The trailer for Game Of Thrones’ fifth season debuted last night, before sold-out crowds of people who paid legal currency to watch two TV episodes they’d already seen in a movie theater. That’s how much power Game Of Thrones has. And power, as always, appears to be a major theme in this year’s batch of episodes, as seen in the trailer, which leaked online earlier today but is now available in full HD on HBO’s YouTube channel.
In the trailer, those in power, like Westeros’ resident drunk/evil queen Cersei, and those still building their power, like Daenerys Targaryen and “Red Woman” Melisandre, all attempt to assert their dominance, and intrigue follows the Queen Of Thorns wherever she goes, which could mean trouble for Jaime Lannister. Meanwhile, whatever Sansa’s up to, it’s probably pretty traumatizing. Things are changing all around—except for maybe up north, where Jon Snow is still fighting wildlings and staring off into the distance looking pensive. The fifth season also looks like it will expand the series’ already epic scope, with our first glimpses of Dorne, including one of the Sand Snakes doing tricks with a whip, and scenes of fan favorites Arya Stark and Tyrion Lannister in exile.
Book readers are also freaking out about what appears to be the excision of a major character and claimant to the Iron Throne first introduced in A Dance With Dragons, a character for whom Vulture points out there has been no casting information as of yet. And everyone should be freaking out about the trailer being set to David Bowie’s “Heroes,” which as far as we know is not a Westerosi folk song. We’ll see exactly how much has changed when the new season premieres on HBO April 12.