Game of Thrones: Questions we need answered before the ending
It's incredibly difficult to believe that on Sunday night at 2am, the last EVER episode of Game of Thrones will air on Sky Atlantic.
The hugely successful HBO show has broken barriers of television, despite mixed reviews of season eight, and its fan-base is hopelessly devoted to GOT's amazing characters.
We've got plenty of questions to ask ahead of the grand finale that have yet to be answered, and we're not certain that the show can resolve every plot in just 90 minutes.
Time will tell, but after last weeks' mad destruction of King's Landing by Dark Dany (we're devastated for Emilia Clarke), the teaser for next week's final is looking incredibly bleak indeed.
The Mad Queen's reign as arrived, but will it be ended before it truly begins? And by whom?
I mean, Olenna Tyrell did tell her to be a dragon. She just did what she was told…okay?! Some of us clearly haven't come to terms with Dany's downfall yet. We're in Dany Denial over here.
Here's a comprehensive list of all our questions, before our hearts get ripped out this Sunday. Get the tissues out.
1. Why the hell did Danaerys chargrill King's Landing after they surrendered?
Interestingly, the show didn't give visuals of Danaerys' face during the total destruction and murder of innocent people in the city; all we saw was her tear-stained, furious face just before she made the decision which will inevitably change her life.
Most people surmise that Dany pulled the trigger on her logic because she realised that even though the people had surrendered, they would never love her. They would always want to follow Jon, and a man, as Varys pointed out.
Her tragic villain origin story was definitely turned dark way too suddenly, and didn't do her character justice.
She always had a ruthless streak, but who wouldn't after being sold as a mule by your gropey brother, raped, experienced the death of your baby and husband, leading to the inability to have children, imprisoned, laughed at, ridiculed, losing two of her dragons (AKA her babies), her long-time advisor Jorah and her BFF Missandei.
She also must have had the knowledge that her claim to the throne was totally lost, and her lover Jon betrayed her, as well as Tyrion and Varys. She knew that she had to rule with fear, and if the people found out that Jon is the true heir, they'd be too afraid to challenge her.
We're not surprised that she went to the dark side, we've seen her roast her enemies alive on numerous occasions but there was always a reason behind it.
2. Is Arya going to kill Dany?
It's important not to forget the prophecy told to Arya by Melisandre when the pair first met in season three;
“I see a darkness in you. And in that darkness, eyes staring back at me: brown eyes, blue eyes, green eyes. Eyes you’ll shut forever.”
The Red Witch later gave Arya that all-important pep talk which led her to kill the Night King (blue eyes), but now fans are speculating that it was never Cersei's green eyes that Arya was meant to shut. It was Dany's.
Viewers are convinced that the mini assassin's destiny has changed since 'The Bells', and the white horse at the end symbolises death. Essentially, the trailer for next week shows Arya watching Danerys take her lead, and it's looking like a sure thing that Dany's days are numbered.
3. Where the absolute f*ck is Yara Greyjoy?
At the start of episode four, Varys told Danaerys that Yara had retaken the Iron islands, yet she didn't show up at King's Landing for the big battle.
Will she turn up next week? She has had that many scenes over the last while in the show, but we were so excited to see her kill Euron Greyjoy. It would have been far more poetic and just an end than Jamie killing him.
We really hope this isn't the last we've seen of Yara; she's got some of the best lines in the script and is a total badass.
4. Will Dany find out that Jamie escaped, and because of Tyrion?
Jamie is RIP underneath all of that rubble, dying with his arms wrapped around Cersei, the woman he's always loved.
We're sure their deaths will be discovered eventually, but will it be found out that Tyrion let Jamie go to try and save the city? Ser Davos Seaworth would also be in trouble, and he's one of Jon's closest advisors. Killing him would put Jon in a rough position.
With vengeance firmly on the Mad Queen's mind, and her hatred of betrayal, we're fairly sure Tyrion would be BBQ'd by Drogon if she found out.
5. Will Jon's claim to the throne be investigated, if Varys' letter got out before he died?
At the moment, a LOT of people know Jon has the true claim; Sansa, Arya, Sam, Bran, Tyrion, Dany at a minimum. Who was Varys addressing his letter at the beginning of 'The Bells' to, we wonder?
He also tried to poison Dany, in case you missed that nugget at the beginning, which is wild. Sam and Bran appear to have the most information on the claim, which came about as Crown Prince Rhaegar Targaryen and Lyanna Stark were married in secret and bore a child together.
