Game of Thrones

[Flash Gordon]

Current theory is The Mad King is mad not because of Targaryen genetics, but Bran's final psychic commands.

"Burn it all" means the Winterfell Godswood, and also the order to plant wildfire under the entire city of King's Landing.

That's a dope theory.

Would that mean he's making the final commands to kill the Night's King and its echoing backwards into the mind of the "Mad" King?


Something like that has got to happen. Nothing about Bran makes me feel comfortable, and so I imagine he is a neutral party that they are kinda foolish to just keep around without question. He's useful, but he very clearly knows more than he says and has his own motivations.

Jon isnt going to press that too much, since Bran still is his little brother who is crippled.

[Flash Gordon]

You can gauge danger levels to the side characters based on whether or not their personal plot lines are pretty much done:

Jamie - absolutely safe because there is his final confrontation with Cersei pending.

The Hound - absolutely safe because we still have to his final battle with his brother.

Davos - not safe at all, especially with the introduction of the girl who is similar to Shireen. As someone else said, wouldn't surprise me to see him die protecting her.

Ser Jorah - not safe at all. He had his moment with Danerys this last episode that felt like a goodbye, he got a brief moment with Lyanna Mormont which fulfills his arc with his own house, and he got a nice sword.

Brienne - not safe at all. She became a knight which fulfills her personal arc and for all the shipping that goes on between her and Jamie or Tormund neither is actually likely to happen.

Grey Worm / Melisandre - making plans for the future is the death knell on TV. Not safe.

Theon - not safe. Might not die next episode but will die to redeem himself as it will fill his personal arc.

Absolutely safe for next episode - the main characters like Jon, Dany, Tyrion, Cersei, Arya, Sansa, etc. Some probably will die before the show is over but not with three episodes remaining after the next.

Just the fact that characters are "safe" for plot reasons makes me want to see the show go different ways.

I dont want the only deaths to be characters who's storylines have ended, that's dull drums. Sure, Jon and Dany have to make it through because they're the show...but Tormund doesnt have an arc beyond that fact that he is tough as hell and isnt going to go down easy. He doesnt need an arc to be interesting and to warrant continuing on. Same for Sam and Gilly, Ser Jorah, Greyworm, etc.

Hopefully the toss up is more, what makes for more exciting narrative than plot driven specifics.

[Punisher007]

I think Melisandre will survive, just to there's someone to mourn Grey Worms death. I'll assume the people who found shelter underground will be safe, and the deaths will largely be the ones fighting on the field.

Well unless they pull the "they can reanimate the dead" card, because they're taking shelter in a freaking crypt after all.

[Flash Gordon]

Well unless they pull the "they can reanimate the dead" card, because they're taking shelter in a freaking crypt after all.

Oh god I didnt even pick up on that...

[CRaymond]

That's a dope theory.

Thanks. We talk at lunch every Monday. We think it's too late in the narrative arc to introduce new information, and any "grand plan" has to use dumb clues we already know.

Three Eyed Ravens worg with magical trees to shoot their minds through time. The wildfire that blew the Cathedral of King's Landing only blew the Cathedral, when we're told it's under the whole city. Hodor's brain damage is from timetravelled trauma. The wildfire under the city is the direct result of a King suddenly going mad. It's not genius stuff, but it makes sense. The Night King would simply roll over Winterfell if he went in with his dead dragons and giants. Far better to fly to KL, raise the dragons below the city and curbstomp the entirety of the continent. The only way to stop THAT is with a bomb.

[Flash Gordon]

Thanks. We talk at lunch every Monday. We think it's too late in the narrative arc to introduce new information, and any "grand plan" has to use dumb clues we already know.

Three Eyed Ravens worg with magical trees to shoot their minds through time. The wildfire that blew the Cathedral of King's Landing only blew the Cathedral, when we're told it's under the whole city. Hodor's brain damage is from timetravelled trauma. The wildfire under the city is the direct result of a King suddenly going mad. It's not genius stuff, but it makes sense. The Night King would simply roll over Winterfell if he went in with his dead dragons and giants. Far better to fly to KL, raise the dragons below the city and curbstomp the entirety of the continent. The only way to stop THAT is with a bomb.

I mean it's a dope theory insofar as I can see it happening next week or in 2 weeks. Good call.

Being honest, I dont like when everything is tied into a bow. Big fan of loose ends. Sometimes a Mad King is just a mad king.

Bran needs something to do though. I find him so boring. Plus going off of the overall feel of the show now, I think they're going to give way more closure than I'd prefer- they seem to be relishing in the fan service.

I dont think we'll get a Sopranos ending where characters are allowed to flourish and there is no plot sledgehammer landing down on us.

[Divine Spark]

Jon seems to be handling the fact he banged his aunt pretty well.

