[SPOILERS for those not caught up on Game of Thrones season 6 ahead.]
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Game of Thrones’ long-awaited Battle of the Bastards is now just a few days away. The battle, consisting of the forces led by Jon Snow (Kit Harington) and Sansa Stark (Sophie Turner) marching towards the ancestral Stark castle Winterfell to reclaim it from Ramsay Bolton (Iwan Rheon), is suspected to take up the entirety of the ninth episode of the series’ sixth season.
The Stark forces will do battle with the villainous murderer and rapist Ramsay Bolton, the current Lord of Winterfell and Warden of the North, who will be leading forces consisting of other Northern houses. It’s been hyped as the latest in a long line of epic Game of Thrones battle episodes, such as Season 2’s Blackwater, Season 4’s The Watchers on the Wall, and Season 5’s Hardhome. HBO released several photos from the episode earlier this week, and more have surfaced.
The Wrap released a new batch of photos from 'The Battle of the Bastards' while EW added on of their own to the mix. The most exciting part of the second batch? For the first time since the Red Wedding, we see the Stark banners flying in battle. Additionally featured in the photos are Tormund Giantsbane (Kristofer Hivju), the Boltons' flayed man sigil, the Wildling army with the inclusion of giant Wun Weg Wun Dar Wun (Ian Whyte), Red Priestess Melisandre (Carice von Houton), and Davos Seaworth (Liam Cunningham).
Take a look at the photos:
We know who we'll see in this battle - but let's note who we don't see. There are no photos of Rickon Stark, the brother of Jon and Sansa who we learned earlier this season is being held captive at Winterfell by House Bolton. There's no hint of any additional forces who might be joining the Stark side, whether it's the Knights of the Vale or any remnants of the Tullys who held Riverrun until very recently. Sandor Clegene (Rory McCann) and the Brotherhood Without Banners were said last episode to have ridden North, but there's no indication that they've reached Winterfell either.
Yet we do know that we're about to see one of the most significant battles in Game of Thrones history - without any clues from the books of how it may end.
Game of Thrones continues next Sunday with ‘Battle of the Bastards’ @9pm on HBO.