GAME OF THRONES ROUND-UP: We look at the big news and rumours out there. SPOILERS. Obviously

One thing that is certain about a new series of any tv show is that eventually unauthorised clips, massive fan theories and huge spoilers will be released about them. Game of Thrones is certainly no different.

A word of warning there will be spoilers.

Still with me?

Ok so to start off, let us focus on a video that was recently released showing a scene of Game of Thrones season 6 being filmed. The fan who shot this video got a shot of a fight scene, a mountain range and a few buildings. Is that it, you ask? Rather underwhelming, yes?

The video is shot from very far away and the group fighting is small, I counted about six men fighting. It’s not clear who they are or who is actually fighting who although I think it could be two men fighting four others or three people fighting three others, that bit isn’t so clear. What we can tell though is the backdrop.

The scene is set in a desert/ mountainous area. It seems to be a hot location set in the shadow of a red stone tower. This tower is old with some ruined areas but overall relatively intact and clearly a strong structure. Its location on the mountain range has caused some to speculate what it actually might be.

Some believe it to be the Tower of Joy. The Tower of joy is a tower on the edge of the Red Mountains of Dorne, a highly defended mountain range that is very difficult to get to.

The story of this tower is simple. After Prince Rhaegar Targaryen kidnapped Lord Eddard (Ned) Stark’s sister Lyanna Stark the war of the usurper unfolded. It was at the end of this war when Ned and about six others road up to the tower to try and find Lyanna. The tower was guarded by three members of the King’s Guard and Eddard and his friend Howland Reed were the only survivors to the battle. After the fight Lyanna Stark was found dying inside the tower.

The importance of this tower is one of the fundamental ideas associated with one of the most widely believed fan theories in Game of Thrones. This theory, who many have called R+L=J, states that R (Rhaegar Targaryen) + L (Lyanna Stark) = J (Jon Snow). The theory goes that Rheagar and Lyanna had a child in this tower and that resulting child is Jon Snow.

There is merit to this argument. Apparently during the battle screams could be heard coming from inside the tower, some believe these to be birth screams. The room which Lyanna rests smelled of roses and blood.

Roses make sense because Rhaegar and a great love for Lyanna and could easily have flooded her with roses to show affection. Some argue that Lyanna may even have had a great love back and that this conception and birth was filled with love and kindness. Rhaegar is constantly referenced in season five as being a loving character.

Here’s the footage:

This scene in season 5 shows Ser Barristan Selmy talking fondly of Rhaegar. “Raegar never liked killing, he liked singing.” He was not the monster his father was and the world made him out to be. He didn’t like killing, although he was exceptionally good at it. He was quite charitable, giving his coin to a minstrel or an orphanage. He must have been a nice and caring person at heart. If im not mistaken these could easily describe Jon Snow. Perhaps Rhaegar’s kindness rubbed off onto his child.

The blood found in the room could likely be from childbirth. Childbirth would also explain the screams. Furthermore it was not uncommon for people in that sort of era to die from childbirth and therefore this could be the reason for Lyanna’s death.

What is also confusing is that a promise was made between Lyanna and Ned. No one knows the details of this promise and that is obviously deliberate. What could be so terrible or so precious that it needs to be promised in such a terrible circumstance? Well perhaps it was to keep the secret that the son and heir of a Targaryan prince were born. This is even backed up by the fact that members of the King’s Guard are there. Now King’s Guard will do their orders and defend the innocent but ultimately they’re there to protect members of the royal family. With Rhaegar killed in the Battle of the Trident and Lyanna Stark not being a royal then whom exactly are they defending if not a new born prince?

Furthermore no part of the events known during the war or during the journey home do we get told of Ned cheating on his wife Catelyn. Therefore when he produces a baby at Winterfell and says it’s his child, what are we to think? Ned never talks about Jon Snow’s mother he always seems sad when the conversation arises. Is this the sadness of a guilty man or a man in mourning over his sister? He is very kind to Jon Snow but not as a father and more as a protector. He also is constantly references as an honourable man. In season five even Stannis Baratheon admitted that it wasn’t in Ned’s nature to do such a thing. Someone that honour bound would never ever break a promise.

