Winter Comes for the Stark Children in 'Game of Thrones' Teaser as HBO Reveals Final Premiere Date

The past speaks to the future of Winterfell in the first full teaser for the final season of HBO's "Game of Thrones," finally premiering Sunday, April 14.

The harrowing sequence premiered alongside the third season launch of "True Detective" and proved surprisingly emotional as three of the remaining Stark children walk the depths of the Crypt of Winterfell and hear the ghosts of Starks past, including Ned (Sean Bean), Catelyn (Michelle Fairley) and Lyana Stark (Aisling Franciosi).

"You have to protect him," Lyanna is heard saying as Jon Snow (Kit Harington) walks by. Catelyn confesses to her stubborn pride in refusing to give Jon love, and the penance she felt her family paid for it. Appropriately, it was Sansa (Sophie Turner) who walked by her statue as her mother's specter spoke these words.

While she's emerged as a strong and powerful woman, it's not hard to argue that of the surviving Stark children, Sansa probably suffered the most horrific fate for so many years before finally finding her strength and reclaiming her sense of identity.

Ned speaks to Jon Snow, reiterating that he is a Stark even if he doesn't have his name. Arya (Maisie Williams) walks silently through the crypts, sharing no special moments with any of the statues. And yes, we noticed that all of the quotes were about Jon.

The three then converge in front of statues of themselves, looking out at the coming cold.

The final battle is upon us and it could well be that all three of them won't survive to see the spring on the other side of this long winter.

The final season of "Game of Thrones" is comprised of six feature-length episodes as it brings to a close HBO's adaptation of George R.R. Martin's fantasy epic book series. The network has several potential prequel series in various stages of development.

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