While the Game of Thrones has always been somewhat predictable because, well, after all, it IS based on the series of books written by George R.R. Martin, this season is different. It seems that Martin was taking too long writing the next installment, so HBO went ahead and began production anyway. It would be pointless to try to guess what is in the works for the next season, but we can make some assumptions based on what the stars have had to say on the various media platforms.

• Despite all the rumors that Jon Snow is going to return, still alive and well, Kit Harington says it just ain’t so. Some folks believed that the trailers for Game of Thrones Season 6 implied that Snow would somehow recover after being stabbed some 50 times, or else he’d come back from the dead, but Harington begs to differ. In his own words, he had this to say. “Look, I’m not in the show any more. I filmed some scenes of me being dead–it’s some of my best work. I know how long I’m a corpse for, but I can’t tell you that.” Hmmm. It seems straight forward, but once you’re a corpse, aren’t you a corpse forever, like when you’re a Jet you’re a Jet all the way from West Side Story? I guess time will tell.

• Even Season Six director Jeremy Podeswa has left the books in his rear-view mirror. The show has always strayed, but without a book to follow, there’s no way to stay on course. The show’s writers have pow-wowed with Martin, but that doesn’t mean they’ll share his vision or that Martin won’t decide on some other way to move the story along. According to Podeswa, “Right now in season six, what we’re shooting currently isn’t based on anything in the book. It’s fully based on discussions the writers have had with George Martin. The writers have been diverging off the books for the past couple of seasons.” Sounds like just about anything could happen.

• To further confuse matters regarding Jon Snow’s status as dead or alive, Natalie Dormer, who plays Margaery Tyrell, has left a hint that Snow is still alive. She’s going to have a few scenes in prison during Season 6 of The Game of Thrones, where she will meet a new rival. “The beauty of Game of Thrones is it’s always making these unlikely pairings from one season to the next,” she says. “We all, season to season, get thrown in with a new sparring partner.” However, the big news is that she recently said, “If you get stabbed that many times, you’re dead. There are some basic medical rules that even apply in Westeros. So Jon Snow is dead right now. Right now.” But will he stay dead?

• 6. Ian McShane, best known for portraying Al Swearningen on Deadwood, plays a new mysterious healer in this year’s series. His hints give Snow fans even more to consider. He suggests that he might be the cause of Jon Snow’s resurrection. “My character is an ex-warrior who has become a peacenik,” he says. “So I have this sort of a cult, a peaceful tribe. I bring back a much loved character who everyone thinks is dead. I’ll leave it at that.”

• Naturally, the writer is concerned with how the network is handling his story. Martin claims HBO is messing up a planned book twist of his. The next novel, called The Winds Of Winter is about a character that has already been killed off in the TV show. Apparently, he’s been mulling it over for a long time, but he decided to go with his own idea. “I have decided to do it. Will you know it? I don’t know. It is fairly obvious because it is something that involves a couple of characters, one of which is dead on the show, and not dead in the books. At this point there are like 15 characters who are dead on the show who are still alive on the books.” How will that affect Season Six? You’ll have to tune in to find out.

If you can’t wait for the broadcast premiere, or if you just like going to big, red-carpet debuts, VIP concierge has tickets for Season 6 debut of Game of Thrones on April 4 inLos Angeles, the city that plays more games per person than any burg in the world. All you have to do is buy your tickets and show up for the show. We’ll handle the rest.