Now I’ll let that all sink in as it’s difficult to get your head around.

Ok so now let’s talk about the video scene in question. It’s clear that a battle between about 6 people is unfolding. Now this doesn’t match the numbers in the book but the TV series has been known to edit things slightly. You can just see shields and armoured warriors or knights. It’s no clear exactly who they are but it could easily be three members of the King’s Guard against three of four others. The area is red sanded rock in a sunny desert area, a similar description to the Dornish Red Mountains. The tower itself is even situated in such a way as to show what it could be.

This does seem to hold merit as the location of the Tower of Joy. It is also true that some recent casting news has begun to fuel this theory even more.

There has been wide speculation that a young Eddard Stark and Robert Baratheon could appear in season six. With casting descriptions fitting perfectly to the character descriptions it has made people wonder if these famous characters will grace our screens again.

In more casting news the actor Luke Roberts (Wolf Hall) is set to play a legendary fighter that many believe to be Dayne, one of the kingsguard. Furthermore an actor names Robert Aramayo has joined the cast in an undisclosed role that some have theorised to be Howland Reed. Howland Reed is an old friend of Ned Stark’s whose son and daughter helped Bran get to the three eyed raven. Aramayo does have a similar look to Jojen Reed actor Thomas Brodie-Sangster so I do think this theory has merit.

The casting news also confirmed that Eddie Eyre is set to play Ser Alfred Hunrith. This has caused a bit of confusion because Ser Alfred is a knight unknown in the books. This could easily just be a deliberate miss direction and many believe that he is either Ned Stark or even Dayne. This causes peoblems because if he is Dayne then who is Roberts playing? Furthermore to ignore him as the character he’s supposedly cast as is foolish. We don’t know what happens in season six and he could very easily just be a new knight.

Unfortunately, with the video and the casting news being so sporadic and unclear, we can’t accurately say for sure that this is all true or confirmed. So let the speculations on what else it could be begin.

Now my idea that it could be two people fighting a group of others could still be accurate. It could for example be Jorah and Daario fighting off a group of men. We know that it’s set in a hot climate and nothing is hotter than Essos. Jorah and Daario went off in search of Daenerys at the end of season six and logic would assume that they would go along the road from slavers bay. It is a mountainous area with desert and red rock. The tower could be from along the road to Tolos or Mantarys, and be guarded by the Ghisgari. The tower could even be around Khyzai Pass, where Daenerys and Drogon would have flown by on their way to the Dothraki sea.

Another recent casting gives small merit to this idea. Recent photos from set in Peniscola, Sapin shows a new Red Priestess, of the same religion as Milisandre, talking to the Ghiscari in Mareen. Now this easily could have nothing to do with the main storyline as the red religion is widely believed in Essos. I do find it suspicious that she appears in the locations of dragons, especially when the only person who they listen to is their mother Daenerys. She could be there to take control of the dragons or help Daenerys, both of which need Jorah and Daario to succeed in finding her. Furthermore if Jorah’s greyscale increases and he begins to die then this new red priestess could save his life.. One of the other aspects is that of magic. Most forms of magic vanished when the dragons died, well there are now three dragons back I the world and magic seems to be making itself known once more. Furthermore with the rise of the White Walkers the dragons could be the only thing capable of stopping them. Some of these theories are loose but they do have more merit than some other theories I’ve seen.

It was back in season 3 when Milisandre reacted to news of the White Walker menace by confronting it, instead of ignoring it like most others did. The ‘devil’ in the R’holler (red) religion is the anti-god of ice known as the Greater Other. We’ve already seen the being that could be The Greater Other in Hardhome episode in season 5 when ‘The King of Winter’ resurrected the dead. Therefore, if a red priestess comes into contact with the Mother of Dragons, it’s undoubtedly going to cause fire to spread once more and potentially save the world. What it also means is that if ‘The King of Winter’ is the Greater Other, which to be honest is almost a complete certainty, then the Red God must exist too, and by extension its beliefs. One of these being that a of Azor Ahai, a savior that after a long summer when an evil, cold darkness decends apon the world he will return wielding the flaming sword light bringer and resurrect the dragon of stone to fight the Others. Some believe Daenerys to be this hero, resurrected with her dragons to save the world. There are others who also believe that Jon Snow is this warrior and that he will help save the world. The King of Winter has already seen Jon Snow fight and kill a White Walker with a sword of Valyrain steel, a sword of dragon fire.

