Game of Thrones Season 6

New 'Game of Thrones' Trailer Pretends You-Know-Who Is Actually Dead

We’re now diving back into the throes of The Walking Dead, but it’s easy to forget that Game of Thrones is just a few mere months away (the two are smart enough to never overlap). When season six shows up, everyone only wants one simple question answered (spoilers follow).

Video of Game of Thrones Season 6: Hall of Faces Tease (HBO)

Is Jon Snow really dead?

After being knifed a dozen odd times by members of the Night’s Watch, and bleeding out on the snow looking very, very dead in the season five finale, logic would say yes. However, given that this is an epic fantasy, sometimes you’re allowed to throw logic out the window.

But for HBO’s part at least, they’re still going with the fiction that Snow is dead and will stay dead, judging by a recent trailer. Well, it’s a teaser, as it doesn’t show any new footage, but I sort of love what they’ve done with it.

The spot shows the Faceless Men’s Hall of Faces, where various dead cast members have their visages return to say a foreboding line. There’s Ned Stark, Robb Stark, Catelyn Stark and even Joffrey, but near the end of the spot, we get Jon Snow himself showing up as a blank face with a quip of his own. Paired with all the other dead characters, it’s very clearly meant to try and indicate that Snow is actually dead, but I think that’s something of a false flag.

The very end of the spot does show Tyrion on the wall, but he doesn’t speak, and as the camera zooms out, we see the faces of all other still-alive cast members. The message is clear: No one is safe. Well, except Jon Snow, I would argue.

What some fans are making a big deal about is who doesn’t appear on the wall, namely Stannis Baratheon and The Hound, both of whom supposedly died this season.

I would argue that the show doesn’t have enough wall space to cover all the dead characters in a minute-long spot, but I think this may be significant all the same.

I’m willing to concede that Stannis is probably dead. Though Game of Thrones didn’t show Brienne’s blade passing through him, which is usually an indicator that someone could still be alive, it’s hard to imagine a scenario where she didn’t extract her revenge. Maybe she did want a king to hold as ransom for some reason, but from cast and crew interviews, they all seem to indicate Stannis is really dead.

The Hound, Sandor Clegane? Not so much. We’re getting into light book spoilers here, but there’s a character we meet on the road who is a warrior-turned-priest who looks after a disfigured graveskeeper, who he reportedly nursed back to health after being injured. We know that priest character has been cast (Ian McShane) so we’re likely to see this scenario pop up this year. The implication in the book is that Sandor Clegane is actually the graveskeeper, though even though that’s hinted at, it’s never confirmed, nor does he spring back into action. I imagine the show might handle that a little bit differently.

Jon Snow remains the biggest mystery however, and it’s funny to see the show try really hard to convince us he’s dead with a spot like this. Honestly, the biggest twist at this point would be Snow actually being dead, but as I’ve said before, with his role in the Azor Ahai prophecy, and the mystery of his parents still outstanding, there’s no way the show, or the books, are going to permanently kill him off yet, if ever. 

Does Game of Thrones teaser signal death of key characters?

The latest teaser for Game of Thrones season six has left fans fearing that more of their favourite characters are about to be killed off.

Set in the Hall of Faces, the 80-second clip lingers on dead characters from previous seasons, including Ned, Rob and Catelyn Stark and King Joffrey. Finally, the camera rests on Jon Snow, whose voice can be heard saying: "The Long Night is coming, and the dead come with it."

Just as viewers are led to believe Snow must be dead after all, the disembodied faces of other living characters such as Tyrion Lannister come into view in the crypt.

Video of Game of Thrones Season 6: Hall of Faces Tease (HBO)

As the show will overtake the books, we're heading into "uncharted territory", says The Verge: "That means that any one of Game of Thrones' hundreds of characters could be breathing their last this season, and today's trailer rams that point home, hovering ominously around the Stark siblings, as well as other major characters."

Is Tyrion dead? asks Bustle. "According to this trailer, it's a very real possibility."

The inclusion of so many key characters, such as Daenerys Targaryen and Arya and Sansa Stark, in the bodiless line-up offers some hope that the producers will not kill everyone off - at least, not all at once.

Some fans have pointed out that some apparently dead characters, such as Stannis Baratheon and The Hound, did not appear in the Hall of Faces with the Starks and King Joffrey. Others argue they were simply out of sight.

