Game of Thrones Predictions (Final Season)

Well, I haven’t done one of these in years. The last one I did was a couple of episodes before the final episode of the last season we saw, and I feel like I did pretty well there.

So, let’s go through what I believe is going to happen, much of what we can see in the trailer for Season 8.

Gendry Baratheon is going to have an increased role. First, he’s going to become the main armorer for the living in Winterfell. He will likely shape dragon glass into weapons for the Unsullied and the Dothraki. But Gendry is also going to do something else. I believe he will revive the link with House Stark (remember that Robert and Ned were extremely close friends–to the point that even if Ned felt Robert might be doing something dishonorable, Ned still followed him in fighting to get back Leanna). Gendry is going to be with Arya, and they will have a child together to continue the Baratheon line. There’s a very small chance it might be to Sansa, but it’s so small that it’s not even worth mentioning, imo. And there’s no room for maneuvering in the Baratheon line since Gendry is supposedly the last remaining Baratheon. He has to have a child with someone. My guess is Arya, but I have no idea if they’ll be able to marry. He’s a blacksmith who can make the best weapons. She’s an assassin who can use those weapons to murder anyone. Match made in heaven, as far as I’m concerned, and I think we’ll see some chemistry as soon as Arya sees Gendry again for the first time.

Obvious other stuff involving Starks. Sam is going to tell Jon that he is actually Aegon Targaryen, and Ned told him he was a bastard to protect him because his dying sister Leanna made him promise to do so with her dying wish. Jon will take a couple of episodes to come to terms with adopting his actual name, but he eventually will. I think this may have a chilling effect on both the Northerners and Arya/Sansa Stark. However, they’ll be in the thick of the Winterfell battle and fighting for their lives, so no one can really leave his side.

Following the Stark storyline, I have a feeling Winterfell will fall but not because of what you might think. I think there’s going to be a battle outside of Winterfell, and the dragonglass forged by Gendry, the few Valyrian Steel weapons that exist, and dragons themselves are going to be effective in stopping the force that is coming at them. Unfortunately, there’s an entire crypt of Stark ancestors below Winterfell. And they’re all going to rise to fight for the Night King. There’s a scene from the trailer with women, children, and Varys hiding in a cellar, but I think it’s probably the crypt. They’re, in my opinion, going to be the unfortunate first line of defense against the Starks that rise from the crypts. Meaning everyone you see here is pretty much likely to die unless they manage an escape out of Winterfell. Notable deaths that are likely to happen here. I think Varys is going to die here. I think both Gilly and her baby are going to die here and Sam will escape. I think this is going to ultimately cause him to accept his role as the chief Maester in the series finale. Bran Stark will die because he isn’t mobile enough to leave. I think he might even be killed by one of the risen Starks we know well (Ned, his mother, aunt, or someone close).

Outside of the walls, I think the battle will be a success at first, but we’ll lose a few people and it will feel worth it because it will happen before the crypt erupts. I’m guessing Tormund will die trying to protect Brienne (I really want this relationship to work out, but I believe she is too tied to Jaime Lannister). Beric is probably also going to die. I think Melisandre will also appear to provide assistance to Jon Snow/Targaryen, and I think she will die in the same battle as Varys, ultimately, which will fulfill her own prophecy when she met Varys at Dragonstone in Season 7. She’ll return to her old hag form and probably catch on fire to prevent her from coming back as a walker.

Euron Greyjoy will arrive with The Golden Company at King’s Landing, using the gold that Cersei secured from the Iron Bank. They will be the main fighting force that will block the organized retreat of the northern army. When the Golden Company meets the armies retreating, they will have a few things in their favor. First, Jon Snow/Daenerys will not be expecting them, and Two, the dragons will be harassing the white walker army to the north, covering the retreat of the humans with Jon and Daeny. This means the well-armed Golden Company will be facing off against people who are mostly armed with weapons for fighting white walkers (the dragon glass), not actually good weapons for fighting plate armor or chain mail. Consequently, we’re actually going to lose quite a few of our favorite people here. I think we’ll lose both Greyworm and Missandei, likely within feet of each other, and I think we might even lose Jorah in the initial melee. About the only good thing that will come out of the Golden Company scenes will be that Euron is going to be absolutely distracted with pleasuring Cersei Lannister that Theon will be able to rescue his sister.

Edit: so the rescue of Yara happened in the first episode, mostly as I expected. So, I’ll add on here because now we know a bit more. Theon is on his way to Winterfell. I think this has a chance to complete his redemption arc. He fought the Starks instead of supporting them, and he abandoned his sister once. He saved his sister, and now he will save the Starks or at least try. It’s very possible he dies trying to help them at Winterfell, but I think he may have a role in helping them retreat from the battle. Possibly ferrying some on boats. However, if he were to die here, at Winterfell, saving one of the Stark sisters or even Bran, that would be a hell of a redemption arc. Can’t wait to see what they do with it here. End Edit

One of the dragons will die either in the Battle of Winterfell or during this encounter with the Golden Company. My guess is it actually happens during the latter fight.

And I think there are going to be four people, especially, who get really, really pissed. The first will be Tyrion. Because of his sister’s treachery and because of his history with the people of King’s Landing who ridiculed him and wanted him dead, despite what he did when Stannis attacked, I think he’s going to use his knowledge of the alchemy storage room in KL to burn the whole place down. Literally, all of KL including the Iron Throne will be burned to the ground.

The second pissed off person is going to be Jaime. I think he’s going to enter King’s Landing to kill his sister. During the Battle of King’s Landing, we should also get The Mountain battling The Hound. Jaime will start to battle The Mountain, but it will be a huge mismatch. The Hound will kill Qyburn and then will start to fight The Mountain. The Mountain will almost kill The Hound, but The Hound will kill him. I think he’s going to be missing an arm though when he leaves, and he might just bleed out and be found by Arya. He’ll have to die by fire to prevent the white walkers from taking him. While Cleganebowl is going on, Jaime will slip into Cersei’s chamber and push her out of the window, much like he initially pushed Bran. I think Jaime will die in the fire, and Brienne will be forced to watch him from below, burning through the window. He may fall outward, leaning over the windowsill that he pushed his sister/lover out of.

There’s an alternate possibility here that I think would be remarkable. The Hound and The Mountain are fighting and Brienne comes in to try to save Jaime from the fire as Jaime has gone to kill Cersei. She will have to fight The Mountain with The Hound because The Mountain will not let her pass to help Jaime, so The Mountain will mortally wound The Hound and Brienne will be forced to kill The Mountain. She’ll be injured but will make it in time to see Jaime burning in the tower. She will escape but she will be emotionally injured beyond repair.

The Iron Throne will burn down and melt into a puddle thanks to the alchemical fire that Tyrion unleashed to burn all of King’s Landing. No one will win the Iron Throne because of this, which is fine with Tyrion because he thinks the fight over it is so ridiculous and wasteful and is the true cause of the strife, and this is his solution to the problem.

