More-so than ever, Game of Thrones Season 6 will take us into the Winds of Winter spoiler territory that George R.R. Martin himself has yet to schedule a date for, let alone publish. Already, the HBO drama has taken a few dark turns not yet found in Martin’s literary work, though the author admits a major Season 5 sequence will in fact unfold in one of the upcoming books.

You’re warned of Game of Thrones spoilers through Season 5 and the upcoming Winds of Winter, though readers will note that Stannis Baratheon’s march toward Winterfell from Castle Black unfolded quite differently in the books than on HBO, the novels leaving Stannis’ family and Melisandre behind at the Wall. Season 5 took a particularly gruesome turn, as a bitter cold aided Melisandre in convincing Stannis to sacrifice his beloved daughter Shireen to the Lord of Light, an event that Martin claimed at the time wouldn’t necessarily reflect the character’s literary fate.

Now, however, Den of Geek took an extensive trip through the commentaries of HBO’s fifth season Blu-ray release, revealing:

Although it has yet to feature in A Song Of Ice And Fire, George R.R. Martin has confirmed that it was always his intention for Stannis and Melisandre to sacrifice Shireen to the God of Light.

The sixth season will undoubtedly reveal yet more of Martin’s unpublished Winds of Winter work, to the point HBO has even peeled back press access to the new season, though the author has also spoken to key twists the series can’t take part in, having already killed off a character he’d later written story for.

In any case, Game of Thrones Season 6 will premiere on April 24, while the Season 5 Blu-ray will hit stores on March 15.

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