‘Game of Thrones’ Season 8 Trailer: Jaime Lannister Picks a Side

The trailer for Game of Thrones Season 8 saw beloved characters taking sides in the war between mankind and the Army of the Dead.

Game of Thrones‘ various disparate plot threads are coming together for its final season, and there are fewer and fewer sides to choose from in the warring world of Westeros. While Cersei Lannister (Lena Heady) remained in the south at the end of Season 7, her twin brother/lover, Jaime Lannister (Nikolaj Coster-Waldau), rode north. The trailer finds Jaime surrounded by former enemies, trying to convince them he is on their side.

“I promised to fight for the living,” the knight said. “I intend to keep that promise.”

The trailer shows a haggard Jaime on a fiery battlefield, swinging his sword as hard as he can at a shadowy foe. Another shot shows him giving a deadly serious look, his golden-blond hair and beard stained dark.

While fans left off last season knowing that Jaime had left his sister’s side, it was not clear how the other characters would feel about him when he caught up. Jaime rode off alone to help in the fight against the White Walkers, yet without bringing the Lannister army with him, there is no telling how he will be received.

In addition, plenty of characters up north have scores to settle with Jaime. He fought against the Starks in the War of The Five Kings and escaped imprisonment at their hands with the promise of returning their daughters, which he never did. Jaime also pushed Bran Stark (Isaac Hempstead-Wright) out of a window in the pilot episode, permanently crippling him.

Now caught between a rock and hard place, Jaime has burnt a bridge with his sister back home and is riding headlong into an army of enemies. Nevertheless, the trailer shows that Jaime is committed to fighting alongside them against the White Walkers.

In the North, Jaime will presumably be reunited with his friend Brienne of Tarth (Gwendoline Christie). Jaime gave Brienne a Valyrian steel sword after she returned him safely to King’s Landing, and they parted on good terms. However, their subsequent meetings at Riverrun and at the meeting where Jon Snow requested aid against the White Walkers have both been tense.

The trailer showed plenty of other big reunions, meetings and battles to be excited about in the show’s epic final season.

Game of Thrones Season 8 premieres on Sunday, April 14 at 9 p.m. ET on HBO.