After being basically surrounded by the Golden Company to the South and the white walkers to the North, Jon and Daeny will get super pissed, but they’ll both understand that the white walkers are the bigger threat. Jon will go on a suicidal mission against the Night King, and both dragons will die and Jon will kill the Night King and sacrifice himself in the process. With both main fire priests dead who have raised someone, he will be truly dead this time.

Word will reach The Golden Company that Cersei is dead and their contract is done. Daeny will rule what’s left, and she will be pregnant with Jon’s child. Sansa will rule Winterfell as it is rebuilt. She may end up marrying Robin Arryn, who has grown up quite a bit, and who she can control. Arya and Gendry will leave together with the implication that they will marry and/or just go on adventures together.

Now, what will happen to Tyrion? If he really does burn down all of King’s Landing, I have a sneaking suspicion that Daeny will try him for a combination of murder and treason. And this time, there won’t be Jaime or Jon or anyone who will speak up for him. He’ll be the imp that everyone hates and has no real friends. Podrick may or may not still be alive, but his word will not be enough to really sway anything. There will be a final trial of Tyrion Lannister and this time, he will be convicted and executed. The Tywin Lannister line will die out, and there will be an even emptier ending left for fans of the series.

Sam will chronicle everything officially as the main Maester. I think they may even show him checking out this mechanical map we see in the intro to every episode.

Anyway, let’s see how this plays out. I’m sure I’ll get most if not all of it wrong, but it’s a fun exercise.

And if you’re wondering if this much treachery is going to be happening in the Age of Magic series, well… just wait until Demogorgon makes his appearance :).

GoT Predictions (Season 7)

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We’ll get to the significance of this poster later

So, as a reminder, I made a list of predictions back in Season 6. I wanted to revisit those, see what I predicted incorrectly and also post what I think is going to happen in the rest of Season 7 and onto Season 8.

First, I’ll speak to my previous predictions, some of which were wrong.

Season 7 Predictions (from last year)

Past prediction #1. People with Valyrian weapons are going to be setup as heros. Brienne has one. Jon has one. Arya now has one. Everything is being setup for these men and women to be the tip of the spear in the defense against the whitewalkers. Still on track with this prediction, but we’re not going to see this in full bloom until Season 8.

Past prediction #2. Jon and Dany did team up, even if the alliance is looser than it will eventually be. Jon and Dany will eventually marry. That’s mine and most people’s predictions and has been mine since probably season 4 or so.

Past prediction #3. Neither Tyrion nor Jaime has killed Cersei, and I don’t think it’s going to happen this season. I think it will happen next season, and I’m still rooting for Tyrion to do it, but Jaime is the more logical candidate.

Past prediction #4 (with new direction). My wall prediction is changing due to the posters that have been released. My previous prediction was that the wall would be compromised by Bran passing through it with the mark (the same mechanism that doomed the previous three-eyed raven when Bran passed through the door and doomed Hodor). I think this is going to get a bit more complicated now that we’ve seen episode 5. Essentially, the northern hero group is going to kidnap a white walker to show Cersei. Their plan is hopelessly flawed and dumb. This is obviously not going to go well and is very poorly thought out.

The Night King is going to catch Jon Snow’s group in a melee (as you can see from the preview). What happens next is the prediction. I think at least 2 people are going to die here and possibly 3. At least Thoros (the drunken Fire God priest who has been bringing his friend back to life). Don’t worry, Gendry is going to survive. He is the Baratheon connection to the Starks and I think he’ll survive the series and be one of Jon Snow / Aegon Targaryen’s closest friends.

There should be two people joining this battle to save the day. The first should be Daeny. She’ll be joined by at least one dragon and possibly two. She wants to see these whitewalkers for herself, and she gets more than she bargained for. Look at the teaser poster above. That is not one of Daeny’s dragons. Not anymore. That’s an ice dragon.

I think during this melee with the Night King, Jon Snow is joined by Daeny who helps them whisk away a white walker, but she loses something very precious to her. I don’t think it will be Drogon. I think we’re going to lose one of the smaller dragons to the Night King.

And I think that this dragon is going to be the thing the Night King uses to down the Wall. I’m not sure if the books are going to play out this way, but I do think the show is going to play out this way based on the production materials and general direction.

I have a feeling Jon Snow is going to continue on to Winterfell to see how things are going. I’m skipping ahead of things though. Let’s just stick with the past predictions and how we’re moving along.

Past Prediction #5. Arya’s kill list will become complete by the end of Season 7 was my original prediction, and I was wrong. The remaining list when I made the prediction was: Cersei, The Hound, The Mountain, Ilyn Payne, The Red Woman, Beric Dondarrion, Thoros of Myr. I feel like Beric and Thoros might die in the melee with Jon Snow and the Night King in episode 6 or 7 of Season 7. The Red Woman seems safe for now, but she has already told us in a talk with Varys that both he and she will die soon. I think they will both die in Season 8, and the Red Woman may die bloodily to Arya to show the power of the old gods to kill each other and new gods (The Stranger over the Fire God).

I still think The Hound and The Mountain are going to kill each other in combat. And I really, really want The Hound to embrace the Fire God and burn his brother The Mountain to death (bringing their arc full circle). If The Hound survives the Clegane Bowl, good on him, but it should complete his story arc.

Ilyn Payne was the executioner at King’s Landing. I believe Arya will kill him before all is said and done but that will be in Season 8, not 7. Cersei will die at the hands of “the younger brother”, as Maggy the Frog’s prophecy predicted. BTW, I believe Cersei is going to lose the baby in a miscarriage (the prophecy was very specific about the number of children she will have), and this is going to drive her even further into crazy town. Again, Cersei is in Season 8 at this point.

But I don’t think the list is the end of the names for Arya. There’s a big name on her list. She just hasn’t voiced it yet, and I think you’re going to see that this season. Let’s talk about that next, because it’s going to be fun!


New Predictions

New Prediction 1. Littlefinger is going to be added to Arya’s list. His chaos games are simply not possible in Winterfell. He’s vastly overestimating his ability to drive a wedge between Sansa and Arya, and he doesn’t quite seem to grasp that Arya is especially dangerous. She’s not just someone who can fight Brienne to a straight-up draw. She’s the kind of person who would never intentionally get in the fight in the first place. She’s a faceless one, and she will be Littlefinger’s killer. This is going to happen in Season 7. This is too juicy and fun for them to hold off on this one, and let’s face it, it’s time. Littlefinger’s game is played out.

Why? I think Bran is going to have something to do with this. Chaos is only a ladder if everyone is clueless. If you have someone omniscient thrown into the mix, then that person isn’t susceptible to chaos. If a plan requires chaos, then an omniscient slices through it. Bran bumbles his way through social interactions. He’s going to reveal Littlefinger and Sansa has never completely trusted him after he gave her to Ramsay. The three Starks will all turn on Littlefinger, but it’s going to be Arya who kills him. It’s her role. Sansa will sign off on it though. She’s the leader of the Stark family (Jon Snow is unlikely to remain “Jon Snow” for much longer and his real family name will switch to Targaryen, likely Aegon, since it’s a popular name in that family to signify power, conqueror, etc.