"Everyone you love is at risk again this year," says Joanna Robinson at Vanity Fair, although she adds that, unless the scene is an upcoming Arya vision, the teaser does not seem to contain any actual footage from season six, in keeping with HBO's increased level of secrecy.

"Everyone's head is on the chopping block this season," she continues. "In previous years book readers, at least, were prepared for the death of the Starks, Oberyn Martell, Khal Drogo, etc. But this year? Well, it's anyone's guess and in that final shot HBO wants to make it clear that even your surviving favourites probably won't make it through the entire season in one piece."

Should we be bracing ourselves for more death? "Hint: YES," says Hollywood Life. "We're freaking out. Does this mean everyone is going to die? Surely not. But it's clear no one is safe."

The Radio Times questions whether Snow's face might be given life - "of a sort" - by the faceless men, which "could even lead to the particularly weird situation of faceless girl-in-training Arya wearing the face of her dead dad or brother".

Meanwhile, a new photograph of Daenerys Targaryen shows her tied up and surrounded by Dothrakis.

Game of Thrones photos offer answers about season six - finally

12 February
HBO has released a series of photographs from the next series of Game of Thrones - and finally fans can gleam some answers to the questions they have been asking since season five came to its blood-spattered conclusion.

The photos offer insight into who is alive, who is dead and who has changed, says Gizmodo, and there are some "bloody huge reveals".

Tyrion Lannister appears to still be in Meereen while his brother and sister, Jaime and Cersei, are reunited. In one photograph, Jaime is seen holding Cersei, who sports a newly cropped hairstyle. He has brought their dead daughter Myrcella back to King's Landing, where their son Tommen is still on the throne - for now.

Meanwhile, Margaery Tyrell remains in prison after her arrest in season five for "lying to the gods" about her brother's sexuality and Arya Stark is still blind.

In the north, Sansa Stark and Theon Greyjoy have survived their jump from the wall at Winterfell, while Bran Stark has returned and appears to be standing tall. Game of Thrones enthusiasts suspect his legs have not made a miraculous recovery, but that the Three-Eyed Raven has taken him on a Christmas Carol-style cosmic journey through time.

There is no sign of Jon Snow at Castle Black, but Red Priestess Melisandre is still at the Wall. There has been much speculation that she might bring Snow back from the dead after he was stabbed by the Night's Watch at the end of last season.

Game of Thrones: seven things to look forward to in season six

11 February
With a little more than two months to go before the sixth season of Game of Thrones, fans have been given plenty of exciting clues about what's to come. The cast and crew have been painstakingly careful to make their interviews spoiler-free since season five ended on multiple cliffhangers, but there have been hints, as well as leaks, from filming shoots and some sparse trailers. So what can we expect?

1. The return of Bran Stark

The fledgling warg was not seen for the whole of season five, but is expected to return. HBO's first official teaser showed Bran with white eyes, suggesting he was warging and in another body. He is also heard saying: "They have no idea what's going to happen."

According to Entertainment Weekly, Bran has been busy receiving training from the Three-Eyed Raven and the Children of the Forest off-screen, with his return compared to Luke Skywalker's reappearance as a Jedi in Star Wars. British actor Isaac Hempstead Wright, who plays the young warg, has hinted that his character will have some "interesting visions".

2. New Lost and X-Files directors

Five directors will be involved in the new series, each handling two episodes, according to Time magazine. Three of them – Jeremy Podeswa, Mark Mylod and Miguel Sapochnik – are Thrones veterans, but there are two newcomers. Daniel Sackheim, who has worked on the likes of Miami Vice, The X-Files and House, will be directing episodes three and four, while Jack Bender, best known for directing 38 episodes of Lost, will be at the helm for parts five and six.

The decision to put Sapochnik in charge of the final two episodes might suggest "we're in for another epic battle climax", says Time, as it was the British director who shot the Hardhome episode in season five, featuring a long battle sequence with Jon Snow, the Wildlings and the White Walkers' army of zombies.

 3. 'Very spectacular' fight scenes

Casting calls for Game of Thrones have not only given fans an insight into the new characters they can expect, but also the upcoming scenes.

One casting document, leaked last summer, called for "the best swordsman in Europe" to play the role of a "legendary fighter" in "very spectacular fight scenes". Another similar call, possibly for the same role, advertised for someone who "looks heroic and like a fierce and efficient experienced fighter" to appear in a "massive and memorable" fight scene. "The flamboyant aspects of the fighting will be taken over by a stunt fighter but we need someone who looks like they can take care of themselves," it said.

