Fans of HBO’s Game of Thrones received a blow that’s left us devastated. It’s been confirmed that the final season definitely won’t air this year – it’ll more likely hit our screens in mid to late 2019. That’s so long to wait! We need more Thrones action NOW, especially considering the epic cliffhangers of last season! It’s going to be a slow and painful year-and-a-bit.
To keep ourselves busy while waiting for the final season to *finally* air, many GOT fans have been coming up with a host of theories about what could happen in the final season. Who’s going to live, and who’ll be added to the lengthy list of dead characters? Will Dany and Jon realize that their beautiful night of passion was actually highly incestuous? Who is Azor Ahai? Fans have opinions on all of these topics, along with some weirder ideas that you wouldn’t expect to read. Which Game of Thrones character is potentially a mermaid? You’ll have to read on to find out…
18. Sam will be revealed as the narrator of the whole show
This is one of the few wholesome theories on this list. Make the most of it! A lot of fans think that the final season – maybe even the final episode – will reveal that Samwell Tarly has been narrating the story all along. Maybe he’s been telling the story to little Sam or even little Sam-and-Gilly grandchildren of the future. Perhaps he’s telling the surviving younger people of Westeros how their land came to be overrun with White Walkers. Maybe he’s just doing what every old man does and telling endless stories about “the good old days” to his wearied family. Either way, it’d be nice for Sam to end up with a fairly prominent role in the end. He’s a good egg.
17. Bran is the Night King
The exact details of this theory are incredibly complicated and confusing. Frankly, my brain still hurts from trying to decipher it. However, its premise is simple: The Night King, leader of the White Walkers and the army of the dead, is actually Bran Stark. According to this theory, being able to see everything that’s happening in the world at any one time has kind of scared Bran. I mean, can you blame him? There are dragons kicking about, an actual insane sociopath is on the throne, and there’s an army of zombies trying to kill everyone.
Bran decides he wants to intervene in at least the last of these issues, and goes back in time to try to stop the first White Walker from being created. Unfortunately, in the process, he actually ends up being turned into said White Walker himself. Thus, Bran is the creepy ice guy that keeps on glaring at Jon Snow. This would mean that Jon has to kill his own adoptive brother to win the war against the dead. That’d be a pretty emotional climax to the show…
16. Varys is a merman
This is one of the slightly more off-the-wall theories that the Game of Thrones fandom has come up with. A certain group of pretty imaginative fans has decided that Varys, the bald-headed eunuch who has spies throughout the Seven Kingdoms, is actually a merman. Like, a male mermaid. A part-human, part-fish being. “But Varys quite clearly has legs, not a tail,” I hear you cry. Well, that doesn’t mean anything according to ardent proponents of this theory.
The evidence to support this belief is tenuous, to say the least. Remember at the end of season six when Varys made it from Dorne to Dany’s ship improbably quickly? Well, he managed to move that quickly because he’s a merman who swam there. Sure, the writers claimed his speedy journey was for pacing reasons, but who cares what they think, right?! While such a revelation would be frankly hilarious, it’s probably not going to happen.
15. Melisandre will resurrect Dany’s dead dragon
Melisandre has a habit of conveniently bringing people back from the dead when it serves the plot of the show (Jon Snow, anyone?). What if that power could stretch to non-human beings – like a dragon, maybe? Everyone was pretty devastated when one of Dany’s ‘children,’ Viserion, was shot down by the Night King last season. Wouldn’t it be great if the Red Woman could bring him back? Of course, things are made a lot more complicated by the fact that Viserion is now a zombie dragon under the spell of the Night King. But if Dany could somehow break that spell — maybe by using her motherly-love powers or some other kind of magic — perhaps Melisandre could do her bit and bring him back to life? It’s unlikely, but stranger things have happened.
14. Tyrion is a Targaryen
This theory has been floating around for quite a few seasons now but has never been addressed in the show. Many Game of Thrones viewers believe that fan favorite Tyrion Lannister isn’t actually a Lannister at all. He’s actually a Targaryen! This theory states that Tyrion was fathered by the Mad King Aerys, a Targ who we know was pretty obsessed with Joanna, Tyrion’s mother. Joanne’s husband, Tywin Lannister, knew of this affair and took all of his anger and hatred out on young Tyrion. It would explain his final words to Tyrion – “you’re no son of mine.” Everyone assumed that Tywin was just disowning Tyrion, but what if his words were literal? We’ll have to see how this one pans out…
13. Arya will become Littlefinger
Oh, man. Has there ever been a Game of Thrones scene as satisfying as Littlefinger’s death? When it turned out that the Stark siblings had been playing him all along, basically every viewer cheered and punched the air. Littlefinger was the slimiest, most ruthless character on the show – and that’s saying something. His creepy flirting with Sansa – the daughter of the woman he claimed to love – was pretty gross to watch. When Arya finally executed him, there was a sense that he’d got what he deserved.
