Will 'GoT' S5 End Like 'A Dance With Dragons'?

You saw the Game of Thrones Season 5 premiere on Sunday April 12, and you know that winter is most definitely coming. These are dark days for the men, women, and children of Westeros, and especially perilous times for devoted fans who cannot be certain that Season 5 of the beloved series will stay faithful to the the plot laid out in George R. R. Martin's book. The question on everyone's mind is this: Will Game of Thrones Season 5 end the same way as A Dance with Dragons?

It is known that come the end of Season 5, Game of Thrones will deviate from the books in Martin's Song of Ice and Fire series. By the time the next book, Winds of Winter, is released, Game of Thrones Season 6 will already be underway, and fans will find themselves with two competing visions for the future of Westeros — one flowing from the fabled computer from the '80s of the author and creator, the other stemming from the legendary showrunners responsible for the series.

If you're waiting to see how it all plays out on screen, be warned: there are spoilers ahead. However, if you're trying to gauge whether or not you're at all prepared for the end of Season 5 given what you already know about the stunning conclusion to A Dance with Dragons, than these are the five points you're definitely going to want to consider. One last warning before you dive in: death, dragons, and spoilers lie ahead.

Is This The End of Jon Snow?

After leaving his brothers at the wall to hunt down Ramsay Bolton, the red woman's prophecy is borne out, and Jon finds himself on the sharp pointy end of many a blade as men of the knight's watch loyal to Bowen Marsh move in for the kill. Martin himself has been cagey about whether A Dance with Dragons really spelled the end of Jon Snow, but watchers on and off the wall will be waiting with bated breath to find out if Jon Snow will meet his end on-screen.

Will We Witness Ascension of Arya?

Throughout A Dance with Dragons Arya trains with the faceless men, eventually becoming an apprentice of the assassin in her own right. When we leave the youngest Stark girl in print she is preparing to continue her training with a new master, but if Arya has taught us anything surely she's proven that anyone can be killed. Will Arya make it through her training in the temple and claim her rightful place as a killer of men, or will she fall victim to the blade herself?

Can Camera's Capture Cersei's Walk of Shame?

After confessing to several lesser charges, the queen regent is assigned a champion for a trial by combat, but in order to secure her release Cersei must walk naked before men and gods from Great Sept of Baelor to the Red Keep. The Red Wedding of Season 3 has certainly proven that Game of Thrones doesn't shy away from shock, but are viewers really ready to see the Lady Lannister defiled?

Will There Be A Wedding for the Dragon Queen?

Within the text of A Dance with Dragons, Daenerys struggles to maintain the peace in Meereen, eventually submitting to marriage in order to quell the burgeoning rebellion led by the Sons of the Harpy. With great power comes great responsibility, but it is hard to imagine the mother of dragons taking an unwanted husband on screen. While a betting man would be wise to lay odds on the return of Drogos and Daenerys' rise to rule as the master of dragons, whether she walks down the aisle is another matter all together.

Does Winter Descend on Westeros?

The Starks have been saying it for years, but by the end of A Dance with Dragons winter is really and truly coming. In the stunning conclusion to the epic novel, Kevan Lannister seeks out Maester Pycell only to find Varys with an arrow for him and one white raven from the citadel to signify that winter has finally arrived. Will the creators of Game of Thrones choose to go out on the same epic note? Only time will tell.

Image: HBO; Giphy (5)