Winter is Here
By: Matthew Fox
Tags: Television, Entertainment, Pop Culture, Game of Thrones

Winter is Here

Five hundred and ninety five days. When you write it out, it seems even more incredible. There are only 365 days in a year, and for fans of Game of Thrones we’ve waited nearly twice that, 595 days, to get to the beginning of the end. The last time a new episode aired was August 27, 2017. When the eighth and final season debuts on Sunday, 595 days will have passed since that last new episode aired.

But the wait is over, and Winter is Here. For fans, like myself, there is great excitement in the fact the show has returned. And also a sense of mourning that has already begun because, in six short weeks, it will all be over.

On Sunday, I shared my 10 favorite episodes of the series so far. On Monday, I’ll begin the recaps of this final season, as I did for season seven. For now, it’s time to look ahead to what we might see and make some bold predictions for how this show might end.

As a way of warning, this post will contain SPOILERS as I discuss what’s happened and where I think it will lead. For those that want to remember where we left off, here’s my recap of the last episode we saw, “The Dragon and the Wolf.”

Kicking Things Off

As we return for the premier, there are a number of things that we can expect, even though HBO and anyone officially involved in the show has been incredibly tight lipped about any specific plot details. But from the teasers and trailers, as well as the way Season 7 ended, we can be fairly sure the new season picks up with Daenerys (Emilia Clarke) and Jon (Kit Harrintgton) arriving back at Winterfell.

In fact, Clarke recently talked about the arrival, and her character meeting Sansa (Sophie Turner), Arya (Maisie Williams) and the rest. She compared it to the film Meet the Parents, but it’s more like Meet the Cousins, right? It’s going to be awkward, and for a lot more reasons than Jon or Daenerys know heading into the whole thing.

One of the favorite predictions for Season 7 was that Jon would finally learn who he really is. The audience has known since the end of Season 6, as the episode “Winds of Winter” featured Bran (Isaac Hempstead Wright) seeing Jon’s birth in a vision of The Tower of Joy, with the shot memorably fading from the face and eyes of that new baby to Jon in the present. So many expected Jon would finally get that information in the following season, except he didn’t.

Instead, we didn’t actually see Jon and Bran reunite, as Bran arrived in Winterfell in episode three, while Jon was already in Dragonstone. The show teased folks even more as Sam (John Bradley) and Gilly (Hannah Murray) uncovered a huge piece of the puzzle during a casual conversation in episode 7.05, seemingly not realizing what it meant. Then, in the Season 7 finale, Sam and Bran come together and put the whole truth out there. So we essentially ended the season with seemingly everyone except Jon knowing the truth of who he is. The question now is, when will that truth be revealed?

Some speculate it will be a bit into the season before Jon learns the truth. While that’s possible, I think Jon, at least, will learn the truth in the premier. Whether he shares that with Daenerys and others is less clear, but it’s hard to imagine Bran and Sam, his best friend, would drag it out any longer, no matter how awkward that reveal will now be…

The other thing I’m excited about in the premier is the reunion everyone has longed for that we were denied in Season 7. It was emotional when Jon and Sansa reunited. And Bran coming home was sweet. The reunion of Sansa and Arya was more emotional than I expected. But everyone has waited to see Arya and Jon reunite. They haven’t shared a scene together since Season 1, but their bond has always been strong. And since both will, presumably, be at Winterfell now in the premier (unless the trailers were a misdirect), we’ll finally get that. It also seems like Jamie Lannister ( Nikolaj Coster-Waldau) will make it north to Winterfell, setting up a nice meeting with Tyrion (Peter Dinklage) and Brienne (Gwendoline Christie).

The Battle for Winterfell

The next big question is when The Night King will make his presence felt with our heroes. That is the “Great War” and “The Only War that matters” has to happen in this eighth season. But when? Some have speculated that the series will end with Winter truly coming to everyone in Westeros, leaving The Night King as the ruler. HBO even teased this by offering a recent trailer that seemed to indicate the living won’t prevail against the dead. And while that might make some sense given the darker moments of the narrative, I don’t think it would be satisfying for most of the audience. This is, after all, a piece of entertainment. And for all the talk about the war between the living and the dead, it’s the squabbles among the living that resonate the most with fans.

I think David Benioff and D.B. Weiss agree. In the finale of Season 7, during the meeting to arrange a truce, I think the vision for the final season was laid out. All parties seemed to agree there was a need to deal with the threat in the North, then settle things when it comes to who sits on the Iron Throne. And everyone headed to Winterfell (or at least Daenerys, Jon, Jamie and many did). So I think the battle for Winterfell will be more like the middle of the season.

And that lines up with what we know. According to the released run times, the third episode clocks in at 82 minutes, making it the longest of the season and the series. And since this season is supposed to feature the longest battle episode ever, that makes me think the battle with the dead will be in the season’s third episode. Which means, by the end of this month we could know how is left to battle for the throne.

A Happy Ending

While I don’t think all the living will die, only a fool would believe we’re going to get a traditional happy ending. This hasn’t been a show full of happy endings thus far, and I don’t see it morphing into a fairy tale in the final six installments. There will be deaths. In fact, many characters we have grown to love will probably perish.

