The first episode of Game of Thrones Season 6 was jam-packed full of action, including deaths, escapes, rescues, mourning and more. In fact, the show caught up with most of the key players in the long-running HBO series. One person the show didn’t catch up with, however, was Bran. The good news? We finally know when Game of Thrones will be bringing back the long-unseen character. Bran will appear in Episode 2 of the drama. We know this because the preview for the big episode gives us a sneak peek at what the character is up to. Here’s your first look:
When we last left Bran, he had finally reached his destination North of the Wall in order to train and hone his past and future-seeing abilities. Game of Thrones ultimately decided a plotline like that wouldn’t really fit into Season 5, and Bran was cut out of the story in favor of more violent, pithy and even sexy scenes. Isaac Hempstead-Wright even agreed his character’s arc probably would have been a little boring had it been a major part of Season 5. Luckily for the actor, Game of Thrones showrunners Dan Weiss and David Benioff decided to go ahead and write Bran Stark back in to Season 6. We’ve known for a while that the character would be included in Season 6, and it’s nice to know we’ll finally see the young man—who is now much older and much taller.
I’m honestly very surprised that Game of Thrones didn’t jump right in to the Bran storyline during Episode 1. We caught up with Arya and Sansa Stark, we caught up with Tyrion, Jaime and Cersei Lannister, we caught up with Margaery Tyrell, Daenerys Targaryen, Ser Davos, Ser Jorah and Melisandre. Short of catching up with those who are Ironborn—and we did see Theon Greyjoy—we caught up with the majority of the characters or at least the locations that have been key components thus far. Clearly, Game of Thrones is a show that is carefully scripted, so if Bran wasn’t included during Episode 1, there’s likely a reason for that. Still, I’m surprised, especially since his return has been a major talked-about subject over the last several months. Perhaps resolving the Jon Snow issues simply seemed like a more important issue at this juncture.
If you’d like to catch Bran in action or see what the High Sparrow is up to next week, you can check out the full preview for Episode 2 “Home,” below.
The preview for “Home” doesn’t give us a great look at Bran or what he will be doing. He seems a little strained as he is dealing with the past and the future, alone. We also know he'll be training, thanks to the official logline from HBO:
Bran (Isaac Hempstead Wright) trains with the Three-Eyed Raven (Max von Sydow). In King’s Landing, Jaime (Nikolaj Coster-Waldau) advises Tommen (Dean-Charles Chapman). Tyrion (Peter Dinklage) demands good news, but has to make his own. At Castle Black, the Night’s Watch stands behind Thorne (Owen Teale). Ramsay Bolton (Iwan Rheon) proposes a plan, and Balon Greyjoy (Patrick Malahide) entertains other proposals.
In addition, if you need to get caught up on the series so far, do check out our what we know guide. Or simply tune in when Game of Thrones Episode 2 premieres on Sunday at 9 p.m. ET, only on HBO.
