Game of Thrones season 6 is landing on HBO on Sunday, April 24, which means us Brits will almost certainly get it the following Monday on Sky Atlantic and Now TV.
Then again, if Sky’s past form is anything to go by, fans on this side of the pond might be treated to a simultaneous broadcast – you’ll have to stay up ’til 2:00am mind.
HBO’s Twitter account has also posted a short teaser clip of the new season which hints at some potentially shocking deaths. There’s potential (and actual) spoilers hereon in, so unless you want to have any surprises ruined, perhaps click away now and definitely don’t watch the video below.
You’re still here? Good.
Related: How to get Now TV from Sky, Now TV reviewFor those of you who aren’t so bothered about possible plot reveals, the 1:19-long video gives us a quick look inside the House of Black and White, the candle-lit mausoleum-like temple that serves as a training ground for the assassin’s guild known as the Faceless Men. Possible spoilers follow.
As Game of Thrones fans will know, the Faceless Men avail themselves of magical masks that completely change the physical characteristics of the wearer. The ghoulish masks themselves are often hewn from the bodies of the dead. In the video we see the faces of Eddard Stark, Robb Stark and Joffrey Baratheon, characters who’ve all met with untimely ends at certain points in the Thrones narrative.
Then things get weird – and potentially spoilery. After these faces of characters who we’ve seen die on screen, we see the face of Jon Snow, who may or may not be dead after his knifey betrayal at the end of season 5.
Then we see Tyrion Lannister. Who, last we saw, was alive and well – albeit surrounded by murderous enemies. As far as we know, he’s not dead. But the presence of his face in the House could be taken as a sign that the silver tongued dwarf could be for the chop.
The face the left of Tryion’s also looks a lot like that of Sansa Stark, who we last saw stumbling through the snow outside Winterfell and the one to the right looks like Daenerys Targaryen, who we last saw facing down a horde of angry Dothraki.
This could be HBO artfully reminding us that in Game of Thrones, you’re best off not rooting for anybody, because the writers could end a character’s arc with a penstroke. Witness what happened to poor old Barristan Selmy last season. Ser Grandfather might go on to play a more important role in George R R Martin’s books but as keen Thrones fans will know, we’re now entering some murky territory where the readers no longer have an upper hand on the viewers.
Or, this clip could be taken to mean that we’ll see one or more of the main characters impersonated by a Faceless Man (or Woman?) this season. Arya Stark’s training could culminate in something rather special indeed.
Interestingly enough, there doesn’t appear to be any sign of Theon Greyjoy’s mug in the video, though, given what he’s suffered so far, we’re sceptical as to the longevity of poor old Reek. Perhaps we’re wrong – maybe what is dead will never die after all.
Let us know what you think in the comments…
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