Warning: This article contains spoilers for Game of Thrones episode 6, 'Blood of My Blood' that is repeated in the UK tonight (Monday, May 30).
Game of Thrones may have just delivered the most unexpected twist of its sixth season so far - 'Blood of My Blood' featured another Stark reunion.
For a show that usually devotes a lot of time to killing off Starks, we almost can't believe it either.
But this wasn't any old Stark reunion, as the returning character was none other than Benjen Stark (Joseph Mawle), Ned Stark's younger brother, Jon Snow's uncle, and someone who hasn't physically been seen on the show since season one, not including Bran's flashbacks.
Game Of Thrones season 6 episode 6 review: 'Blood of my Blood' is a step back, but still fantastic
His return in tonight's episode saw him save Bran (Isaac Hempstead Wright) and Meera (Ellie Kendrick) from a group of attacking wights and it brought another pair of Starks together, which is something Game of Thrones producer Bryan Cogman is enjoying seeing the fans watch.
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"It's hard for me to talk about Benjen's return without getting into the nitty gritty of the adaptation process. But, yeah, season 6 is rife with Stark reunions!" Cogman told EW.
"That's another thing that's been very heartening to track with the fans. The show is so sprawling and there are so many threads, but, at its heart it's largely about this good family that was torn apart. So seeing some of them connect again was very satisfying to write and to shoot."
But, seeing as Benjen has been absent since riding north of the Wall back in episode three of the first season, we certainly shouldn't expect him to be the same character we knew back then.
"It was great to have Joe Mawle back with us," Cogman added. "It must have been a trip for him to step back into the character after so long - but he's also decidedly not the Benjen of season 1, so that was fun to explore."
Game of Thrones returns to HBO next Sunday while Sky Atlantic airs the show on Mondays in the UK.
