10 Questions Left Unanswered by Game of Thrones Season 5

HBO

With Game of Thrones closing out its fifth season this past week, many questions have arisen. And not just the obvious questions that are to be expected following a finale full of cliffhangers and curiously timed cut-aways. Yes, “Mother’s Mercy” left the fate of a number of major characters in question, but season 5 went even further in keeping things vague on a number of fronts.

From The Wall to The Riverlands to Dorne and beyond, there are at least ten major questions left unanswered by Game of Thrones season five. The hope is that they will be answered in the next season, or perhaps even the next book.

What follows is a discussion that includes spoilers through the end of season 5 of Game of Thrones. It does not include any books spoilers.

Here are the questions that plague me following the finale of season 5:

1. What really happened to Benjen Stark?

HBO

The “Previously On” segment of “Mother’s Mercy” was perhaps the most epic of trolls by the show’s creative team. For a moment, they made us think that we might finally unlock one of the great mysteries of Westeros: the fate of Benjen Stark. He has been missing since the first season, when he went ranging beyond The Wall and has not been seen since. At one point, his horse returned to The Wall, sans rider.

Benjen, just like his brother Ned before him, had one of those classic “we’ll talk about it when I return” conversations with Jon Snow. He is one of the only remaining characters that is alive (or at least not clearly dead) who might be able to answer the pressing questions about Jon Snow’s parentage. The show may eventually have to answer these questions, as they’ve long been rumored to be very important. That is, assuming Jon Snow isn’t simply dead and gone, but we’ll get to that in a moment.

Another sub-question: why did the show remind us of Benjen? Was it simply a cheap trick to get us (and Jon) off track before the mutinous final moments of the last episode? Or is the show using some of its very precious narrative real estate to keep Benjen fresh in our minds for a return in the future. It has me very curious, both as a show watcher and a book reader, as the fate of Benjen has always been a very interesting mystery.

2. What is Happening in The Riverlands?

HBO

Since the end of season 3 — and more specifically, The Red Wedding — not much has happened in The Riverlands, one of the most war-torn areas of Westeros. Early on in the show we know that Ser Gregor “The Mountain” Clegane and his band of terrible men had been looting, raping and burning their way through The Riverlands in the name of the Lannisters. During The War of the Five Kings, The Riverlands was a hotbed for conflict between the armies of Robb Stark and Tywin Lannister. We got to visit some of the finest places in The Riverlands, including the ruins of Harrenhal, the ancestral Tully home at Riverrun and the seat of the Freys at The Twins.

During season 3, perhaps the most Riverlands-centric season, we met The Brotherhood Without Banners, the traveling group led by the oft-resurrected Ser Beric Dondarrion and his red priest buddy Thoros of Myr. They were instrumental in showing off the power of The Lord of Light (most notably his ability to bring people back from the dead), capturing Arya Stark and her buddies, then handing over Gendry (and his abs) to be penis-leached by Melisandre. Back then, galavanting around The Riverlands was all the rage.

Since The Red Wedding, we haven’t seen much of The Riverlands. What has The Brotherhood been up to since last we met them? Who is ruling at Riverrun, the former seat of power in The Riverlands? Did Catelyn’s uncle Brynden “The Blackfish” escape The Red Wedding by having to pee before the big murder party? Did he make it back to his family’s lands? And what of Walder Frey and his gross collection of offspring at The Twins? Does he still have poor Edmure Tully locked away, or was he killed following The Red Wedding? And how is it that Littlefinger gets between The Eerie, Winterfell and King’s Landing without having to deal with the Freys or any bands of marauders in The Riverlands?

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