Five new things we know about Game of Thrones season four thanks to THAT 14-minute preview

HBO has released a new 14-minute preview for Game of Thrones season four, and it is full of interesting titbits. Here are five new things we learned.

HBO has released a new 14-minute preview for Game of Thrones season four, and it is full of interesting titbits.

Here are five new things we’ve learned about the coming season.

By the way, if you’re lagging behind in the plot, stop here, because there will be spoilers ahead. If you’ve read all the books, that’s nice, but try to keep your oh-so-admirable foreknowledge to yourself.

News_Rich_Media: Season Four Preview

1. TYRION IS IN DANGER

He wouldn’t dare ... would he?

Granted, if George R.R. Martin were reincarnated as a Game of Thrones character, he would almost certainly be Ramsay Snow. The guy seems to draw endless pleasure from torturing the souls of his readers.

But surely, surely he wouldn’t kill off everyone’s favourite imp.

The preview suggests season four will be a tough one for Tyrion. And by “tough”, we actually mean “potentially fatal”.

“This is definitely the most dangerous season for Tyrion,” scriptwriter David Benioff says. “It seems like almost every episode he’s in jeopardy of getting his head removed from his shoulders.”

It’s unclear where this jeopardy will come from. Joffrey’s always prone to bouts of ruthless stupidity, so he might decide to stop tolerating his uncle’s wisecracks. Cersei doesn’t like him much either.

Tyrion does appear to be on trial for something in the clip. We catch a glimpse of him standing in what could be the prisoner’s dock of a courtroom. One particularly defiant line also stands out: “I’m guilty of being a dwarf!”

Peter Dinklage’s contributions to the preview back up that theory.

“Tyrion has never been faced with this much public humiliation because he usually has an answer for it,” Dinklage says.

“He’s usually centre stage, and he usually is better at it than the people around him. But this time around he’s left as an audience member.”

We don’t care if Tyrion’s watching the show from his couch, as long as he’s still alive at the start of season five.

News_Image_File: You can see Tyrion in the middle. What’s he standing on?

2. OBERYN MARTELL IS UP TO SOMETHING

We haven’t seen Oberyn Martell before, but HBO has been hyping him up big time ahead of the new season.

Pedro Pascal, who plays the Dornish prince, describes him as “very, very dangerous, but ... also good”. That’s an interesting combination.

With the Starks pretty much vanquished, the show needs someone formidable to despise the Lannisters, and House Martell could fill that void.

“Oberyn’s feelings for the Lannisters go beyond disdain and into hatred,” Benioff says.

“He uses the invitation to the wedding to come and seek out what he really wants, and that is vengeance,” adds Dan Weiss, the show’s other writer.

There you go. Oberyn hates the Lannisters and he’s after revenge.

We see a short excerpt of a conversation between Tyrion and Oberyn which reinforces that theme. Tyrion asks why a bloke from waaaay down south in Dorne has bothered to come to King’s Landing.

“I was invited to the royal wedding,” Oberyn says. “The Lannisters aren’t the only ones who pay their debts.”

There’s a sinister tone to that line. Maybe Oberyn’s planning to kill Joffrey? We wouldn’t mind that one jot.

News_Image_File: “The Lannisters aren’t the only ones who pay their debts.”

3. DAENERYS IS NOT INVINCIBLE

Dany’s path through the last three seasons has been exponentially triumphant. Her victories kept getting bigger, and so did her dragons.

But in the season four preview, Dany seems to be in over her head.

“The cities that Dany has previously liberated are beginning to revolt,” says actress Emilia Clarke. “It’s all well and good going in and cutting the tie and seemingly breaking people free, but if you don’t leave them with any kind of a structure ... then it’s a free for all.”

Dany sounds frustrated in the brief clip we see of her.

“How can I rule seven kingdoms if I can’t control a single city?” she asks.

Her precious dragons are suddenly an issue as well. They’re growing up, and becoming more dangerous in the process.

“They are outgrowing the restrictions that she’s placing on them,” Clarke says. “I think it’s kind of a symbol of her losing control of herself and losing control of what she’s doing.”

Until this point, Dany has been a fairly moral character by the show’s standards. Her distaste for slavery defined her role in season three. But how will the liberator react when it all starts to fall apart?

“They can live in my new world or they can die in their old one,” she says.

Dany’s ruthless streak, which has usually taken the form of righteous anger, could get uglier in season four.

News_Image_File: It’s all starting to unravel a bit for Dany ... we think.

4. JON AND SAM HAVE GRADUATED

Last time we saw Jon Snow, his wildling girlfriend had shot him with a bunch of arrows. He must survive that rather unromantic ordeal though, because the preview shows him alive and ... not well. But yes, alive.

“He’s in a very bad place as far as how he feels he treated Ygritte and his honour because of that, not only breaking his vows to the Night’s Watch but breaking his vows to her,” says actor Kit Harrington.

“He’s reunited with Sam (Tarly), which is a good thing, but their relationship has changed.”

Lord Commander Mormont is dead, and the Night’s Watch is presumably in disarray. Jon was being “groomed” for leadership before he ran into Ygritte. Now he and Sam will probably be forced to fill leadership positions at Castle Black.

“Sam and Jon’s relationship this year is as even and equal as it’s ever been,” says John Bradley, who plays Samwell.

More responsibility for Sam can only be a good thing.

News_Image_File: Jon Snow ... brooding. That’s so very out of character.

5. IT’S NOT ALL ABOUT EPISODE NINE

Eddard Stark’s execution. The Battle of the Blackwater. The Red Wedding. In all three seasons we've seen so far, every storyline has built towards a huge climax in episode nine. Apparently, that won’t happen this time.

“What makes this season different is that things really get going much more quickly,” says Benioff.

“It’s not building towards one specific climactic event,” Weiss adds. “There are more climactic events.”

Finn Jones, the actor who plays Loras Tyrell, says this season is more evenly paced.

“Every season up until now, episode nine has been the big episode,” he says. “Season four is just very steady.”

There’s a consistent message here. Anything can happen at any time in any episode. So when you sit down to watch the first one on April 7, be ready for a few early shocks.

News_Image_File: We don’t know what that place is called, but it looks AWESOME. Just like Game of Thrones.

We’ll be reviewing every Game of Thrones episode in season four, starting with the first one on April 7. Don’t miss it!