‘Game Of Thrones’ Spoilers: The Search For Freedom, Redemption, And Revenge

The fourth episode of Season 6 of HBO’s Game of Thrones airs tomorrow night and is titled “Book of the Stranger.” What is the book, and who is the stranger? What goes on in this episode? Well, in a Game of Thrones season in which we’ve already witnessed the resurrection of Jon Snow, who knows? But we do have a synopsis, some photos, and a trailer, and we can draw some conclusions from them. Let’s see what they tell us.

First the official synopsis for this week’s episode of Game of Thrones. Here it is.

“Tyrion (Peter Dinklage) strikes a deal. Jorah (Iain Glen) and Daario (Michiel Huisman) undertake a difficult task. Jaime (Nikolaj Coster-Waldau) and Cersei (Lena Headey) try to improve their situation.”

Based on a photo released this week and the trailer for this week’s episode of Game of Thrones, it appears that the difficult task that Jorah and Daario undertake is the rescue of their queen, Daenerys. Last we saw her, The Mother of Dragons was being held captive in a convent for Dothraki widows. She’s pretty miserable there, but there are rumors that in future Game of Thrones episodes these widows will see her stronger side as she emerges as their leader and creates a plan to take them out of the shadows.

In the HBO photos for this week’s episode, we also see the reunion of Theon and Yara. He has had quite the experience since he last saw her. Aggressive and short-tempered, how will she react to his account of what he has been through since he saw her last? Or will he tell her? Possibly Game of Thrones‘ most vicious villain, Ramsay Bolton managed to completely tear down Theon mentally. And then there is the small matter of his castration. How will this play out with Yara? Will she crush him also? The trailer indicates that at least initially she will not be tolerant of his weakness. Will she help him rise up and regain his strength? The timing is interesting given that their father died last week, leaving the throne empty.

The trailer tells us a little more, including the return of Littlefinger, who sent Sansa to the vile Ramsay Bolton to become his bride. Does he know that she escaped? It doesn’t sound like it from the trailer. Aiden Gillen, who plays Littlefinger, spoke with Entertainment Tonight this week and commented on his role in Season 6 of Game of Thrones.

“For me, this time out, there’s a level of atonement in relation to Sansa and my misjudgment of Ramsay Bolton. A lot of what I’m up to is atonement and really trying to align myself the right people – though, I guess, I’m always doing that! I left Sansa married to a psychopath. It’s probably the one time we’ve seen Littlefinger slip up. He really didn’t know about him. He should have… I’m trying to find something humane and gentle and maybe even warm in the midst of my treachery and calculation – which is pathological.”

Then there are Game of Thrones battling queens Margaery and Cersei. Cersei’s proclamation that Margaery must atone for her sins is met by a statement that “That can’t happen” from her mother. Cersei agrees, but you can bet that this will not be the end of it with these three strong-headed women in the mix. And how will all this affect the current Westeros king on Game of Thrones, Tommen. His mother vs his wife – he is in quite the predicament.

There is no mention, either in the most recent Game of Thrones photos or the trailer, of Jon Snow, Bran, or the eagerly anticipated scene involving The Tower of Joy. But we know that doesn’t necessarily mean we won’t see any of them in this week’s episode. And we don’t know from any of this week’s promotion for Game of Thrones what the book is or who the stranger is. Guess we’ll have to tune in and see.

Game of Thrones airs Sunday nights on HBO at 9 p.m. ET. Check out the trailer for “Book of the Stranger” below.

[Photo by Helen Sloan/HBO]