New Prediction 2. Dragon battle. No, I’m not talking about Dragons vs. the Lannister army. That was obviously a mismatch. No, I’m talking about Drogon against at least 1 of his siblings (Rhaegal and/or Viserion). I’m not sure which will be the one to turn into an ice dragon. We may see Drogon have to battle both. Rhaegal and Viserion are inseparable. If you remember, they were chained together in a dungeon while Drogon got to go around eating sheep and children (you remember this scene, right?)

It would of course make more sense for Drogon to be chosen by the Night King since he is the bigger and stronger one, but I think opportunity presents itself and the Night King gets to keep one of the others. My best guess is Viserion. Why? Because he/she is named after Daeny’s crazy, power hungry brother. This is one of those names that never should have been given out. What was Daeny even thinking here? Anyway, I think we’re going to see Drogon kill a sibling dragon in melee. We may even see Drogon have to fight both Viserion and Rhaegal, and I think maybe even all three die by the end of the series. If the latter happens, I think you’re going to see three new eggs lain by one of them though (whichever one chooses to be female, as dragons can apparently choose their gender, if you remember).

Again, due to promotional materials, I believe the wall in the TV series will fall to one of these converted dragons. I do not believe that Bran will accidentally bring the wall down, and I do not believe that the Night King will do it with his own powers. I think Daeny’s participation in the kidnapping attempt on a white walker will result in her losing a dragon.

New Prediction 3. Tormund and Brienne. It’s going to happen. Too fun to pass up, and it’s a fan favorite pairing at this point. This has to happen. It just has to. Unfortunately, it is not going to happen until Season 8 though.

New Prediction 4. Some more characters that are middling characters will die off. Benjen Stark (the guy with the flaming flail and Ned’s brother) will die off heroicly, probably saving someone in this melee north of the wall. He’s been due a good death in his state of undeath. Beric is going to survive the same melee, I think, but I don’t know why. His flaming sword trick is supposed to be saved for Azor Ahai, but the TV series is using this for effect for some reason.

In the legends, the original Azor Ahai plunged his sword into his wife’s chest to create that flaming sword that was used to smite the white walkers. Now? You can just turn it on like a lightsaber. This could have setup some really intense drama. Imagine if the only way Jon Snow/Targaryen could activate his full Azor Ahai powers was to plunge his sword into the heart of the woman he is destined to be with–Daenerys, and that she would offer herself willingly and with love, as this woman did 10,000 years ago with her husband, the original Azor Ahai. Well, you’re not going to get that–for better or worse. Maybe Beric’s only purpose will be to teach Jon how to do the sword trick or something–not that he really needs it since he can just use his Valyrian steel sword to kill whitewalkers without even needing a flaming blade.

As I mentioned before, Gendry will survive the series. I think he’s necessary to keep the Baratheon line going.

New Prediction 5. Jon will declare his undying loyalty to Daenerys by the end of Season 7. I don’t think they will be married yet, but I think he will pledge to serve her in some way after she saves his butt in the North (and loses one of her children/dragons doing it).

That’s enough for now. When the season is over and I see how far off I am, I’ll make another prediction/wrap up post. Really great season. Short but really great! 😀

Winter is Coming (GoT)

But what does that really mean? We’re all expecting a showdown between the White Walkers and the Targaryens, and by a plurality here, I mean Jon Snow and Daenerys of course. But what if there is more to this? Are we expecting such a straight-forward ending, really?

There are some pretty great fan theories out there, and I’ve talked about some of my own plenty of times before (just check the got category on this site). However, I came across a really neat one from Nerd Soup regarding the motivations and lineage, really, of the White Walkers. It makes for some interesting watching, so please feel free to take a look.

George R. R. Martin has said many times that he hates good vs. evil tales that paint one side as overwhelmingly good and another side overwhelmingly bad. Any characters that we have previously had who could clearly be put into these molds have been mostly killed. Joffrey. Ramsay. On the other side, Ned and Robb, Catelyn Stark, etc.

So, what is up with the Night King?

There’s a lot of backstory and lore here, but the books have not presented the White Walker story in any meaningful way. They seem like a menacing force of evil. The show runners on HBO have said they look at the Night King not as an evil king but as Death himself. I think this is too simplistic, and quite frankly, I’m hoping they are simply misleading us intentionally, as they had to do to build suspense and disbelief about Jon Snow’s death.

The video above does a good job of presenting an alternate path forward, one that I hope is closer to how the series ends up. Instead of Good vs. Evil, humans have reneged on an old pact written during the creation of the Great Wall. It does not really make that much sense that a species of creature who live in winter and ice would be subverted by an ice wall. If anything, it makes more sense that they created it.

After all, the children of the forest did not appear to possess any true ice magic and were more focused on life and fire spells, which you can see in the series. So, they just don’t seem to be a likely candidate. Then, there is Brandon Stark “the Builder” and founder of House Stark, who is supposed to be the human architect of the Wall. However, a wall 700 ft tall and 300 miles long made from ice from a frozen lake doesn’t really seem like the best material men might use and it certainly would have taken a long, long time for men, even with the help of giants and the children of the forest (who don’t seem to do all that well in the cold).

Which leaves a far more likely builder–the White Walkers. They literally have ice for blood in the books and various ice magics. Would it make more sense for them to have built the wall to create a buffer line between men and the extreme north and they are only raising an army to attack again due to the continued presence of the Wildlings in their territory, the birth of the dragons which are igniting fire magic again, the strengthening of the Lord of Light (a fire magic deity), and the loss of the human sacrifices from Krastor that were helping them reproduce (according to Martin, White Walkers do not reproduce naturally but instead must convert a human child).

Don’t get me wrong. There are many theories about the White Walker motivations, including getting back at the First Men, the link between Bran and the Night King, and even the first Night’s King and the supposed White Walker bride that he had on the wall. But, I think it’s worth thinking about the White Walker motivations.

Since I’m in Portugal for another week, I’ll miss the first episode tonight. So, if you’re back home and streaming or watching, I’m a bit envious, but I’ll catch up and then we’ll figure this out together!

Some Game of Thrones Wrap Up

This post is mostly just my opportunity to post this hilarious summarization by Samuel L. Jackson of the Game of Thrones plot up to this point. However, it may be a good opportunity to recap a bit about what predictions I made were correct and which were not.

Previous predictions:

End of Season 6 and Season 7, a GoT prediction

Who else is dying in Season 6, a GoT prediction

  1. The siege of Riverrun played out how I expected. Like I said, Blackfish would seem dead but probably escapes for later confrontations
  2. Rickon died, almost exactly as I had predicted in the Battle of Winterfell. I mean I almost completely nailed this one (no pun intended). I was both right and wrong about Ramsay. I anticipated they would imprison him rather than immediately killing him. I had messed up thinking they would leave him alive into next season before killing him then. His quick, painful death this season instead is one of the best ways they could have wrapped this up. Hats off to the creators on the way this was done with the dogs. Very nice.
  3. The King’s Landing plot was almost spot on how I predicted it. The Mountain kills people, but I thought he would just kill Septa Unella, but what we believe he does to her is worse. Some have claimed he is painfully torturing her, but Cersei’s call of “Shame, shame” says something more. He’s almost certainly assaulting her in that room. The burning of Margaery and everyone else is pretty much what I expected, and Margaery’s fatal playing of the cards here rather than letting her family rescue her with their legion is a reasonable way to tie this up, even if how we got to this point (as I mentioned in multiple posts) made no sense with the way the population had previously regarded Margaery. Whatever. Water under the bridge.
  4. Davos and Melissandre had the exact confrontation I predicted except I did not predict her expulsion from the North. That was a surprise. Slightly out of character for Davos since he let so many other people die by fire at the stake with only minimal mumbling to Stannis, but the scene played out fine and made sense. I can buy that the young princess was the final straw that made him snap.
  5. As I’ve said all along, Azor Ahai == Jon Snow. He’s the son of Rhaegar and not Ned, as I’ve been saying for years. I still expect him to team up with Daenerys, and he’s going to be a dragon rider. It’s probably going to be Jon, Daenerys as dragon riders. I still stick with my prediction of Tyrion being the third dragon rider, and my prediction on his parentage, I’m also sticking to for now.
  6. Siege at Mereen was finished immediately with the dragons, just as I predicted.
  7. Ultimately, the King’s Landing plot is not done yet. My prediction for this was that Cersei would try to ultimately burn the city down as Robert’s predecessor had tried to do. I still think Tyrion will throttle her to death, but it may actually be Jaime. Either is possible, and it’s really up to Martin and the showrunners on how they want this to go down. Both will have reasons to kill her, and both are little brothers, so each fits. My bet is still Tyrion. Jaime would come full circle with both Kingslayer and Queenslayer titles. I mean, that would definitely be the most poetic/impactful.

A recap of my predictions for Season 7 (mostly seen in End of Season 6 and Season 7, a GoT prediction) and some new ones (e.g. Arya)

  1. People with Valyrian swords are going to become superstars and the heroes of legend. Anyone who can kill a whitewalker will be launched from obscurity. Normal armies and commanders are going to have to take a backseat. Cersei’s position will obviously be weakened since Jaime gave his sword to Brienne, and Joffrey/Tommen’s sword is lost somewhere.
  2. Jon and Daeny team up after Daeny marches toward King’s Landing and the end of the King’s Landing Lannister plot ties up
  3. Tyrion kills Cersei as she is in the process of burning down King’s Landing, but Jaime may be the more appropriate choice since he will be near her and he’s had to do this type of killing before (would make a really strong, sad scene if they choose to do this with Jaime). If Cersei killed Jaime, though, Tyrion would have all the motivation he needs to throttle her to death, as the Cersei prophecy fortold. Jaime’s previously murdering of a Monarch was with a sword, whereas Tyrion killed his love by strangling her with her own necklace. It just seems to fit more with Tyrion to me. I think Jaime loves Cersei too much to kill her, but she’s crazy enough to kill him. She’s shunned his love before when he was too long in returning, if you remember.
  4. The Wall is quickly overwhelmed by the Whitewalkers. Specifically, I think if Bran crosses the wall with that mark on his arm, all of the magic in the Wall is going to shatter just as the Night King did to the Three-Eyed Raven’s sanctuary. The Night’s Watch will be slaughtered, and unfortunately, you’re going to see some of the few remaining heroes you liked that were left at the Wall (e.g. Eddison Tollett, the acting Lord Commander) turn into undead.
  5. Arya’s kill list will become complete by the end of Season 7. The list started with over a dozen names. Of these, Joffrey, Walder Frey, Myrant Trant, Tywin Lannister, Polliver, and Rorge are dead. The remaining names are Cersei, The Hound, The Mountain, Ilyn Payne, The Red Woman, Beric Dondarrion, Thoros of Myr. Cersei is going to be killed by either Tyrion or Jaime, so she’s not going to be the one to do that. The Hound, Beric Dondarrion and Thoros of Myr are all together and are likely to be joined by Melissandre at their camp as she rides South (and Beric and Thoros initially got on this list by selling Gendry to Melissandre). She’s probably going to kill all three in one go. What about The Hound? She took pity on him before and did not kill him. It’s the reason he’s still alive. I think she’s going to let him go again, but if she were to kill him, that would be fitting too, since he’s still on the list. BUT, I want there to be a confrontation between the Hound and the Mountain, and I want the Hound to kill the Mountain with a bottle of Wildfire. They’ll probably kill each other and die together smoldering in the fire. I think that would be the absolute best way to end that story.

Anyway, those are my predictions for now. I’ll hopefully post something else non-GoT-related soon. I need to get back to redrafting the first two chapters of Shadows of Our Fathers. I haven’t had time for it in months.

End of Season 6 and Season 7, a GoT prediction

Episode 9 is going to be mostly about Jon Snow and Ramsay Bolton at Winterfell. The last episode, I believe, will deal with Cersei’s revenge and the fall of the King. So, let’s get down to brass tacks. What the heck is about to happen? This is all speculation, so this is not so much spoilers as educated guessing. Still, be warned that I’m taking a dive into Season 7 speculation too.

The Battle of the Bastards

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I’ve already covered this in the last prediction post, but Jon and Ramsay will face off but neither of them will die. Rickon Stark will die early in Episode 9. Ramsay will kill him in a torturous way, but I don’t think it will be dogs. I think it will probably involve Ramsay killing him quite leisurely while he waits for Jon Snow. I think he will literally be killing Rickon to pass the time, probably with a bow-and-arrow or something. Jon becomes King of the North by unanimous consent of the northern houses after the battle. Ramsay is a prisoner, just so he can say rude things to Sansa during her prison visits over next season, undoubtedly. Eventually, he’ll die, but it will be next season, and he’ll probably be turned to undead first while rotting in a cell or something. Because they didn’t kill him first, this will probably have some lesson to it (if George was writing it, not so sure about the showrunners), where someone we like will be felled or turned to undead because Ramsay was left to turn instead of just killing him and being done with it. The guy is already a murderous freak, so being undead won’t be that much different.

The Siege at Mereen

This went on for a long time in the books, and nothing really happened. The show is going to dispose of this siege very quickly to show how strong Daenerys is with her dragons and this new horde of Dothraki. This may not happen until next season (Season 7) but that would be a shame. It’s a chance for the showrunners to end this on a high note, in a season where they have misfired in so many ways.

King’s Landing

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Cersei is going to use Wildfire to burn most if not all of King’s Landing to the ground. She’ll probably launch this attack after Tommen dies to being a self-pitying idiot (again, I think he’s going to fling himself from a window after Maergary dies–a prediction I’ve been making for a while now). Oh, the poor people of King’s Landing, right?

This is an inconsistent people with no real principles. They loved Maergary but would let her be locked up for no real reason, allowing this High Sparrow character to impose his will on their nobles and indeed their King and Queen. Look at a contrast of this loyalty with the people of Riverrun. These Tully commoners were so loyal to their Lord that even though they knew he was under duress and had not seen him for years, they immediately obeyed his orders and would have killed the Blackfish at what is obviously a duress command.

Poor people of King’s Landing? No. As I’ve said before, this population followed no real fantasy tropes and their reactions have been highly inconsistent and illogical. They’re going to burn for their lack of loyalty to Margaery (their previously popular but suddenly forgotten queen) and Tommen will join them in the flames. Cersei will eek out her time as a grieving, hollow mother who has had her vengeance. I still think Tyrion kills Cersei. Jaime will probably die to Brienne because that would be his most powerful death and the one with the most setup. Probably. Not until Season 7 or even 8 though.

The deep dark future of Season 7

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The kingly position will defer to the new King Jon Snow in the North, and it will setup a rivalry with Daenerys when she arrives. I have a feeling that Bran will be involved with stopping this fight before it starts. He will announce that Daenerys and Jon Snow are kin, and Jon will take on the name of Targaryen. “The one that was promised” will be truly shown in a public spectacle with a dragon trying to burn Jon with fire, but Jon will survive and emerge from the flames like Daenerys did. He is the Azor Ahai, as I and many have predicted through the years.

Daenerys and Jon will be the power couple that sits atop the throne. If they survive the war with the Night King, I believe they will marry, but that’s a long way away. They turn their attention toward the Night King, and their flames engulf the legions of the undead.

The Knights of the Winter War

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Any knight with a Valyrian sword is essentially a chosen warrior in this major war, because other than magical fire, the Valyrian sword and such artifacts are the only known weapons against the White Walkers. This is going to be an important distinction, and many unknown houses and characters are going to become major heroes just because they are the only people in the world who can kill White Walkers. Here is where the swords currently reside and where they will likely be when the war occurs:

Ice (Ned Stark’s sword) was acquired by Tywin Lannister and reforged into two swords, Oathkeeper and Widow’s Wail, which were passed to Jaime Lannister and King Joffrey, where they then passed to Brienne of Tarth and then King Tommen, respectively. Brienne will die wielding it, I believe, in a very valiant effort to protect her lieges. Tommen will essentially lose it in the fire at King’s Landing where it may be found, but it may sit out the rest of the war or be melted by the magical fire attack by Cersei. So, we may lose this part of Ice permanently.

Longclaw has passed from Lord Commander to Lord Commander, and now is being wielded by Jon Snow. Here is a list of some of the other known swords and who has them / where they were lost/last seen:

Heartsbane: Samwell Tarly
Lady Forlorn: House Corbray
Longclaw: Jon Snow
Nightfall: House Harlaw
Oathkeeper: Brienne of Tarth
Red Rain: House Drumm
Widow's Wail: King Tommen (likely lost after Season 6)
Valyrian steel arakh: Caggo
Valyrian steel axe: House Celtigar
Brightroar: Somewhere in Valyria (may be important since Euron Greyjoy is 
believed to have sailed there)
Dark Sister: Brynden "Bloodraven" Rivers
Lamentation: Lost in battle, Storming of the Dragonpit.
Orphan-Maker: Jon Roxton
Truth: Moredo Rogare of Lys
Vigilance: Ormund Hightower
Misc:
* all Maesters have Valyrian steel chain links around their neck, a mask,
and other Valyrian artifacts which could be melted down
* the old Targaryen crown was made of Valyrian steel. It was lost in Dorne.
* Euron Greyjoy has an entire armor suit that is made of Valyrian steel. In the
books, he has obviously sailed to old Valyria and acquired a lot of Valyrian steel.
He also has a Valyrian steel-inscribed dragon horn that is supposed to be able
to ensnare dragons. He may be a bigger character than most viewers realize. In
the books, he essentially has the most Valyrian steel of any one person in the
entire world.

Each of these new ones could be result in a new major character joining a Game of Thrones in Season 7.

The Three Dragon Riders

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The first two dragons are essentially a lock for Jon and Daenerys. The third dragon? I’m predicting it’s Tyrion but it damned well might be Euron. The guy has so much Valyrian steel that he’s just inscribing it into everything in the books. In the books, he also has a dragon horn that was supposedly used in Valyria to ensnare the wills of dragons. Either the guy dies quickly and forfeits all of his precious Valyrian steel, possibly to Asha Greyjoy after she kills her uncle, or he becomes the third rider.

I’m rooting for Tyrion on this matter. It is very possible that he is also a Targaryen, fathered by Aerys with Joanna Lannister (the King supposedly took “liberties” with her during her bedding ceremony and openly lusted after her). If you haven’t heard the theory, let me lay out some of the details.

In the books, Tyrion is not just Lannister blond, he is so blond as to be platinum blonde like the Targaryens. He also has an eye that is almost black, which is meant to enhance his deformities in the book but deformities are common amongst the Targaryens because of the incestuous nature of the family. This black eye may actually be a dark purple (common from Targaryens). Tyrion is a freak to the Lannister crowd, but he would not have been to the Targaryens.

Tyrion has also always had a fascination with fire since he was a boy. He stares at it constantly, and he has always had a fascination with dragons. There’s also the scene with the dragons at Mereen where they did not kill him. It’s very likely that they realized an affinity with him.

Both Jon and Tyrion’s mothers died from complications during child birth. Leanna Stark and Joanna Lannister, both of whom lay with Targaryens (if the theory of Joanna is to be believed). The “theory” of Leanna is not really a theory. It has been so thoroughly telegraphed in the books and the series, that the Tower of Joy scene is an inevitability. There would have been literally no reason to show this scene in the TV show if this wasn’t a clear thing. You are going to see the Tower Scene, Leanna telling Ned about the parentage of the kid, and then she will die and Jon Snow is going to be OBVIOUSLY revealed in the TV show as the subject of those whisperings. Just watch. It’s happening.

Anyway, that’s enough speculation for now. The last two episodes are probably going to redeem a lot about the misfires this season. The King’s Landing ridiculousness with the High Sparrow and weirdly complacent population will be done in the final episode. The Dorne subplot will move to something slightly more coherent (I expect them to start joining in a reasonable storyline soon). Arya will be in Westeros for Season 7. Bran will join the Jon Snow team. We’ll have 4 starks together, in the same city, before you know it! Let me know what you think in the comments!

The Hound, A GoT Prediction

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The Cersei / Tyrell plot keeps mercilessly going down its awful path. The houses are now basically split with Olenna’s dismissal of Cersei, and all of this against an enemy that is EASILY dispatched with the Tyrell army or the Lannister army. For no discernible reason, Margaery has denied her family’s army from freeing her, has stayed in a situation that she can obviously get out of (she literally could have signaled her grandmother to kill the overseer that was tasked to her), and has intentionally led Tommen into embracing this path. If the Faith are what they claim they are, they wouldn’t kill Loras over her betrayal, but whatever.

