On the Future of Game of Thrones

So, I need to revisit some of my theories from my last post on GoT.

On Stannis, his daughter and his doom

I was on track on almost everything, even the spoiler zone concerning Jon Snow in the finale, and my predictions for next season (and the next book) appear to be mostly in tact. My only miss so far was on the timing of Stannis’s death and that he might take Melisandre with him. That he was doomed was obvious. That his downfall was so much quicker and cleaner than the one he experiences in the book (George R. R. Martin did not reach this doom yet in his books as he was too busy writing about Brienne wandering with Podrick) was actually a welcome addition, in my opinion.

Anyway, what does all of this mean? What are we going to see next?

The Resurrection of Jon Snow into the Azor Ahai

I feel like this is inevitable. You were not tortured with the blandness of Jon Snow for so many books for no reason. The Ned Starkiness of Jon Snow needed to die in order for him to be born again into what humanity needed him to be. And if you think about it, this death fixes so many things about Jon Snow’s loyalties and burdens that only a Stark boy could possibly torture himself with. He died. The contract of the Night’s Watch oath is ended. His death frees him from any such requirement to stand at the wall and defend it according to its archaic principles. He can be the hero he was born to be. Melisandre saw the resurrection of a minor character (who had been returned multiple times by the Lord of Light). All she has to do is apply her affinity to the Lord of Light, and we should have a much different Jon Snow on our hands.

Here are my predictions for what we are going to see for Jon Snow.

1. He no longer has any need or compulsion to do right by the Night’s Watch. They’ve killed his old self. When Melisandre brings him back, he is going to have a huge chip off his shoulder, and he’s going to be angry and at least relieved of much of his guilt. He can now freely join the real world, the world south of the wall and away from the walkers for a spell. Melisandre will likely smuggle Jon out of Castle Black and into the Wildling army.
2. The Night’s Watch is likely to be overwhelmed by the Whitewalkers early into next season. Without Jon’s leadership, they’ll put up a mostly ineffective fight. Ollie will be butchered and by the end of the episode, he’ll pop up with those glassy eyes and zombie features, just so you know he got his just rewards for betraying the Azor Ahai.
3. In the books, Jon Snow is on his way to attacking the Boltons with the Wildling army when the Night’s Watch mutiny happens. This is in response to Ramsey threatening Jon Snow and the Night’s Watch after the Stannis army is overwhelmed. The show has no such premise yet. If Jon Snow is still going to lead the Wildling army against Winterfell, we’ll probably have a Ramsay message to provoke it. This is pure speculation though, but if it holds true, I would expect Jon Snow to have a part in Ramsay’s death (though I would really love for Theon to be the avenger).

Sansa Stark

Sansa appears destined to join Brienne outside Winterfell. Brienne is a woman of principles, and she will stop at nothing to fulfill her oaths. I like her in the show so much more than I liked her in the books.

The meeting with Littlefinger will be tense, but he had no idea who Ramsey really was, and Sansa should ultimately forgive him (though I have a feeling she is going to throw a fit). Her character arc has been weakened significantly by her interactions with Ramsay. But the interactions with Theon and watching Theon come out of his shell are going to be fun to watch, I think.

I hope Ramsay and Brienne do not cross paths too early. Brienne’s fight with the Hound showed that she has a touch of ruthlessness when pushed too far, but the Hound still had a code and he telegraphed everything. Ramsay is not such a character. If he is alone, she has a chance. If he is with multiple people, she may die horribly. Let’s hope they simply don’t cross paths until Brienne is fully aware of who and what he is (and he is alone).

Arya Stark

The blindness is going to be an interesting transition that she will be taught to embrace and harness. The blinded thing will continue throughout next season, and she will learn to use the blindness to be a pitiful, easy-to-trust person who kills with ease. She’ll pretend to drop her list, and she will start killing everyone they have asked her too. If the blindness is relieved, expect the list to be back on and Needle to pop out. I just hope she doesn’t kill her teacher. He’s an interesting character.

Tyrion, Varys and Daenerys

They’ll solve the Harpy problem within 4 episodes. Seriously, you are looking at a dream team of smarts, as far as Game of Thrones is concerned. Of course, when the Queen gets back, she is going to be unnecessarily furious with Varys and will almost instantaneously want him executed for his role in spying on her. But Varys and Tyrion will talk her out of his potential execution, once she is rescued from the Dothraki by Jora the Explorer and the stud muffin.

The Dothraki are likely to be a component of the army that Daenerys will be flanked by. I have a feeling that Daario Naharis is going to die during her rescue and Jora is likely to reveal his doomed skin. What happens then is anyone’s guess. Anyway, the important part is that Daenerys is going to be sailing to Westeros with Tyrion and Varys by her side, as well as an army of Dothraki and Unsullied. She’ll be in a very strong position by the end of next season, I think.

The Lannisters

Their days are assuredly numbered, but they’ll limp along. Cersei and the Reanimated Mountain are going to kill the High  Sparrow and her holier-than-thou cousin. And when Jamie Lannister returns with her murdered daughter, hell will have no fury like a Cersei scorned. Jamie may be nearly choked to death by Cersei’s creature for failing her.

In the books, Jamie leaves her to her own devices in the hold of the Sparrow while he tries to right the lingering problems in Westeros. In the series, he travels to Dorne and tries to rescue the princess. I have a feeling Cersei is going to end up killing her uncle and maybe even Jamie for failing to come to her rescue. Without his good hand and a penchant for stumbling into trouble where he really would need a sword, I think Jamie is in trouble for next season. Tommen’s health is likely to decline and his reign will likely end naturally at a young age, due to his stress over the High Sparrow issue.

Anyway, that’s enough speculative musings for now ;). Feel free to comment!

BTW, interesting interview on the Targaryens origin story. http://www.businessinsider.com/origins-targaryens-george-rr-martin-game-of-thrones-2015-6