Game of Thrones season 6 trailer: Our burning questions

We have questions. The action-packed Game of Thrones season 6 trailer is finally here and stuffed with enticing scenes from this year’s adventures in Essos and Westeros. There’s horses, fighting, intrigue, incest, fateful proclamations, Mountainstein, and glimpses of many of our favorite characters in dire jeopardy (or simply dead). But the footage prompts more questions than it answers (which is naturally the whole point). Here’s what we’re wondering after watching the first trailer of the new season debuting April 24:

1. What’s Ser Davos about to do?

It’s telling how much Jon Snow’s storyline has captivated fans that the Onion Knight has more screentime than just about anybody else. In the end of the clip, Davos pulls out Snow’s sword Longclaw and apologizes for the violence you’re about to see — and what is that, exactly? Is he about to get revenge by going after the Night’s Watch traitors? Or is he going to do something to Snow’s corpse? Later we see hands being put on Snow. Fans speculate they belong to Melisandre, but the arms look more like they’re in Night’s Watch leathers than her usual garb. Speaking of which: Who’s Melisandre seemingly trying to seduce by disrobing this time?

2. What’s going on with Sansa?

We’re given very little clue as to the storyline of many major characters — Daenerys (captivity?), Arya (blindness and beatdowns?), Margaery (more captivity?), etc. But Sansa’s storyline is arguably the biggest mystery of all. We last saw her leaping off the cliff wall at Winterfell after her ultra-dramatic arc in season 5. Perhaps the Thrones team plan to take her into rather unpredictable territory again?

3. Who’s fighting whom?

We see archers, Westeros horse charging, desperate fighting, Dothraki horse charging — but who’s fighting whom? There’s a glimpse of a flayed man (and who is that unlucky character, by the way?), so perhaps the Boltons are involved. In possibly a different clash, we see Tormond (and no, that one charging horseman in the background is not the character you think it might be).

4. Is season 6 Dorne-less?

The Dorne storyline was a regular part of the fifth season with Jaime’s fateful rescue mission that resulted in the death of his daughter Myrcella, but footage from the southern kingdom is seemingly absent here. It’s hard to imagine the Lannisters would let Dorne off the hook, especially with Jaime assuring Cersei, “Everything they’ve taken from us they’re going to take back — and more.” But given their more pressing issues fighting off the Faith Militant coup, perhaps the show will be stepping back from Ellaria and the Sand Snakes for a season.

5. Who are those fighters?

Within minutes of being released, fans began obsessing about a couple shots the trailer that show a group of fighters on a hilltop, speculating whether this could mean we’ll get a flashback scene involving Ned Stark that’s been long rumored by book-reading fans. We don’t want to say more than that, but see what you think from the images … does that look like a young Ned?