‘Game Of Thrones’ Season 6 — Everything You Need To Know Before The Premiere, Plus How To Watch For Free

The Season 6 premiere of Game of Thrones is only hours away. It’s almost been a year since fans watched their favorite characters in action, and there are still a lot of unanswered questions. While theories about the new season continue to circulate, here’s everything you need to know before Game of Thrones returns.

The biggest question going into Season 6 centers on the fate of Jon Snow (Kit Harington). According to Vanity Fair, the Lord Commander was last seen in a pool of his own blood, betrayed by fellow members of the Night’s Watch. While the creators revealed he did indeed die at the end of Season 5, there is a possibility that he will be resurrected in the new season.

After all, Melisandre is currently at The Wall and has magical powers to bring people back from the dead. It’s unknown if Melisandre will bring Jon back to life, especially considering how she might have bigger issues to deal with than Jon’s death.

The end of last season featured Stannis’ death during his fight with Bolton’s army. With Stannis and his daughter, Shireen, dead, it will be interesting to see if Davos places the blame on Melisandre.

Speaking of Stannis’ death, Brienne is still wandering around Winterfell after she dealt the final blow to Stannis. Although she still has vowed to protect Sansa, it isn’t clear what will happen to her after the fallout between Stannis and Bolton.

In regards to the Stark children, Sansa’s storyline last season ended with her apparent escape from Winterfell with the help of Theon. Considering how the two leapt from the castle walls, her escape might be short lived. Further, Ramsay has more than one reason to keep Sansa by his side, especially considering how he isn’t the only heir to the Bolton name anymore.

Meanwhile, the other Stark children are still scattered around Westeros. Rickon is currently in House Umber while Bran finally made it to the Three-Eyed Raven in the far North. For her part, Arya is still undergoing her trials at the House of Black and White, which included her blindness at the end of last season.

As far as the Lannisters are concerned, the three children of Tywin have never been in a more perilous state. Cersei finally escaped her imprisonment but not without enduring her walk of shame, and Jamie’s triumphant exit from Dorne was cut short by the death of his and Cersei’s daughter, Myrcella. All the while, Tyrion is currently ruling Meereen, which has turned out to be a deadly situation.

With so many characters facing difficult situations, what can fans expect to unfold in Season 6 of Game of Thrones? In an interview with Entertainment Weekly, Bryan Cogman, who writes and produces for the series, promised that things will turn around in the coming year.

“We left our central characters in huge moments of crisis and at their lowest points last year,” he shared. “All of them are now trying to rebuild their lives… This season is still very dark, very intense, but it’s very much a next act.”

Season 6 also marks the first without a companion book by George R.R. Martin as a guide. For Cogman, this fact has made writing this season one of the hardest to date.

“While we’re still drawing from a lot of situations and arcs in the books, it’s obviously not a direct adaptation of any of the books this year,” Cogman added. “I will say you’ll see character versions and interpretations that are in some of the previous books that we hadn’t gotten to yet.”

The new season of Game of Thrones is set to premiere on April 24. For those fans without HBO, Time is reporting that they can view the Season 6 premiere online for free. The network is offering its services free for this coming weekend only.

Tell us! Will you be tuning in for the Season 6 premiere of Game of Thrones? Let us know in the comments, and check out the latest trailer below.

[Image via HBO]