What as-yet unseen characters from the libri should turn up in Season 6? 

, a lot of characters have been cut from the source material, George R.R. Martin’s

Which one(s) are we still hoping might turn up in Season 6? Warning: potential SPOILERS ahead.

A note on the poll: it doesn’t include characters we know we’ll be seeing 

based on the Season 6 spoilers (for example, Euron Greyjoy), or characters the show seems to have definitively done away with (for example, Jeyne Westerling, whose stand-in has already died).

DAN: I think there’s a chance this one could actually happen: I’d love to see an appearance from Galazza Galare, the Green Grace of the Temple of the Graces in Meereen. True, we haven’t heard anything about an actress who matches the description for Galare being cast during the off-season, but it’s possible HBO managed to keep at least one secret. With Tyrion and Varys now in control of Meereen, they’re going to need support from the city’s establishment. As an important religious leader, Galare could fill that role.

. She was level-headed, wise, and still savvy enough to be a player in the game despite her advanced age. Plus, I think it would be good for the show to get a closer look at Meereenese culture. Right now, it exists as an abstraction, a scary mass that threatens to swallow Daenerys up or carry her to victory depending on which way the winds are blowing. I’m sure that’s at least party intentional—Daenerys may have spent most of her life in Essos, but she’s Westerosi at heart, so the culture of Slaver’s Bay will always be partly inscrutable to her. Putting a semi-friendly face on the culture could help bridge the gap.

Also, rumors persist among book-readers that Galare may the one pulling the strings of the Sons of the Harpy. Hizdahr zo Loraq was another popular candidate for that position, but his death in “The Dance of Dragons” at the hands of the Sons put that idea to bed. 

Galare behind the Harpy attacks? Is anyone? I don’t know, but introducing this character could give the show an opportunity to explore those questions, and give some actress a chance to bite into a juicy role while it’s at it.

LEXI: I’m STILL holding out hope for Lady Stoneheart. With the Riverlands storylines coming into play this season, it seems like now would be the perfect time for her to appear. If she does, I think it would go down as one of the big jaw-dropping moments for the show, especially if Michelle Fairley reprises her role.

Last summer, we featured an interview with members of the special effects team. I’ve always been intrigued by a quote from prosthetics supervisor Barrie Gower. He says, “For the last two years, we got to this one point and we read this one gag and thought ‘Oh my God, how the hell are we going to do that? But this is going to be incredible!’ And then it got pulled and we didn’t do it in Season 4. And then, lo and behold, in Season 5 there it was again. And it’s pulled again! But now, in Season 6, it looks like we’re going to do it. Fingers crossed they won’t chicken out.” Stoneheart would certainly need a lot of prosthetics help after her time in the river. Of course, he could be referring to someone or something else entirely. But it’s difficult to think of any other individual scenes that could organically fit into season 4, 5, or 6. A girl can dream!

CAMERON: At this point, if the casting news didn’t blow up the internet, it’s safe to assume we won’t be seeing them in Season 6—or if they are in the show, it’s in a far smaller capacity than the books. I’ve slowly adjusted to the way the show combines or deletes characters as befits its nefarious narrative ends, and we’ve already overshot the books in basically every major character’s story at this point. I guess since Bran is entering uncharted territory, we have a shot at Coldhands? But I plant that question mark firmly in the ground (uh, sentence) because I have little faith in any genuine surprises showing up this year or for the rest of the show’s run.

ANI: The continuing absence of “the Griffs” from the show concerns many book fans, I know. There’s a fear that the show’s leaving them out means that the entire detour we’ve been stuck on with Tyrion these many moons is all for naught, and they will be cut like so much Stoneheart. But I am not here to shill for Dragons, false or otherwise. Instead I am here to mourn the continuing absence of the other character on that journey: Penny.

Yes, but hear me out. Because though Penny is not the most sympathetic or likable character, she’s really important for Tyrion’s growth as a person.

