25 pressing questions we still need answered on 'Game of Thrones'

Both season five and book five left Snow's fate hanging in the balance after he was stabbed repeatedly by members of the Night's Watch. While absolutely everyone involved in "Game of Thrones" has said Snow is deader than dead, fans think that's not truly the case. He might be dead for now, but we've seen characters brought back from the dead before. All men must die, but we don't think Snow's time is up just yet.

Daenerys was found by the Dothraki at the end of season five and season six will see her as a captive. After Khal Drogo died, she was supposed to join the other widowed khaleesis in Vaes Dothrak, the only Dothraki city, but instead left. Now that they have found her, will she be punished for leaving? Will she be forced to stay? Will Drogon come to her rescue? Will she escape on her own?

This insurgent group opposes Daenerys Targaryen's rule in Meereen and slaughter her supporters and those who work for her. They are suspected of being noble families and slavers who lost power once she took over. We have no idea who exactly is in the group or who is even leading them.

Tyrion made it to Meereen and after Daenerys flies off on Drogon's back, Daario convinces Tyrion to rule Meereen in Dany's absence. Daario and Jorah leave to find the missing queen and Tyrion is left to rule the city with the help of Varys. How will he manage the Sons of the Harpy? Will he be able to keep control? Tyrion hasn't met Daenerys in the books, so everything is a mystery from here.

At the end of season four, Arya walked away from a mortally wounded Hound (Sandor Clegane) and refused to mercy-kill him. But thanks to the extensive Cleganebowl theory, many fans think he's not quite dead. Fans think he will return to fight his brother, known as "The Mountain," in a trial by combat. "The Mountain" was supposed to have died after Oberyn Martell stabbed him with a poisoned spear, but in both the books and show, he is presumed to have been "saved." The zombie-esque man is believed to be the newest member of the kingsguard, Ser Robert Strong.

White Walkers were first introduced in season one (originally referred to as the Others, which is still their name in the books) and more information has been revealed each season, but we still don't know what they want. The White Walker army launched an attack on Hardhome at the end of the fifth season and grew in number after reviving those who were killed, but what for? Do they want a seat on the Iron Throne? Probably not, but I mean, what's their overall plan here? What's their origin story?

Folklore recounted by Bran in the books says the Night's King was the 13th commander of the Night's Watch when he fell in love with a woman whose description matches that of the White Walkers. He's presumed to be long dead. In the show, the leader of the band of White Walkers has been called the Night's King by the show's creators. Is this character the same one from Bran's folklore? If that's the case, was the woman a White Walker and did she change him? He raised wights after the battle of Hardhome without touching them in season five and changed a live baby into a White Walker in season four. Is he the only one with these abilities? Also, will that baby grow?

For clarification purposes, there are White Walkers and then there are wights. Wights are dead beings brought back to life by White Walkers and are susceptible to fire. White Walkers on the other hand can only be killed by weapons made of dragonglass or Valyrian steel, at least as far as we know.

Where are humans going to get their hands on enough of these weapons to defeat the White Walkers? Can dragon fire kill them? Valyrian steel is said to have been forged with dragon fire, so that would make sense.

Benjen Stark, Eddard's brother, was a First Ranger of the Night's Watch. After taking Jon to the wall, he heads north of the Wall. Benjen's horse later returns without his master, while the bodies of two rangers that accompanied him are discovered. So what happened to him? Did he die or has he been wandering alive north of the Wall? Was he turned into a White Walker? One theory claims Benjen could be Coldhands, a dead, sentient being (from the books) who first helps Sam and Gilly escape from wights and then leads Bran, Hodor, and the Reed siblings to the three-eyed crow. George R.R. Martin apparently says no, but who really knows? Will we ever see him again?

This gigantic wall (about 700 feet tall, 300 miles long, and 300 feet wide, according to the books) separates the the Seven Kingdoms from the rest of Westeros. Defended by the Night's Watch in various castles, though most are in disrepair and many are unguarded, this extensive wall is intricate and made entirely of ice. Was magic used? How long did it take to put up? Who did it?

The last we saw of this outlaw group, they were handing Gendry over to Melisandre in exchange for gold in season three. And the ragtag group is still being led by Beric Dondarrion, a man who has been revived from the dead multiple times. But what's their purpose and what have they been up to since? In the books, Beric gives up his life to bring Catelyn Stark (Lady Stoneheart) back from the dead and the zombified lady leads the men to exact revenge on those who attacked her and her family. Will we finally see this plotline move forward or are these men just roaming around Westeros?

