Game of Thrones returns to HBO on April 24 for its sixth season, but you already knew that. Especially now that the full-length trailer’s out. What you might not know is that, in the words of Sophie Turner, “there’s like so many shocks, it’s massive. It’s the biggest season yet.”
But seriously, no pressure, David Benioff and D.B. Weiss.
Sansa is a really good hype woman, but you’ll notice she didn’t say anything specific about the upcoming batch of episodes, only that they’re going to be best batch of episodes of any show in television history. So here are 15 things we know for sure about Game of Thrones season six. It’s coming.
1. Bran might end up being the season’s most important character, and his scenes will require flashbacks. “Previously Bran’s seen tiny glimpses of future or past but never has he been very much in control in the situation,” Isaac Hempstead-Wright said. “Now we’re given looks into very important events in the past, present, and future of this world and Bran is beginning to piece them together like a detective… Equally, he’s now discovering how crucial he could be in the Great War. It’s quite Inception-y.” BRRRRRRRRA(n).
2. Daario and Jorah have a shared enemy: The sexy new Dothraki horse lord, actor/model Staz Nair (that’s his real name), who might be romancing “sexiest woman alive” Daenerys in the near, sexy future.
3. Stannis? Dead. Princess Myrcella? Also dead. Sansa? Not dead!
4. The legendary Max Von Sydow replaced Struan Rodger as the Three-Eyed Raven, last seen telling Bran he will never walk again, “but you will fly.”
5. Based on recently released images, we know that Arya is blind; Bran can either stand or, more likely, is going on some psychic visions; and Margaery, while still in jail, is a “savvy chick,” according to Natalie Dormer, “[who’s] trying to find a way to get out of that cell, so it’s pretty amusing and ingenious, the route she decides to take.” No word on Ser Pounce, though.
6. The left-for-dead Sandor “The Hound” Clegane was spotted in Belfast, where much of the season was filmed. Actor Rory McCann “has no other projects scheduled, or any other reason to be in Belfast that we’re aware of.”
7. Another thought-dead character is for sure returning, sort of.
8. Pilou Asbæk, who was so good on the Danish drama Borgen, joined the cast as Theon and Yara Greyjoy’s ruthless yet charismatic pirate uncle, Euron, a “skilled warrior who captains a ship called the Silence, and is known for his tempestuous and unpredictable moods.”
9. Also new to the show: Deadwood favorite Ian McShane. He’ll have a “relatively small amount of screen-time, yet his character is of key importance.” All he’ll say is, “I am responsible for bringing somebody back that you think you’re never going to see again. I’ll leave it at that.”
(We have theories on who that “somebody” is.)
10. Okay, two more additions: Freddie Stroma (Cormac McLaggen in the Harry Potter film series) will portray Dickon Tarly, Samwell’s brother, and indie-folk band Of Monsters and Men will be this season’s requisite musical cameo.
11. Slight spoilers here, but the books can tell us a lot about what to expect in season six. The Greyjoys will have an increased role, for better or worse; Jaime may be sent off to the Riverlands to finish off the Tullys; and you should read up on the Faceless Men. Based on the teasers, the House of Black and White might prove to be one of the season’s most important settings.
12. There’s going to be a massive battle, and certain Starks are involved.
13. Hodor Hodor Hodor (that means Hodor’s back, baby).
14. Sigh, let’s do this. “People didn’t want me to die, but he’s dead. So there you go, everyone has to get used to it.” That’s Kit Harrington on the fate of Jon Snow, who’s dead, except no one believes that, because there’s going to be a “great twist” and Harrington, “costumed, armed, and looking very much alive,” was spotted on set rehearsing a very intriguing scene.
Either way, remember the name Azor Ahai.
15. But screw that guy. Here’s the most important sentence about season six: “The dragons (or Drogon, at least) will have a wingspan of 120 feet.” That’s double what it was last season. Also, according to prosthetics supervisor Barrie Gower, “Benioff and Weiss, when they write the outline each year, for last two years, we got to this one point and we read this one gag and thought, ‘Oh my God, how the hell are we going to do that? But this is going to be incredible!’ And then it got pulled and we didn’t do it in season four. And then, lo and behold, in season five there it was again. And it’s pulled again! But now, in season six, it looks like we’re going to do it. Fingers crossed they won’t chicken out.” Let the Lady Stoneheart rumors commence.
Here’s the trailer for season six.