Watchers on the Wall suggests the character could be Ser Arthur Dayne. In Martin's books, he dies following a fight at the Tower of Joy, which looks set to feature in the sixth series.

4. Young Ned Stark?

Casting calls for two young boys with dark hair and northern accents quickly caught the sharp eyes of hardcore fans. There was immediate speculation on Watchers on the Wall that the two youngsters will be playing younger versions of brothers Ned and Benjen Stark. Oxford-born Sebastian Croft is set to play the older boy, who is described as having brown hair and blue eyes, much like Sean Bean, who played the adult Ned until he was killed off at the end of the first series.

Showrunners Dan Weiss and David Benioff once ruled out using flashbacks to flesh out characters' backstories, but they relaxed their rule last series, with a scene involving a young Cersei. So it's not unthinkable that they would consider using the device again.

5. Will Arya be permanently blind?

Aside from Jon Snow's demise, one of season five's most shocking plotlines was the psychotic and brutal traits Maisie Williams's character, Arya Stark, showed in her killing of Meryn Trant. In the season five finale, Arya's unusual punishment for the act was the loss of her sight in a rather unnerving fashion. In an interview with HBO, Williams said the chilling effect was achieved by placing 16mm-wide contact lenses in her eyes. "I hope that her sight comes back, but if not, I think she should become a real badass assassin without sight," she said.

Another cliffhanger involves Arya's sister, Sansa, played by Sophie Turner, who was leaping off the high wall of Winterfell with Theon, in the form of Alfie Allen, at the end of season five. HollywoodTake predicts the pair will finally bond after their "tense" relationship in the last series - but where will they go and will Sansa be able to escape her abusive husband Ramsay?

6. The truth about Jon Snow

Is he? Isn't he? Fans have been forced to wait almost a year to find out if Jon Snow is really dead. His stabbing at the hands of his own Night Watch brothers looked pretty convincing and the show's producers have insisted that "dead is dead". Kit Harington, who plays Snow, also continues to deny his return, despite being spotted numerous times on and around the show's set last year. But last November, HBO released a poster appearing to show Snow alive, albeit not in great health. Now, the question on many fans' lips is: "How will he be resurrected?"

7. A new red priestess

Melisandre, played by Carice Van Houten, has proved to be a key character in Game of Thrones, but it looks as if there will be another Red Priestess in the sixth season. Last year, the show was auditioning for a "beautiful, intense and magnetic" actress to take on the role of Kinvara and a clip of one hopeful reading for the part was leaked in the media. Kinvara apparently visits Tyrion and Varys to offer help in ruling Meereen following the departure of Daenerys, who flew away on her dragon in season five. The audition script hints it may be some time before Daenerys returns, as Kinvara says she has been "sent to lead the people against the darkness… for this war and the Great War yet to come". The part is expected to be played by British actress Melanie Liburd.

Game of Thrones first pilot was 'a complete piece of s***'

9 February
There is a reason why no one has seen the original Game of Thrones pilot – it was a "complete piece of s***".

So, it seems, was the verdict from a friend of the show's creators, Dan Weiss and David Benioff.
The two men have been speaking about the early episode, which was shot in 2009 but never saw the light of day.

In a candid interview on the Scriptnotes podcast, they recalled screening the pilot for their friends – and it did not go down well.

"Watching them watch that original pilot was one of the most painful experiences of my life," says Weiss.

Benioff has similar memories: "I was taking notes and I had this yellow legal pad and I just remembered writing in all caps, 'MASSIVE PROBLEM.'"

Scriptnotes co-host and the duo's friend Craig Mazin, who was invited to the screening, was at a loss for constructive criticism, telling them simply: "Change everything."

To their credit, says Slash Film, they actually did. "Director Tom McCarthy (a newly minted Oscar nominee for Spotlight) was replaced by television veteran Tim Van Patten and a reported 90 per cent of the pilot was reshot and restructured," says the site.

A big problem with the early episode was that it wasn't clear that two of the leading characters, Jaime and Cersei Lannister, were siblings and lost the impact of their incestuous relationship.

