Game Of Thrones’ Tom Wlaschiha Talks Jaqen H’Ghar’s Return & Possible Secret Agenda

The Faceless Man known as Jaqen H’Ghar made a surprising return in the latest episode of Game of Thrones, “The House of Black and White.” The character has been absent from the television series since parting ways with Arya Stark in Season 2, and hasn’t been seen – at least not overtly – in George R.R. Martin’s book series the second book, A Clash of Kings (though some believe he made an uncredited appearance in the fourth book, A Feast for Crows).

But Jaqen revealed himself to Arya after she made the pilgrimage to Braavos to seek out training as a Faceless Man from the House of Black and White. The actor who plays Jaqen, Tom Wlaschiha, says he didn’t know he’d be returning for the show, though he always hoped.

“I had some hope, but it was tricky,” Wlaschiha says in an interview for the official Game of Thrones online production diary. “The character’s not in the books anymore, so far, at least. I was hoping to be back, but normally what you hope for on Game of Thrones doesn’t happen.”

While even Wlaschiha doesn’t know the ultimate plan for Jaqen down the line, he is suspicious of a possible hidden agenda, given how Jaqen and Arya met.

“It seems like there’s some bigger plan behind it,” he says. “We still don’t know why Jaqen showed up in the first place. It always seemed kind of strange to me that he, with his abilities, would be a prisoner in the black cells in King’s Landing. We still don’t know what his secret agenda is – or if there is a secret agenda.”

It’s also worth noting that, while Arya was doing her best to keep her identity a secret at the time, Jaqen called her by her true name before leaving her in Season 2, implying that he knew who she was all along. Could he have been sent to seek her out, or is there more to it than that?

Game of Thrones airs Sundays at 9 p.m. ET on HBO.