49 Fun Facts About Game of Thrones Season 5

HBO launched its streaming service HBO Now days before Game of Thrones season 5, first on which tech company's devices?

Apple devices carried HBO Now from April 7, 2015, five days before the premiere, so fans could buy HBO and watch the new season without a cable subscription.

Game of Thrones season 5 mainly adapted A Feast for Crows and which novel set over the same period?

A Dance with Dragons runs alongside A Feast for Crows because George R. R. Martin split one overlong manuscript by character and place, not by time; the show wove the two back together.

In 2015, Game of Thrones season 5 broke which drama's single-year Emmy record?

The West Wing won nine Emmys for its first season in 2000; Game of Thrones had lost the top drama prize four years running before its 12 wins in 2015 took both the prize and the record.

Why did George R. R. Martin write no Game of Thrones season 5 episode?

To finish The Winds of Winter, he said, after scripting one episode in each of the first four seasons; as of 2025 the sixth novel he stepped back for was still unpublished.

What word does a septa chant while ringing a bell behind Cersei on her walk of atonement in Game of Thrones?

Shame: Septa Unella repeats it with every toll as Cersei walks naked from the Great Sept to the Red Keep, the price the High Sparrow sets for letting her go home to await trial.

In Game of Thrones season 5, what does Arya hide among rocks instead of throwing it into the sea?

Needle, the sword Jon Snow gave her, is the one piece of home Arya cannot give up, so she hides it under stones by the harbour while her clothes and silver go into the water.

Which actor joined Game of Thrones in season 5 as the High Sparrow?

Jonathan Pryce plays the cleric Cersei raises to High Septon, only for him to lock her in a cell before the season ends.

Which Star Trek: Deep Space Nine actor plays Doran, the ruling Prince of Dorne, in Game of Thrones?

Alexander Siddig, Deep Space Nine's Dr Bashir, plays Doran as a prince who refuses to go to war over his brother Oberyn's death, so Ellaria plots behind his back.

In Game of Thrones, what are Oberyn's three eldest bastard daughters collectively called?

The Sand Snakes are named for Sand, the surname of Dornish bastards, and for their father's nickname, the Red Viper; Oberyn has eight such daughters, and only the three eldest appear in the show.

Which actress, later the star of the thriller Servant, took over as Myrcella Baratheon in Game of Thrones season 5?

Nell Tiger Free replaced Aimee Richardson, who had played Myrcella in the first two seasons and answered the recast with a joke video of herself begging with a 'Princess for hire' sign.

Which Game of Thrones actor returned for one season 5 episode to play Tywin Lannister's corpse?

Charles Dance came back to lie in state with painted stones over his eyes while Cersei blamed Jaime for their father's death; the premiere was his final appearance on the show.

Which three Game of Thrones regulars sat out season 5 because their story had caught up with the books?

Bran, Hodor and Meera had reached the end of their story in the published novels, so the show rested all three for a year and brought them back in season 6.

Which Spanish city's Roman bridge became the Long Bridge of Volantis in Game of Thrones season 5?

Córdoba's Roman bridge was revealed as the Long Bridge of Volantis by showrunner David Benioff, who promised the effects team would make it look three times its real size.

In which city was Cersei's walk of atonement filmed for Game of Thrones season 5?

Dubrovnik stood in for King's Landing: the walk took three days to film in its old town, with hundreds of extras hurling food and abuse along the route.

What did Game of Thrones use for Lena Headey's nude walk of atonement?

A body double: actress Rebecca Van Cleave walked the route nude while Headey, in a beige shift, walked beside her so that her head could be added by computer.

Which Free City does Arya reach in Game of Thrones season 5 to seek out the Faceless Men?

Braavos: Arya sails in beneath the giant Titan statue and is at first turned away from the House of Black and White, until its doorman peels off his face to reveal Jaqen H'ghar.

Which Stark direwolf scares off two Night's Watch men attacking Sam and Gilly in Game of Thrones season 5?

