Surprise, surprise... It promises battles, betrayals, risks and fights. Suspense is killing fans of the famous TV series, but at least they now know when the last season will be released.
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Intrigue, sex and dragons in 'Game of Thrones'
Lannisters against the Starks, Baratheons versus Targaryens. Never heard these names before? If you want to catch up on "Game of Thrones" before the final season begins, here's a high-speed, spoiler-filled review.
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The northern warrior
Jon Snow (Kit Harington), the lord commander of the Night's Watch, was stabbed and left to die by his own team at the end of the fifth season — but he survived. In the fictional "Game of Thrones" world of Westeros, the Night's Watch defends the seven kingdoms against supernatural dangers that lurk beyond The Wall to the north. The season 7 finale confirmed that Jon was born Aegon Targaryen.
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The strong princess
Sansa Stark (Sophie Turner), long believed to be Jon Snow's half-sister, has already suffered quite a bit in her short life. She was forced to watch as her fiancé executed her own father. Then, their marriage was dissolved and Sansa was married to another member of the ruling Lannister family. It's not easy being a princess in Westeros…
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The angry girl
Arya Stark (Maisie Williams) is Sansa's little sister. After the death of their father, she fled the royal court and disguised herself as a boy. Since then, she's been wandering through Westeros with one thing in mind: revenge for her father's death. Meanwhile, she's fallen in with a sect and gone blind. Sometimes, "Games of Thrones" can seem like a soap opera with medieval costumes.
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The evil queen mother
What would a soap opera be without a mean stepmother? In this case it's not a stepmother, but a queen mother named Cersei Lannister (Lena Headey). She's a master of intrigue, and goes to all ends to have influence over the Lannister clan. For her immoral behavior, she's was sent to the dungeon and got a punishing makeover. She then had to sport a modern short hairdo against her will.
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The charming twin
One of Cersei's ugly secrets is her incestuous relationship with her twin brother Jamie (Nikolaj Coster-Waldau). He's the father of her three children, a fact that has always been officially denied by the palace. Jamie is the commander of the Kingsguard and keeps out of the political intrigue in Westeros. He's nevertheless a villain — but a charming one.
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The witty outsider
Tyrion Lannister (Peter Dinklage) is Cersei's and Jamie's unpopular younger brother. The wine-loving dwarf is the secret star of the series. Tyrion compensates for his physical shortcomings with his wit, and "Game of Thrones" fans like to quote his wisecracks.
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The powerful mother of dragons
Daenerys Targaryen (Emilia Clarke) comes from the old dynasty of the Targaryens. She helped three dragons hatch — the first for centuries in Westeros — and aims to use them to recapture the throne for her bloodline. In season seven, she ends up having sex with Jon Snow: neither of them are aware that Jon is actually her nephew.
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Exciting news: The upcoming winter will continue well into the spring — at least on screen, when the Game of Thrones characters gather once again in the icy fantasy world of Westeros.
The beginning of the end starts in April 2019, as the last six episodes of the cult series Game of Thrones will reveal who gets to sit on the throne.
The first six seasons of the series launched by HBO in 2011 had 10 episodes, while the seventh season only featured seven episodes. Fans were nearly tortured to death with suspense, since the latest season aired back in July 2017, but their patience will be rewarded in Season 8 with feature film-length episodes.
Game of Thrones is the series of superlatives. TIME Magazine dubbed the HBO production the "most popular series in the world" in its July 2017 cover feature. Record ratings and its meanwhile 47 Emmy Awards — more than any other TV series in the nearly 70-year history of the world's most important television prize — speak for themselves.
Image: time.com
New trailer, old scenes
The trailer released with the announcement of the launch date on HBO only featured footage from previous seasons of the battles that preceded the coming showdown for control of the fictional kingdom of Westeros. The tagline of the trailer unsurprisingly promises, "Every battle. Every betrayal. Every risk. Every fight. Every sacrifice. Every death," but the non-revealing trailer still got "GoT" fans worldwide excited.
King or Queen? The waiting period until April is still long. You can bridge the winter by watching seasons one to seven again or reenacting your favorite scenes.
Alternatively, you can click through our picture gallery above and guess which character will ultimately conquer the throne. Or if they'll stay alive.
