Game Of Thrones season 7: What new images tell us about the plot

With just a few months till the return of Game Of Thrones, HBO has released 15 new official pictures from season 7 which all reveal a major plot point.

Daenerys Targaryen (Emilia Clarke) is sailing with her massive fleet towards the Seven Kingdoms to reclaim the iron throne, which once belonged to her father. Cersei Lannister (Lena Headey), the widow of Robert Baratheon, committed every sin possible to rule the throne. Having initially used her incestuous sons (fathered by her twin brother Jamie Lannister), she is now ruling Westeros after her youngest son committed suicide following the wildfire incident that killed almost everyone opposing evil Cersei's rule.

However, Jon Snow has an agenda of his own. Although he was crowned the King of the North, He does not lust for power. His focus is set deep in the north as he senses the danger of the White Walkers.

The fresh set of images released by HBO drops hints on how the plot of these three major characters will unfold parallel to the subplots.

In-depth analysis of the pictures

Will Cersei be killed by Kingslayer Jaime? In the photo released by HBO, the queen of the Andals is seated on the iron throne while her incestuous lover remains by her side.

The prophecy of Maggy the Frog has already come true with the death of the queen's children. The fortune-teller also predicted that the evil queen would be killed by her little brother. Jamie, who always loved his children, would definitely be upset about finding out his last living son Tommen has died.

Cersei's cold look may be a hint that not everything is going great between the pair and the Kingslayer may become a 'Queenslayer' as well by eliminating the love of his life.

Bran Stark and Meera Reed: The only surviving son of Ned Stark is still struggling to get to the other side of the Wall. From the picture, it appears as if his tough journey will continue for a few more episodes before he reaches the Night's Watch, where he hopes to meet his brother Jon Snow. Little does he know that the Lord Commander of the Night's Watch is now the King of the North and ruling the northern realm from Winterfell.

Jon Snow now knows everything (probably): For six long seasons Kit Harington's character assumed that he is the bastard son of Ned Stark. "You know nothing Jon Snow," became a catchphrase in the show due to the amount of times it has been said to the naive hero. However, after fighting off White Walkers and retaking Winterfell from the vindictive Ramsay Bolton, he now knows a lot more. The Northern King is aware of the looming fear of the winter darkness and the amount of destruction it may bring to the realm.

He is set to fight and defeat the White Walkers. But defeating the undead army is a difficult proposition and his friend at the Citadel library may come of help.

Will Sam unearth White Walker secrets? Previously a leaked on-set image revealed that Samwell Tarly may soon reunite with his friend Jon Snow. Fan theories suggest that Sam will find the ancient books that may help him find a way to defeat and kill the White Walkers. Fans assume this picture of Sam and Gilly's intense book-reading may be a major hint about the couple's importance in the remaining two seasons.

Will Daenerys Targaryen meet Jon Snow? It looks like the Mother of the Dragons has reached her destination and is ready for the war she aims to fight and win. Not only does she command a huge army, she has her three dragons who can reduce the Seven Kingdoms to ashes with just one word from their mother – "Dracarys".

In the HBO image, Dany and Tyrion Lannister appear to be waiting for someone and if the previously leaked images are to be believed, it is none other than Jon Snow they are waiting for. He probably seeks to form an alliance to defeat the White Walkers and sees Dany and her dragons as the best bet to beat the forces from beyond the Wall.

Dark Sansa Stark: The battle for power is set to heat up in Winterfell after Jon Snow's coronation as the King of the North and it looks like Sansa Stark is all set to play the game. She perhaps needs a few more classes on deception from Littlefinger aka Lord Petyr Baelish. She played a major role in Jon's win against cruel king Ramsay Bolton in Battle Of The Bastards.

Despite being the rightful heir to Winterfell, the Northern Lords offered the throne to her bastard brother. "At the end of the season, Sansa gets a taste of power — and it's the first time that she's had that ever, really. She feels like it's deserved because she did so much for Jon and the North, so when she saves the day and doesn't get any recognition for it, it was like she had that first taste of power and then was immediately stripped of it," Sophie Turner said previously while hinting that her character will go dark in season 7.

Game Of Thrones season 7 premieres on Sunday 16 July at 9pm ET on HBO in the US and at 2am on Monday 17 July on Sky Atlantic in the UK.