, or in the case of the show, Season 4, Episode 2, specifically the scene where a troupe of dwarf performers mock the War of the Five Kings. When the production was originally approached about doing that scene, Benioff and Weiss wanted to do it just like in the books—that is, they wanted to have the dwarves riding pigs. And though the scene is clearly supposed to distress everyone, from the Tyrells to Sansa, the person who feels the shock and horror the deepest is Tyrion. After all, he knows no dwarves in real life. His name, his family’s influence has kept him alive and living better than most dwarves of the day, but it’s also kept him isolated. He doesn’t actually know what it is to be a dwarf in the world of Westeros. He is horrified by these dwarves forced to ride pigs and perform for the laughter of others—to him it is an anathema. So it is only fitting in the ironic view of Martin’s world, that when Tyrion leaves all of that behind—the family, the name, the titles, the money, and the protection that all afforded—one of the companions he finds himself with is Penny, a dwarf who works as a comedic performer (she was actually one of the dwarves who performed at the wedding), and her pet pig.

For the first time, Tyrion is confronted with someone who is like him, and he discovers that all of those prejudices he’s had have been wrong. Working as a performer is actually the best life a dwarf can hope for in some ways. She teaches him to ride the pig so they can joust for the crowd’s amusement. Tyrion doesn’t have romantic feelings for Penny, at least as far as we can see. Instead, for the first time, he’s made friends with a women, something he’s never done before. All of this is very important for him to experience and learn before reaching Dany in Meereen.

But of course, the show cut all that and sent Tyrion directly to Dany, without passing go, seeing people die of the Pale Mare, entertaining people in the Meereenese fighting pits, or collecting membership in the Second Sons. But in doing so, they also cut Tyrion discovering what is it to be a dwarf in this world. And Dinklage’s Emmy winning-performance is the poorer for it.

RAZOR: I’m going to go a little outside the box and go with Big Bucket Wull. Hugo Wull is the clan chief of House Wull, from the mountain clans in the North that recognize the Starks as their liege lords. Some would say we’ve already lost our chance at seeing Big Bucket Wull, what with the death of Stannis at the end of Season 5. In the books, Wull and his clan follow Stannis as he marches on Winterfell, under the impression he will be saving the daughter of Ned Stark. In fact, he refers to her as “Ned’s little girl” and refers to R’hllor as “Red Rahloo.”

One of my absolute favorite lines from A Song of Ice and Fire is spoken by Big Bucket Wull:

I want to live forever in a land where summer lasts a thousand years. I want a castle in the clouds where I can look down over the world. I want to be six-and-twenty again. When I was six-and-twenty I could fight all day and fuck all night. What men want does not matter. Winter is almost upon us, boy. And winter is death. I would sooner my men die fighting for the Ned’s little girl than alone and hungry in the snow, weeping tears that freeze upon their cheeks. No one sings songs of men who die like that. As for me, I am old. This will be my last winter. Let me bathe in Bolton blood before I die. I want to feel it spatter across my face when my axe bites deep into a Bolton skull. I want to lick it off my lips and die with the taste of it on my tongue.

That last part gives me hope that Big Bucket Wull and his fellow mountain clansmen will be part of Jon’s army, as they face Ramsay Bolton on the field of battle in what I am now calling Bastard Bowl 16′.

Time to run through the top bits of Game of Thrones news from the past week. Welcome to WiC...

We’re under 100 days until the premiere of Game of Thrones Season 6, which must means...

Have you already read all the books and/or don\'t care about spoilers? You can reveal all the spoilers in the comments with the click of a link below.

My first thought was Penny when I saw the headline. I agree with Ani. She is so important to Tyrions story and character development. I never found her annoying as I understood that she was grieving for her brother and Tyrion was the only one familiar to her, although she had only saw him, never spoke to him, at the wedding. If he hadn’t killed his father and fled, Cersei would never have put a price on his head and her brother would still be alive. I would love to find out Benjens fate. Is he Coldhands.

I don’t even know why, but I just found Penny’s character painfully annoying.