In the original, Catelyn Stark was played by Jennifer Ehle, best known for her role as Elizabeth Bennet in the BBC's 1995 mini-series Pride and Prejudice. She was replaced by Michelle Fairley, although some original footage remains, meaning Sansa and Catelyn are never seen in the same frame in the new edit. Other cut footage includes the deaths of Jon Arryn, described as a "lunatic" scene by actor John Standing, and Ned Stark's brother, Brandon.

Tamzin Merchant, who played Catherine Howard alongside Natalie Dormer in Michael Hirst's The Tudors, reportedly played the role of Daenerys Targaryen in the pilot but was replaced by Emilia Clarke.

Theon Greyjoy and Tyrion Lannister also have much blonder hair in the original, while writer George RR Martin reportedly appeared as a Pentoshi nobleman.

Mazin says he was "stunned" when the re-edited pilot unfolded. "I very specifically remember walking out and I said to [Weiss and Benioff]: 'That is the biggest rescue in Hollywood history.' Because it wasn't just that they had saved something bad and turned it really good. You had saved a complete piece of s*** and turned it into something brilliant. That never happens."

Replaced director McCarthy appears to bear no grudges, telling AV Club a few years ago: "They had to change some locations and they did quite a bit of work on it since I left. I'd like to think I had some impact on it, but I don't think much of that is mine anymore."

Game of Thrones season six: what will become of Sansa and Arya Stark?

2 February
At the end of the last season of Game of Thrones, sisters Arya and Sansa Stark were on opposite sides of the Narrow Sea.

After returning to Winterfell, Sansa (Sophie Turner) was last seen leaping off a high wall to escape her violent husband Ramsay Bolton (Iwan Rheon). Arya (Maisie Williams) had joined the Faceless Men in Braavos and had been rendered blind while training to become an assassin.

Williams has hinted that her blindness will continue into the next season, telling Vulture the painted contact lenses she has to wear are "very painful", as they are "huge" and "very thick".
In another hint for scenes to come, the actress has been seen filming neck-high in freezing cold water off Carnlough, Northern Ireland, in Northern Ireland, and wailing into the distance.

A casting call for season six has also revealed that the next series could feature a theatre troupe that Arya becomes a part of during her quest as an assassin.

Meanwhile, Williams's co-star Turner has said this season will be a "really, really big one" for Sansa, whose wedding-night rape at the hands of her abusive husband proved the most controversial moment of the show yet.

Rumour has it that the new episodes will see Sansa feature in a battle involving the Boltons and the wildlings, as well as Theon Greyjoy (Alfie Allen) and Jon Snow (Kit Harington).

"It's probably her best season yet," Turner told Entertainment Weekly. "It's her really coming into her own. She, this season, really commands the respect that she deserves and she grabs hold of it and she runs with it and it's really good."

Game of Thrones: 'lunatic' scene scrapped from pilot

29 January
British actor John Standing, who appears in Game of Thrones as the corpse of Jon Arryn, has revealed he originally filmed a "lunatic" death scene for the show.

The Olivier-nominated star can be seen in the very first episode, laid out with painted pebbles on his eyes.

Speaking to Spanish fan-site Los Siete Reinos, he explains that another scene in which Arryn dramatically dies at the hands of Queen Cersei was cut.

Tim Van Patten, who directed the pilot, apparently told Standing: "I want you to get out of your bed and crawl across the room and put your hand up and take the bottle of ink as if you're going to write something.

"The bottle will come crashing down and there'll be ink all over you and the queen will come in and she'll stamp on your hand and you'll die."

To which Standing replied: "Golly. OK. Whatever."

Video of John Standing (el actor de Jon Arryn) describe una escena eliminada que compartía con Lena Heady

Lena Headey, who plays Queen Cersei, was "adorable, just the best", adds Standing, but the scene was "lunatic" and "inevitably cut to nothing".

He still receives fan mail for his brief part as a corpse, which he says "goes to show the lunacy of Game of Thrones".

Arryn's death marks a key turning point at the beginning of the show, triggering a wave of change in the higher echelons of Westeros and stirring the beginnings of conflict between the major houses.
Meanwhile, Kit Harington continues to confuse viewers about the fate of his character Jon Snow, who was stabbed to death at the end of the last season. While a recent HBO poster led many fans to believe Snow would come back to life in season six, Harington is still insisting the character is dead.
"People didn't want me to die, but he's dead. So there you go, everyone has to get used to it," he told Digital Spy.

