SPOILER ALERT: Six Things We Want Resolved in Next Week’s Game of Thrones Season Five Finale

It's almost time to say goodbye to season five of Game of Thrones. Here are six things we hope to see resolved in the final episode next week.

1. Daenerys makes her move
Having acquired a huge army, a trio of dragons and a key adviser in the form of Tyrion Lannister, Daenerys Targaryen has means and, crucially, the name to take the throne from the weak and dithering Tommen Baratheon. Instead, she’s getting into scraps on the edge of the world with the former slave-owners of Meereen. The walled city was always a pitstop on the way to world domination, but will episode 10 finally see her grow impatient with Slaver’s Bay and plan her journey to Westeros?

2. Cersei’s punishment is revealed
Cersei Lannister is one of Game of Thrones’ great manipulators – second only to the Machiavellian Petyr Baelish – but her conniving ways were always going to land her in trouble eventually. Having had Loras Tyrell arrested for homosexuality by the Faith Militant, she’s ended up in the cells herself, rambling about revenge and drinking water from the floor. With the events of King’s Landing playing second fiddle in season five, will its finale bring it back to centre stage? And will Jaime Lannister return in time to save his sister?

3. Stannis gets on with it
Stannis Baratheon, in an horrific scene in episode nine, burnt his daughter at the stake in the belief it would give Melisandre, the Red Woman, the power she needs to break through ice to continue the war effort. Of course, much depends on Davos Seaworth’s journey to the Wall to recruit new troops – but even if he is successful, will he stand by “the one true king” once he learns of the fate of Shireen? It was a hugely memorable, if horrible, moment, but viewers now face the prospect of seeing two hugely dislikeable characters – Stannis and Lord Bolton – fighting it out for Winterfell. Can they both lose?

4. Ramsay gets his comeuppance
Since the death of Joffrey Baratheon, one of the most sadistic characters ever allowed on television, Ramsey Bolton (formerly Snow) has been responsible for many of Game of Thrones’ most shocking moments (Stannis’s daughter-burning antics aside). But with Sansa Stark, his tortured wife, seemingly growing by the episode, isn't it time the flaying-loving Ramsay got a taste of his own medicine? If not Sansa, will Reek, once Theon Greyjoy, regain some semblance of his former self and seek revenge?

5. The feisty Arya of old returns
Arya Stark has been in Braavos training with the Faceless Men for what seems like eternity. Since ditching the dying Hound at the end of season four, the budding swordfighter has spent the last nine episodes sweeping floors, washing corpses and selling oysters. The new-found discipline has stripped Arya of what made her a great character in the first place. But with Ser Meryn Trant having arrived in the city, this slow-moving storyline may finally swing into action. If she avenges the death of Syrio Forel will she feel the wrath of the Many-Faced God?

6. Jon’s proved right as winter comes
One of the few out-and-out ‘good guys’ of Games of Thrones, Jon Snow, son of Ned Stark, is unsurprisingly a fan favourite. His self-imposed exile to the Wall never diminished his standing in the show – he’s become crucial to its appeal and appears in nearly every episode. As the weather finally begins to take a turn for the worse – if that much snow isn’t winter, we don’t know what is – he looks set to become the show’s key character. Will his decision to allow the wildings south of the Wall backfire? Will winter finally arrive and will the White Walkers come with it?