HBO

Now that we’ve all swept up our jaws from the floor after Sunday’s “Battle of the Bastards,” Game of Thrones is already gearing up for its sixth season finale. “The Winds of Winter” are rising, even if Kings’ Landing seems anything but cold, with Cersei’s fiery trial and more looming in the first trailer.

Days from its premiere, Game of Thrones is still keeping a fairly tight lid on penultimate Season 6 installment “Battle of the Bastards,” to say nothing of its “Winds of Winter” finale. That said, the big battle might not be all this Sunday has to offer, as a leaked report suggests a major meeting will be taking place, perhaps forming the next great ship to rival Tormund and Brienne.

HBO’s secrecy surrounding Game of Thrones Season 6's “Battle of the Bastards” left it unclear if we’d seen any official photos ahead of time, but the penultimate outing’s sneak-peek is here, looming larger than ever. Even Wun-Wun is ready to step on some folk in the epic first photos of Jon and Ramsay’s face-off!

We’re only three episodes from the end of Game of Thrones Season 6, and conspiracy theorists are out in full swing, particularly when it comes to the long-awaited arrival of “Lady Stoneheart.” We’ve heard arguments back and forth as to whether the character would ever appear, but now an actor behind one of three mystery characters from “The Broken Man” is either having fun teasing fans, or about to get the hammer from HBO.

Over-analyzing Game of Thrones is essentially an international pastime at this point, and you could bet fans would put aside the many theories circling Season 6 to decode a mysterious letter Sansa wrote in Sunday’s “Broken Man.” Not only do we know where the letter was headed, but exactly what it says.

Game of Thrones has gone on a tear confirming and dispelling major theories that George R.R. Martin’s readers have scrutinized for years, with Sunday’s “Blood of My Blood” seemingly spoiling yet another book twist. Like last week’s Hodor reveal, however, a new featurette sees showrunners officially handing a cold twist to that major Stark return.

Now that we’ve put that big Hodor twist (and hopefully its jokes) behind us, Game of Thrones has even more “Blood of My Blood” to spill by the looks of next Sunday’s photos. Arya seems ready to complete her first assassination, while a deadly public conflict with the High Sparrow looms, but is another big death waiting in the wings?

Game of Thrones’ big Hodor twist has been dissected every which way; whether it does, or doesn’t spoil the books, and even word from Kristian Nairn himself, but nothing feels quite so devastating as the onslaught of new “Hodor” gags wrought by Sunday’s “The Door.” For that, showrunners David Benioff and Dan Weiss must apologize.

Holding doors will never be the same.

We’re still processing the fallout from Game of Thrones Season 6's tearful “The Door,” amid news that the title revelation serves as one of three unpublished twists author George R.R. Martin gave to HBO, but there may yet be another wrinkle. “Hold the Door” reveals the origin of Hodor’s name, but one Martin says will unfold under very different circumstances in the actual books.

For the first season in Game of Thrones history, fans and book readers alike have stood on relatively even keel when it comes to the major twists in store, without necessarily feeling that HBO’s version would reflect George R.R. Martin’s unpublished novels. That said, Sunday’s big Hodor twist was apparently two of three major revelations straight from the author’s pen, so what might the final spoiler of Ice and Fire be?

Amid all the blood and nudity, ‘Game of Thrones’ gave us a little romance to root for this season. The last two episodes of Season 6 found Tormund Giantsbane (Kristofer Hivju) making eyes at Brienne of Tarth (Gwendoline Christie) when she arrived at Castle Black. Though Episode 4 director Daniel Sackheim thought Tormund’s flirtatious glances subtle, they quickly set the internet on fire. There were Brienne and Tormund memes, there were montage videos; it was the beginning of a beautiful warrior relationship (at least if fans had their way).