For a show that has long been shrouded in mystery, stunning its fans with shocking death after shocking plot twist, the upcoming sixth season of HBO's Game Of Thrones looks to be its most cryptic one yet. Not only have showrunners David Benioff & D.B. Weiss finally caught up to author George R.R. Martin's A Song Of Ice And Fire novels, but the show already started departing significantly from the source material in Season 5, leaving both book readers and casual fans in the dark on what was coming next. Now, less than two weeks away from the premiere, titled "The Red Woman," HBO is finally starting to pull back the curtain on what is perhaps its most highly-anticipated batch of episodes ever with three new Game Of Thrones Season 6 clips.
The run-up to the new season has been categorized by DEFCON 1-level security, with scant episode titles and summaries released, no screeners sent out to critics, and the cast and crew remaining stone-faced about the fate of beloved character Jon Snow. So this Monday's unexpected onslaught of promotional material — including an action-packed two-minute trailer in addition to the aforementioned clips — was like manna from heaven to this starved fanbase.
Tide yourself over to the Season 6 premiere by watching the three new clips right here:
The Mourning After
The first clip finds siblings/lovers Cersei and Jaime mourning the death of their daughter Myrcella — which should dash any and all lingering hopes any fans might have had that the innocent princess would somehow survive the poisonous kiss given to her by Ellaria Sand in the Season 5 finale. Now two of Cersei's and Jaime's three children are dead, raising the question: is Tommen next to die? Say it ain't so, Ser Pounce!
Welcome To Vaes Dothrak
Apparently Daenerys survives her encounter with the Dothraki by staking her claim as a Khaleesi — but that gambit is a double-edged sword, since tradition dictates that all Khaleesi must be taken to the city of Vaes Dothrak after their Khals die to live out the rest of their lives among the withered old dosh khaleen. (It's funny to contrast the awe-inspiring spectacle of this clip to the first time we saw Vaes Dothrak way back in Season 1 — so quaint by comparison!)
Into The Woods, Then Out Of The Woods
And finally, we have a glimpse of Sansa and Theon as they race to escape Winterfell and Ramsay's clutches. (Yes, they survived that cliffhanger jump off of the castle's battlements.) We can hear the bastard's hounds in hot pursuit — and we all know how that hunt will end if they don't get away, thanks to poor little Tansy, may she rest in piece(s). Unfortunately, it looks like they'll have to pull a Leo-in-The-Revenant if they don't want to get recaptured, since their path is blocked by an icy river.
Find out how Cersei and Jaime cope with Myrcella's death, how Dany deals with her new predicament, and how Sansa and Theon make their escape when GoT Season 6 premieres on Sunday, April 24.
Images: HBO
