Late June is the absolute worst time in the Game of Thronescalendar.
We've had the delicious joy of 10 brand new episodes, we've fully re-immersed ourselves into the world of Westeros, and now -- all too abruptly -- the whole thing has been put on hold again. We've got to wait a whole damn year before we find out what happens next.
SEE ALSO:This 'Game of Thrones' theory about Tyrion just got some compelling new evidenceHopefully George R. R. Martin will publish The Winds of Wintersometime this year and the story will overtake the show, but until that happens all we've got are our desperate predictions to fill the aching void of time until next May.
We now know that there are only two seasons of Game of Thronesleft (and possibly only 13 episodes), so we've taken a stab at predicting the key things that will happen in Season 7.
There will be more where this came from.Credit: hboIt won't happen straight away, but at some point next season we believe all the remaining Starks will be together again. Jon and Sansa have already been reunited, Bran is now back at the Wall, and Arya has already returned to Westeros -- all the pieces are coming together, in other words. We know that Game of Thronesloves symmetry, so it makes sense that a story which started with the scattering of a family will be bookended by the remaining pieces of that family drawing back together.
Having said all that, we don't think it will be an entirely pleasant reunion. There were strong hints in the Season 6 finale that a rift is forming between Jon and Sansa.
We think Sansa's increased levels of badassery will combine with her frustration over Jon getting all the credit for defeating Ramsay in the Battle of the Bastards (despite the fact he'd definitely have lost if it wasn't for her) and lead to her doing something reckless.
We don't think she'd intentionally harm her brother, but it's possible she'll do something behind his back again -- possibly in conjunction with Littlefinger -- that will have unhappy consequences.
It's less likely, but the other possibility is that she might go completely rogue. We know from George R. R. Martin's 1993 letter to his agent detailing the initial outline for A Song of Ice and Firethat he'd originally intended for Sansa to betray the Starks. Obviously his story has ended up changing massively since then, but who knows... maybe that's one element he decided to keep.
Now that Bran knows about Jon's true parentage, we can't see why he wouldn't spill the beans when he eventually makes it back to Winterfell. Then again it did take Bran a full four seasons to make it beyond the Wall in the first place, so who knows how long it'll be before he finally gets back to his hometown.
Whether the revelation comes in Season 7 or the beginning of Season 8, though, it seems inevitable that Jon is going to find out about his Targaryen heritage at some point (this will likely be the catalyst for an eventual alliance with his aunt Daenerys, after all).
Seeing as showrunners D.B. Weiss and David Benioff have already cut plenty of Martin's book characters from the TV show (including Victarion Greyjoy), we can't see why they'd bother including Euron unless he has a reasonably big part to play in the upcoming season.
At the moment, Euron's main beef is with Theon and Yara (who ran off with a bunch of his ships) and his main mission is to make Daenerys his bride. The last time we saw him, he was making the slightly ambitious request of his Ironborn friends to help him build "a thousand ships" so he could chase after them.
We think Euron is likely to pop back up early on in Season 7, giving the Mother of Dragons a handy warm-up snack before she swats Cersei off the Iron Throne.
We think it's likely that Season 7 will focus on Daenerys' invasion of Westeros, while Season 8 will be all about the final battle between the White Walkers and mankind (you know, that whole "Song of Ice and Fire" thing).
The thing is, Dany's already on the Narrow Sea, so timing-wise there needs to be something that'll interrupt her inevitably successful invasion of King's Landing.
Whether she meets Euron at sea or detours round to the Iron Islands to take care of him first, this will allow showrunners to slow down her advance and pad out Season 7 a bit.
Please. Please. Please.Credit: hbo/mashable compositeSandor Clegane has been brought back into the show for a reason, dammit. Obviously his character represents the struggle between redemption and the desire for revenge, etc. (not to mention the need to be a cold, axe-wielding badass in order to survive in the Thronesworld), but he still has to actually dosomething next season.
Cersei's downfall will surely come before the end of the show, and one of the few remaining barriers between the new Queen and an early grave is her formidable protector, Ser Gregor.
The Hound is headed North at the moment, but at some point he'll likely encounter the Starks and hopefully get drafted onto their team. And if they decide to ally with Daenerys in her quest for the Iron Throne? Well, frankly we can't think of a better candidate to go toe-to-toe with the Mountain than his very own flesh and blood.
(OK, so this prediction could also just be wishful thinking, but we're allowed to dream.)
Cersei may be on the Iron Throne for now, but it's going to be one hell of a short-lived reign. Not only has she succeeded in making enemies of practically everyone in the Seven Kingdoms, but now she's even gone and alienated her own brother.
This one's been the subject of plenty of theories and speculation, and we think it's got legs -- we don't know what the exact circumstances will be, but we reckon Cersei will ultimately die at the hands of Jamie (thereby fulfilling the prophecy given to her by Maggy the Frog when she was a child).
This is what the whole thing's been building up to, isn't it? It probably won't happen until towards the end of Season 7, but it won't be long now before the Night's King makes his move.
Showrunner David Benioff basically said as much when asked about the Horn of Joramun -- a legendary device believed to hold the power to topple The Wall -- in a recent interview for Deadline Hollywood.
"If the Wildlings managed to make it over, which they have, and the Night King has so much more in the way of both power and troops who'll do literally anything he says... We'll leave it at that for now," said Benioff.
Wouldn't this make the perfect final shot for the end of Season 7? The White Walkers have got to get over that thing somehow, and we think bringing it down -- whether it's via the Horn of Joramun or some other means -- will be the only way they can overcome its magical barrier (which has been penning them North of Westeros for who knows how many years now).
The other possibility here, of course -- which has also been widely theorised -- is that Bran will inadvertently bring the Wall down (or at least disturb the magical barrier keeping out the Walkers) now that the Night's King has marked him.
Either way, winter is well and truly coming. It's only a matter of time now.
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TopicsGame Of Thrones
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