This is so out of character for Margaery that I’m just flabbergasted. Unlike Dorne, which is such a minor plot in the shows that it can be safely and mercifully ignored by the showrunners, the Lannister/Tyrell conundrum is such a central part of the kingdom (since it literally involved the King), we have to deal with this ridiculous plotline directly until Cersei and Jaime are dead. Again, who cares that the people loved Margaery right? The showrunners can forget about this, so I guess we can too? Sure. Why not?

The entire Lannister family (sans Tyrion) dying simply can’t happen fast enough at this point–not because they deserve it or they haven’t played the game well enough. No, I just can’t believe the Lannister storyline at this point. I can buy dragons and magic and undead and changing history from the future through nothing but a vision (i.e., Bran), but what I am having major trouble with here as a viewer is believing the city’s reaction to Margaery’s imprisonment, her ridiculous change in demeanor, etc. Even if you could buy that she is simply mimicking a rose (beautiful to look at it, but thorny to the touch), if you want to invest yourself fully into symbolism, a rose doesn’t kill you, and the Tyrells have killed many people, including Joffrey after he married Margaery. It simply punishes you for getting too close (e.g., touching the stem to pluck it by hand). The Tyrells are more capable than just annoying someone who touches them. This is so bizarre. Unfortunately, the Lannister plotline (i.e., the death of the main Lannisters) won’t happen until next season at the earliest. Cersei will watch the Zombie Mountain destroy someone in a trial-by-combat and it will be a hollow victory, really. I still think Cersei will die at the hands of Tyrion next season, but she has to watch her last child die first. I hope she kills the High Sparrow, but it may only happen after her son Tommen dies. And it will be a desperate last act (a final victory before accepting her own fate).

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There is one Lannister-aligned plotline which anchored this episode: the return of the Hound. Ian McShane (who btw is one of my favorite actors) gave away all of this months ago, when he said he would be responsible for bringing an old character back to life. However, it played out very well on screen, including how I thought it would from having read A Feast for Crows (the fourth book), where we see what readers thought was the Hound digging a grave as he accompanied a band of priests. The Hound is going to destroy the entire raiding party that killed his new friends, and he is going to seek out frontier-style justice across the Riverlands. I think we’re all looking forward to him meeting up with the Starks. When Arya sees him for the first time, it’s going to be an amazing episode, I hope.

What do I expect to happen from the Hound? Well, I think the showrunners are going to probably disappoint me again, but I would love to see the Hound fight Zombie Mountain and they kill each other. Brother against undead brother. If I were to write the scene, Zombie Mountain will get on top of Sandor like he did to Oberyn, and he will start to blind the Hound. The Hound would scream in pain as blood starts to flow out of his destroyed orbs, but then the blinded Hound would manage to permanently kill The Mountain. He may burn him like his brother did to him (which seems to work well against the Undead in this show, though The Mountain is very different in resurrection style–a medically-induced resurrection in the show–than the White Walkers’ form of resurrection).

Will that happen? Probably not. We’ll probably just get a Hound that walks around the Riverlands doling out frontier justice for those who cannot do it themselves. Perhaps he will return to the nice man and his daughter that Arya and he visited before he stole from them and pay them back in some way. When he finds Arya, he will help her with her list. I feel like that would be the perfect opportunity for him to have good reason to fight his Zombie Brother. After all, The Mountain is on her list, and so is The Hound. By killing The Mountain and being himself killed in the process, he effectively helps her in her frontier-style vengeance. To me, it’s perfect. To the showrunners? Who knows what they’re thinking. I wipe my hands of it. I’m trying to lower my expectations so I have less disappointment.

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The only real things to speculate on here are 1) Littlefinger and 2) Arya. Littlefinger is going to end up being the target of Sansa Stark’s letter at the end of the episode. She’s finally learned a lesson about the game, as I noted earlier she needed to understand. Her name didn’t mean crap to the North. Her role with the Lannisters and Boltons is more poison than catalyst, and she needs Littlefinger’s army. Finally, something that makes sense. I’ll give the showrunners an A++ for the turn around on that one. The second speculation is that Arya is going to survive and escape to the boat. She will not go after the Waif, who may believe Arya is dead for now, but Jaqen is unlikely to buy it. He will want her face, and until the Waif finds Arya’s body, it’s probably a task the Waif will have to continue with (finding Arya). That’s more likely to happen in Westeros the second time. At least that’s my prediction, and this time, Arya will have more friends around her or an environment that works to her advantage. I think she will use the Waif’s overconfidence again her, and drive Needle into the Waif’s heart.

Anyway, that’s my speculation. My record of prediction has been slightly off this season, but that’s what I’m predicting. What do you think?

Arya the Faceless Dropout, A GoT prediction

arya-pulls-needle-out-of-the-rock-official-hbo-810x539I just realized I haven’t really touched on the Arya story. I think Arya’s story is going to take a major turn in the next two episodes (starting with episode 6, as she faces a choice in the summary), and if you’ve been a bit bored with her Braavos storyline, expect her to head toward Westeros very soon (within 4 episodes, I think).

In short, I think she is going to be given a mission in Westeros, but the target is probably going to be someone who will divert her from the “no one” path and resume her identity as Arya Stark. I think the most appropriate target assigned to her will be Jon Snow because he has escaped “Death”, also known as the Stranger and the Many-Faced God by the Faceless Men. I think it would make sense for Jaqen to assign such a target to: 1) prove Arya is no longer Arya and 2) get vengeance for the death that was stolen from the Many-Faced God. I expect her to retrieve Needle from its nook in the wall and to come to Jon’s aid at Winterfell.

I would love to say she’ll kill Ramsay, but an assassination of Ramsay seems so cheap. I think he’ll have a more public death, almost certainly at the Battle of Winterfell. However, if he manages to escape Winterfell and hide with the Freys, for example, then this would be where Arya would come into the picture.

ARYA UPDATE: After seeing episode 5, the series creators have thrown unpredictability into the mix about why she will leave the Faceless Men. It seems just a reminder of her past and how the public viewed her father and sister may be enough to cast shade on her anonymous ambitions. Ultimately, it’s the people remaining on her list and her bonds to her family that will break her from this employment. What’s really ominous about episode 5 though, was Jaqen’s statement that “one way or another, a face will be added to the hall.” The organization is spread across the world, from what I understand, so she can’t just kill the Waif and Jaqen to get out of these obligations. They need to either allow her to peacefully exit or no matter what she does, they will eventually collect her face. Where is this going to go? I hope she is useful to the Stark plotline, but sometimes, the showrunners feel that a random death is useful to their storytelling. If the series allows her to escape Braavos, she could have a really interesting series of scenes in Westeros where she kills lots of people (similar to how Jaqen helped her escape from Tywin’s camp). However, given what the series creators did with Hodor, I feel they are just as likely to kill her cheaply to advance the inescapability of fanatics in GoT. END ARYA UPDATE

Cersei vs Tyrell, another GoT prediction

Game-Of-Thrones-Cersei-JaimeIn the recent episode of Game of Thrones, something weird happened. No, not Daenerys killing the Khals and everyone else in the command hut. No, not Theon backing his sister instead of his own claim. No, not Brienne all but threatening Melissandre and Davos. No, not Ramsey killing the wildling girl. No, not Jon Snow and Sansa Stark finally reuniting the Stark clan members for the first time in years. All of those were to be expected.

