Does Benjen Stark Return On Game Of Thrones Season 5 Finale?

There's an international promo for HBO's Game of Thrones that provides a recap of events that are pertinent to tonight's season finale. In it, we see a familiar face: Benjen Stark (portrayed by Joseph Mawle).

You may have forgotten who Benjen Stark is as the last time we saw him alive was in Season 1, Episode 3. He's the younger brother of Eddard Stark, Uncle of Jon Snow and First Ranger of the Night's Watch. Jon Snow idolized him, his Uncle was one of the main reasons Jon left Winterfell to go north to guard The Wall. Sadly, Jon didn't get to enjoy the company of his Uncle for very long as Benjen went beyond The Wall to investigate "disturbing reports," but only his horse returned.

In the books, George R.R. Martin has never filled in the blanks of Benjen's mysterious disappearance, so if he does reappear in the show tonight it'll be either ahead or outside of the source material.

Okay, so why would he return? There's plenty of possibilities, I would start with Jon Snow's parentage. Before Benjen left he promised on his return he would tell Jon the truth about his mother. Secondly, Benjen's return could be White Walker-related. He's been beyond The Wall all of this time, so you have to believe he could hold the key to defeating the undead army. Or, Benjen could be returning as a member of the White Walkers.

Check out the promo in the video below. If you'd like to just watch the recap with Benjen, to avoid any other potential spoilers, start at the 55 second mark.

Is the promo real or is it fake? Nobody is quite sure, since it was supposedly posted and then removed from the website of German cable company Sky.

(via Vanity Fair)

Game of Thrones season 5 finale airs tonight at 9 p.m. ET on HBO.