ThunderG

IMHO one of the overlooked spoilers of season 4, episode 10 was Davos at the wall. This implies the following shortcuts: House Umber will take the role of House Manderly, Rickon and Osha will end up there and Davos will be sent to get Rickon. We won't get the fake Arya storyline, so Mance will just be burned for good since Stannis seems to be attacking the Dreadfort, being defeated and retreating to near Winterfell (if rumors turn out true). During the attack on the Dreadfort Theon will escape on his own remembering the Yara episode because of(?). We will not get Stoneheart and the Riverlands storyline, the later being foreshadowed with Talisa. Instead we will get Jaime in Dorne and Brienne has to end up with the Brother without Banners (?).

If they skip fAegon they don't need Arianne either - the leaked info on the Sand Snakes might support that. And if they skip Victarion as well, wouldn't that be a huge slap at GRRM and the quality of AFfC?

If I understood the latest announcements by HBO correctly, GoT will end after seven seasons. Unless they want to leave the series unfinished, they need to streamline. And unless they want to turn the series into a food and travel guide there is plenty to be cut.

Agree with it being a bigger departure, but if AFfC and ADwD are covered in season 5, something needs to be streamlined. A fake Arya is needed, and reintroducing Jeyne Poole will confuse the tv audience. So I guess her part will be taken by Arya or Yara/Asha.

I know the Quiet Isle theory and it gives a nice ending to the Hound, but the tv show needs to streamline and won't have time for that. I also wonder about the Jeyne Poole as Fake Arya storyline, which is necessary for Mance to sneak into Winterfell and Theon to get his act together and escape. If they keep Arya travelling with the Hound for a while longer, and have him "die" any way that fits, Arya could take the Fake Arya spot (they can't show all of it explicitly anyway) and Theon could save her. Also, Melisandre's vision about a girl on a horse could be kept, cutting Alys Karstark.

I wonder whether Tyrion will be the surprise casualty in the battle of Mereen. He has been on a downward arc most of ADwD and recovered for the better in his last chapter. That is usually a death mark, the worst seems to have happened to the character, then ... boom. Like the police officer always dying in his last week before retiring.

Having read the books and the sample chapters for The Winds of Winter, I wonder whether Arya makes it to Essos in the tv show. She isn't interacting with anyone from the main cast when training with the Faceless Men, meaning extra sets and supporting actors for the show. Also, her kill from the last sample chapter has alteady happened in the show, kind of. I speculate they keep Arya travelling with Sandor, and learning from him instead of the Faceless Men. He will offer to bring her to the wall, to Jon Snow. Depending on Sandor's future role he will die early in season 5.