The sixth season of HBO's Game of Thrones is set to return in April, and with it will come the return of Bran Stark.
Thanks to Entertainment Weekly, we now have our first look at the character in more than a year, as Bran was nowhere to be seen in the show's fifth season. In that time he looks to have gotten a serious haircut, a new outfit and appears to be on horseback. You can check out the image below.
When we last saw Bran at the end of season four, the crippled Stark child was traveling north of the Wall with Hodor, Meera and Jojen in search of the mysterious Three-Eyed Raven, who continually appeared in Bran's dreams. When the companions finally reached their destination, they were attacked by decrepit white walkers. An elf-like child of the forest appeared hurling firing bombs to aid the group, urging them to rush inside the Three-Eyed Raven's magically protected cave. Though Bran, Meera and Hodor made it safely inside, Jojen died at the end of a White Walker blade.
Bran has presumably learned much from the Three-Eyed Raven since we last saw him, as the character teaches Bran the ways of warging and foresight. Here is what Bran actor Isaac Hempstead-Wright had to say about his character in season six:
"I can't say a lot but I am back this season, and it's going to get particularly interesting with Bran," Hempstead-Wright said. "He has some interesting visions."
Readers of George R.R. Martin's book series will know that Bran uses the weirwood trees throughout Westeros to see visions of the past and possibly the future. How that ability will play into future events and season six as a whole is unknown, but it may be through Bran that we receive a flashback of one of the most important moments in Stark family history, the battle at the Tower of Joy. As the show is now surpassing the story told in the books, both show and book fans alike are going into season six blind. We'll have to wait until April to see what Game of Thrones has in store, but it's certain to be just as shocking, and entertaining, as ever.
