‘Game Of Thrones’ Season 6 Spoilers: Top Questions The Show Still Needs To Answer

“Game of Thrones” has a lot to answer for in Season 6, considering it left a great many of its characters on towering cliffhangers in the most recent finale. However, at this point in the already-complex show’s history, there are a lot of loose threads from previous seasons that fans are hoping will get pulled in the coming 10-episode run.

There are obviously immediate questions that fans need answered, such as the fate of Jon Snow (Kit Harington) and the location of Daenerys Targaryen (Emilia Clarke), that have much more bearing on the larger plot of the HBO series. But that doesn’t mean that there aren’t a slew of questions that the series established and has yet to address. With Season 6 premiering on Sunday, fans can only hope that some of these questions get addressed in the new season.

Rickon Stark and Osha’s Whereabouts

The last time anyone saw these characters was in Season 3. After narrowly escaping Theon Greyjoy (Alfie Allen) and his siege of Winterfell, Bran (Isaac Hempstead Wright) and Rickon (Art Parkinson) escaped north with Hodor (Kristian Nairn) and Osha (Natalia Tena). They traveled together for a while, but after it became clear that Bran’s adventure would take him beyond the wall, they were forced to split up. With precious few Stark men left in the world, Bran instructed his little brother to go with Osha, who was afraid to venture back north of the wall given the white walker threat, to get someplace safe.

At the end of Season 3, Osha agrees to take Rickon to Last Hearth, the home of House Umber, where lord Greatjon Umber remains loyal to the Stark family. The idea is for them to hide out there until such time as Rickon can regain their rightful control of Winterfell. At the moment, the Boltons hold it under the pretense that Bran and Rickon are dead. While Season 4 saw Bran’s continued adventures beyond the wall, Rickon hasn’t been heard of since. Luckily for fans who want to see how this storyline plays out, rumors indicate that Rickon Stark will return in Season 6.

The Blackfish

Brynden Tully (Clive Russell), also known by his enemies as the Blackfish, is the uncle of Catelyn Stark (Michelle Fairley) and head of the house that has ownership of Riverrun. He’s also perhaps the luckiest man in all of the Seven Kingdoms. He had a small but memorable role in Season 3 as he followed Robb Stark (Richard Madden) along for his diplomatic journey to marry one of Walder Frey’s (David Bradley) daughters to one of his allies. While in attendance at the now-infamous Red Wedding, the Blackfish excused himself from the great hall to urinate on a nearby tree. Presumably, he heard the “Rains of Castamere” playing and managed to slip away from the massacre without the Boltons nor Lannisters finding him. While Frey isn’t troubled much by losing the lord of the Tully family, Roose Bolton (Michael McElhatton) knows that he’ll find his way back with a powerful vengeance. However, since escaping the Red Wedding, the Blackfish hasn’t been heard of or mentioned. Luckily, according to acclaimed “Game of Thrones” rumor site WatchersOnTheWall, actor Clive Russell is expected to appear in Season 6.

Gendry

Gendry (Joe Dempsie) had a small role, but his character is still a vital and powerful figure in Westeros. Initially, Ned Stark (Sean Bean) discovered that he was the bastard son of Robert Baratheon (Mark Addy) in Season 1. The character joined the same group headed from King’s Landing to the Wall as Arya Stark (Maisie Williams) in Season 2 before escaping to the woods with her. In Season 3, Gendry met the Red Woman (Carice van Houten) who brought him to Stannis Baratheon (Stephen Dillane) so that they could use the king’s blood that flows through him in some dark spells. The plan was to completely drain him of his blood, but Davos (Liam Cunningham) wouldn’t let Stannis break his moral code and kill the young man.

The last time Gendry was seen, Davos was loading him and a very small amount of supplies on a sailboat so that he could escape the would-be king’s reach. Sadly, for all anyone knows, Gendry didn’t make it past his first night on the water and is floating in the ocean somewhere. However, until a body is mentioned or found, he’s presumably still out there.

The Brotherhood Without Banners

Many may remember these people from Season 2, wherein Arya, Gendry and Hot Pie (Ben Hawkey) are captured by them after escaping the Lannisters. It is revealed that Ned Stark sent them to keep the peace in the Riverlands, which after the Red Wedding meant resisting Lannister control through guerrilla warfare tactics. What makes them perhaps the most interesting faction on the show, other than the fact that they’re one of the few still openly resisting Lannister control, is their relationship to the Lord of Light.

When Lord Beric Dondarrion (Richard Dormer) died in Sandor Clegane’s (Rory McCann) trial by combat, a drunk knight by the name of Thoros of Myr (Paul Kaye) spoke the right words to the Lord of Light and brought his friend back from the dead. It was soon revealed that this wasn’t the first time he’d done this, and the show then promptly cut ties with a character that’s witty, a warrior and has the power to bring people back from the dead. No true fan needs to be reminded of how useful that particular talent would be right now, which is why it’s so exciting that CinemaBlend reports that the character will return for the first time since Season 3 in an episode of Season 6.

“Game of Thrones” Season 6 premieres Sunday, April 24, at 9 p.m. EDT on HBO.