Game of Thrones - The Wars to Come - Advance Preview + Dialogue Teasers

We’ve been asked not to reveal too much before the episodes air, therefore my previews are going to be shorter than they normally are, though I will include my usual dialogue teasers where you are invited to guess the speakers. Lisa will also be reviewing the episodes after they air, which will include far more detail and raise talking points for you to discuss.

Season 5 is finally just around the corner, and like last year the premiere is airing simultaneously around the globe in over 170 countries through HBO’s various affiliated partners. The multitude of teaser clips and promos that have already hit the internet have made it clear that the remaining contenders for the Iron Throne are gathering their forces for the battles ahead. Players such as Varys, Tyrion and Littlefinger are also choosing which camp to back in the ‘games', while characters like Brienne or Arya are as resolute and tenacious as ever in their continuing missions.

As is usual with an opening episode there is a certain amount of catching up to be done to remind us where the characters are and what their next moves will be. It appears that this season, more so than any of the preceding ones, will be changing some of the source material from the novels - personally I haven’t found any of these particularly jarring, though I do tend to keep the two mediums as separate entities. Both the first and last scenes this week are examples of this.

It was revealed in reviews from last month’s Tower of London screening that we start with a young Cersei (Nell Williams) visiting the witch Maggy the Frog (Jodhi May) to receive her fortune, and end with Stannis (Stephen Dillane) requesting that Mance (Ciarán Hinds) bends the knee and accepts him as King of Westeros. Both are in the novels, sure, but there is a slight twist within each that causes them to deviate from their written counterpart. Both scenes could well be revisited later in the season - which would go some way towards explaining some of the subtleties that one of them appears to contain at least – but for now they are only the start of the alterations we will be experiencing this year.

You have probably seen Varys almost recite the title of the episode to Tyrion in one of the sneak peeks that have been released, but there is someone else who quotes the line verbatim too. The Spider is perhaps forgetting, or unaware, of the threat north of The Wall when he refers to the battles ahead in the fight for the Iron Throne. The White Walkers are biding their time, waiting for winter to fall before they make their move south. Whoever finally wins this game will have to fight wars on two fronts if they are to succeed and be the last man, or woman, standing and crown themselves ruler of the Seven Kingdoms.


The Wars to Come airs on Sunday April 12 from HBO, below are a few dialogue teasers to see you through until then. If you want to have a go at guessing who said what, I will fill in any correct answers before it airs. Don’t forget to come back and vote in our poll after the episode and let us know what you thought.


“Angry snakes lash out, makes chopping off their heads that much easier”

“The freedom to make my own mistakes was all I ever wanted”

“They said you were terrifying, with cat’s teeth and three eyes. You’re not terrifying, you’re boring.”

“We all must choose. Man or woman, young or old, lord or pheasant, our choices are the same.”

“We tried to do what was best for the realm by supporting a Targaryen restoration, and thus began the chain of mistakes that has led us both here” Varys to ?

“The gift of a great name. Sometimes, that’s all one needs”

“You think I want that woman married to my brother?” Margeary to ?

“They’re waiting in line to make sure he’s really dead, and as soon as they see the stones on his eyes they’ll set to work on tearing us apart” Jamie to ?

“Do you trust the carriage driver, or the knights escorting us?”

“I don’t want anyone following me, I’m not a leader. All I ever wanted was to fight for a lord I believed in” Brienne to Pod


The House of Black and White Teasers

“I crossed the narrow sea, I have nowhere else to go”

“You’ve never made anything better” Cersei to Jamie

About the Author - Sandi

Sandi is part of the Senior Staff at SpoilerTV having been a contributor from back in the Lost days of DarkUFO, and who now writes previews for Banshee, The Musketeers, Poldark, and other BBC shows. She also enjoys watching and commenting on other shows such as Reign, Hannibal, Game of Thrones and Elementary.

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