The Golden Company Tease in Trailer Has Big Implications For Game of Thrones

The Game of Thrones trailer released on Tuesday, to the internet’s delight. And a brief shot in the trailer could be the real difference-maker for the War of Five Kings (well, Two Queens, but it’s been a complicated war to be fair). At about twenty-six seconds into the trailer, we see a man in golden armor looking out over a ship packed to the gills with soldiers. That man is Harry Strickland, the leader of the Golden Company, who could be a big game changer in the war between those still living.

As Uproxx notes, the Golden Company is a feared mercenary company in the world of Thrones. In the series, they were first mentioned in season four, when Davos suggested that Stannis Baratheon hire them. That didn’t play out, but Cersei said the same in season seven and sent Euron Greyjoy to ferry the Company back to Westeros.

The company is based out of Essos, the continent that the Dothraki hail from. They’re a feared fighting force with 10,000 men and war elephants. They could also very well help turn the tide for Cersei against Daenerys, Jon and the forces of the North. That said, they’re also a group that has broken their contract on at least one occasion, having done so with the Free City of Myr for unknown reasons just before a war with rival nations Lys and Tyrosh. Daenerys also recalls her brother Viserys having hosted a feast for them in the hopes of employing them, but they laughed at him after eating his food.

In other words, while they could be a formidable fighting force there is still a lot to suggest that things could not go the Queen of the Seven Kingdom’s way. The fact that they were founded by Aegor Rivers, the legitimized bastard son of House Targaryen’s King Aegon IV, could also be telling. And if Cersei runs out of gold, well they are sellswords.

We’ll learn what happens with them once Game of Thrones premieres its final season on April 14th.