It's time for exciting news, everyone! HBO has announced the premiere date for season five of Game of Thrones: It's April 12, 2015. As far as we know, the drama will remain in its usual 9:00pm time slot on Sundays. The previous four seasons of Game of Thrones have premiered around the same time each year so I've come to think of April as the month when "winter is coming." Three months seems like a long time to wait for the return to Westeros, but it will fly by and be here before you know it.

What can we expect to see in season five of the adaptation of A Song of Ice and Fire by George R.R. Martin? Given that the previous season covered territory in both A Storm of Swords and A Feast for Crows (the third and fourth installments of the book series), we'll probably move solidly into A Feast for Crows and A Dance with Dragons (the fourth and fifth books). They also went off page for season four to a greater degree than previous seasons, bringing in characters and scenes not covered in the books. The bit with the sacrifice of Craster's son and the King of the White Walkers is a perfect example. Given the pacing of the show, they're going to be caught up with Martin's source material in no time which means they'll have to continue the story beyond the pages. The big question is whether the ending of the television series will precede and mirror the ending Martin had in mind for the books or whether it will be an alternate ending.

Note: specific spoilers for season four of Game of Thrones from this point on.

But, I'm getting ahead of myself. We're not near the end of the television series just yet. The last episodes of season four delivered some cliffhangers. Arya Stark (Maisie Williams) hopped a ship to Braavos, and as recently discussed, season five will see her in the new land wearing a different costume. She left the Hound (Rory McCann) behind, and he's presumably dead. This is a turning point for her. For the first time since she fled King's Landing in season one, she's on her own and free.

What about the rest of the Starks? Besides Arya, the surviving Starks are Sansa, Bran, and Rickon. You could arguably count Jon Snow among their number, too. Sansa Stark (Sophie Turner) is currently traveling with Petyr Baelish, a.k.a. Littlefinger (Aidan Gillen). She's also reached a turning point and is on the cusp of transforming from a naïve teen to a wiser young woman. Finally. Brandon Stark (Isaac Hempstead Wright) has followed the Three-Eyed Raven and discovered the Children of the Forest. He's in a creepy place and again, also at a turning point. Rickon Stark (Art Parkinson) is... well, we don't know where Rickon is. He's presumably with Osha (Natalia Tena) and Shaggydog surviving somewhere.

Jon Snow (Kit Harrington) has his hands full at Castle Black. He has both Mance Rayder (Ciarán Hinds) and Stannis Baratheon (Stephen Dillane) to deal with and the impending doom of White Walkers hanging over his head. Plus, it's really cold at the Wall. That has to make everything worse.

Beyond Westeros, Daenerys Targaryen (Emilia Clarke) has to deal with her dragon problem. She needs to borrow Hiccup from DreamWorks' How to Train Your Dragon in order to get them under control. Not to mention that she still has a lot to learn when it comes to ruling. Leaked photos from season five suggest that she'll encounter Tyrion Lannister (Peter Dinklage), and if anyone could help her in the leadership department, it's him.

Then there's Theon Greyjoy, the drama in King's Landing, and the introduction of more members of House Martell. Season five will be just as packed as previous seasons and no doubt just as entertaining.