of Tyrion’s character.  I hope we see more and more of him.
• Listing the saddest deaths of the series is basically the same thing as reading the Stark Family Tree.  This meme describes my feelings the best about this phenomenon.
• Seeing that dragon in the last frame of the video definitely got more than a few fanboys to sit up in their seats.  Now the obsession can start again for the next (almost) two months.