Ned Stark took care of the child so that Robert Baratheon didn't murder him in one of the great wars, and Jon (Aegon Targaryen) grew up thinking he was a bastard his entire life. When this information gets around, what will the realm do?
6. Who are the new lords and ladies of the lands? Is Tyrion finally the Lord of Casterly Rock
Tyrion's dickhead of a dad Tywin Lannister refused Tyrion his birthright of one day becoming Lord of Casterly Rock, but after Cersei and Jamie died, he's the only living Lannister.
Danaerys (if she lives) would rule the Crownlands, the 'new prince' would rule Dorne, Yara Greyjoy has the Iron Islands, the Starks (Sansa) have the North, Gendry Baratheon has the Stormlands, Robin Arryn has the Vale, Tyrion would have the Westerlands but Highgarden and the Riverlands are unknown.
7. If Drogon dies, and magic officially dies out, what will happen then?
We were absolutely devastated when Rhaegal and Viserion were killed; Rhaegal by Euron Greyjoy in a surprise attack and Viserion by the White Walkers.
Seeing Viserion transformed into a wight demon and blowing blue flames was intense, and we truly felt Dany's pain at losing two of her children. If Drogon dies, who knows if dragons will ever live in the realm again?
Mrs Targaryen shares a type of telepathic communication with her babies, but it's looking more and more likely that Drogon will die alongside Dany in the finale. If Dany dies and Drogon lives, he would fly away, but if Drogon dies, Dany is powerless.
Just like the white walkers, it seems dragons will have to go extinct for this war to end.
8. What will the series finale be called?
The show-runners (DB Weiss and David Benioff) have kept the names of each episode this season a secret until after they've already aired, which is shady. Will the finale be called A Song of Ice and Fire, AKA the name of the Book Series?
9. Will the Iron Throne still exist by the end?
We saw the Mother of Dragons blow King's Landing to rubble, so is the throne even left standing after all of that turmoil? It could be buried beneath the rubble, but the whole seat of power could be erased.
Daenarys once said she wants to "break the wheel," and destroying the throne could be step one of the process.
10. Is Arya dead?
This theory has genuinely scared us. At the end of 'The Bells', we saw Arya running terrified around the city, with various rocks and buildings falling on her and flames getting caught around her, and she went unconscious.
Some fans believe that she died in the city after all, and the white horse at the end symbolised her own death. This explains why the ending seemed so strange and spiritual, but then again she's seen in the trailer for next week.
The show does seem to have a knack for bringing people back to life, so there's that idea too.
11. Where is Brienne? And will Bronn end up killing Tyrion Lannister?
Our gal loves a good battle, so why did she stay behind? We're furious that they turned her into a weeping woman after Jamie left, they should have left that at a respectful friendship. As for Bronn, perhaps he'll wipe out the last member of the Lannister family?
12. What will happen to the Night's Watch?
Seeing as all of those pesky White Walkers are dead and dusted, thanks to Arya, and the wall is wrecked (bold Viserion) will there be a need for a Night's Watch any more?
13. What will be Bran's role in all of this?
Ah Bran. There have been countless theories about the three-eyed raven's role since the very beginning, even some fans guessing that he'll be the new Night King.
Seeing as Bran can time travel, it's thought that he could represent all of the Brandon Starks in history, from old Nan's tales. That means the Brandon Stark that built the wall.
Bran may warg back in time, and try to stop the White Walkers from being created, but accidentally get stuck there with the Children of the Forest.
He then may have travelled in time to have the wall built, and have Arya kill the Night King with the dagger that was used to try and kill him when he was only a boy.
Both Bran's vision and Danaerys' prophecy came true in 'The Bells'; Back in season six, Bran saw flashes of the Night King's death as well as the Mad King Aerys screaming, "Burn them all!".
He was referring to his daughter, who ended up fulfilling his mad wish. Shots of a dragon flying over King's Landing can be seen, echoing Dany's dark destruction of the city last week.
Dany's vision in the House of the Undying saw snow in the Red Keep, but actually it was ash from her dragon's burning of the city. We wish they had adequately portrayed Dany's downfall over the last two season.
The foreshadowing is mind-blowing, but will Bran have more to offer? He could be the key to unravelling the future of the realm, and whether magic lives on.
14. Finally, will Ghost get a hug from Jon before the show ends?
We're guessing not. If Jon gets the Iron Throne, he'd be the perfect hand to the king (or would it be paw to the king?).
Feature image: HBO/YouTube