What was really strange was the behavior of Loras and the confession of Tommen about something that the High Sparrow told him. To me, there’s an impending chaos here that was hinted at and that I have predicted previously. The most obvious connection is that Cersei and Jaime managed to convince Lady Olenna Tyrell and Kevan Lannister to go along with their plan to bring in Tyrell troops to break Queen Margaery Tyrell out of the clink before her own supposed walk of atonement. If you think that the secret that the High Sparrow told Tommen is about Margaery’s atonement, there is literally nothing pointing to that being the case.

First, remember the circumstances around Cersei’s atonement. She confessed. She broke down to see her child. The atonement came only after her confession. Margaery, on the other hand, had absolutely no interest in bowing to the High Sparrow. Her reaction to Loras’s complete breakdown was a show of strength, to try to lift him up, but his reaction to that was more of a man who had been pushed over a threshold. To him, the damage had already been done. He had already fallen. He was irredeemable.

What could Loras possibly have done to push himself over a point of no return? What had he revealed to the High Sparrow, who had passed on the information to King Tommen.

It is my belief, and it seems others have posted about this online as well, that Loras spilled a dark secret about the Tyrells, one that the High Sparrow felt would help Tommen with healing and understanding why the Tyrells must stay imprisoned. What secret could that be? Well, Lady Olenna had worked with Petyr Baelish to murder Joffrey. You forgot about that? So did most of the other viewers, I think, and that makes sense. After all, every viewer was as happy about Joffrey dying as they are going to be about Ramsey dying after his clash with Jon Snow. For a TV viewer, Joffrey’s death was over and done with and not soon enough. Justice had been done. Except, Cersei would never see Joffrey’s death as justified. She did not relish in his death.Her children are sacrosanct, no matter how awful they might be. When she finds out who killed her boy, revenge will occupy her entire mind until it is done.

So, it is my belief that the High Sparrow told Tommen that as part of his ongoing confession, Loras had admitted that the death of Joffrey was at the hand of his grandmother Olenna and not Sansa Stark or Tyrion Lannister. I am unsure of whether or not Littlefinger will have been implicated by Loras. It depends on how loose Olenna’s tongue was with her family. However, Cersei is about to get her revenge. Here is how I expect it to go down.

The Fall of the Tyrells

The Tyrell troops will enter the city and put the Sparrows to the sword. I still think Margaery will die, and I have a feeling that Lady Olenna will die at the hands of Zombie Mountain, while Cersei watches. I can’t imagine Cersei letting Lady Olenna die in some more dignified way. Margaery, as I’ve said before, is likely to die in the oncoming melee. Whether it is Zombie Mountain or the Sparrows, the effect on Olenna Tyrell will be devastating, as Cersei expects, but I don’t think she quite understands the effect it will have on Tommen.

The New Impotence of the Lannisters

Cersei has no foresight and believes she is a lion that can stand alone against the rest of the kingdom. The loss of the Tyrells is going to hit the Lannisters much harder than Cersei realizes. House Lannister no longer has its gold mines and is in major debt. Her father struck the deal with the Tyrells out of necessity, and with the Tyrell bond forever severed, House Lannister will lose all of its monetary and troop support from the Tyrells. Cersei will almost certainly lose Tommen (due to Margaery’s likely death), and I still think it’s going to be by his own hand after he finds out about Margaery. Loras will die a miserable death.

Ramsay

Ramsay is going to be sandwiched in between the armies of Jon Snow, the Umbers, and Littlefinger’s army from the Vale. Other men will join Jon Snow once they hear of a Stark marching on Winterfell. But Ramsay is likely to take out several main characters, and not just the wildling girl Osha whom he killed in “Book of the Stranger.” Whether Rickon lives or dies is completely up to the producers. I don’t feel he has any major part, and killing him may just serve as additional reminders that Ramsay must go (not that any viewer doubts it at this point). Ramsay must be dealt with before Jon can deal with the White Walkers. He is almost certainly going to die during the Battle of Winterfell in Episode 9.

Littlefinger

Petyr Baelish is probably going to have an inglorious death. It’s unlikely to be Varys’s doing (certainly not directly). Littlefinger is playing too dangerous a game and is far too obvious in his ploys now. He is above his station, and his most obvious weakness would be if Robin Arryn suddenly reverses in his reverence to Littlefinger. Petyr no longer has his main sources of income from brothels in King’s Landing due to the Sparrows, and he is over-reliant on his power from the Vale. Sansa is going to be wroth with him, and Brienne is likely to speak poorly of him. He’ll overplay his hand soon, and he will probably die a commoner’s death (e.g., being tossed through the moon door in the Vale).

 

Well, that’s enough speculative predictions for now!

 

Azor Ahai, a Game of Thrones Prediction

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It’s been several months since I did a Game of Thrones post, and we’re two episodes into the new season. I’ve been pretty close in my predictions and tonight, we got the big reveal–the lynch pin of my predictions so far–that Melissandre resurrects Jon Snow.

Old predictions

So, what’s left in my predictions? Well, Ramsay still needs to attack the Night’s Watch, and that was setup perfectly in the episode with Ramsay offing his dad, his potential sibling, and his stepmother. This will setup poorly for Ramsay with the Freys as Ramsay’s stepmother was one of Walder’s granddaughters. Ramsay has no idea that an entire Wildling army will now be answering to Jon Snow. This will get bad for Ramsay very quickly.

As I suspected, Brienne and Sansa have joined forces in the first episode, and she is on her way to meet with the Azor Ahai as well. Theon is heading back to his islands and may actually join them in time for the King’s Moot (something he was unable to do in the books). This was unexpected. I honestly am unsure where Theon’s story might be going.

New predictions

Jon Snow is going to take some time to realize his new powers. I’m pretty sure he’s destined to ride one of the three dragons, and my guess is Drogon, the largest one. He’s going to command the Wildling army and eventually the army of man that stands between the white walkers and the rest of the world.

The Mountain is going to kill a lot of people. He may be unstoppable. We’re not sure of his full powers and the type of magic that binds him to a master. However, he may not stop until the maester and at least Cersei are dead. He’s a freaking super zombie.

Cersei, Jaime, and Tommen will finally form a strong team again, and the High Sparrow will die within a few episodes. It is likely that a large army will be mobilized within the capitol, and it is very possible that the Queen Margaery will die in the melee (possibly killed by the High Sparrow or the Lannister cousin). I’m guessing Tommen will kill himself over this, and Cersei will be depressed. The valonqar (little brother) from Cersei’s prophecy is likely to be Tyrion who kills her, instead of Tommen (who is also the little brother and sole survivor of Cersei’s three children). The only way Tommen would be the volanqar is if the maester raises him from the dead, like The Mountain, and he kills Cersei immediately. My money is on Tyrion. He will arrive with Daenerys, they will find Cersei beside herself in depression, and he will end her.

