As we anxiously await the return of Game of Thrones for its sixth season, HBO gave us more morsels to chew on Thursday, releasing photos for the upcoming season. Some serve as simple reminders of where the main characters finished last season, while others pose interesting questions of where certain characters are headed this season.
Here’s a look at some of the more intriguing photos released yesterday:
Blind Arya
Arya is playing the part of the blind beggar after losing her sight at the end of Season 5. Will the fiery Stark bend to the will of the Faceless Men this season?
Septa Unella and Margaery
Though you can’t tell, HBO has confirmed that it is Queen Margaery with her back to us, on her knees in front of Septa Unella in the Holy Sept. What, if any, punishment will she face this season for her knowledge of her brother’s “transgressions?”
Jamie Returning From Dorne (Thankfully)
I am thankful Jamie is out of that albatross of a storyline he had in Dorne last season. But he looks far less enthused about that in this picture than I am. That looks like a body (Myrcella’s obviously) behind him as he prepares to deliver the bad news to Cersei.
Jamie and Cersei
Have two incestuous twins ever had more to talk about than these two? How will the “shamed” Cersei respond to Jamie returning with her daughter’s dead body?
Jamie and Tommen in the Holy Sept
Any chance of a resurrected Myrcella this season are likely put to rest by this photo of her corpse laying in the Holy Sept while the King and Jamie look on.
Balon Greyjoy
Remember this guy? We haven’t seen the Lord of the Iron Islands since the end of the third season. And it appears Balon has yet to move from that rock he’s lived on since we first met him back in Season 2. So what events could be happening that would bring him back into the narrative?
Yara Greyjoy
Nothing groundbreaking with this one other than to show that Yara Greyjoy is returning after sitting season 5 out after the failed “Save my eunuch brother” campaign in Season 4. Will she stay floating around in the North or return to the Iron Islands to answer to her father?
Sam and Gilly
When we last left Westeros’s most committed couple, Sam was on his way to Oldtown to train to be a Maester. So at what point of their journey do they end up on this boat?
Theon and Sansa
It looks like Theon and Sansa survived their escape from Winterfell. Now where will the show’s most prominent victims go as they flee their Bolton torturer?
Daenarys and the Dothraki
So these guys didn’t have a friendly reunion reminiscing about the good ole days of Season One? “Hey, remember when you out a cow heart and your husband dumped liquid gold all over your brother’s head? Those were the days Khaleesi!!!!” Nope. The rope around her wrist indicate that Dany will start the season a Dothraki prisoner. Though considering how the Dothraki treat most of the women they find, this appears somewhat humane.
Bran and the Three-Eyed Raven
I saved the most interesting picture for last. Bran is back folks, and he’s seen here talking with the three-eyed raven (played by Max Van Sydow). But so many questions pop up from this photo. First, why is Bran standing? It’s likely a vision or dream of some sort, so how is his mentor able to speak to him in that vision? And what is their location? What are they looking at? The present? The past? The future?
Also of note are two things we did not see:
1. Photos of new characters
Other than the three-eyed raven (who technically appeared for the first time at the end of season 4), none of the rumored new castings featured. Never has HBO been more hush hush about the new actors they’re bringing in for the upcoming season.
2. No Jon Snow
No surprise here. It’s one thing to put his face on a poster or teaser trailer. But to show his picture here would end all suspense of the Lord Commander’s possible return. We also didn’t see him on a funeral pyre either, so just chew on that thought for the next two months.
Click here to see the entire set of photos. Game of Thrones returns April 24th.