[CRaymond]

I just don’t think they’ll end the show in Kings Landing. I can’t imagine them having this battle, destroying Winterfell, and a caravan of retreating survivors at Cersei’s door. I think NO ONE will sit on the Iron Throne because it will be destroyed with the city.

The end of the show will be in Winterfell, where it began.

[Arsenal]

I’m half expecting the final scene of GOT to be a shot of king’s Landing exploding while Dani & everybody else are still in it. Cersei definitely seems like the “fook you, I’ll break my toy before I let you have it” type.

[XPac]

I’m half expecting the final scene of GOT to be a shot of king’s Landing exploding while Dani & everybody else are still in it. Cersei definitely seems like the “fook you, I’ll break my toy before I let you have it” type.

Course, if she were to do that while the Night King was hypothetically tring to raise the dragons in the Dragons pit, she ironically will have saved Westeros from the Night King. That would be one funny ending to the show.

[Gaelforce]

You can gauge danger levels to the side characters based on whether or not their personal plot lines are pretty much done:

Jamie - absolutely safe because there is his final confrontation with Cersei pending.

The Hound - absolutely safe because we still have to his final battle with his brother.

Davos - not safe at all, especially with the introduction of the girl who is similar to Shireen. As someone else said, wouldn't surprise me to see him die protecting her.

Ser Jorah - not safe at all. He had his moment with Danerys this last episode that felt like a goodbye, he got a brief moment with Lyanna Mormont which fulfills his arc with his own house, and he got a nice sword.

Brienne - not safe at all. She became a knight which fulfills her personal arc and for all the shipping that goes on between her and Jamie or Tormund neither is actually likely to happen.

Grey Worm / Melisandre - making plans for the future is the death knell on TV. Not safe.

Theon - not safe. Might not die next episode but will die to redeem himself as it will fill his personal arc.

Absolutely safe for next episode - the main characters like Jon, Dany, Tyrion, Cersei, Arya, Sansa, etc. Some probably will die before the show is over but not with three episodes remaining after the next.

I disagree with Jaime's story not being finished. I think it's quite possible he will die redeeming himself on the field of battle, possibly even saving Brienne's life doing so.

But a brother kills Cersei according to the prophesy you say?

Or possibly Arya wearing Jaime's face...

[stargazer01]

Fantastic character focused episode. Wow. This is why we love these characters.

next ep should be brutally epic.

[Deathstroke]

I don't think they'll really have time to do it, but I would just love to see Lyanna Mormont kicking some ass in battle.

[Hellion]

Some thoughts heading forward:

Am I the only one tired of Dany's entitlement complex? Historical precedent has shown that right of conquest is just as valid as right of inheritance when it comes to claims to the Iron Throne (Aegon the Conqueror proves this, as does Robert Baratheon). Stop whinging, Dany, and conquer some **** if you want it. The fact that she looked like she wanted to stab Jon through the heart just before the horn announced the army of the dead's arrival is telling of how corrupt she is.

Why is everyone so concerned about the Winterfell Crypts being dangerous because they house unburned dead bodies? There is no danger there; only the Stark family members are interred in the crypts and the bodies are nothing but dust by now, save for poor Rickon, perhaps, and a headless Ned.

I also don't care much for the Arya-murders-Cersei-while-wearing-Jaime's-face theory. If Arya does this, it will be a regression of her character arc. She had the opportunity at the start of Season 7 to go to King's Landing and kill Cersei. She was on her way to do just that until Hot Pie told her that her family was reunited at Winterfell. Arya made a choice to abandon her revenge monster quest and embrace her identity as Arya Stark...by returning to her home and defending her family. Arya being the one to kill Cersei feels like cheap fanfic. It's more poetic for Cersei to die at the hands of either Jaime or Tyrion.

Sansa x Theon warmed my heart...which brings me to my prediction that Sansa is going to pose the biggest challenge to whoever sits the Iron Throne at the end of the series. Through her bloodline or her relationships, Sansa has or will be able to unite the forces of the North, Riverlands, the Vale and the Iron Islands, provided Theon survives. If Arya and Gendry survive and become a thing, and Gendry is legitimized, Sansa indirectly has ties to the Stormlands. Entitled brat Dany demands the Seven Kingdoms stand united under her rule, but Sansa has quietly managed to unite a healthy portion of them under her leadership.

[AndrewCrossett]

People are treating the idea of "kill the Night King and his army disintegrates" as something other than just speculation, and I think they may be mistaken in that. People don't die when their parents do. Why should the Walkers and wights require the NK's existence for their own? It would be very convenient for the NK to be the Death Star Ventilation Shaft of this story... but maybe too convenient to be true.

It may be that if they kill him, the Army of the Dead will become a hundred smaller armies of the dead under the command of the White Walkers, who will then maraud all over the North and eventually all over Westeros, leading to years of destruction before they can all be eradicated.