Gendry was last seen rowing away into the night in season three. He was shipping off into the unknown — Davos told him to go to King's Landing — after it was discovered that he was a bastard son of Robert Baratheon and Melisandre wanted to burn him alive as a gift to the Lord of Light. Did he ever make it or did he perish at sea? Fans just want some closure. (I'm hoping he's alive and well.) The books don't help with this question since this plot doesn't exist. He doesn't know he's the dead king's bastard son and instead has kept with the Brotherhood Without Banners. He was still alive as of the fourth book, "A Feast for Crows." But as the former king's bastard, he's got royal blood, so where does that leave him?

Rickon, the youngest of the Starks, separated from Bran during season three and hasn't been seen since. Bran instructed Osha, a wilding, to take him to the Umber home, a family loyal to the Starks, so the two of them — plus Shaggydog — were last seen heading there. In the fifth book, Rickon is said to be alive and on the island of Skagos. So did they make it to the planned destination or end up somewhere else? Are they still alive? Will the Stark family ever be reunited?

So we all know Bran is a warg, someone with the ability to enter the minds of animals to see the world through their eyes and also control them. We also know he has the ability of greensight, which means he has prophetic dreams. It looks like we'll learn more about his abilities this season, but why does he posses them, and is he the only Stark child with them?

The Starks and their direwolves are basically inseparable, but after Nymeria, Arya's direwolf, attacked Joffrey in season one, Arya was forced to send her into the wild to spare her life. She hasn't been seen since. And while this seems sort of irrelevant, Nymeria appears in all five books and is often mentioned as leading a pack in the Riverlands. Arya also has wolf dreams, which imply that she has warg abilities, like Bran. Will Arya realize these abilities? Will the two be reunited?

To join the Faceless Men, Arya must give up her identity to then become "no one" and have the ability to become different people. But as a stubborn Stark, it's hard to imagine her letting her past go and not avenging her family and friends.

The Tyrell siblings, Margaery and Loras, are imprisoned by the Faith Militant and are to stand trial, Loras for homosexuality and Margaery for giving a false testimony, so what's to become of the siblings this next season? Their grandmother, the sassy Olenna Tyrell, and the rest of the Tyrell family probably won't let this stand, so will there be war? Anyway, this differs from the books, so this is up in the air for now.

We left Sam, Gilly, and her baby traveling by ship to Oldtown, where Sam hopes to become a Maester at the Citadel. He knows he's not much of a fighter and with the threat of the White Walkers, someone has to find a solution. The Maesters know more than they are letting on, so as Sam learns more about the "Game of Thrones" world and history, we should also learn and maybe get some of these questions answered.

Petyr Baelish, Littlefinger, is cunning and sly and is a mastermind at trickery, but what does he want? Is it the Iron Throne? He has managed to weave his way into the trust of different families and has backstabbed those who trust him, so does he have a side? He's still in the North (not back in King's Landing like in the books), so who is he going to run into up there?

Brienne killed Stannis at the end of the fifth season after he confessed to killing his brother, Renly, whom Brienne had been sworn to protect and was trying to save Sansa. Previews for the new season show her and Podrick in the Riverlands, so how does she get from the North to the Riverlands? Again, this is all different from the books, so Brienne's fate and path are unknown.

Trailers for the new season tease a flashback to the Tower of Joy, the place where Eddard Stark found his sister Lyanna dying and she made him make a promise. What was it? Why did she die? If these scenes are a flashback — or a dream Bran has — and we see what took place, this might prove Jon Snow's parentage.

Led by Walder Frey, the Frey family is best known for betraying the Stark family in what was known as the Red Wedding. Walder hasn't appeared since season three, but the North remembers and it can be assured that Stark loyalists will exact their revenge eventually. After all, Walder and other Frey family members are set to appear in the sixth season.

Another seemingly forgotten character on the show is Catelyn Stark's uncle, Brynden Tully, also known as "the Blackfish." The last we saw, he managed to escape with his life during the Red Wedding of season three because he was outside going to the bathroom when the slaughter occurred. Did he make it Riverrun and will he mount an attack on those who killed his niece? Rumor has it he's making a return this season. In the books, he holds Riverrun and holds the Lannister and Frey forces back for several months, so these events may take place this season. Brynden ultimately escapes before the castle is surrendered and is considered an outlaw in the books, so his future is still in the balance regardless.

Numerous people have sat atop the Iron Throne and many families have fought to get there. Tommen Baratheon currently sits on the throne, but as the bastard son of Jamie Lannister, he doesn't have a real claim. But the Targaryens originally held the throne and Daenerys has been trying to make it back to Westeros and take it back since season one. So who has a real claim and who will ultimately win out? We won't know this until the show (and books) wrap up, but it won't stop people from guessing and debating.