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It’s that time again, as Game of Thrones finally arrives at its ninth episode of the year, with Season 6 promising to deliver a “proper battle” with “Hardhome” director Miguel Sapochnik’s aptly-named “Battle of the Bastards.” The first trailer promises more depth and destruction than ever, but might Jon Snow’s return have been for naught?

‘Game of Thrones’ goes full cold-open to reveal “The Broken Man” return we’ve anticipated for two seasons, but what other major Queenly revelations dominated the week? Is there a rift forming between Jon and Sansa? Find out in our full review!

Given all Game of Thrones mysteries and histories slowly converging back toward the series’ end, the HBO drama will inevitably omit certain fan-favorite character’s origins. So it is with Brienne of Tarth, whom George R.R. Martin now confirms to have a major tie to his prequel novellas Tales of Dunk and Egg.

Welcome to ‘Recapping the Realm,’ where each week ScreenCrush senior editor Erin Whitney is joined by Tyler McCarthy and Kelly Lawler for a SPOILER-filled discussion of the latest ‘Game of Thrones.’ This week, Erin, Tyler, and Kelly discuss ‘Blood of My Blood’ (full episode review here). Tyler is an Assistant Managing Editor at Odyssey. You can tweet at him at @TylerMcCarthy. Kelly is an Entertainment Writer and Social Media Editor at USA Today. You can tweet at her at @klawls.

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.

Game of Thrones Season 6 comes to an end in June (so soon!), but luckily HBO NOW has plenty of viewing options to help keep you occupied during your annual mourning period. Next month brings the premiere of HBO’s new weekly series Any Given Wednesday with Bill Simmons, hosted by the renowned sports analyst, author and ESPN vet. Cinephiles, meanwhile, will be thrilled to see the addition of Ridley Scott’s The Martian and (maybe) David Cronenberg’s Maps to the Stars. But more importantly, the epic Problem Child trilogy is coming to HBO NOW in June, giving you a chance to engage in a fierce familial debate over the finer points of Junior’s schemes — surely a more contentious topic than the resurrection of Jon Snow.

‘Game of Thrones’ opens the “Book of the Stranger” for what might be one of the series’ most cathartic episodes yet, but does another meaningless death and a repetitive triumph drag us down? Find out in our full review!

What is ‘Game of Thrones’ without fan theories? Now that the show is heading in completely unknown territory for both book and show fans, theorizing is more vital (and more exciting) than ever. After just three episodes into Season 6, there’s plenty left up to speculation. From a crazy theory about Bran and the Mad King to one about the return of a long-unseen character, here are the best theories to come out of Sunday night’s episode ‘Oathbreaker.’

Game of Thrones fans have known for some time that Season 6 would return to a few abandoned subplots and locales from earlier in the series, particularly with regard to the Riverlands, and now another notable Season 3 face could kick off a story fans have waited for. Does the Brotherhood Without Banners have a stony new leader?

We’re only weeks from the finish line of Game of Thrones’ Season 6 premiere, and not even HBO’s lockdown can stop new footage from making its way to anxious fans. The first official clip has arrived, as Davos takes center stage defending Jon Snow’s body, but against what, exactly?

We’re less than a week removed from the tense and poignant finale of HBO’s The Leftovers Season 2, the cap to a 2015 run already dominating year-end Top 10 lists, though the series’ low ratings suggested an ominous future ahead. Well, there’s good news and bad, as The Leftovers will indeed return for a third year, albeit as a final season.

HBO has been cranking up the Game of Thrones marketing early for Season 6, first a poster, then a trailer teasing Jon Snow’s return, and before 2015 is even out, we’ve been blessed with the first footage. See Dany’s new digs, and Cersei’s new ‘do in the first official Game of Thrones Season 6 footage!