So here’s my take on a couple of the big questions. First, will Cersei (Lena Headey) live? I don’t think there’s any scenario in which she remains alive at the end that will feel satisfying. Just as it would have felt unsatisfying for her to perish before the big final season, it would feel unsatisfying to see her be the winner of the Game of Thrones, or to have softened her edges. The prophecy of her children and her death have been a driving force for her character, and I think they have to come back into play. Which means, who is the little brother that ends her life?

Last season she revealed she was pregnant, which began a new round of speculation. Could she die in child birth, as a literal little brother to her children snuffed out her life? Possible, but that, too, would feel unsatisfying to me. And the prophecy, remember, talked of three children. A fourth being born would seem to go against that. So I think either she’s not pregnant, or it won’t matter. And that’s because I think Jamie is the one to end her reign. Just as he once recognized the Mad King was a threat to the living, he’s beginning to realize his sister can’t be redeemed, no matter how much he loves her. And, in fact, her negative influence has long prevented him from being the man he could be. So I think Jamie, in a heart-breaking choice for him, ends up being the one to kill Cersei. But I don’t think he’ll live to the end, either.

So next up, will Jon and Daenerys last and produce an heir? Again, I’ll go with no. Daenerys has long talked about her dragons as the only children she’ll ever have, and I think that’s right. Not because I believe she’s barren, but because I don’t believe she’ll live to the end. I know a popular thought has been Jon will die fighting the Night King, and Daenerys will eventually sit on the Iron Throne. But I disagree.

In the finale of Season 2, an episode titled “Valar Morghulis,” Daenerys enters the House of the Undying to look for her dragons. While there, she has a vision. She sees the throne covered in snow, and later walks through the gate North of the Wall. There she sees Drogo (Jason Momoa) and her son. This is not a show that does anything by accident, and while that dream hasn’t been referenced since, I think it might have been early foreshadowing. The happy ending for Daenerys, in some ways, would be reuniting with Drogo, her true love, and their son. And I could see the vision of crossing north of the wall and seeing them as a metaphor for her death in the battle with the Night King.

I could also see her death, while the living prevail, serving as a rallying cry for those who survive to go and claim the throne in her honor. Especially since Cersei broke her word about sending armies to fight. Which brings us to the biggest question, who sits on the throne?

I think it will end up being Jon. I know that’s perhaps not a conventional choice, but here’s why. This is a show that, since season one, has zigged while others have zagged. The ultimate zig at the end is to have Jon on the throne while Cersei and Daenerys perish. Jon has, especially since his return at the end of episode 6.02, seemed resigned to the idea he’ll die to help protect the living. But what if he doesn’t?

And while Daenerys has seemingly been focused on ruling for the entire run of the show, Jon has never sought power. In the beginning he shied away from being a Stark, feeling he wasn’t really a part of that group. While in the Night’s Watch, he never sought formal position or authority, he just did what needed to be done and folks flocked to him. They nominated him for Lord Commander, and he reluctantly accepted. He was asked to fight the Boltons to regain Winterfell, and reluctantly took that task on. He was pronounced King in the North, and he took it on feeling a responsibility to protect his people. You can quibble with whether you think he’s a great leader, but it’s hard to argue the arc of the show has been him ascending higher and higher despite himself.

There is a moment in Season 1 when King Robert (Mark Addy) tells Ned (Sean Bean) he has to sit on the Iron Throne while the king is away. He tells him, you’ll hate it but you’ll be good at it. I think the same of Jon. Being king is the last thing he wants. Of all the people in this world, he’s seemingly sought power and position the least. And that’s what makes him the right man for the job.

Other Predictions

Here are a few other things I think we see play out. This isn’t everything, but this is what I hope for or feel the most confident about.

Sansa and Arya live, and Sansa becomes Warden of the North and the Lady of Winterfell. And Arya, as she was in the Season 7 finale, is her enforcer and the leader of the army. Both these girls have grown so much throughout the series, and they’ve grown to appreciate each other. And I think, in the end, they carry on their family name.

Sam and Gilly live, and Sam takes over as Lord of the Reach. His father and brother are gone, and House Tyrell has been destroyed. It would seem fitting that one of Jon’s closest allies would get a position he never expected.

Grey Worm (Jacob Anderson) and Missandei (Nathalie Emmanuel) survive. OK, this is probably more of a hope than something I feel strongly about. But they might be low-key the best couple on the show, and more so than most I hope they get a happy ending.

Davos (Liam Cunningham) avenges Shireen by killing Melisandre ( Carice van Houten). We know she said she returns to Westeros one last time, and that’s where she dies. It seems only fitting that it would be at the hand of The Onion Knight.

Tyrion lives and becomes Hand of the King to Jon. This, again, could be a bit of wish fulfillment for me as I can’t bring myself to think of Tyrion dying. But also because, from the Pilot, Tyrion and Jon formed an unlikely bond. Two outsiders who were seen as black sheep to famous noble families that found a kinship. We saw that in their reunion in Season 7 and I think they’d make a good team.

Well, that’s it for my predictions. Agree? Disagree? Have a bold theory? Fire it up in the comments and we’ll see how it all shakes out beginning Sunday at 9 p.m. EST on HBO. And check back Monday for a recap of the premier.

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