Again I’ll let all that sink in too.

Another simpler idea for the video could be a war or attack on Dorne. After the death of Princess Marcella it’s almost inevitable that a war will happen between the Iron Throne and Dorne. This could be a scene of Jamie and Bron fighting off a few Dornish guards. If you look closely you do see one of them rather acrobatic, admittedly this could just be a skilled knight but we all know how acrobatic the Dornish are when fighting.

The forth idea is simple. We may not actually know. Season 6 is mostly uncharted territory. There are still aspects of the books that will be used in this season but most of it is completely off reference and unknown. This could just simply be a battle between characters we currently know or have yet to meet. The detail of the video makes it impossible to know.

Whatever this video is showing it has certainly got many fans of the show going crazy, wanting to find out more. No comment has been given on the video thus far and we shouldn’t expect one. I’d assume there will be more security in the next filming scenes so we’re also unlikely to see anything like this again. Let’s just take this as it is though, a small yet wildly speculation inducing video.

I personally believe that it is

There is some more interesting news that has recently appeared about next season of Game of thrones. It seems that another dead character may be on her way to return. Set photos have shown actress Sibel Kekilli (Shae) walking around set. What is important here is that she is not in costume and just going around in normal clothing. Her co-actors are in costume and this does make me believe that she may just be visiting her friends on set. If she is alive though, her presences in Mareen with Tyrion there will be a very interesting one to see.

She may not be the only returning character. Jon Snow will play a very important part in this season. The R+L=J theory as this one has the greatest merit and impact on the season and the story and it would therefore be foolish to assume that Jon is never coming back. The placement of Milisandre on the wall moments before his death is naturally suspicious. It’s therefore perfectly possible that this is the important scene in question. What it also means is that Jon could even be resurrected as Azor Ahai, a long shot but still perfectly possible.

Surprisingly another character could also make a return from the dead. There is another theory known by some as ‘Celganebowl’. With Cersei needing to stand trial many believe she will choose trial by combat. This is the most logical because she does have Robert Strong (The Mountain) on her side. It means that for the faith to win and for Cersei to lose they need someone who has the capabilities and will to not only beat Gregor Clegane but also Cersei too. That person is Sandor ‘The Hound’ Clegane. Yes that’s right The Hound VS The Mountain. When last we saw of Sandor Arya had left him for dead by a mountainous area near or in The Vale. In the books Brienne goes to a place called Quiet Isle, a monastery of the Brothers of the faith of the Seven. When here Brienne speaks to the elder brother of the monastery. The Elder Brother explains how they found The Hound and helped him out. It was also here where she saw a very large man with his face covered, who looked to be recovering from wounds, digging graves. The Elder Brothers vagueness at discussing The Hound has also led people to believe that ‘The Hound’ may be dead but Sandor may not. If he has found new life with the Seven then he is the Faiths greatest soldier.

Now this theory is loose and it could easily be one that is based more on a need to see a character we all love return. Imagine though if it came to pass. That scene would hopefully be one of the greatest fight scenes in all of Game of Thrones and we’d finally get justice for Oberyn too. The facts are clear though. Cersei will need a trial, it will almost undoubtedly be a trial by combat and Cersei will naturally choose The Mountain. If Sandor is alive and is now a man of The Faith, The Faith would have to choose him, they’d be mad not to. We can only hope.

Theories and suspicions are always amazing when you first hear them. Some are completely out of nowhere and almost certainly untrue. Others have massive amounts of detail and clues associated with them. It’s for us to decide which to follow and for the producers to decide which to make true. If these theories and suspicions do turn out to be true then season 6 will be the greatest season yet.

Game of Thrones season 6 will be released in April 2016. That’s seven months away people start counting down the days.