GRRM himself has denied that Coldhands is Benjen in a note to one of his editors. Leaf told Bran that Coldhands was a member of the Night’s Watch who had died a long time ago. Benjen has only been missing a couple of years, which would be nothing to the CotfF, who live hundreds if not thousands of years.

Since there is no None option for some reason, I’m going with Other. I would rather not see any more of my favorite characters screwed up by bad writing.

I agree that if they decide to completely pass on the Griff storyline then they are admitting that in the end he will not be of importance, and for book readers, he’s been a huge player in the game. It’s a spoiler in itself to leave him out.

I think they’ll play Gendry in this role somehow, littlefinger has him

How do you know little finger has him. Please tell

Because on the show, littlefinger knows everything and everyone seems to be eager to help him

I won’t. Because it won’t happen. The handsome young man LF gave Cersei was Olyvar, who testified against Marg and got her imprisoned. The handsome young man LF gave Olenna was Lancel, who testified against Cersei and got her imprisoned. How LF managed to convince Lancel is beyond me.

It’s all right if you’re confused. As you can see, the KL story last season was stupid and illogical.

Phil Necro’s standard response when he says something about the future without the ability to back it up.

I’d go with LSH, The Griffs and Arianne. Arianne is so much better than those Snakes.

Manderly or Bucket Wull, someone on the Starks side truly hating on the Bolton. Someone to balance and make it possible for them to be thrown out of an otherwise impregnable castle as Winterfel.

Hello, Val! I love the temptation she represents for Jon. You can have the thing you’ve always wanted, being a Stark, and The North, Winterfell, being a Lord. And this super hot chick, all you have to do is burn this tree! Come on, look at her, isn’t she gorgeous?

Manderly. A big NO to LSH appearing. Only one resurrection this season, please! It takes away from the seriousness of the Red Wedding if the most major character who died there comes back to life!

Ok i just voted and is CLEAR!!!!!!!!! Lady Stoneheart and Michelle Fairley.

All the Stark people around the globe wants their vengeance!!!!

If there’s no Wyman Manderly, then it’s not truly A Song of Ice & Fire.

Ashara Dayne after the tower of joy or Arianne, I actually liked her chapters in FFC’s

Why hasn’t the chat started with hodor? Never posted before but this sequence of events is alarming! The greyjoys story is surely at this stage the one they can bring back after neglecting it for so long. Who wouldn’t want to see the kingsmoot and they trumpet of devastation? Oh,for the record… Hodor!

The character I’m most looking forward to meeting is Marwyn the Mage, but I fear that he won’t be showing up until Season 7. I had hopes that this was the role for Ian McShane, but it now seems likely that he’s playing Septon Meribald.

Of the Griffs’ entourage, the most intriguing to me is the mysterious Septa Lemore. I want to know who she really is, not to mention whose mother. Seems like there might be more than meets the eye to Duck as well.

Marwyn was my first thought too. Surprised he’s not even on the suggested list! I can’t wait for more Marwyn story!

Also agree on Lemore, possibly the only aspect of the Griff’s thread that really piqued my interest, well Jon Con too I s’pose.

Hey WIC folks, when are you going to do something about those bottom banner ads that cover half of the Post Comment button?

I really want her to reunite with Sansa, even if it didn’t occur in the books.

Lady Stoneheart, of course. I’d also like to see the Green Grace, the Son of the Harpy, Rodrik the Reader, Sarella Sand, Marwyn, Arianne Martell, Strong Belwas, and the Hooded Man, if it’s not too late. And this may be a bit prejudiced but…Darkstar!

Rodrick is a good one. Darkstar too, but does mean more Dorne….

Great case for Big Bucket Wull! Hoping to see it, the North’s allegiance to the Starks needs to be far more obvious and palpable, this and Wyman Manderly (or a similar character) would be just what’s needed. Would like to have seen Val, but I think that’s obviously not happening. The case for the Green Grace is also compelling and makes sense.

I don’t really care for LSH that much. I wish Cat all the best, but I don’t like seeing her resurrected. It just cheapens her Red Wedding moment.