However, what if the show isn’t quite done with Littlefinger yet? A lot of fans have speculated that he’ll make an appearance in season eight – or at least his face will. We know that Arya now has the power to take on the faces of the dead. Maybe she’ll take over Littlefinger’s identity and use his power and influence to seek revenge on Cersei Lannister for killing her family? The people in the South might not have heard that Littlefinger’s dead – they’d totally fall for the ruse. It kind of sounds like something Arya would do.
12. Jon and Dany are more related than we thought…
Did anyone else feel personally attacked by the scene where Jon Snow and Danaerys Targareyan finally got down to some bump and grind? Like, in normal circumstances, they’d be a pretty cute couple. However, hearing the revelation that they are in fact nephew and aunt kinda ruined the moment for viewers everywhere.
Unfortunately, one Game of Thrones theory suggests that they might even be closer blood relatives than we thought. Some people believe that Dany is actually Rhaegar Targaryen’s daughter by his first wife Elia Martell – and not his sister as we all believe. This would make season seven’s lovebirds half-siblings. EW. Luckily, there’s little to no evidence that backs up this pretty wild claim. We’ve had quite enough sibling incest for one show.
11. Theon will kill his sister Yara
Yara Greyjoy is hands-down one of the coolest characters on in the entirety of the Game of Thrones universe. She’s both physically and emotionally tough, takes absolutely no crap from the men in her life, and is unabashedly gay. She gets more done than her brother could ever dream of accomplishing and is the queen that the Iron Islands desperately need. However, she was last seen being taken into the custody of her creepy uncle, Euron, after Theon quite literally jumped ship and abandoned her.
To give him some credit, Theon has now gone off to try and find his sister. However, many fans believe that their eventual reunion won’t be a happy one. Some viewers believe that Yara will be so broken by the torture and cruelty of her uncle that she’ll beg Theon to kill her. He’ll comply, knowing from his Reek days that life as a broken shell of a human isn’t really a life at all. We’re hoping this theory is false, simply because Yara deserves so much better than this ending.
10. Cersei will go insane and become the Mad Queen
As each season of Game of Thrones has progressed, Cersei Lannister has inched closer and closer to becoming genuinely insane. She’s always had bloodthirsty and ruthless tendencies, but they’ve been getting a bit more extreme of late. SHE BLEW UP AN ENTIRE BUILDING TO GET REVENGE ON ONE GUY.
Oh, and she also barely bats an eye when her one remaining child committed suicide due to her actions. Since Cersei became queen, she’s become more and more cruel and paranoid. Many fans suspect that she’s on the verge of becoming a legitimately Mad Queen, just like the Mad King Aerys. I mean, they do both have a love of burning people alive. It could well be that Jaime leaving his sister/lover is the event that finally pushes her over the edge.
9. Jaime will kill Cersei
Linked to Cersei’s probable descent into madness is the question of who will eventually kill her. We all know it’s coming – she’s gone too far and pissed off too many people to get out of this war alive. Cersei has always believed that Tyrion would be the one to bump her off thanks to a prophecy that stated her younger brother would kill her. However, she seemingly forgot that Jaime is her younger brother, too. He’s the one who put a stop to the Mad King’s reign by betraying and killing him. What if he does the same to the Mad Queen? He has already changed sides, after all…
8. Arya will turn out to be Lady Stoneheart
A lot of Game of Thrones book fans were disappointed when they realized that the supremely creepy character Lady Stoneheart had been written out of the show. For those not in the know, Lady Stoneheart was a resurrected version of Catelyn Stark who went around seeking vengeance on those who betrayed her and her son Robb. While Catelyn is most certainly still dead in the show, some fans have speculated that Lady Stoneheart could appear in a different form. They think that Arya could gain this nickname once the people of Westeros realize that she’s basically going around and killing anyone who betrayed the Starks. While it’s a cool idea, it’s more likely that the showrunners have chosen to ignore the existence of Lady Stoneheart altogether.
