Not that this is surprising news, but you never know what to expect with Game of Thrones so, just to be clear: Bran Stark (Isaac Hempstead Wright) will be back for Season 6. The show reached the end of Bran’s story in George R. R. Martin’s book series (so far) at the end of Season 4, and left him way up in the north practicing his warg-ing abilities, and moonlighting as the admin of weirwood.net (that is to say … he’s able to see through the Weirwood trees, which will play a big role coming up regarding Bran’s “visions”).

Beyond that little tidbit, though, nothing else can be said about where the show might take Bran’s story next, since showrunners Dan Weiss and D.B. Benioff are now officially going off course from the books (since the next book hasn’t been published...) But according to Variety, Benoiff has said,

We know what the end is, and we’re barreling toward it. So the idea that we’re going to try and stretch it out by an extra couple years just because we’re all having a good time doing it and people are making money off it just feels like it would be a betrayal.

There’s perhaps a little ambiguity there; if the showrunners know how the series ends, does that mean that the show will now spoil the books, as it will clearly finish up before the Song of Ice and Fire saga wraps up? Or are they just forging a new path entirely?

Though most probably wouldn’t consider Bran one of the more major characters in the show (though he is important), it’s noteworthy that the show has no problem bringing back a character we simply didn’t see for an entire season. Does that add credence to the idea that Jon Snow (Kit Harington) could also return “resurrected” in the future? If not next season, then at some point beyond? (I am not letting this theory go).

So book readers, are you approaching this next season with trepidation, or intrigue? And TV show watchers, are you glad there are no longer any spoilers for you to avoid?