The Game of Thrones season 8 episode 3 trailer teases bloodshed before next week's 90-minute battle

Welp. This is it. In case you weren’t already aware, the Game of Thrones season 8, episode 3 trailer is about to put you on notice. The Battle of Winterfell is here, and the new Game of Thrones season 8 episode preview has earmarked several people for death, highlighting just about every favourite character in a series of ominous shots during the 30-second clip. You can watch it above, but let’s dive into the calm before Sunday’s storm in a bit more detail below.

Last week was, relatively speaking, pretty laid-back. Sure, everyone was getting ready for their last day on Westeros, but there were some laughs, anointments, and even a particularly milky tale. This is a different story. The sheer scale of the battleground, for starters, is immense.

Peter Dinklage already hinted that it’d make the Battle of the Bastards look like a theme park but, from the looks of things, it’s instead about to make the Battle of Helm’s Deep look like a leisurely ride on the Mad Hatter’s teacups.

We can expect deaths, too. HBO has put the spotlight on several who got their own happy endings or potentially optimistic character beats last week: Grey Worm, Brienne, Jorah, Sam, Sansa, and even Tyrion could all be on the chopping block come the end of the longest Thrones episode in history.

But it’s not all swords and mayhem. The Game of Thrones season 8 episode 3 trailer also leans on the now-tense relationship between Dany and Jon. “The dead are already here,” snaps the Mother of Dragons. Is that just Khaleesi pointing out the bleedin’ obvious or the fact that the White Walkers have done the unthinkable and breached Winterfell’s walls?

Either way, we’ve got five excruciating days to wait. By my count, you can watch the entire preview about 10,000 times before Sunday. There’s probably no better way to spend the long nights (and even longer days) before all hell breaks loose.

Image: HBO

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I'm the Senior Entertainment Writer here at GamesRadar+, focusing on news, features, and interviews with some of the biggest names in film and TV. On-site, you'll find me marveling at Marvel and providing analysis and room temperature takes on the newest films, Star Wars and, of course, anime. Outside of GR, I love getting lost in a good 100-hour JRPG, Warzone, and kicking back on the (virtual) field with Football Manager. My work has also been featured in OPM, FourFourTwo, and Game Revolution.