With Season 6 set to premiere next Sunday on HBO, our resident recapologist is back to take a look ahead at what might be in store for the various houses over the next 10 weeks.
Yesterday our focus heading into Season 6 was on House Stark, who still count a decent number amongst their ranks even though they’ve lost a few key members since S1-E1 and should remain a pivotal group in Game of Thrones between now and once all this battlin’ finally comes to an end.
But the Starks aren’t the only players in this game that remain central to the story and major players as we head into Sunday’s premiere, so now it’s time to jump in with Cersei, Jaime, Tyrion and Dany in hopes of forecasting where things will go for them over the next 10 episodes.
Cersei Lannister
Head-shaved and shame-walked back to the Red Keep last season, Cersei was presented with the reanimated Mountain when she got back and the trailer tells us that she “chooses violence” when her cousin/former lover-turned-religious fanatic Lancel tell her to stand down or else face violence.
Cersei had some serious issues with the High Sparrow and his crew last season and there is no way that is ending, which we know from the two trailers that have been released, so expect a clash between these two.
But perhaps more interesting is that we’ve also seen her telling someone to stand at the front of their armies and Jaime’s season starts with him pulling into the docks with their dead daughter and her betrothed on a boat from Dorne, so you best believe she’s going to be all kinds of pissed off and vengeful this time around.
Prediction: Cersei fires up her brother-lover Jaime into avenging both Myrcella’s death and her time in the cells at the hands of the High Sparrow. From her seat next to King Tommen, the Queen Mother will start some fights and get some revenge.
Jaime Lannister
He’s spent the last couple seasons figuring out how to be “New Jaime” after having lost his hand, his love interest (his sister) and his daughter, plus being kind of dismissed as no longer being the bad ass that he was during his “Kingslayer” days.
But in the second trailer, we see Jaime on a horse, rallying the Lannister army, so it seems like our boy is going to get back to doing big things, rather than just kind of sliding around feeling crappy about losing his hand and everything else.
Prediction: Army Captain Jaime returns, riding with the Tyrell army in a battle against the Faith Militant and then out in the fields as well. Basically, Season 6 is all about Fightin’ Jaime!
Tyrion Lannister
“I drink and I know things.” Classic Tyrion from the second trailer for Season 6. After making it to Mereen last season, everybody’s favourite imp is kind of running the show in Dany’s absence when the season kicks off and that is probably going to be what he spends most of the season doing.
The Sons of the Harpy are still a threat and the old leaders of the city were never happy with Dany’s way of doing things, so expect them to all challenge Tyrion in some way. We also see a clip of him speaking with an unidentified Red Priest and eventually heading into the catacombs to release Rhaegal and Viserion, so that hints at Tyrion making some moves and taking action, probably in the larger battle and not so much the squabbles in Mereen.
If you’re the conspiracy type, there are some cool videos out there about Tyrion heading into this season that are worth checking out.
Prediction: He’s always been a major player and that isn’t going to change. However, Tyrion’s a little removed from the actual action out across the Narrow Sea, so this could be a slow build season that positions him for something bigger over the final two seasons.
At the very least, he’s going to battle the uprisings in Mereen, drop a bunch of sharp lines and use his guile to get the better of everyone that challenges him because that is something else that Tyrion Lannister does.
Daenerys Targaryen
At the end of last season, Dany flew off on Drogon’s back and then got encircled by a Dothraki hoard. The trailers show that she’s still with that khalasar when this season kicks off, but we have no idea whether that’s a good thing or a bad thing for Khal Drogo’s widow.
But the ace up Dany’s sleeve is Drogon, who we know comes to here aid when she’s in trouble and who looks to be even bigger this season according to the trailers, so expect him to fly in should there be any issues between the Dothraki and “The Mother of Dragons.”
I don’t think there will be though. I think this is the season we see Dany start to really wield her power and rally the troops behind her, since Tyrion seems to think she’s the one that can bring him back to power and sit on the Iron Throne.
Prediction: That scene in the trailer where Drogon flies over a marching mass of people? I think that’s Dany and her amassed armies finally rolling out to be real players in this game, which is why Tyrion unchains the other two dragons. If you’re going into battle, three dragons are better than one.
Come back tomorrow as we close out this three-part preview with a look at the remaining families involved in this epic struggle.
