All The Burning Questions We Need Answered Heading Into ‘Game Of Thrones’ Season Eight
With the final showdown nearly upon us, perhaps the biggest question of all is can 'Game Of Thrones' answer seven seasons-worth of burning questions?
To be clear, after seven seasons of Game Of Thrones — some two days, 15 hours and 30 minutes worth of television, to be precise — we have a lot of questions heading into Game Of Thrones season 8 when it drops on April 14.
These aren’t all of our questions, but gosh dang it they’re some of the biggest ones.
Note: If you pass this point, you relinquish all rights to cry ‘spoilers’ for the previous seven seasons and several Game Of Thrones novels.
Do not pass Go, do not collect $200 etc …
When we left season 7, there was an uneasy truce called between the last two major players — Cersei and the Lannisters in Kings Landing, and Daenerys and all her buds over on Dragonstone. This is all because, apparently, Jon Snow managed to convince everyone that the undead beyond The Wall are the most pressing concern — or did he????
Speaking of the undead, we know that they’ve managed to break down The Wall with their new fancy gross undead dragon.
Anyway, let’s get into the theories!
Relatives With Benefits
Will Daenerys and Jon find out they’re related?
Well, yeah — duh. This isn’t even a question: it’s gonna happen and everyone is holding their breath waiting to see how it happens. The more interesting question, however, is after they find out … what then? Do they continue boning? We’ve seen plenty of twincest in the show already and more than one occasion of sibling-on-sibling sexploits *vom*.
Daenerys and Jon aren’t Yara and Theon, however, and this defo isn’t a Lannister situation. They’re not twins, so … do they stay relatives with benefits? Or take an indefinite pause from the slicing and dicing once they know they share the same Targaryen DNA? And does that change how they feel for each other?
So. Many. Questions.
“It’s one of the first scenes of the season, when Daenerys meets Jon’s family, who’s now her boyfriend. It’s a difficult situation for him…” – Kit Harington pic.twitter.com/sMWRjizSYt
— ju (@wildtargaryen) March 27, 2019
Is Cersei Really Up The Duff?
The only throne Cersei sits on is a throne of lies, tbh, so when she told Tyrion and Jamie that she’s again with child in the previous season was she telling the truth?
Those were two folks she needed to manipulate and what better way to do that — and buy herself time — than stuffing a fake baby bump down her floor-length velvet gown? Is she really pregnant?
Or is she pregnant with LIES.
She’s Making A List, She’s Checking It Twice
With Littlefinger finally getting his during season seven, the names on Arya’s Kill Bill list are growing fewer. Now obviously there are some larger, sweeping dramas unfolding, but will a girl still have time to carry out her multi-season vengeance plot?
Seeing Red
We know Melisandre comes back to Westeros, after all, she told us as much — she has “to die in this strange country”.
Will she be alone, though? Or will she be rolling up with the followers of R’Hllor, the Lord of Light, who she was last said to be visiting in Volantis? Cos one thing that could be hella valuable in the impending battles with the White Walkers is a girl gang of red priestess’, right?
Tormund And Brienne, Sitting In A Tree …
S-h-i-p-p-i-n-g.
Will they at least kiss?
White Walkers Be Walking
What is on the Night King’s dream board, beside walking South and killing everything everywhere?
We’ve seen multiple instances of his intelligence and likely there’s a broader plan at play … but what is it? And after what we saw in season six, how does Bran factor into it? Enter stage left the folks with that crazy theory that Bran Stark is actually the Night King (if he is, we riot in the streets).
Will The Real Azor Ahai Please Stand Up?
Technically the prophecy of the Prince That was Promised, but God damn, that’s alotta Ps to string together (fantasy alliteration!).
The legend of the Notorious PPP, aka Azor Ahai, is yet to be fulfilled and fans are keen af to know which character is likely to fill that role.
It could be one, it could be a princess (heyo Dany), or it could be the combined actions of several. Yet then there’s the matter of Ahai’s legendary sword Lightbringer as well. Season eight is the only space left to confront this prophecy head on and already we saw that Stannis’s burning sword was an illusion courtesy of Melisandre so if there really is an IRL Lightbringer out there … who’s likely to wield it?
And will that person be the embodiment of Azor Ahai?
Gendry And Gendry’s Abs
Getting a bigger role to play in the series than the books, we now know that Gendry Waters — the surname given to bastards in the Crownlands, a la Snow in the North — is actually Gendry Baratheon, the last living Baratheon heir! With abs!
Ahem, anyway, we glimpsed him in the earlier season eight trailers crafting dragonglass weapons — one of the few things that can actually defeat White Walkers — in Winterfell’s forge. Now although that’s gonna be super useful, will we get to see Gendry in combat himself?
