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"The Game of Thrones Season 5 cast list HBO released at Comic-Con stirred up its legions of book-reading fans with one seemingly small revelation.\nThe description of new character Trystane Martell as \"heir to Dorne\" in an official HBO press release has led many to believe that a beloved main character in the fourth and fifth books, A Feast For Crows and A Dance With Dragons \u2014 Arianne Martell \u2014 has been cut or changed drastically.\nIt's problematic because, well, he's not. Arianne Martell is the heiress to Dorne. \nSee also: Why 'Game of Thrones' Season 5 Is Worth Getting Excited Over\nAs Doran Martell's (another recent cast addition to Season 5) eldest child, Arianne is the rightful heiress to House Martell. (Dorne is the southern region of Westeros and home to another fan favorite from Season 4, Oberyn Martell, played by Pedro Pascal.) \n\nArianne is important not only because she is a POV character but since she symbolises Dornish culture, different with the other regions.\n\u2014 Westeros Indonesia (@WesterosID) July 26, 2014\n\nHBO, of course, has made many changes in adapting the books for TV, so why does this one stand out? Unlike the rest of Westeros, Dorne's system of inheritance is not based on gender, making Arianne a powerful female role in an otherwise male-dominated realm. Trystane Martell's listing as the \"heir to Dorne\" is unfortunate, critics have suggested, because Arianne is one of the stronger female characters in the series.\n(An HBO spokesperson told Mashable that they could not share information concerning Season 5's plot or comment on Trystane being described as heir.) \n\nTrystane Martell is about as important to Westeros as Ray Romano. Looks like HBO is forgoing the Arienne plot.\n\u2014 Max Knoblauch (@MaxKnoblauch) July 26, 2014\n\nWithout revealing too much about the Dornish plot line, Arianne uses her position and Dorne's genderless inheritance as a way to push for Myrcella Baratheon (Cersei Lannister's daughter, sent to Dorne in Season 2 to be wed to Trystane) to take the Iron Throne.\nSo the question of why David Benioff and D.B. Weiss would either cut or reduce Arianne's large role in the books \u2014 though that remains to be certain \u2014 has been on a lot of book-readers' minds. In the interest of well-informed theorizing and, yes, geeking out, let's look at four possible reasons for the casting as it now stands.\nNote: though we've tried to greatly reduce spoilers, what follows does contain information about plot points still to come in the television series. You've been warned. \n\nWriters and producers David Benioff (left) and D.B. Weiss attend HBO's 'Game Of Thrones' panel and Q&amp;A during Comic-Con 2014in San Diego.Image: Kevin Winter/Getty Images1. Benioff and Weiss could be combining characters to reduce confusion.\nThis a reasons that applies to other instances in the adaptation of Game of Thrones for television, so it could be true here.\nIn A Feast for Crows, the book on which this season is based, the plot in Dorne features largely new faces \u2014 exciting ones, yes \u2014 but that could ultimately confuse viewers, if they weren't already by the sizable number of characters featured in the show.\n\nMy revenge will come. &gt;:( @HBO @GameOfThrones pic.twitter.com/ofLn9WDohj\n\u2014 Arianne Martell (@Arianne_Martell) July 28, 2014\n\nThough it's unfortunate to lose beloved characters, it does make sense. With only around ten hours per season to adapt thousands of pages of novel, show executives have to pick and choose what will be featured. Quentyn Martell (Doran Martell's middle child and eldest son), for instance, wasn't announced as part of the cast at Comic-Con and it's believed that he was cut altogether because his character could easily be merged with his younger brother, Trystane.\n\n\u201CYOU KILLED HER. YOU REPLACED HER. YOU KILLED HER CHARACTER. SAY HER NAME! ARIANNE MARTELL!\u201D\n\u2014 prin$esv (@Galokarp) July 25, 2014\n\nFans weren't up in arms about Quentyn's (likely) axing because it makes more sense and not much is lost in the merger. But merging Trystane and Arianne, according to critics at Kotaku, comes at the cost of removing \" a really interesting character, another tough, intelligent woman in an inherently sexist [...] fantasy world.\"\nStill, many book readers agree that A Feast For Crows is the most difficult book in the series to digest. Changes likely need to be made \u2014 especially in Dorne \u2014 because so many characters are completely new and have tenuous connections with old characters fans have come to love over the past four years. \nIf Arianne is cut but not combined with Trystane, her character could be combined with any of the three Sand Snakes \u2014 powerful female characters with the added bonus of being Oberyn's children. Because fans adored Pascal, it could be easier for Benioff and Weiss to introduce and explain major characters associated with a familiar face than a new female character with fewer connections \u2014 regardless of how great of a character she might be in her own right.\n2. Or combining characters to empower others.\nThe Myrcella queenmaking plot is central to the overall Dornish plot line and Arianne features in it heavily. \nRemoving a very powerful and interesting female character \u2014 given the show's often problematic portrayal of women \u2014 has been questioned. But that criticism comes with the assumption that Trystane will outright take over Arianne's role.\n\nI mean, the new cast looks great, but in a world that's pretty heavily sexist, Arianne Martell was an inch of balance (in theory). #GoT\n\u2014 Alisha Karabinus (@adkarabinus) July 25, 2014\n\nIt could be that Benioff and Weiss want Myrcella to do something in the queenmaking plot besides acting as Arianne's pawn. Myrcella is much younger in the books (around 10 or 11) and would, understandably, not know how to navigate Westerosi power grabs, but \u2014 like the Stark and other Lannister children \u2014 the showrunners have decided to advance Myrcella's age so she'd be about 15 in Season 5.\nMyrcella at that age could very well control her own fate \u2014 without Arianne's guidance \u2014 and attempt to make a run at the Iron Throne out of her own cunning. (It could come naturally with a mother like Cersei.)