Game of Thrones returns this week, marking the end of nearly a year-long wait for fans, who were left to hang on multiple cliffs when the previous season ended. It didn’t help that HBO released three trailers which, instead of giving a clearer picture of what was to come, only raised more questions.
At the end of the fifth season, Daenerys Targaryen (Emilia Clarke) looked to be in an ‘out of the frying pan, and into the fire’ sort of situation. Although she was airlifted out of a deadly revolt in her kingdom by Drogon the dragon in one of the greatest computer-generated action sequences on television thus far, she was captured by the Khalasar, the powerful tribe she was previously married into. The trailer had a few scenes from where it’s evident that the sixth season will see this once-powerful queen being stripped (literally) into slavery. Having said that, we also see her big, bad, dragons casting giant shadows over the nomadic kingdom, so rest assured that an explosive rescue mission is also on the cards; and maybe, we’ll get to see her make that long-awaited trip to Westeros to claim the Iron Throne this season.
At the other end of the Game of Thones world, Sansa Stark (Sophie Turner), who managed to rescue herself and Theon Greyjoy (Alfie Allen) from the clutches of her psychotic husband Ramsay (Iwan Rheon), now looks to have been presented the opportunity to regain control of her father’s kingdom. When Sansa Stark is first presented as a character both in the books and in the series, she is portrayed to be feminine and delicate, ready to be the rose to her future husband’s crown of thorns. As the series progresses, her luck worsens — her future husband and the boy she dreamed of turns out to be a textbook psychopath, her future mother-in-law is a power-hungry queen who will do anything to keep her kingdom, and her father is executed in front of her eyes. She escapes with great difficulty, only to be forced into marrying Ramsay, who makes her previous fiancé seem like a harmless farmer. At the cusp of season six, Sansa is not only free, but also hardened. It will be interesting to see if the oldest surviving Stark manages to avenge all that has happened to her family.
The Stark family will also see Arya (Maisie Williams), blinded and left to die at the end of season five, given a second chance at life, albeit without vision. Bran Stark (Isaac Wright), whom we last saw in season three as a chubby and adorable little child with mysterious powers that let him take over the minds of those around him, returns to the show, this time as a gangly adolescent with better control over his abilities.
Lastly, is Jon Snow really dead? It’s safe to say that no one, with the exception of the cast and crew has any clue. Kit Harington, who plays Jon Snow, has been seen at script readings, and at shooting locations, but vehemently insists that he’s dead. The internet has been flush with rumours, ever since his blood seeped into the snow in the final scene of the fifth season, but with barely a few days left for the premiere, it doesn’t matter what the rumours are. We’re all about to find out, and I’m not sure if we’re going to like it.
( Game of Thrones premieres on April 26 on Star World Premier HD and will continue to air every Tuesday.)
