A future Game of Thrones episode title has been leaked – but what could it mean?
More death, a religious uprising or the return of Jon Snow?
With Game of Thrones’ sixth series a complete mystery for the first time ever (having overtaken the source novels by George RR Martin), it’s fair to say that we’re willing to obsess over any detail, no matter how small, to try and find out more about upcoming episodes.
And so we were overjoyed to learn that the title for this year’s fourth episode has apparently been leaked by HBOAsia, who seem to have accidentally uploaded the name onto their website.
Turn away now if you don't want to know more...
OK, the new title is The Book of the Stranger.
So, assuming that this title (spotted by Winter is Coming) is the real deal, what could it mean? Well, probably more death (big surprise), but this time with a religious bent.
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You see The Stranger is one aspect of the series’ main religion, aka the Faith in the Seven, a version of Christianity’s Holy Trinity but with even more sides making up one deity.
In total they are the Father, the Mother, the Warrior, the Maiden, the Smith, the Crone and our old pal the Stranger, each of them representing different virtues and prayed to for different things. The Stranger stands slightly outside the others however, as he/she represents death and the unknown and is not generally worshipped by anyone except the odd outcast from society.
Which makes the Stranger’s inclusion in this episode title all the stranger. Could it be a warning sign that Jonathan Pryce’s High Sparrow and his Faith Militant will be on the march again in episode four, leaving plenty of dead victims to greet the Stranger in their path to religious purity?
Or just a passing reference to holy book the Seven-Pointed star (the Faith of the Seven’s bible, which the Book of the Stranger is presumably a part of), perhaps acting as some sort of commentary on how much death there is in the series already?
Or could the invocation of the Stranger refer to the RECENTLY dead, someone who might not quite be ready to pass on to the other side and greet their maker? Someone called… Jon Snow perhaps, long rumoured to be resurrected by Red Priestess Melisandre (Carice van Houten) but who could also be back in action via some other semi-religious means?
Yes, it’s a bit unlikely that it relates to Kit Harington’s murdered hero, but hey – Stranger things have happened.
Game of Thrones is on Sky Atlantic on Mondays at 2am and 9pm