When asked how he has dealt with the constant rumours about his future in the show, he said: "I've just hit the ground and gone undercover. I've tried to do absolutely no press for anything.

"It's brilliant – the fact that people care about this TV show and what happens to the people they love or hate in it is a special thing. I've got nothing to complain about, put it that way. If they care about it and I get asked about it a lot, it means that people hold it dear to their hearts and it's doing what it's meant to.​"

Game of Thrones season six new teaser trailers: the verdict

26 January
HBO has released three new teasers ahead of the sixth season of Game of Thrones, each featuring a banner of one of the three major houses of Westeros.

The first teaser shows the Stark colours, with a voiceover from Ramsay Bolton declaring his ownership over the family's home of Winterfell. The second reveals the Lannister banner, with the High Sparrow calling on followers to "overthrow an empire". Lastly, the Targaryen banner features a voiceover from an unknown Dothraki saying Daenerys Targaryen is the "queen of nothing".

So what have we learned? The new teasers "set up an epic family feud", says Wired.

Each trailer reminds you that the great houses of Westeros are "totally screwed" and that there are "more than a few nasty villains still drawing breath and threatening the heads of your favourite characters", says SlashFilm. "In other words: everyone is in dire peril and everything sucks and the new episodes simply can't get here fast enough."

Nevertheless, Tech Insider suggests there is hope for Daenerys Targaryen. In the last season, she was surrounded by Dothraki, but there are giant plumes of smoke and fire in the teaser. "Hopefully the burning landscape in the background means Drogon is nearby and Daenerys can use dragonfire to lay waste to the khalasar," says the site.

Fans have just 13 weeks left before they find out, with season six set to premiere on 24 April.
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Game of Thrones series six: who is Euron Greyjoy?

22 January
With just a few months to go until Game of Thrones returns for a sixth series, fans are more eager than ever to clap eyes on the inhabitants of Westeros.
Whetting their appetites is a new clip from HBO that offers a tantalising glimpse of fan favourite Jaime Lannister (Nikolaj Coster-Waldau) back in the saddle with a phalanx of armed men alongside him.

But why has Jaime come back to King's Landing dressed up to the nines? Fans at Watchers on the Wall guess it may have something to do with his sister Cersei's imprisonment and humiliation at the hands of the Faith Militant.

But while viewers prepare to reunite with their old favourites, there are also a few new additions to look forward to.

Danish actor Pilou Asbæk is one of the fresh faces joining the cast, taking on the role of Euron Greyjoy.

As the name suggests, he is brother to Balon and Aeron and uncle to Theon and Yara. Superfans will even recall him being mentioned once – indirectly - when Tyrion identified Theon's uncles as being responsible for burning the Lannister fleet at Lannisport during the Greyjoy Rebellion.

The show's omission of the Greyjoy family's storyline has been one of the largest deviations from author George RR Martin's books, but this looks likely to be remedied. 

Euron could become a replacement for King Stannis Baratheon as a new "pursuer of the Iron Throne", as Joseph Baxter at Blastr previously predicted. However, based on how he is depicted in the novels, he could prove to be a "rather despicable antagonist".

Known as Crow's Eye because of the eyepatch he wears over his left eye, Euron is a cunning military leader who alienated himself from the Greyjoys - after raping his brother's mistress  - and commanded a pirate ship, ripping out the crew's tongues to render them mute. When he returns to the Iron Islands, he has styled himself as King of the Isles and the North.

"He is possibly the most callous, morally corrupt, hedonistic character in the Ice and Fire mythos, which is quite an accomplishment for someone in George RR Martin's bleak, optimism-abusing, 'good guys finish last' world," writes Baxter.

So, will Euron live up to his troublemaking past? In an interview with IGN, Asbæk remained tight-lipped about exactly what fans can expect from the new character. "There's no-one like Euron Greyjoy," he said, laughing.

Borgen fans will find Westeros' newcomer looks a little familiar – Asbæk played spin doctor Kasper Juul in the hit political drama.

Another newcomer looking to shake things up in Westeros is British actor Tamer Hassan, best known for his role as Agah Bayar on the long-running US crime series NCIS. He'll be playing an as-yet unnamed character in the upcoming series.

Like every cast member, Hassan is sworn to silence about the specifics of his role but promised "exciting" scenes.

