Game of Thrones season five preview: six things we need to know 

Game of Thrones, season 4: Danerys, Tyrion and Cersei. Photograph: PR

Spoiler alert: this blog contains spoilers from seasons one to four of HBO’s Game of Thrones.

In just under three months, Game of Thrones will return. But what can we expect from the fifth season? As the show progresses so David Benioff and DB Weiss have begun to tell their tale with considerable freedom – adhering to George R R Martin’s framework while adding flourishes of their own – and the new season is expected to take a number of departures from the original material. With that in mind here are six questions we’d like to see answered in April. As ever, we will not reference the book’s plotlines and please leave no spoilers from them.

When we last saw everyone’s favourite Lannister he was at a very low point, having killed both his father and the woman he loved, and having been wrongly convicted of his nephew’s murder. He then headed into exile with my favourite supporting character, Varys, although it’s unclear whether the master of spiders intends to share his journey all the way, or what frame of mind the previously indomitable Tyrion is in. Where are they heading? A betting woman might suggest that the increasing time given to Braavos last season might be a pointer …

The one person we definitely know is heading to Braavos is Arya, who paid for her journey with the mysterious coin given to her by Jaqen H’ghar in season two. We don’t as yet know what that coin means – although Jaqen’s skill as an assassin coupled with the fear of the captain’s face does suggest that Arya’s future will continue to be filled with the unfortunate dead. As to the most recent dead man in her life, Sandor Clegane, whom she left expiring in the war-wracked countryside, all horror fans will tell you they’re not truly dead until you see the body. Hopefully next season will tell us whether Sandor cheated the reaper.

Tywin Lannister’s death could not have come at a better time for our lady of the over-flowing wine glass, as she’d just confessed the true nature of her relationship with twin brother Jaime and defied her father’s attempts to marry her to Loras Tyrell. Better yet, Tywin’s death leaves Cersei as Queen Mother, and conveniently Margaery has yet to actually marry Tommen. Will Cersei seize this opportunity to bring down the Tyrells? It wouldn’t be the most prudent line of attack but then she isn’t the most stable person.

Then there’s Dorne. We know from previous series that Cersei has never been happy about her daughter Mycella being shipped off there – will she demand her back? And how exactly does she plan to deal with the aftermath of Prince Oberyn’s death? With Tywin dead, Littlefinger busy plotting in The Vale and Varys possibly in exile, there aren’t a great deal of contenders for the role of Cersei’s wise advisor. Catastrophe would seem to be on the cards.

When we last checked in on the frozen zombie-populated wastelands that the rest of the Seven Kingdoms tend to ignore, Stannis, our man with the will of iron and the funds from the Iron Bank, had turned up in the nick of time, offering salvation to Jon Snow and his beleaguered band of Night’s Watch brothers. Of course this is Game of Thrones where things rarely go smoothly so Stannis’s aid comes with any number of sub-clauses, the most worrying one of which appears to be Red Priestess Melisandre’s interest in Jon.

Last season proved pretty tough for the Mother of Dragons, who seems a bit out of her depth. The final episode saw her cutting herself off from those who know her best, chaining her dragon children and exiling her longest companion, Jorah Mormont. Can she learn how to be a good ruler or were these just the first of many mistakes to come?

On a wider note Dany’s storyline will also offer pointers as to how Benioff and Weiss attend to approach the season. She has often seemed removed from the real action and there’s a tendency for her scenes to all blur together, creating the sense that we’ve seen/heard this before. Last season the touching romance between secondary characters Grey Worm and Missandei was almost better than anything involving Dany herself; this sense of dislocation needs to be addressed swiftly.

The season ended with a number of interesting new partnerships in place. Brienne and Pod were searching for Sansa Stark; Sansa herself appears to have embraced her dark side and allied with Littlefinger; Jaime and Bronn found themselves trading quips as the latter taught the former how to fight with his remaining hand. How those relationships play out will be a major part of the new season. We also know that Bran, Hodor and co won’t be appearing. (Unless it’s a cunning piece of misdirection from Kristian Nairn, who plays Hodor.)

Half of the joy of Game of Thrones comes from the twists, and casting announcements certainly suggest interesting possibilities, from Jonathan Pryce as a religious leader to several Dornish characters including Oberyn’s many daughters. The two questions I’d really like answered are: where is Rickon? And did Gendry, last seen floating out to sea on a small boat, survive? Will we ever find out? Your guess is as good as mine.

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