Game of Thrones season 8 trailer: The importance of Winterfell feather, explained

The new Game of Thrones trailer, which confirmed the eighth and final season’s release date, featured several hints of what’s to come.

HBO released the clip ahead of the brand new season of True Detective. It shows Jon Snow (Kit Harington) walking through the crypts of Winterfell alongside Stark sisters, Sansa (Sophie Turner) and Arya (Maisie Williams).

One brief moment holds more significance than casual fans might have assumed. As Jon walks pass the effigy of Ned Stark’s sister, Lyanna, we see a feather. This is the exact feather Robert Baratheon (Mark Addy) placed in her statue’s hand in the first episode, all the way back in 2011.

As the King in the North walks past, the feather flutters to the ground and we see him look back, a confused expression on his face.

This all but confirms that, in the final season, the character will discover his true heritage: that he’s the child of Lyanna and Rhaegar Targaryen (remember the “L+R=J” theory?). Fans discovered this in the season seven finale.

The full story is that Robert led the rebellion against the Targaryen throne after claiming that Rhaegar kidnapped and raped his betrothed, Lyanna. According to flashbacks, this isn’t true – Jon, whose real name is Aegon Targaryen, was born out of love – a fact that sparked jealousy in Robert.

Game of Thrones season 8 begins in the US on 14 April. It’ll air in the UK the following evening on Sky Atlantic. You can find a compilation of everything we know about the final six episodes here.