The seventh season of the HBO hit series “Game of Thrones” will be featuring something that fans have been waiting for since Season 1 and it is no other than the reunion of the Starks or whatever is left of them.
It could be recalled that it was only during Season 1 that the Starks were a whole family and one by one, key members were waylaid by the side beginning with the death of Ned Stark before the end of Season 1, the death of Catelyn Stark and Robb Stark in Season 3, and the death of Rickon Stark just before the Battle of the Bastards in Season 6.
That leaves a total of four members of the Starks in Jon Snow, Sansa, Bran, and Arya. Jon Snow and Sansa are already back in Winterfell after defeating the Boltons and feeding Ramsay to the dogs.
Bran Stark, on the other hand, narrowly escaped the onslaught of white walkers and is somewhere in the north with Meera Reed.
Arya was last seen over at Riverun slitting the throat of Walder Frey to avenge the death of her mother and big brother but not before deciding to finally leave Braavos.
Based on the spoiler photos of filming for Season 7 of “Game of Thrones,” there is definitely a huge Stark reunion happening, which would surely delight fans. On the other hand, it would also signal that the end is indeed coming near to the most popular TV series on the small screen today.
Some work of pesky photographers
The Independent of UK has reported that some pesky photographers were able to capture snapshots of some cast members of “Game of Thrones” wearing their costumes while filming an episode of Season 7 in Belfast.
Those who were spotted included Kit Harrington, who plays Jon Snow, Gwendoline Christie, who plays Brienne of Tarth, and Liam Cunningham, who plays Ser Davos.
Also spotted was a stunt double of Sansa Stark, played by Sophie Turner, along with Richard Rycroft, who played Maester Wolkan in Seasons 5 and 6, and Bella Rasey, the very captivating and exciting little Lord Lyanna Mormont.
Surprisingly, there was also Maisie Williams, who plays Arya Stark on the set wearing a Northern outfit indicating that she is back in Winterfell as well.
The photos also revealed that Williams was sharing a make-up trailer with Isaac Hempstead-Wright, who plays Bran Stark.
While they were not caught together in one photo, the fact that everyone is filming in Belfast and wearing the same Northern costume certainly hint of a huge Stark reunion finally happening in Season 7 of “Game of Thrones.”
A consolidated north bodes well for the Starks
The return of Arya and Bran to Winterfell would surely be something that fans would look forward to in Season 7 of “Game of Thrones,” notes Harpers Bazaar.
A consolidated north under Jon Snow, the new King of the North, would have better leverage once Cersei Lannister loses the throne to the impending arrival of the Mother of Dragons, Daenerys Targaryen.
Incidentally, during the Season 6 finale of “Game of Thrones,” it was already revealed, though indirectly, that the parents of Jon Snow are Rhaegar Targaryen and Lyanna Stark, confirming previous hints about R+L= J.
It is no longer possible to show the two characters in the present since they are already both dead. Lyanna Stark died after giving birth to Jon Snow in the Tower of Dorne and she managed to entrust the care of her son to his brother, Ned Stark.
Based on “A Song of Ice and Fire” fantasy novel series where “Game of Thrones” was based on, Rhaegar is the eldest son of the Mad King Aerys II and Rhaella Targaryen. He was married to Elia Martell but had an affair with Lyanna Stark, resulting in the birth of their love child, Jon Snow.
During the rebellion against the Mad King, Robert Baratheon killed Rhaegar for allegedly kidnapping Lyanna, whom he considers as the love of his life.
Speculations are now rife that in order to clarify to fans the events leading to the birth of Jon Snow, the backstory of the love affair of Rhaegar Targaryen and Lyanna Stark will be featured through the visions of Bran Stark in the upcoming seventh season of “Game of Thrones.”
It has been speculated that singer Devin Oliver might take on the role of Rhaegar in Season 7 of “Game of Thrones.”