Game of Thrones footage from HBO’s latest teaser shows Sansa and Danerys meeting for the first time, and things seem a bit tense between the two.
During the 76th Golden Globe Awards last night, HBO released a teaser trailer, showing new footage from the upcoming seasons of many of its most beloved series. Included in the trailer was a brand new moment from the eighth and final season of Game of Thrones, showing Sansa Stark and Daenerys Targaryen meeting for the first time.
The HBO teaser can be viewed here:
If fans were hoping that the Stark girls and Daenerys would team up in an epic display of girl power, they might be disappointed with the new footage. Though Sansa tells Daenerys, “Winterfell is yours, your Grace,” the moment displays a lot of tension between the two.
Sansa’s tone and expression in the new clip suggest that she’s reluctantly handing Winterfell to Daenerys, and Brienne’s expression behind her mirrors that sentiment. It’s also possible she’s maneuvering, attempting to figure out what the next best move for her family will be. She did learn how to play the game from Cersei and Littlefinger, after all.
Daenerys also comes off cold, maybe internally taken aback by Sansa’s decision to yield her home to her. Or perhaps the queen is simply offended by Sansa’s demeanor toward her. Whatever the case, the two are clearly sizing one another up. Jon stands between them, a gesture that could be symbolic of Jon’s conflict between family and blood. More likely, though, he wants to prevent any argument between the two women.
A former HBO teaser also showed Sansa embracing Jon, while glancing skeptically over his shoulder. Fans had already speculated that she might be looking at Danerys entering her home, and many are taking the new footage as confirmation of this theory. Though Sansa has learned how to play the game, her facial expressions are still easy to read — and every one we’ve seen so far is icier than Winterfell itself.
We know from the previous season that Sansa wasn’t thrilled with Jon’s decision to ride to Dragonstone and make peace with the mother of dragons. For that reason, fans already assumed Sansa would be unhappy with Jon’s decision to bend the knee to this foreign queen.
It is interesting that Sansa should acquiesce so easily, though. It’s possible that she and Arya will scheme to change Jon’s mind about the dragon queen, or at least attempt to rally the north against her. We know the northerners don’t like bowing to foreign deities, and Jon didn’t exactly ask their permission before pledging their allegiance to the daughter of the Mad King.
Whatever happens between the Starks and Daenerys, we hope they come to respect one another eventually. Sansa and Daenerys likely have much more in common than they realize, and the pair would make a formidable alliance against the White Walkers and Cersei—especially with Jon, Arya, and Bran backing them up.
Game of Thrones returns for its final season this April.