\n3. They could be slowing down the seasons.\nThe pacing of Season 5 will be telling in how Benioff and Weiss have chose to address George R.R. Martin's own writing pace.\nThe seasons have caught up quickly with the books, and soon the showrunners will have to wait on Martin, or create and adapt material that remains to be written.\nAt the end of Season 4, many of the major characters' plot lines had nearly caught up to where they are in the most-recent fifth book, A Dance with Dragons.\nIf Benioff and Weiss choose to wait, one way they could slow down the season's pace is by highlighting other kingdoms in Westeros. \n\nlike. arianne martell is not a privilege. arianne martell is a right.\n\u2014 mols (@_remuslupins) July 28, 2014\n\nIn A Feast for Crows and A Dance with Dragons, multiple kingdoms get more attention, and Dorne could be up first. With seven new Dornish characters, it's pretty obvious the new season will be a lot more Dorne-centric. While Oberyn's daughters, the Sand Snakes, and Trystane have already been cast, it doesn't mean Arianne might not pop up later for the sake of saving content. \nAdditionally, there are still other Houses that have largely fallen by the wayside in the show \u2014 namely the Greyjoys, who have two important characters that have yet to be cast as well. Maybe Benioff and Weiss want to spread the love in future seasons and we will finally meet Arianne along with Balon Greyjoy's brothers, Victarion and Euron, in Season 6.\n4. Or just speeding up Arianne's plot line for a big reveal.\nIt's probably the least likely of reasons \u2014 because Arianne's plot necessitates her being in Dorne in Season 5 \u2014 but, hey, it could be that there's just a bigger surprise in store.\nArianne Martell is in the upcoming sixth novel, The Winds of Winter, and Benioff and Weiss could revisit her in later seasons, even while skipping over her plot line in the fifth season, in order for her to show up unexpectedly. (Like a certain \"stony\" character book readers have been waiting for since Season 3, which we will say no more about because spoilers.)\nThe verdict?\nThe only thing we really know for sure is that casting for Arianne hasn't been announced and whatever role she may have won't be exactly the same as it is in the books. There's still plenty of time for Benioff and Weiss to announce the character, surprise everyone and calm the furor. And whatever the duo are up to, we won't know much until March of 2015 anyway, when the first episode of Season 5 airs. \nTill then? We'll keep working on our theories.\nBONUS: What to Expect from 'Game of Thrones' Season 5\n\n\n\nGame of Thrones Season 5 Cast\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\nJonathan Pryce as the High Sparrow\nThe High Sparrow is the newly elected High Septon of the religion of the seven (the new gods) in Westeros. He differs from the High Septons before him with his steadfast stance against material objects. Being smack in the middle of Lannister turf -- where prosthetic hands are literally made of solid gold -- you can be sure this won't lead to anything peaceful.\n\nImage: David M. Benett/Getty Images\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\nAlexander Siddig as Doran Martell\nAs the head of house Martell, Prince Doran faces a huge amount of pressure to respond to the death of his brother, Oberyn. He's crazy into blood oranges and is afflicted with a severe case of gout, making it extremely painful for him to move.\n\nImage: Matt Carr/Getty Images\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\nKeisha Castle-Hughes as Obara Sand\nAs the eldest of the Red Viper's bastard daughters, also known as the sand snakes, Obara is as fierce a warrior as exists in or out of Westeros. Angry, strong and hungry for payback, Obara and her half-sisters are a force to be reckoned with.\n\nImage: Sandra Mu/Getty Images\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\nJessica Henwick as Nymeria (\u201CNym\u201D) Sand\nThe middle child of the sand snakes, Nymeria is beautiful, deadly and, like her sisters, very angry. \n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\nRosabell Laurenti Sellers as Tyene Sand\nAnother bastard daughter of the Red Viper, think of Tyene as the sweet one -- or sweet for a Martell, at least. She shares her father's love for poison, which makes her a threat to all of her enemies.\n\nImage: Stefania D\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\nDeObia Oparei as Areo Hotah\nAs devoted as he is badass, Areo Hotah is Doran Martell's personal guard.\n\nImage:  Jon Kopaloff/FilmMagic\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\nToby Sebastian as Trystane Martell\nTrystane is betrothed to Myrcella Baratheon, and, unlike most other young royalty in Game of Thrones, comes off as somewhat of a gentleman. Trystane is only 13 in the books, so it looks like HBO has decided to age up the character, similar to what they did with the Starks and Lannisters.\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\nNell Tiger Free as Myrcella Baratheon\nIt's worth noting that Myrcella Baratheon's role has been recast, in light of the added depth of her character. HBO used a similar tactic with the casting of Tommen Baratheon. Myrcella was sent to Dorne in the second season, against Cersei's wishes, to keep the peace between Dorne and King's Landing.\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\nEnzo Cilenti as Yezzan\nThe wealthiest slave owner in Yunkai, Yezzan zo Qaggaz's city was defeated by Daenerys Targaryen and her army of unsullied. We're guessing he's not too happy about it.\n\nImage: Dave J Hogan/Getty Images for The Moet British Independent Film Awards\n\n\n\n\n\n\nHave something to add to this story? Share it in the comments.\n      window._msla=window.loadScriptAsync||function(src,id){if(document.getElementById(id))return;var js=document.createElement('script');js.id=id;js.src=src;document.getElementsByTagName('script')[0].parentNode.insertBefore(js,fjs);};\n_msla(\"//platform.twitter.com/widgets.js\",\"twitter_jssdk\");"^^<http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema#string>
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