The trailer for season 7 of Game of Thrones has arrived, teasing the Great War to come and the many skirmishes of Westeros fans can expect this year. For six seasons now, showrunners David Benioff and D.B. Weiss have attempted the impossible by adapting George R.R. Martin's epic A Song of Ice and Fire series for HBO. And while the early seasons were praised for their cinematography and scope, recent years have created strife amongst fans as the TV show deviates further from the books.

On the one hand, the changes have presented a series far more typical and concerned with spectacle than Martin's novels. To be fair to the creatives, however, the two mediums are vastly different, and Martin's slow progress on finishing his written series has necessitated the exploration of new avenues on the screen. By treating the two works as separate, though, the epic scope of the show can be fully appreciate. We've already learned that Game of Thrones season 7 unfolds at an unrelenting pace, leaving behind the more ponderous arcs of the past. The first Thrones season 7 images have reinforced this claim, teasing betrayal, revenge, and massive dragons. Now, the first trailer for the new season further ups the ante.

HBO have finally released the first look at the upcoming seventh season of Game of Thrones in action, and the abridged group of episodes looks to be anything but slow. From dragons flying above hoards of Dothraki, to the various factions of Westeros plotting against one another, the Seven Kingdoms will see no shortage of battles or blood this year.

Though short, there's a lot to unpack in the trailer. The beginning teases Arya alone in the north, Sansa, Jon, and Littlefinger at Winterfell, and Cersei and Jamie trying their hardest to hold onto King's Landing. In between Cersei's listing of enemies at each cardinal point, we also see shots of the Painted Table, a massive wooden map of Westeros at Dragonstone. Cersei and Jamie look to have their own version as well, painted on the floor of a courtyard.

The Dragonstone tease doesn't end there, however, as we see Daenerys returning to the island and castle where see was born and taking her seat on a new throne. From there, her Dothraki and Unsullied are shown in action, at one point storming a castle with the Lannister lions on it. This could be either King's Landing or even Casterly Rock in the West, the Lannisters seat of power.

The rest of the shots quickly set up Melisandre, Theon, Robert Strong, Grey Worm, Tyrion, and the coming of the Others. The whole thing ends with Dany channeling her inner Aegon the Conqueror as she flies above her massive army on the back of Drogon. While the show may sometimes lack the nuance and character depth of the books, there's no aruging with how it handles action and the grandiose scope of war and dragons.

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Game of Thrones season 7 premieres July 16 on HBO.

Source: HBO