Ghost, Jon Snow's direwolf, appears as two brothers of the Watch beat Sam for defending Gilly; afterwards she tends his wounds and the two become lovers.

Where was the world premiere of the Game of Thrones season 5 opener held in March 2015?

Tower of London: the cast walked the carpet at the old fortress almost a month before the HBO broadcast, and the Iron Throne itself was flown in for the night.

Which Game of Thrones season 5 episode drew a then-record 8.11 million viewers on first airing?

Mother's Mercy, the finale, edged past the premiere's 8 million after the audience had slid to 5.4 million for episode seven on Memorial Day weekend.

Who is the fortune teller a young Cersei visits in the flashback that opens Game of Thrones season 5?

Maggy the Frog tells the girl she will be queen until a younger, more beautiful one casts her down; the scene was the first flashback the show had ever used.

How does Mance Rayder die in the Game of Thrones season 5 premiere?

Jon shoots him as he burns: Mance refuses to kneel to Stannis and is sent to the pyre, and Jon's arrow ends his agony before the fire can.

Whom does Jon Snow beat by a single vote to become Lord Commander in Game of Thrones season 5?

Alliser Thorne ties with Jon after Sam's speech swings the hall, and one last token breaks the deadlock; Jon then names his beaten rival First Ranger.

In Game of Thrones season 5, what arrives from Dorne in a viper's jaws as a threat to Cersei?

Her daughter's necklace: Cersei reads it as a threat to Myrcella's life, and Jaime answers by slipping into Dorne with Bronn to bring the girl home.

Whom does Jon Snow behead for refusing an order in Game of Thrones season 5?

Janos Slynt refuses three times to go and rebuild the abandoned castle of Greyguard and insults his new commander, so Jon carries out the execution with his own hands.

Whom does Daenerys agree to marry in Game of Thrones season 5 to make peace in Meereen?

Hizdahr zo Loraq hears the news in a cell: after feeding another noble to her dragons, Daenerys tells him she will reopen the fighting pits and take him as her husband.

Whose death in the Game of Thrones episode 'Sons of the Harpy' departs from the novels, where he is still alive?

Barristan Selmy dies in an alley coming to the aid of the outnumbered Grey Worm, and his death pushes Daenerys to feed one of Meereen's nobles to her dragons.

Which group does Cersei authorise the High Sparrow to revive in Game of Thrones season 5?

The Faith Militant, the armed wing of the Faith of the Seven, at once arrests Loras Tyrell and then blocks King Tommen himself when he comes to demand the knight's release.

Jon Snow is told to 'kill the boy' and let what be born in Game of Thrones season 5?

The man: 'Kill the boy and let the man be born' steadies Jon for an unpopular choice, and he frees Tormund and offers the wildlings land south of the Wall.

What disease does Jorah contract from the stone men of Valyria in Game of Thrones season 5?

Greyscale hardens the skin until its victims become the feral stone men themselves; Jorah finds the first patch on his wrist after the fight and keeps it hidden.

Which house's motto gives the Game of Thrones season 5 episode 'Unbowed, Unbent, Unbroken' its title?

Martell words about never breaking title an episode that does the opposite to its characters: Loras and Margaery are arrested and Sansa is married to Ramsay.

In the novels, which friend of Sansa marries Ramsay while posing as Arya, a plot Game of Thrones gave Sansa?

Jeyne Poole, Sansa's childhood friend, is forced to pose as Arya and marry Ramsay in the books, where Sansa herself never leaves the Vale.

Who testifies against Loras at the High Sparrow's inquest in Game of Thrones season 5?

Olyvar proves the affair by describing a birthmark on Loras shaped like Dorne, and Margaery, who had just sworn she knew nothing, is arrested alongside her brother.

Which captive does Jorah present to Daenerys as a 'gift' in the fighting pit in Game of Thrones season 5?

Tyrion steps out and says 'I am the gift', a meeting the show reached before the books: as of 2025 the two had still not met in the published novels.