What will happen to Jaime? My guess is an ignoble death, likely a sword through his back and probably from a very minor character. Brienne will be visibly shaken by the news, and it will worsen Cersei’s depression. She will be alone with no other Lannisters to support her. She will wither and await the valonqar.

What about the dragons? Now that Tyrion has set them free, my guess is that they will search out Daenerys before she is forced to sad widow island and kill a bunch of Dothraki who are trying to force her to obey their ancient customs. The Dothraki army will join her. Lots of people are going to join her once they see the three dragons as grown adults.

Ramsay will likely die at the hands of Jon Snow, after Sansa tells him what Ramsay did to her after their marriage. Brandon Stark will join Jon Snow before the battle with the White Walkers. Brienne? She’s a wild card. She could kill Ramsay at the order of Jon Snow.

The Grey Joys are going to end up being led by Theon and his sister Asha. Asha is going to kill their uncle Victarion after he wins the King’s Moot to succeed his brother, whom he killed. Theon may play some part in their uncle’s death. It was going to be highly unlikely such a thing could have happened in the books, but by putting Theon enroute to the Iron Islands, this seems to be the setup for the HBO series.

Obviously, this is all just speculation. That’s part of the fun of predicting the future in a series sort of designed to be less predictable. What do you think is going to happen? Feel free to comment!

On Stannis, his daughter and his doom

I love Game of Thrones. I really do. It’s the reason my wife and I subscribed to HBO, and it’s really the catalyst that jumpstarted our love of several HBO series and documentaries on the channel. So, like millions of other GoT viewers, I find myself thinking about the characters and plot, and the significant events and story arcs of each character. This includes the current Sansa house-of-horrors return to her childhood home and the recent death of Princess Shireen.

Now, I’ll go ahead and tell you that I think the HBO series has done a better job of telling this story than either of the past 2 books from George R. R. Martin has done. So, feel free to stop reading right there if you like, but I can tell you that I was getting physically agitated while reading the drawn out Brienne wandering chapters, and there were just so many unnecessarily lengthened portions of those books that seemed to have no other purpose than to agitate the reader. Hate me for my opinion there, but when I love a book, I tend to reread it several times, and these last two books have almost no chance of ever being reread again (by me).

Anyway, back to the point of this post. Stannis and Shireen. When episode 4 of Season 5 aired, my wife and I were watching the “affectionate” scene between the two, and I said “Oh, dear.” She gave me a puzzled look and I immediately said, “the only reason for the writers to write such a scene for such a man would be to set up her imminent death.”

Here’s the scene in question.

Season 5, Episode 4, Stannis and Shireen

For some viewers, this was seen as a redemption scene–something to give viewers a rallying point to root for him to succeed–but Stannis is hardly someone to root for. He’s going to die, and it’s likely to be a sacrifice when he realizes just what Melisandre is up to. As George R. R. Martin has said, Melisandre has her own agenda, and to me, it has been eradicating the Baratheon line.

Wait, what?

Melisandre killed Renly, and she convinced Stannis to take part–an act that started him on a darker path. From there, he lost more of his humanity and a complete loss of sight when it came to what kind of dynasty he possible could or should create. He then endorsed her efforts to kill off more of the Baratheon line when she brought Gendry to his castle and nearly executed him (until Davos saved him). Davos could not save Shireen, but he may have helped save some visage of the Baratheon line with Gendry. Anyway, she convinced Stannis that the ends justify the means. And he went deeper into the darkness. He killed his devoted subjects in public burnings. And he slid deeper into the darkness.

And then Melisandre convinced him to go north to help the men of the Night’s Watch. No, not the Night’s Watch. She was drawn by and to someone else.

“I pray for a glimpse of Azor Ahai, and R’hllor shows me only Snow“, Melisandre in DwD, Chapter 31.

Stannis is as much the one true king as Robert was. They were both usurpers and undeserving, though Robert was strong enough to force himself onto the throne for the rest of his natural life. Melisandre sees the one true king. She’s asked her god to give her a glimpse of the Azor Ahai, the “dragon” who will defeat the white walkers again, and he has shown her Jon Snow. The scene with his sword (undoubtedly the repurposed Lightbringer from the book) being used to kill one of the white walker lieutenants makes sure viewers are sufficiently warned, just as the scene with Shireen and Stannis was laid out to warn viewers what was going to happen to the Princess.

BEGIN POTENTIAL SPOILER WARNING

As any reader of ADwD can attest, in a future episode, Jon Snow will be attacked by his own people and perhaps the old human part of him will be no more. We don’t know. If he survives, he will likely be in a different form–perhaps less human and more Azor Ahai. Or maybe the series writers will keep his humanity and Ned Stark’s base tenants, but if so, he’s going to be in constant danger. I think with that scene, Jon will become more like the dragon he needs to be in order to defeat the unnaturally gifted white walker menace.

END POTENTIAL SPOILER WARNING

BEGIN PREDICTIONS

Now, I only consider a spoiler to be something in the book that has not been shown in the HBO series. Predictions, to me, are not spoilers. I can’t verify any of the following will happen, but I have a feeling the following things will come to take place and I’ll describe why.

1.) Azor Ahai is the reincarnation of the Last Hero and is also the promised Prince. He is also Jon Snow, who is most certainly the son of Rhaegar and Lyanna. Some have speculated that Azor Ahai is a combination of Jon Snow, Daenerys and another due to the prophecy seen by Daenerys in the House of the Undying, where three dragons are mentioned. However, I’m pretty sure this is a reference to the 3 children (Daenerys, Viserys and Jon), rather than any amalgamate featuring Jon and Daeny (e.g. Brann or Tyrion, which are all great, fun theories, but I believe Azor Ahai is specifically Jon Snow).

2.) The Targaryens are the promise of Valyria and the only hope of mankind to fight the plague of the Others. Valyria produced the type of blade that could kill them–that was made explicit via the scene with Jon Snow. Dragon Fire is also going to be a likely killer of the white walkers, just as we saw fire magic being used against the attackers of Brann Stark and his troop. The world needs Valyria to continue, and Daenerys was supposedly made barren by the witch who killed Khal Drogo. This hurts the chances of Jon Snow marrying Daenerys. The truth is that mankind needs the Targaryens to survive, or else humanity must find a way to destroy the Others completely this time. Failure to do either means that in another 10,000 years, humanity is simply doomed. If Jon and Daenerys do marry, then Melisandre or some other R’hllor priest may need to undo her witch-inflicted barren state.

3.) Stannis is going to die, probably in a fire as it will be the will of R’hllor and likely when he has his path to the throne in sight. He’s likely to survive and prosper up to the end. He will either be killed by Melisandre, or he will personally kill her when he realizes what she was really up to (killing the problematic elements of the House of Baratheon for R’hllor, who appears to me to be the God who ultimately protects men from the walkers). Both may actually happen, where Melisandre and Stannis end up killing each other. But Stannis, at the very least, is doomed. He was simply a tool, used by R’hllor, to protect Jon Snow, the Azor Ahai, by stopping the army that would have killed him.

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

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