Arianne would have been much more interesting than what we got out of Dorne.

I would have really liked to have seen Arianne Martell, I actually really enjoyed her chapters in the book. And I also would have liked to have seen Val and how Jon handled that whole situation

I want to see Strong Belwas drop a deuce after vanquishing a foeman. More seriously though, probably coldhands. I want to see who that guy really is under that hood

I went through the entire list and was surprised that I couldn’t care less about any of those characters. The story works fine without them.

None,garbage fucking characters with garbage fucking plotlines,glad they were cut and hopefully they stay that way .

Strong Fatwas- a ridiculous caricature with no place in this story whatsover

Quentyn Martell-Literally the most useless character GURM has ever created,nuff said

Coldhands-Useless since GURM has already confirmed he’s not Benjen

engaging characters were the Griffs but GURM somehow managed to fuck that up too by making Young Griff a mix of Joffrey and Viserys and Jon Con a gay Jorah,which is even funnier when you think Jorah took his story last season .

I’d like to see Barbrey Ryswell. Book readers will know that her activities at Winterfell and conversations with Theon/Reek make it highly likely that she knows plenty of things about the whole back story of the books (Roberts rebellion etc) as well as the GNC.

Oh, I can’t remember if anyone has mentioned Howland Reed? Surely he must be top of anyone’s list?

I think that the Internet may have ‘lost’ my first attempt to post a comment on this thread, so here is v2.

I would like to see Howland Reed and not only in the ToJ flashback. Many book readers regard him as ASOIAF’s version of the lost library of Alexandria in terms of the big unanswered questions, especially R+L=J.

Also, I’d like to see Barbrey Dustin. He interactions with Theon/Reek at Winterfell and knowledge of the ‘back story’ (Roberts rebellion and the events leading up to it) have always piqued my interest. If she does appear in S6 I think it will be in a reduced role as one of the probable group of northern lords (GNC?) who get together at (I’m speculating) The Last Hearth before the Battle of the Bastards.

Yeah, but Howland does not came out from the Neck in the books neither.

But George said: ”He will appear, eventually.”

True. I’m just hoping that D&D’s inside track of knowledge from GRRM about were he will take the story and how it will end is going to allow Howland Reed’s introduction in S6.

Stoneheart 100%. The results of this poll couldn’t be clearer; how can HBO continue to ignore her?

(Done with quality prosthetics and with Fairley, obviously. If they cgi her or go with another actress, they might as well throw in the white towel & prepare for the fan rage now …)

Because she’s a shit character and a god awful plot device ?

Sure i will along with the 8th Harry Potter book. What do these books have in common you may ask,well they both will never be released

Lol “fan rage” do you idiots really think they care about what some virgin losers like yourself will do,what are you going to do cry yourself to death ?

you sound like you’re in a bit of a rage yourself there Jon

No,just laughing at pathetic morons like yourself

12 hours later and he’s still not calmed down!

i was also sad that Val didnt appear. I liked the way she was written in the book and she sounded gorgeous :)

Benjen has the key to tell Jon who his real parents are. We will know it in season 6 but I don’t think Jon will know it in season 6. I think, when the WW come, Jon will learn his history before the WW entering Winterfell. Benjen will die in the war againsy the WW (drama for Jon)

I hope LS comes back but I don’t think so. It is not a great storyline. When she kills Walder and/or Roose, her story is over. What to do with her then.

Wrong. Benjen knows shit about Jon’s real origin. And he is dead long ago.

Stop. Don’t answer. He is dead. Deal with it.

“When she kills Walder and/or Roose, her story is over. What to do with her then.”

I have become rather enamored of the notion that LSH is key to the resolution of Arya’s arc. Arya gives her the Gift of the Many-Faced God, and both find peace. After that Arya has no more drive for vengeance and can either die well or start a whole new life after the war is over.