Which Game of Thrones character dies peacefully in his sleep in the season 5 episode 'The Gift'?

Maester Aemon dies at Castle Black with Sam and Gilly at his bedside, talking to his long-dead brother Egg; in the books the end comes on a ship at sea.

What does Sansa quietly pocket while Ramsay holds her prisoner in Game of Thrones season 5?

A corkscrew: Sansa palms it while Ramsay shows her the flayed body of the maid who tried to help her, and in the finale she uses it to get out of her locked room.

Members of which metal band cameo as wildlings in the Game of Thrones season 5 episode 'Hardhome'?

Mastodon's Brann Dailor, Brent Hinds and Bill Kelliher play wildlings who are killed and rise again as wights; the band had also recorded a song for an HBO mixtape promoting the season.

In Game of Thrones, which wildling chieftain dies at Hardhome when she cannot bring herself to fight child wights?

Karsi, played by Borgen's Birgitte Hjort Sørensen, was first written as a male character; she sends her daughters to the boats, stays to fight and freezes when the dead children come.

Posing as a girl called Lanna, what does Arya sell from a barrow in Game of Thrones season 5?

Oysters, clams and cockles: the cover lets Arya get close to the 'Thin Man', a crooked insurer the Faceless Men have told her to poison.

With what does Jon Snow kill a White Walker at Hardhome in Game of Thrones season 5?

His Valyrian steel sword: Jon loses the dragonglass he came for and expects Longclaw to shatter like every other blade, but it holds and the Walker bursts into shards of ice.

In Game of Thrones season 5, Daenerys tells her new adviser she will do what to the 'wheel' of great houses?

Break it: she calls the great houses spokes on a wheel that crushes those on the ground, and when told others have dreamed of stopping the wheel she says she means to smash it.

How does Daenerys escape the Sons of the Harpy's ambush in Daznak's Pit in Game of Thrones season 5?

Riding Drogon for the first time: the dragon lands in the pit, burns the attackers and takes their spears before she climbs on his back and tells him to fly, leaving her court behind.

Whom does Stannis allow Melisandre to burn at the stake in Game of Thrones season 5?

Shireen, his only child, is burned to buy better weather for the march on Winterfell; George R. R. Martin had told the showrunners the sacrifice also lies ahead in his unpublished novels.

Who executes Stannis after his defeat outside Winterfell in Game of Thrones season 5?

Brienne finds him wounded against a tree and sentences him for the murder of Renly, the king she once guarded; Stannis only tells her to do her duty.

Whom does Arya kill in the Game of Thrones season 5 finale to avenge Syrio Forel?

Meryn Trant dies in a brothel at the hands of a girl wearing a stolen face; because the life was not hers to take, the Faceless Men punish Arya with blindness.

How does Ellaria Sand kill Myrcella in the Game of Thrones season 5 finale?

Poisoned lipstick, delivered in a farewell kiss: Ellaria swallows the antidote as the ship leaves, and Myrcella collapses moments after telling Jaime she is glad he is her father.

What phrase do the mutineers utter as they stab Jon Snow in the Game of Thrones season 5 finale?

For the Watch: lured outside by news of his missing uncle Benjen, Jon finds a sign reading 'Traitor', and each man says the words with his blade before young Olly strikes last.

Where does Jon send Samwell and Gilly in the Game of Thrones season 5 finale?

Oldtown is home to the Citadel, where maesters train; Sam asks to go because he is no fighter and because Gilly and her baby are not safe at Castle Black.

What does Daenerys drop in the grass as a Dothraki horde surrounds her in the Game of Thrones season 5 finale?

A ring, slipped from her finger to leave a trail for the two men who have just ridden out of Meereen to find her.

Whom does Qyburn present to Cersei as her new, silent Kingsguard in the Game of Thrones season 5 finale?

Gregor Clegane, the Mountain, last seen dying of poison in season 4, returns as a giant in golden armour who, Qyburn says, has sworn silence until all the king's enemies are dead.