Another year, another season of George R.R. Martin's culturally seismic "Game of Thrones" punishes all who dare to hope. Except, this year more than ever, it feels almost inflammatory to call it "George R.R. Martin's" because of the leaps of faith David Benioff and D.B. Weiss take from the books. Two major scenes that aren't in the books, an early rape and a late human sacrifice, caused so much commotion due to how overtly dark and stomach-churning they are, that they turned some book-readers off from the show entirely. Indeed, Season 5 of 'Thrones' has grown disproportionately out of its own discomfort zone, as Benioff and Weiss grapple with Martin's oversaturated Westeros and officially catch up to the books, with the very end of the season (if you don't know what happens, you know nothing) being the last "OMGWTF?!" moment that readers were mentally prepared for. Everything that makes "Game of Thrones" such a powerhouse show is still intact in Season 5, but there's a tinge of desperation in the way Benioff and Weiss push the buttons this time around, and the sense of too-much-too-quickly is stronger than ever (so much death in that last episode!) Still, the acting is stellar as always, and the technical achievement of bringing it all to life is as awe-inspiring for TV standards as ever. Some of the season's highlights include Cersei (Lena Heady) getting a taste of what's been coming to her since Season 1, the edge-of-your-seat battle in Episode 8's "Hardhome," and the meeting of two major fan-favorite characters in Dany (Emilia Clarke) and Tyrion (Peter Dinklage). Most exciting of all, though, is that for the first time since the show's premiere, no one know what's coming next. (Or, who's coming back. He's coming back, right? Right?!)