Shortly after tonight’s episode of Game of Thrones, HBO released a preview for next week’s episode Blood of My Blood, airing Sunday, May 29 at 9 PM ET. Last week, the show released plot synopses for episode 6 and 7, which, as always, were quite cryptic, but this new teaser sheds some new light on the plot. Of course, if you haven’t seen tonight’s Game of Thrones, there will be plenty of SPOILERS below, so read on at your own risk.
Over the past five seasons, there have been a number of villainous characters who have come and gone, and it seems to be a recurring theme this season that many characters are returning after lengthy hiatuses. The Blood of My Blood synopsis, courtesy of HBO, teases that an “old foe comes back into the picture,” although we aren’t quite sure who is being referred to. One of the villains it could be is Walder Frey (David Bradley), who orchestrated the infamous Red Wedding massacre in Season 3. David Bradley himself confirmed in August that his character will be back, but he wouldn’t say if his return will happen in Season 6. There has also been speculation that Sandor “The Hound” Clegane (Rory McCann) could return as well, potentially setting up the showdown many have been waiting for between the Clegane brothers, The Hound and The Mountain (Hafþór Júlíus Björnsson), which fans have dubbed the “Cleganebowl.”
The plot rundown also reveals that Gilly (Hannah Murray) will meet Sam’s (John Bradley) family, and we get a brief glimpse of this in the trailer. Sam reveals that he never expected to be back home, while Gilly seems nervous that Sam never told his parents that she’s a wildling. We first saw Sam and Gilly in the third episode of this season, Oathbreaker, where Sam informed Gilly that it may not be wise for her to stay in Oldtown with the baby, revealing he plans on taking her to his parents. We reported back in September that James Faulkner has been cast to play Sam’s father, Randyll Tarly, with Samantha Spiro, Rebecca Benson and Freddie Stroma coming aboard to play Sam’s mother, sister and younger brother, respectively. There had been rumors that Sam may visit his home, House Tarly of Horn Hill, on the way to Oldtown, which has now been confirmed. This synopsis also reveals that Arya (Maisie Williams) will face a difficult choice, while Jaime Lannister (Nikolaj Coster-Waldau) squares off against the High Sparrow (Jonathan Pryce).
The trailer also reveals that Bran (Isaac Hempstead Wright) and Meera (Ellie Kendrick) are still on the run, after the events of last night’s episode. After spending the first half of this season with the Three-Eyed Raven (Max Von Sydow), Bran and Meera were forced to leave the Weirwood tree after it was invaded by the Night’s King and his army of of undead soldiers. We also learn that Jaime Lannister (Nikolaj Coster-Waldau) and Cersei Lannister (Lena Headey) will be squaring off against The High Sparrow (Jonathan Pryce).
We know that Jon Snow (Kit Harington) and Sansa Stark (Sophie Turner) are making plans to take back the North from the Bolton’s, and it seems possible that they could be getting some help from other clans in the North. There is a long-held fan theory that the rest of these Northern houses unite to run the Bolton’s out of Winterfell, before naming Jon Snow the new King of the North. Naturally, that hasn’t been confirmed, but now that Jon is leaving the Night’s Watch, it certainly could be possible. Stay tuned for more on Game of Thrones as this thrilling season continues. Take a look the new trailer for next week’s episode below.