Speaking to Bang Showbiz at the premiere of his latest film, Breakdown, the 47-year-old did give one hint about his role: ''Learning that Dothraki language was a feat in itself," he said. It sounds as if we can expect to see Hassan in the saddle as one of the nomadic warriors – could he be one of the horsemen who surrounded Daenerys at the end of the last series? It seems the Dothraki are set to have a prominent role in series six, with French actor Elie Haddad cast as a horseman and New Zealander Joe Naufahu confirmed as their leader, Khal Jhaqo.

Fans will have to wait until April to find out if the warrior clan will prove to be friend or foe to the fallen queen.

Game of Thrones: Emilia Clarke promises fans 'big moments' in next season

14 January
Game of Thrones star Emilia Clarke has promised fans the next season will contain "the biggest moments on television that have ever existed".

Speaking to E! News earlier this week, the actor, who plays Daenerys Targaryen, said she was "excited and nervous" about the series overtaking George RR Martin's books, adding: "There's something for everyone."

So which characters will be involved in these "biggest moments"? Jon Snow, perhaps? Asked if Kit Harington's character was still alive, Clarke paused for three seconds before saying: "It's just going to be big."

Bill Bradley, entertainment editor at the Huffington Post, has a few ideas about what the other "big moments" might entail. He thinks Daenerys might finally invade Westeros, while a big battle to "put all others to shame" will take place involving the Boltons and the wildlings, as well as Snow, Sansa Stark (Sophie Turner) and Theon Greyjoy (Alfie Allen).

While there is plenty of time for the hype to reach fever pitch before season six is released in April, Clarke isn't helping matters, says Louise Blain at GamesRadar.

"If someone from a UK soap said this, we'd have politely pushed them into the sea, but this is Game of Thrones and if anyone can even attempt to make good on these promises, it's the HBO production," she says. "Alternatively, it could be the kind of thing you say when you aren't actually allowed to say anything about anything."

Dan Selcke at fansite Winter is Coming, describes it as "quite a tall claim" that is making him nervous.

"On the one hand, I'm excited to see how the show plans to top its big moments from last year, like the massacre at Hardhome and Drogon's descent on Daznak's Pit," he says. "On the other hand, I continue to be nervous that the show's focus on big, splashy moments will come at the expense of nuance and density."

Game of Thrones: will the TV show and books end differently?

11 January
The next book  in the Game of Thrones series is still "months away" from completion, says author George RR Martin, meaning it is unlikely to come out before the sixth season of the television show.
This puts the HBO series  in an unusual position whereby it is set to overtake its source material, suggesting even more deviation from the novels in the programmes to come.

Martin had hoped to publish The Winds of Winter, his sixth book in the Song of Ice and Fire series, , before season six began. But in a remorseful blog post, he said it would be "done when it's done".
Nevertheless, showrunners DB Weiss and David Benioff have, for a long time, assured fans the show will share its conclusions with the novels.

"We've been talking about this with George for a long time, ever since we saw this could happen, and we know where things are heading," Benioff said last year. "And so we'll eventually, basically, meet up at pretty much the same place where George is going. There might be a few deviations along the route, but we're heading towards the same destination."

Speaking to chat-show host Jimmy Kimmel this week, actress Natalie Dormer, who plays Game of Thrones' Margaery Tyrell, said the two men had a "big pow-wow with George" a couple of years ago which meant they were all "on the same page – ish".

She added: "Maybe A to B they go off slightly different tangents, but B is still B."

However, Charlie Jane Anders of sci-fi blog iO9 said she could not see how the endings would be the same.
"Sure, Martin supposedly told the HBO producers how his books will end, but the devil is in the details," she says. "And even if the two endings have the same one-sentence summary, along the lines of 'the dragons and snow zombies kill each other off, and everyone dies except Theon, who becomes King of Westeros', you could imagine that playing out a lot of different ways."
Will the show spoil the novels? "Maybe. Yes and no," says Martin in his blog.
"Given where we are, inevitably, there will be certain plot twists and reveals in season six of Game of Thrones that have not yet happened in the books," he says.
But, he adds, some of the "spoilers" in season six "may not be spoilers at all... because the show and the books have diverged, and will continue to do so".
Spencer Kornhaber from The Atlantic has concerns about the television series overtaking the books. He suggests the way in which the fantasy series "feels real" to the viewers is down to Martin's methodical and careful writing. Comparing the early television seasons, which adhere closely to the novels, with the later seasons, which have veered away from them, Kornhaber says there are more "coincidences" and "typical TV writing" from showrunners Weiss and Benioff in the later series. "So I'm a little bit nervous about what happens when they don't have a kind of rock-solid story to build on," he says.
His colleague Amy Sullivan is also concerned that the showrunners tend to create new storylines for characters simply because they are popular with audiences. She points to Brienne of Tarth and Podrick Payne's extended adventures and Jaime Lannister and Bronn's "nonsensical" road trip to Dorne. "The books and the world are so meticulously plotted by Martin that it can be frustrating when the showrunners kind of give in to that temptation," she says.