No need for the personal abuse thanks, Jon. :/ And the ‘fan rage’ comment was as much of a swipe at how predictably/passionately the fanbase responds when things aren’t done in the show effectively (e.g: Dorne), rather than something I personally feel “entitled” to.

Or that HBO & D&D deserve, for that matter, considering all the graft and hard work they’ve put into the show (unless they a) include, then: b) screw up Stoneheart, obviously ;))

That said, I genuinely DO feel the lack of LSH is a huge missed opportunity in the Gothic horror stakes where most of the horror/undead content falls quite repetitively to the white walkers.

And you or other detractors just outright saying ‘she’s shit’ or undermines the impact of the red wedding becomes a circular argument however you answer it, really, when it’s so dependent on execution.

Done right & played by Fairley as a still sentient shell of her former self, she only adds to its power & tragedy by showing that Walder didn’t just take Cat’s life; he took her soul.

Done wrong, she’s a crappy mindless zombie they should have left on the cutting room floor, fulfilling all the doubts that you and guys like Alex Graves expressed. So ….

To each their own, and agree to disagree without being so damn vitriolic and unpleasant.

Fan service isn’t enough to include a character. If she’s not important to the story, her introduction isn’t necessary.

I would like to see Tyrion run into his long lost uncle Gerion .

Me too! Gerion always sounded like the most fun Lannister. It would be good to find out exactly what became of him, and whether the family’s old Valyrian steel sword ever turned up.

There are a lot of characters I would love to see in the North Remembers storyline. Wyman Manderly is a obvious choice someone else would be good as well mors umber greatjons uncle big bucket wull the way he talks is class I want to baits in bolton blood two big northern characters the show really needs

I would love to see Lady Stoneheart, but since I don’t think she will appear in the show anymore, I voted for Wyman Manderly. Maybe we’ll have the scene between him and Davos and they bring Rickon back!

As a Stark supporter– it can be none other than Lord Manderly. I’m a bit incredulous at the love/ hope people have for Stoneheart and still wanting to see her… Kat Stark has been dead an awful long time now– much longer at this point than she was in the books. As in she should be decomposed beyond recognition from death and sitting in the river all that time… Unless she has been resurrected already without us knowing. Her role in the books is cool, but the show is very different now and I’m guessing that Sansa, Bran, and Rickon will take over galvanising the North and revenge responsibilities. It all depends on Jaime’s role as maybe Cersei becomes so pissed about Myrcella that she sends him away to Riverrun– where perhaps he, the Lannisters, and Freys can be picked apart and rounded on by Stone and the Brotherhood. It would be dope/ incredibly suspenseful if Jaime gets out to Riverrun and then the Freys mention more attacks… By who they suspect to be the Brotherhood! With Stone leading them behind the scenes up until this season. Bananas!

As for Manderly, I just want to see more Northern effort in taking down the Boltons whose grip over the North in the show is utterly ridiculous and incomprehensible. Especially considering how well loved and respected the Starks are. That House Bolton could betray the Starks, murder the heads of House Cerwyn, forcibly marry Sansa to Ramsay, have Ramsay rape Sansa, AND move into Winterfell– all this with impunity from the other Northern lords thus far on the show is just crazy.

By far and away the character who leapt off the pages when I was reading the books……can’t see how he fits into the show narrative at this point which is a shame

The way I see it, the show sort of needs to stall a bit so GRRM can produce WOW before season 7.

The best way to do that is to introduce prominent characters from books 4 and 5 who haven’t appeared and contribute to the overall story, but don’t complicate it for the majority of the audience (who aren’t book-readers).

However, there are some characters that have already been eliminated/merged into others and we can easily discount them:

Griff and Young Griff – Both arcs have been eliminated. Griff merged with Jorah and given where we are in the story, introducing them makes no sense especially since most believe Young Griff is an imposter anyway. Penny obviously was cut out too.

Arienne and Quentin Martell – Arienne and Quentin have been eliminated and merged into just Trystane and Ellaria. Annoying to many of you I’m sure, but certainly not a big deal and easier of a story to tell on TV.

