New Game of Thrones Season 7 Photos Tease Character Returns

We’re only a few weeks away to the premiere of “Game of Thrones” season 7. That means speculations about the plot, characters and over every bit of news ensues, no matter how big or small. In line with this, a batch of new photos for season 7 have been released . There’s a lot of details that we can all pick up from each photo, including our very first look at Beric Dondarrion.

Game of Thrones Character Returns: Beric Dondarrion, Samwell Tarly and Bran Stark

The last time we saw Beric was when he offered Sandor Clegane (The Hound) a spot in the Brotherhood Without Banners. It’s implied that they are headed North to ‘stop the cold winds’ from rising. A recent photo of The Hound seems to confirm this as well.

Will we finally see the Brotherhood enter Winterfell for “Game of Thrones” season 7? It would be very interesting to see Sansa and the Hound back together again. If you would remember, back in Season 2, The Hound offered Sansa a chance to go back to Winterfell, but she declined.

We also have our first look at Bran Stark, seemingly hard-up without Hodor (bless his soul) to carry him around now. He’s left with Meera, and the last time we saw them was when they ran into his Uncle Benjen Stark (who is half-dead).

We then get a glimpse of Samwell Tarly reading a stack of books at the Citadel in Oldtown. He’s well on his way to become a Maester, and we can’t help but be excited about his greater role for the seventh Season.

The Fate of Jon Snow, Daenerys Targaryen and the Lannisters

Jon Snow, being the newly-anointed King in the North, is also seen with Ser Davos, along with a couple of soldiers. It looks like they are headed off on a journey, but it’s unclear exactly where. Perhaps they are about to meet with the Brotherhood? Will they be crossing paths with Beric? Or are they off to forge an alliance with someone in preparation for the Great War? If this is the case, then Daenerys Targaryen’s arrival at Westeros seemed to have travelled fast in the North.

And speaking of Khaleesi, her new photos seem to imply that she has landed on Westeros, her first stop being her house ancestral seat—Dragonstone. She has finally claimed her birthright (as it previously belonged to Stannis Baratheon as a gift from his brother Robert), but she still has her eyes on the Iron Throne.

Meanwhile, Cersei Lannister is back at it again: manipulating her brother slash lover into doing her dirty work while enjoying a glass of wine. While it’s also unclear what they are planning to do here, but it looks like they are reevaluating their resources as they have apparently destroyed all their alliances. The Hightower is against them (remember the explosion?), the North is definitely against them, Dorne is out to get them killed, and Daenerys’ army of Unsullied and dragons just arrived in Westeros to grab the throne away from her. So at this point, the Lannisters are done.

“Game of Thrones” season 7 premieres Sunday, July 16 on HBO.