Natalie Dormer teases the “very interesting” and “independent” Season 6

Game of Thrones took center stage during a recent interview with Natalie Dormer in Wetpaint, where the star dropped a few hints about the new direction for Season 6. According to Dormer, the team has “[g]one off piste. We don’t have the books any more.”

This is [showrunner] Dan [Weiss] and David [Benioff]’s first independent season without the penmanship of [A Song of Ice and Fire writer] George R.R. [Martin]. It’s going to be very interesting for the fans to see, it’s completely fresh snow to step into.

Before we go any further, “off piste” is a skiing term that means skiing in unmarked or unpatrolled areas. So basically, it’s another way of saying “off the beaten track.” First I’ve heard of it.

Anyway, Dormer really wants to emphasize that Season 6 has gone beyond the books, based on the number of different ways she found to say it, the fresh snow metaphor being my favorite. Her comment about it proceeding “without the penmanship” of George R.R. Martin can be taken literally, as he won’t be contributing a script to the season, and more figuratively, since there are no longer any books to model the show after. Still, as Gwendoline Christie pointed out last week, “George R.R. Martin is an executive producer on Game of Thrones so nothing is ever without his blessing.” I’m sure Benioff and Weiss had to walk an interesting tightrope when planning Season 6.

Dormer also made an noteworthy comment about ambiguity in fiction when asked about her role as Sara in upcoming horror film The Forest. “What I find really interesting is ambiguity, and though it didn’t apply so much for the role of Sara, it really comes into play when I’m doing Margaery. It’s about finding the ambiguity that builds tension and suspense, leading the fans to question it.” As a fan of ambiguity myself, I approve this message.

In other news, Watchers on the Wall dug up an old interview with Michael McElhatton (Roose Bolton) that everyone somehow missed the first time around. He filmed it back in July of this year, before the bulk of filming on Season 6, but he has some interesting ideas about what’s happened and what’s to come.

Some takeaways:

• McElhatton, at least, gets the scripts for all 10 episodes ahead of time. Some cast members have said that they only get the parts of the scripts that apply to their characters, but apparently McElhatton has been around long enough to warrant the whole lot.
• McElhatton is well aware that the books and the show are “very different beasts.” He read the first two books, but stopped once he realized that Roose Bolton is written differently on the show. The scripts are his bible now, especially since the show has gone off book.
• The big quote from the interview comes when McElhatton starts speculating about what’ll happen in Season 6: “There’s a storyline planted that I have a new heir on the way…so I think that’s gonna cause some problems, certainly for Ramsay, and that’s gonna play out probably not in very favorable terms…[Roose Bolton] is probably gonna continue to solidify his hold on the North, and Stannis has now been defeated, but I have a feeling there are going to be more people coming to Winterfell very, very soon.”
• He later speculates that, towards the end of the story, it’s going to be “dragons vs White Walkers.” He also wonders if the Night’s Watch and the wildlings might join up, which could be “pretty terrifying.”
• McElhatton, at least, felt sympathy for Cersei towards the end of Season 5.

Note that it doesn’t sound like McElhatton had gotten the scripts for Season 6 by this point, but as the guy behind Roose Bolton, his speculation is worth noting.