Game of Thrones: six intriguing theories for season six

5 January
A few theories for season six look set to be more fact than fiction, such as Jon Snow's return and the question of his parentage. But with April drawing ever nearer, here are some of the far-fetched theories that have arisen from fans and critics:

Tyrion is a Targaryen

According to this theory, Tyrion, the character played by Peter Dinklage, is not the son of Tywin Lannister. All this time, he was actually the child of the Mad King Aerys II Targaryen – who supposedly slept with Tywin's wife, Joanna Lannister. "In George RR Martin's books, the physical attributes of Tyrion (eye colour, hair, etc.) are described as being different than his relatives," explains Tim Falkenberg for New Media RockStars.

"Tyrion has a 'black' eye (the Mad King's are described as purple) and pale blonde hair similar to the Mad King." Fans of the television show have also trawled through previous episodes to find evidence to back up the claim.

They note that, after the Battle of the Blackwater, Tywin told Tyrion: "Mens' laws give you the right to bear my name and display my colours since I cannot prove that you are not mine." And of course, when Tyrion killed Tywin, the dying man's last words were: "You are no son of mine."

Gravedigger

Sandor 'The Hound' Clegane appeared to die at the hands of Brienne – but what if he isn't dead, and is instead living as a monk on the Quiet Isle? In the books, a monk named Septon Meribald claims he saw The Hound die, but the theory goes that he actually saved him.

All signs point to Septon being in season six, thanks to numerous casting calls. Ian McShane has also revealed that his mystery character is responsible for bringing back an unexpected character. So could it be that McShane is Septon Meribald and he's bringing back the Hound? TV Line's Kimberly Roots certainly thinks so.

Cleganebowl

There is another theory that The Hound and his brother, Gregor 'The Mountain' Clegane, will finally have a battle to the death. Despite The Mountain also appearing to be out of action, some believe the brothers might both return and be pitted against one another in a trail by combat: The Mountain representing Cersei and The Hound representing the Faith of the Seven.

Frey Pies

Game of Thrones is well known for pushing the boundaries, so this cannibalistic theory might not be far off the mark. "In the books, it's widely believed that Lord Wyman Manderly kills three Freys and bakes them into pies to feed to the Boltons and Freys as revenge for the Red Wedding," says Johnny Brayson at wetpaint.com. The only problem with this theory is that so far Lord Wyman has not appeared in the television shows and there's no guarantee he'll be there in season six.

A Second Red Wedding

"All signs point to a repeat of the marriage massacre that wiped out Robb Stark's forces, but this time the shoe will be on the other foot and the knife will be in the other heart," says Sean T Collins for Vulture.

In the books, Jaime Lannister is led into a trap by Brienne to Lady Stoneheart (formerly Lady Catelyn Stark) and the Brotherhood Without Banners, and his fate remains unclear. Some believe Stoneheart will appear in season six and use Jaime to get into a second Lannister wedding and gain revenge for the first Red Wedding. A second Red Wedding would be exactly the type of revenge for which the show has become famous.

Israeli actors to join the Essos storyline?

Two Israeli actors will appear in the upcoming season of Game of Thrones, reports Ynet. Nothing official is known about the parts that Ania Bukstein and Yousef 'Joe' Sweid will play, though they are not expected to be major.

The duo have signed confidentiality agreements, but that has not prevented fan speculation over where they will fit in. Watchers On The Wall believe that, "given the show's track record", the pair will form part of the Essos storyline. Winter Is Coming agrees, but says it "can't rule out Dorne or other places in Westeros, either".

Russian-born Bukstein has taken a lead role in several Israeli films, including The Secrets, Rabies, and The Arbitrator. Sweid took a recurring role in American Odyssey and has featured in the Homeland saga.