The Walders – They serve no purpose at this point. too late now.

The way I see it, there are three prominent storylines that still make sense at this point in the show and are important enough to the direction of the show to include and kill some time before the show gets too far ahead.

The Greyjoys – While Victarion is likely to be merged with Euron and Yara, there is definitely plenty of room for their storyline to occur. They can show Balon dying, Euron showing up, Damphair holding a kingsmoot with Yara losing and brooding about not being Queen and serving as his top captain while Euron goes off to find/woo Dany. Not the same as the books, but close enough.

Lady Stonehart – Definitely still doable as she can still take vengeance on the Boltons/Freys while playing some role in the eventual battle between Frey/Bolton and the North. Jamie can still go north and Brienne/Pod are there too. Personally, I’m not a fan of the Stoneheart character and would like to see it eliminated, but to each his own. Very doable though.

Wyman Manderley – The problem here is that the Stark-Bolton wedding already occurred and the whole North didn’t join together to pay homage to them so the much adored Frey pies can’t happen in the same way. What can happen though is Ramsay is going to want Sansa back and he could be introduced to show that the northern lords now serving under Roose Bolton aren’t so loyal and want to rebel. Either Davos or Jon Snow can come find him and that amazing North Remembers scene can still easily happen. Just wont be exactly the same as the books.

Those three new arcs, plus the drama in Kings landing between Cersei, Tyrells and the faith, aftermath of Myrcella being murdered, Arya in Bravos, Dany, the Dothrakis and her return to Meereen, Sam going to Oldtown and the return of Jon Snow and what impact that has on the wall gives you enough material to have 10 episodes without going too far into the yet to be released 6th book. Should be all material, while not published, is at least part of GRRM’s story and may even be written down already.

The show isn’t going to stall its story for a book that may or may not arrive. Even if that was a possibility, there would be no point in that ADOS won’t come out for years, if it’s completed at all. The show will finish before the books and will spoil many plot points. We all need to come to terms with that.

Yes, they will eventually have to invent the ADOS storyline, but the whole point is that the writers of the show should have to invent as little of the story as possible.

There is enough source material (between books 4, 5 and what he’s written for book 6) to avoid having to venture too deeply into unchartered territory this season. And this is best accomplished by introducing prominent storylines (Greyjoys, Stoneheart, Manderley, Citadel, Jamie in the Riverlands, Arya learning to warg, Kevan/Pycelle’s demise) instead of inventing new arcs and jumping even further ahead.

I believe this is what the plans are for Season 6. Finish the skipped material from Books 4 and 5 and end with the material GRRM has already leaked and to which he has already announced he will address early in WOW.

Many storylines in books 4 and 5 were meandering and mostly filler. They need to cut to the meat of the story in order to keep the audience interested. This isn’t the type of show that could go on for five or six more years. It’s true that they are bringing in the Riverlands plot and the Greyjoy plot from AFFC, but Cersei, Arya, Jon Snow, Dany, Tyrion, Bran, etc. will be well into their WOW plotline. Martin gave D&D an outline of the rest of the story, so the ending will more or less be the same, albeit with a few differences.

The way i see north remembers show storyline going is sansa and theon will be heading for the wall but theon wants to go to the iron islands till they are found by the mountain clans who other than big bucket wull on the way to the last heart . his daughter recognises sansa and bring them along. Wen they arrive at the last hearth small jon welcomes them accompanied by manderley maybe or some other character Rickon is hidden in the castle or at some farmers house for his safety along with OSHA and shaggy dog. Rickon OSHA and shaggy will be called back to the last heart wen back he greets sansa then he’s sees theon and orders shaggy to attack but before he does OSHA nearly kills theon she won’t be happy to see him sansa then begs for his life and that they can use him they gather the troops head for winterfell. That’s about it untill jon is resurected

mary on Neville from Harry Potter asked Emilia Clarke for a role on Game of Thrones

Simon on Game of Thrones Season 6 Is Coming, Fake Episode Titles Are Here