7. Jon and Dany will have a child
Oh great, another potential child in the Game of Thrones universe who’s the product of incest. Despite Dany claiming that she’s infertile, many fans have speculated that her night of passion with Jon will result in the birth of a child. That child would be insanely inbred and probably have a ton of physical and psychological problems, but that doesn’t seem to bother the proponents of this theory. They claim that the baby would be the “Song of Ice and Fire” that the series is named after, what with Jon being a northerner and Dany being a dragon lady. While this could happen, we’d rather it didn’t. So little genetic diversity…
6. Euron Greyjoy will control a dragon
Serial asshole Euron Greyjoy doesn’t have many fans among Game of Thrones viewers. Not only did he deny Yara her throne simply because she’s a woman, he’s in league with Cersei and thus obviously terrible. I’m not entirely convinced that he deserves to control a dragon, but some fans think it’ll happen. In the books, Euron happens to possess an artifact called the Dragonbinder: a horn that can apparently be used to control dragons.
Fans think that he could surprise Dany by showing up and turning her dragons against her. It’s the kind of irritating move that Euron would pull. However, there’s been no mention of the Dragonbinder so far. It seems a bit weird that such a powerful object would suddenly appear in the final season with no foreshadowing.
5. Cleganebowl will actually happen
WE NEED CLEGANEBOWL!! For those not acquainted with the term, “Cleganebowl” refers to a final fight between the brothers Clegane – the Mountain, and the Hound. The two briefly interacted last season: the Hound confirmed that he’d kill his brother if he could. We don’t blame him, really. Not only did the Mountain scar the Hound with fire as a child, he’s also now a weird zombie-monster thing who crushes people’s skulls to please Cersei. The guy needs to go. What better way for the Mountain to meet his death than at the hands of his brother? A big confrontation between the two has been building for seasons. If it doesn’t happen, we’ll be sorely disappointed.
4. Jon is Azor Ahai… Or maybe Dany is… or Davos?
One of the biggest mysteries in the Game of Thrones universe is the identity of Azor Ahai. If you didn’t know, Azor Ahai is otherwise known as “the Prince that was promised,” a mythical hero who will supposedly show up and save Westeros from the Night King and his army. Speculation is rife regarding who this hero – or heroine – could be. Will Jon be the one to wield the flaming sword Lightbringer and defeat the White Walkers for good? Could Dany use her dragons to do the job? Or will kindly sea captain Davos turn out to be the real hero of the series all along?
This last possibility is less likely, but it’d be kind of cool for this unassuming normal bloke to be the Chosen One. Some fans think it’s possible thanks to his long association with the fire priestess Melisandre. I guess we’ll have to wait and see to find out who exactly Azor Ahai is!
3. The Maesters will turn out to be in league with Cersei
When Sam went to study with the Maesters in their citadel last season, this group of learned individuals didn’t seem like nice guys. They treated Sam like crap, giving him all of the worst jobs to do. Even worse, they totally rejected Jon Snow’s pleas for help in the war against the White Walkers. While it seemed like their refusal was down to their uncertainty regarding the reality of these nasty ice demons, one fan theory suggests it was based on something more.
Some viewers think that the Maesters are in league with Cersei and refused to help Jon so that he and his allies perish in the war with the Walkers. This would rid Cersei of a lot of her greatest foes. Why the Maesters would do this is unclear; however, their total inaction in the face of danger was a bit suspicious.
2. Tyrion will betray Dany and join with Cersei
Man, this would be one explosive plot twist, wouldn’t it? Pretty much all of Game of Thrones‘ run has served to set up and reinforce the conflict between Lannister siblings Tyrion and Cersei. Things are frosty between the two, to say the least. However, this fan theory speculates that Tyrion could betray his current allies to align with his sister. Tyrion and Cersei did have that mysterious meeting last season – we never did see what exactly they agreed. They could have made some kind of pact to support each other. It does seem a bit unlikely, though. While Tyrion has expressed doubts about Dany’s ruling ability in the past, he knows how insane his sister is. Why would he conspire to keep her on the throne?
1. The White Walkers will win
This theory is pretty bleak, but also not implausible. While, of course, we want the White Walkers to be defeated, they’re a pretty formidable foe. It’s very difficult to kill one of them, let alone an army of thousands. Whenever they kill more humans, more reanimated corpses join their ranks. Unless Jon and Dany can somehow get all of them in one place and hit them all with Dragonglass, the battles to come will be undoubtedly tough. Knowing George R. R. Martin, he could decide to kill off everyone. He’s pretty bloodthirsty. If anyone would do it, it’s him. Still, it’d be a pretty depressing end to an amazing series!