Game of Thrones
Simply throwing money at content won't win the streaming-television wars, so HBO Programming President Michael Lombardo is "open to everything" that could give his network a strategic or tactical advantage. Shown above is Sansa Stark (Sophie Turner) in its hit series "Game of Thrones." HBO

Just when it seemed anticipation for Season 5 of “Game of Thrones” couldn't get any higher, HBO released a new trailer for the hit series and set off even more buzz among fans. The new teaser, released Monday, features a stirring monologue with Daenerys (Emilia Clarke) promising to conquer all of Westeros, and more than a few exciting sneak peeks at all the Season 5 action – not to mention some surprises.

Watch the new trailer below:

Here are 5 things we learned from the new “Game of Thrones” trailer:

1. New Locations for Old Characters

The most revealing part of the trailer was the appearance of characters in locations that fans -- even readers of the “Song of Ice and Fire” books -- wouldn't expect. For starters, Jamie Lannister (Nikolaj Coster-Waldau) is in Dorne, clearly sent to the new-to-the-show city on some Lannister errand.

Then there's the intriguing shot that appears to be Sansa Stark (Sophie Turner) in the Winterfell crypts. What is Sansa doing back home? This would be a big departure from the books, and fans will be dying for an explanation.

2. Wedding Bells

The new trailer showed footage of the upcoming wedding between Tommen Baratheon (Dean-Charles Chapman) and Margaery Tyrell (Natalie Dormer). While fans should not expect this wedding to be as bloody as previous nuptials in the series, a shot of Cersei (Lena Headey) reacting as the newlyweds kiss suggests not everyone is happy about the marriage.

3. Ruling Is Rough

Down in Mereen, it looks like Daenerys is having some trouble maintaining order in her newly conquered city. Multiple shots in the trailer show violent unrest in the city, which readers of the “Song of Ice and Fire” novels can trace to the Sons of the Harpy group, who rise up to challenge Daenerys’ rule on behalf of the wealthy slave masters. Now television viewers will get a look at that conflict.

4. Ruling is Rough 2.0

There also seem to be some governance problems in King’s Landing. A new group of religious-conservative dissidents -- book readers will recognize them as the Sparrows -- are wreaking havoc in the city. In one scene they are shown destroying barrels at a brewery in what looks like King’s Landing’s answer to the Boston Tea Party.

The Sparrows will apparently have some success in gaining royal attention as the trailer shows what appears to be a meeting between the High Sparrow (Jonathan Pryce) and Cersei, among others. The scene marks the first appearance of the High Sparrow character.

5. Jon vs. the Wildlings

Winter has evidently arrived and there's extensive fighting going on in the north between the Night’s Watch, the Wildlings and the White Walkers. Jon Snow (Kit Harrington) has a line in the trailer urging the groups to unite against the White Walkers.

“We can learn to live with the Wildlings,” says Jon, “or we can add them to the army of the dead.”

"Game of Thrones" Season 5 premieres on April 12 on HBO. Tweet your thoughts to @Ja9GarofaloTV.

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