The wait is over! Game of Thrones season 6 finally premieres tonight, and here is everything you need to know before it airs.
HBO has been tight-lipped on the upcoming season, which will take the epic fantasy series into territory uncharted by George R.R. Martin’s books. The synopsis for tonight’s ridiculously highly anticipated episode, titled “The Red Woman,” offers up only a few brusque facts.
“Jon Snow is dead,” the synopsis says. “Daenerys meets a strong man. Cersei sees her daughter again.”
Woah, HBO. Calm down, buddy. Don’t get too excited.
The dry tone of the synopsis belies the thrilling and controversial events of season 5, which seem to lead directly into the events of the Game of Thrones season 6 premiere. Violence, humiliation, rape, and death were in ludicrous supply Last season as storylines swirled, danced, plunged, and converged across Westeros.
Cersei, for example, was having a pretty fun time of things in Kings Landing, empowering the High Sparrow to throw Margaery (now married to Tommen) and Loras Tyrell in prison for religious crimes. But the fun was over when Cersei herself was imprisoned for her sins, and she was compelled to walk naked through the city as penance. Cersei also sent Jaime to Dorne to retrieve Myrcella, a fraught mission that seemed ultimately successful, until Elaria Sand killed the princess with a poisoned kiss.
Elsewhere in Westeros, Brienne continued to look for Sansa, who was brought to Winterfell by Littlefinger to marry Ramsay Bolton. The wedding turned into a horror show of rape, but Sansa was only able to escape with the aid of a broken Theon Greyjoy. Ramsay was busy slaughtering Stannis Baratheon’s meager army, which had charged against the Bolton forces after earning R’hllor’s favor when Stannis let Melisandre burn Shireen alive.
Melisandre got the hell out of dodge and went back to the Wall, as did Ser Davos. Jon Snow, now Lord Commander of the Night’s Watch, had arranged for the wildlings to join the realm, infuriating Alliser Thorne and his cronies. After sending Sam south to study in Oldtown, Jon was stabbed to death by his treacherous “brothers.”
Meanwhile, Arya was accepted to study in the House of Black and White, but she misused her education to kill Meryn Trant and was left blinded by the Faceless Men. Near Meereen, Tyrion was kidnapped by Jorah Mormont and brought to Daenerys. Dany, who was losing power daily to the Sons of the Harpy, accepted Tyrion as a counselor, but the two powerhouses didn’t have much time to talk.
During an attack by the Sons at the fighting pits, Dany said “Bye, Felicia!” to her friends, leapt onto Drogon’s back, and was carried off to the Dothraki sea… where she was picked up by some pissed off horse lords. Tyrion, Missandei, and Grey Worm were left holding the bag in Meereen while Jorah (who is dying of greyscale, by the way) and Daario went off to find their missing love/queen.
So basically, we have a whole lot of questions going into the Game of Thrones season 6 premiere.
Of course, HBO isn’t offering much by way of answers. But the network has released a few intriguing clips from “The Red Woman” (and perhaps a bit beyond) that offer hints of the heroics and horrors ahead. Sansa is all “FML,” Arya’s in serious trouble, Dany is basically a slave, and Davos is trying to be a lot more badass than he really is.
And in addition to a bumper-crop of stills released last month, we also have a new set of photos from “The Red Woman” to whet our appetites — and raise more questions! Like: Did Myranda seriously survive the fall from Winterfell? Could Doran Martell seriously not kill Elaria for murdering Myrcella? Does that new Khal have seriously bad intentions toward Daenerys? And could Sansa seriously get a break, already?
In any case, the hour at last draws near for the answers we seek. The Game of Thrones season 6 premiere is almost upon us, so whether you’re celebrating with tears, horse meat, or Ommegang Brewery’s Seven Kingdom’s Hoppy Wheat Ale, it’s time to sit back and let the answers flow.
Oh, and prepare for more questions — after all, HBO has just renewed Game of Thrones for season 7.
The Game of Thrones season 6 premiere, “The Red Woman,” airs tonight at 9:00 p.m. on HBO.
We want to hear your thoughts on this topic!
Write a comment below or submit an article to Hypable.