This should go without saying, but if you haven’t caught last night’s brand new episode of Game of Thrones, you should really avoid watching next week’s preview and reading our speculation, below.
Game of Thrones is sadly missing from HBO’s Sunday night schedule next week. You may not be able to get a full fix of Tyrion, Sansa, Cersei and the rest of the gang, but luckily, HBO still put together a short but sweet preview of the next episode, which will hit the schedule on June 1. The preview may be a quick watch, but it gives viewers hints about numerous plotlines, including updates on Reek/Theon, more threats to the Wall and epic combat between the Mountain and the Prince of Dorne.
It’s the latter that should be the most eventful portion of the next Season 4 episode. Joffrey’s death set off a chain of events leading to Tyrion declaring he wanted a trial by combat. Cersei has been quite a bit more cunning since Joffrey died and wrangled Ser Gregor Clegane—the Mountain—to her aid to fight Tyrion. After a string of bad luck, Tyrion thought he would die in a battle with the Mountain, but visiting diplomat Oberyn Martell of Dorne came to visit, stating that fighting the Mountain would avenge his sister and her family’s death all of those years past. We only get to see a few swords clang in the preview, but it’s enough to get us excited about the upcoming battle, especially when Oberyn’s paramour sees Gregor Clegane, panicks, and asks, “You are going to fight that?”
Elsewhere in the world of Game of Thrones, Sansa looks to be taking her fate a little more into her own hands. Unfortunately, the same can’t be said of all of the show’s characters. Reek’s fate is still tempered to the ill-natured bastard, Ramsay Snow, and Ramsay has pushed Reek to use the name Theon again for his latest dastardly plan. The nobler bastard on this show, John Snow, is also busy creating plans. He knows Mance Rayder and the Wildlings are on their way, but he has had trouble drumming up support from Thorne and many of the other crows. The Wall has probably been the least interesting subplot over the last several weeks, and I think we are all waiting for some White Walkers or Wildlings to enter the picture and pick up the pace.
We’ve already seen a lot of big moments in Season 4. This week’s episode saw Littlefinger murder Lysa in front of Sansa, and there will certainly be ramifications on that front. Unfortunately, we’ll have to ponder until June 1, when HBO’s Game of Thrones will air Season 4, Episode 8, otherwise known as “The Mountain and The Viper” at 9 p.m. ET.
