3. The Trials Of Jon Snow
From the last season, we know that Mance Rayder is heading to Castle Black and the wall with his legion of a hundred thousand wildlings. Now, potentially it might be the second instalment of Lord of the Rings that is colouring my expectations for this but it could be potentially the most awe inspiring battle so far in the series. The series probably doesn't have the numbers of extras for the armies but they'll have known about this issue for the last four years and will have planned for it. They can CGI in weather effects and use clever camera tricks to make it all look bigger than it actually is. The end of season three saw Jon Snow ride into Castle Black having been shot several times by Ygritte. I'm not sure how long the series is going to allow for Snow's recovery, but he eventually leads the defence of the castle and wall against Mance Rayder's wildling horde. During the siege, Ygritte is killed to Snow's dismay. Also, the siege will see the return of Ser Alliser Thorne, played by Owen Teale who we haven't seen him since season one. He is a great foil to Jon Snow and Samwell Tarly and we need characters like him in the series. Thorne imprisons Snow for being a traitor. Jon is given the opportunity to head out to the wildings under a flag of parlay to meet with Rayder and then dishonourably kill him in the hope that the wildlings without his leadership will be more easily defeated. Snow agrees to go out there and meets with Rayder. Before he has to commit the act, Stannis Baratheon and his army arrives. The Wildlings are defeated, Rayder is captured and Snow survives. For Snow's support, Stannis offers to make him Lord of Winterfell and Warden of the North. Jon ponders it, but before he can inform Stannis that he has decided to turn down the offer, Samwell Tarly manages to manipulate a situation to make Jon the new Lord Commander of the Night's Watch. Of course at the same time, House Bolton has been made the new Warden of the North and Ramsay Bolton (formerly Ramsay Snow) is now the Lord of Winterfell. You have to wonder what decision Jon would have made if he was in full knowledge of those events. Needless to say, this results in the Night's Watch taking on a more worldly view Samwell is sent to Braavos to study as a Maester and Jon later takes a dim view of Ramsay sitting in Winterfell.