SPOILERS AHEAD.
Winter (a.k.a April) is here. The 8th and final season of Game of Thrones is upon us after what seems like an eternity ago when the previous season aired in the Summer of 2017. Probably the most anticipated event in T.V. history, the official Season 8 trailer was viewed over 81 million times across social media platforms within the first 24 hours of posting. After 8 long years, viewers will finally see the two main conflicts of the series being resolved: who will sit on the Iron Throne, and if the White Walkers will be defeated for good. Some dedicated G.O.T. fans are sharing their most brilliant theories on how they think the season will go down on fan forums such as Reddit. Here are some of the wildest predictions so far:
1. Bran is involved in the Night King’s downfall.
Bran’s warging power might come in handy this season, or at least Reddit user “deebo911” seems to think so. One popular theory is that Bran will have to warg into the Night King, only to be stabbed (probably by Arya and her valyrian dagger), killing both Bran and the Night King (and all the White Walkers). This would be extremely sad, but very typical of Game of Thrones where someone will have to kill their sibling or someone they love for the greater good. There have been several clues throughout the show that Bran’s story is closely intertwined with both the Night King and White Walkers. There’s even a theory out there that Bran is the Night King, but I think that’s way too complicated for me to begin to explain or even understand, but feel free to check it out here yourself.
2. Bran might have started everything.
As we know, the whole plot of Game of Thrones was set in motion when the mad King Aerys Targaryean went, well, mad, and tried to burn down all of King’s Landing before being killed by Jaime Lannister. One Reddit user thinks that Bran may have been attempting to talk to Aerys in one of his visions, as in Season 6 when Bran learned that the people in his visions might be able to hear him, but they can’t understand what he’s saying. Thus, the voices King Aerys heard in his head (the ones that drove him mad) could have been Bran attempting to speak to him, and maybe as an attempt to reason with Aerys.
3. Jaime Lannister kills the Night King, thus becoming the “Kingslayer” once again.
Does Jaime’s nickname, “Kingslayer” have a whole other meaning that we don’t know about yet? Last time we saw Jaime in Season 7, he ditched Cersei (about time!) and was riding north to help fight for the living. Fans are happy that Jaime is finally going to redeem his past actions (one of them being: pushing a child out of a window). Maybe, though, he’ll do the ultimate deed and kill the Night King himself using his valyrian steel sword, the Widow’s Wail, OR maybe Jaime will fulfill this nickname by killing another King, or in this case, a Queen…
4. Jaime will kill Cersei.
Love or hate Cersei, it is safe to say that her death on the show would be the absolutely most satisfying to watch, considering all of the terribly cruel things she has done. Who better to kill her than her own twin brother/lover/baby daddy?! When Cersei was young, she received a disturbing prophecy stating that she will marry the King (check!), become Queen, (check!), have three children (check!), and watch them all die (check!). In the books, however, the prophecy continues to say that Cersei will die by the hands of valonqar, which means “little brother” in Valyrian. While it is true that Tyrion is technically the little brother, Jaime was actually born after his twin sister, thus making him a younger brother, too. Having Jaime kill off his sister would be much more fitting, considering the increasing tensions between the two of them during the last season, and also the symmetry between Mad King Aerys and Cersei. Based on the similarities between these two rulers, as this Cosmopolitan article expands on, it is possible that Cersei will meet the same fate as the Mad King and die at the hands of Jaime.
5. Cersei will kill herself (and everyone) before the White Walkers can get to her.
Will Cersei Lannister, one of the most incredible villans of the show, end up being the hero? This Reddit user thinks that if the White Walkers end up reaching King’s Landing, Cersei will destroy the city with wildfire, just like how she blew up the Sept in the Season 6 finale. Reddit user “rchrdp305” notes that, “Cersei would rather kill herself and whatever is important to her” and brings up how she almost killed herself and her son, Tommen, because she thought Stannis Baratheon was going to overtake the capital during the Battle of the Blackwater (back in Season 2). Stubborn Cersei is adamant on dying on her own terms rather than losing to her enemies, which in this case are the White Walkers.
6. Jon will sacrifice Daenerys.
As disturbing as it is, Jon and Daenerys is probably the most shipped couple on G.O.T., despite the whole aunt/nephew dynamic (which, in their defense, they don’t even know about yet). Many fans speculate that Jon Snow is the “Prince Who Was Promised,” which will be crucial to destroying the White Walkers. The legend is about a warrior named Azor Ahai, who killed his wife, sacrificing someone he loved in order to create the flaming sword Lightbringer, which was used to then destroy the Great Other. The legend goes on to say that the “Prince Who Was Promised” will be reborn again to complete another journey. If Jon is the “Prince Who Was Promised,” then according to the prophecy, he will have to kill the one who he loves (Dany) in order to create Lightbringer, ultimately aiding him in the final battle against the dead. This theory could be the bittersweet ending that George R.R. Martin promised we would get.
7. Samwell Tarly is the one telling the story of Game of Thrones.
Although he isn’t much of a warrior, Samwell Tarly could have the most important role in the Game of Thrones universe: telling the story. A fan favorite theory is that Sam is supposed to represent George R.R. Martin, the author of “A Song of Ice and Fire” novel series, which is the T.V. show that we love so dearly that it’s based on. Sam is going to survive the chaos of this season, and will bring and write down the events of the show (thus telling the story of Game of Thrones from his perspective). There wasn’t much proof for this theory until Season 7, when Sam arrives at the citadel and has a conversation with an archmaester on what to name his current project. Basically, the archmaester is lecturing Sam and says,“I’m not writing ‘The Chronicles of the Wars Following the Death of King Robert’ so it can sit on a shelf unread.” Sam makes it obvious that he doesn’t like the title (nor do I), and when the archmaester asks him what he would call it, Sam replies: “Possibly something a bit more…poetic.” So maybe something, like, I don’t know, “A Song of Ice and Fire?”
Me watching Season 8 to see if any of these predictions come true: