Eight crazy GoT season eight theories that might come true
With eight months before the final season eight of Game Of Thrones, here’s eight crazy theories about the world’s biggest TV show that just might come true.
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GAME Of Thrones walked away with the dragon’s share of Emmy Awards this week but that just made fans even more desperate to find out how it ends.
Everything, including the actors who were called up on stage for the triumphant photograph, is analysed in case it provides a clue.
The release of a tiny teaser trailer for its final season is enough to get the internet more excited than the Night King fishing in a lake full of dead dragons.
So how does it end? Naturally, the people who do know aren’t telling and the TV series left George RR Martin’s books behind a long time ago.
But there are still clues from the books and earlier seasons of GoT, as well as obvious questions that need to be answered.
With that in mind, here are eight of the theories about what may or may not happen in season eight.
1 JAIME LANNISTER
Most of the discussion about Jaime Lannister has centred on whether he will indeed kill twin sister Cersei at some point. Then of course the question becomes will he survive that and end up in the arms of Brienne of Tarth, as many hope. That may be a happy ending for him but, in GoT, that seems unlikely. Anyway, the bigger question is what will happen when he turns up at Winterfell this season. Firstly to tell them that Cersei intends to betray them and won’t help fight the Night King. Secondly, last time he was there, he pushed Bran out of a tower when the young Stark caught him engaging in a spot of “twincest” with Cersei. Now Bran’s the Three-Eyed Raven, he knows all. And while he might forgive (if not forget), Jon, Sansa and particularly Arya are unlikely to be so generous. So where does that leave Tyrion? He owes Jaime for getting him out of his father’s jail in time to avoid an unpleasant death. Could this see Tyrion betray Daenerys Targaryen to save his brother? Or could it be the key to either Tyrion, Arya or Sansa (or indeed all three) heading south to kill Cersei?
2 BRAN STARK
As we know, Bran is now the Three-Eyed Raven, who sees and knows all. Even if he wasn’t too quick with helpful advice last season such as: Don’t take the dragons north of the Wall, the Night King wants to kill one so he can burn a bloody great hole in the Wall and bring his undead army south. Anyway, he knows everything. This is a real problem for season eight, because Bran can just magically spot what the Night King is going to do and defeat him. How to get around this? One way is to fulfil a theory that’s been floating around for years now, which is that Brandon Stark is also Bran the Builder. He’s not Bob’s cousin, he’s the amazing guy who built the Wall and Winterfell and all sorts of other cool stuff. We already know that Bran can affect the past by warging into it. (Hello, Hodor!) What if the Night King has a crack at him while he is warging and Bran gets stuck in the past, forcing him to become Bran the Builder. That way all he can do is leave things in the past for his friends in the present day to find, as well as clues on how to use them. (Such as the Horn of Winter, which Samwell Tarly found several seasons ago and has done nothing with.) Plus fans don’t have to shout angrily at the screen when he refuses to reveal anything, because he’s trapped in the past.
3 CERSEI LANNISTER
It’s not IF she will die, it’s WHEN she will die. As in, before the Night King or after the Night King. Happily, George RR Martin gave us a big, fat clue when he talked about how much he admired Lord Of The Rings and in particular its ending, the section called “The Scouring Of The Shire” where the hobbits have to get rid of Saruman. This suggests he plans to defeat the Night King first and then have to go clean up the mess that Cersei has left. Then of course we come to the question of who will kill her? It was prophesised that the “valonqar” would choke her to death. This means “little brother”. In season one, Jaime greets Tyrion as “little brother” and of course Tyrion has form in this regard, having choked old girlfriend Shae to death — right before he shot his dad Tywin on the dunny. But having Jaime kill her would be even more dramatic, given she’s carrying his child. Oh, the dilemma!
4 AZOR AHAI
This is the Prince That Was Promised. Or at least it was until last season, when Missandei revealed it could be the Princess That Was Promised. This is the hero prophesised to defeat the Night King with a magical sword. Being GoT, of course there’s a catch. You need to kill your loved one first before the sword gets enough power to finish the Night King. So will it be Daenerys who has to kill Jon Snow, or Jon Snow who has to kill Daenerys to fulfil the prophecy? Adding more spice to this whole question is the knowledge that Jon Snow can use his (resurrected) life power to bring Dany back from the dead. Well, we think he can, because Beric Dondarrion does this in the book to save Caitlyn Stark, turning her into Lady Stoneheart. Either way, it’s the “bittersweet” ending that Martin promised.
5 CLEGANEBOWL
The show teased us last season, when Sandor “The Hound” Clegane faced up to evil brother Gregor “The Mountain” Clegane in the Dragonpit. But this season we have to see these two brothers go at it with sword, shield, teeth and whatever else is handy. Will it be just before Cersei gets the life choked out of her? Will it be because The Hound is trying to protect Arya? Who cares! We just want to see it!
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6 ARYA STARK
We have loved the growth of Arya Stark over the last seven seasons, from tough tomboy into warrior and assassin. We especially loved the way she slit Littlefinger’s throat last season, paying him back for the betrayal of Ned Stark, as well as pretty much everything else that has gone wrong. But although she’s a brilliant warrior, her talents aren’t really for the battlefield. So is she going to lead a secret attack on King’s Landing to finish off her Kill List? There’s a stack of names still on there and she’s not one to leave a job unfinished. Or will the desire to hang out with her remaining family outweigh the desire for revenge?
7 THE MYSTICAL EAST
Since Daenerys arrived back in Westeros, we haven’t been back to check out the eastern side of the world. But all that’s about to change. Euron Greyjoy has taken his fleet and his fancy leather pants over there to pick up a huge mercenary army called the Golden Company. Theon Greyjoy, meanwhile, has gone after Euron to finally get some revenge and show he’s grown a pair … whoops. Unfortunate turn of phrase there, given Ramsay Bolton lopped off Theon’s man bits. Anyway, after seven seasons of being a weasel, Theon is going to show he’s got guts to free sister Yara. Or get gutted. One of the two. Meanwhile, Melisandre popped back there to get help for Jon and Dany — specifically an army called the Fiery Hand dedicated to the Lord of Light, which hates the Night King. Will these two storylines intersect? And how will they affect events in Westeros?
8 THE IRON THRONE
So who gets to sit on it at the end? All the Houses have been playing the “game of thrones” to win it since season one. Will it be Jon, Dany, Cersei, Tyrion, Sansa or even the Night King who ends up with their backside on the Iron Throne? Or will nobody get it because Daenerys “breaks the wheel” and ends the fighting over the crown? Watching somebody ascend the steps to the throne will probably be the final act of the show. Or will it be the penultimate act? A dragon created the Iron Throne, so will one destroy it? That seems to be the most likely outcome, or will Martin have one final surprise up his sleeve and basically leave everything open? Will someone take the throne but know that their troubles are not over and instead the game goes on and on? Only eight months to go to find out…