We know he can kick some serious ass and he may know how to work with Valyrian steel and he has those abs so …
50 Shades Of Greyscale
We saw Jorah find a cure for Greyscale on Dany’s orders and heal himself, mainly, but was it just to give him something to do as he fought his way back to the Mother Of Dragons? Or could this be something Jorah can weaponise, giving our heroes a much-needed advantage in the coming war against the White Walkers?
Theon’s Redemptive Arc
Ol’ mate has MAJOR things to make up for and last we saw him, he had recruited the rest of the Ironborn to help him rescue his sister, Yara, and they were in hot pursuit of Euron as he sailed to Essos to escort the Golden Company back to King’s Landing for Cersei. Will Theon be able to save Yara in time? Has Euron already killed her?
And do we really care about the fate of the Greyjoys? (No).
Ultimate Dragon Fight 2019
Not since cinematic classic Reign Of Fire has anyone been looking forward to a dragon fight this much.
Even without the addition of Matthew McConaughey and Christian Bale, this showdown is bound to deliver. Red dragon fire >> blue dragon fire, yeah? Or nah? Do two living dragon siblings trump one undead zombie ice dragon? Who’s taking line bets on the this and what’s the over-under?
Jaime Lannister
The last time we saw him, Jamie had — in the words of a treasured Vine — told his sister/lover ‘fuck this shit I’m out’ and was riding North in an attempt to do some good for once (and finally liberate himself from her schemes).
The writing is on the wall for Lannister, with seemingly the only fate for him being a noble death after all the messed-up crap he has done. Or, even better, there’s an opportunity to fulfil the Valonqar prophecy. In season five we saw a flashback where Cersei met a wood witch and is told a number of things that go on to become true (including that all of her incest children would die).
The key part of these prophetic ramblings is that Cersei would be killed by the Valongar — High Valyrian for ‘lil bro — which to many viewers explained her hatred of Tyrion. Buuuuut Jamie is also technically her little brother, having been born a few minutes earlier, and with her twin having now finally understood the depth of villainy, doesn’t it make more sense that it would be Jamie rather than Tyrion who would bring an end to one of the biggest human threats in Westeros?
Ghost Be Ghostin’
Direwolf stans got a nice little moment between Arya and her wolf Nymeria in season seven — a wink to the novels — but Ghost has been AWOL for a minute. It’s been confirmed that Ghost is coming back in season 8, but we don’t know what manner Jon and his baby wolf will reunite.
“Oh, you’ll see him again. He has a fair amount of screen time in Season 8,” GoT‘s visual effects supervisor Joe Bauer confirmed to Huffington Post.
Insane In The Clegane
Clegane Vs Clegane has to be one of the most anticipated fights of season eight besides the inevitable fire dragons Vs ice zombie dragon.
Heck, Don King would give his left nut to promo a fight as epic as The Hound Vs The Mountain. Which brother will ultimately be triumphant? Cos Lord knows a redemptive arc is not what’s waiting at the end of this particular storyline. Hint: it’s blood.
WILL THERE BE FUCKING GIANT ICE SPIDERS, HOLY SHIT?!
Season one throwback ahoy, as Old Nan told a bunch of stories that were written off as boring by Bran when he was being just generally The Worst.
By season six and her return in flashback form, Bran is less of a little shit and more of a creepy emo. He now also understands the importance of Old Nan’s tales, which included an account of the last time the White Walkers ventured South with “packs of pale white spiders as big as hounds”. WTF WTF WTFFFFFFFF.
Daario, Daario, Where For Art Thou Daario?
It’s a truth universally acknowledged that everything is 25% better with the addition of Michiel Huisman.
He stepped in to fill the role of Daario after Ed Skrein dropped out in season two and since then, the Dutch actor has been a welcome slice of man flesh floating in and around the action. He has been off maintaining order in Meereen per Dany’s orders, but with so much at stake … will he be able to stay there?
Will he and Jon come face-to-face if he journeys to be by his one-time lover’s side?
Watch The Throne
Like, it’s the whole point of the show — right?
After eight seasons worth of bat-shit crazy, it’s easy to forget this show is called Game Of Thrones rather than Game Of Holy Crap Did She Just Give Birth To A Shadow Monster Whoa Wait Now There’s A Zombie Dragon.
Whoever’s toosh ends up sitting on that deeply uncomfortably iron monstrosity seems not as important as defeating the White Walkers, but at the end of the day the quest for the throne is the catalyst for much of the events in the series and the driving force for several of the major players.
So, when all is said and done, who’ll be left alive to take the Iron Throne?
Who will win the end ?#GameofThrones #ForTheThrone
— SAN | ForTheThrone 🐺 (@4GOTv) March 26, 2019
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Maria Lewis is a journalist, screenwriter and author of It Came From The Deep and the Who’s Afraid? novel series, available worldwide.