IMO they should not have even bothered to cast the Reeds next season. I feel like they have bowed too much to fan pressure when they need to focus on tightening existing storylines and adapting for tv better.
It is possible that they ended up casting the Reeds so they didn't have to tell the actor who plays Bran to go practice his wolf whispering for a couple years. They have already said that they can't do ASoS in one season and Bran really only has two main scenes in the book: saving Jon from the wildlings near queen Alysanne's castle and taking a walk under the Wall with Sam at the very end. Without the Reeds, Bran might not have been on screen very much for the next couple years.
[Book Spoilers] EP 210 Discussion
in E10: Valar Morghulis
Posted
It is possible that they ended up casting the Reeds so they didn't have to tell the actor who plays Bran to go practice his wolf whispering for a couple years. They have already said that they can't do ASoS in one season and Bran really only has two main scenes in the book: saving Jon from the wildlings near queen Alysanne's castle and taking a walk under the Wall with Sam at the very end. Without the Reeds, Bran might not have been on screen very much for the next couple years.