With the season premiere of Game of Thrones’ eighth and final season almost upon us, let’s take a look at what might be in store. Rather than doing one massive post with every character or countless individual posts, I decided to group them together into just a handful of posts. The groups I settled on are the Targaryens, the Starks, the Lannisters, and other notable characters. Once I’ve gone through all those, there will be one last post, with a summary of the major predictions, as well as any last points I may have overlooked.
This won’t be an in depth review of each character’s journey to season 8. I might touch on some bigger points, but will mainly focus on two things. One, will this character survive season 8? And two, what might this character’s season 8 story look like? The intent is to make these fairly quick and straightforward, just hitting on some of the major points.
As so many of these characters’ storylines will overlap, there will almost certainly be mention of other characters within these predictions. So you may need to do some back and forth as the posts come out to get the complete picture.
Before getting into these ill-fated predictions, I suppose I have to include a SPOILER WARNING. It should go without saying that you should not be reading this if you are not completely caught up, but better safe than sorry. Alright, let’s get to it.
But first, yes, I know I did not include Jon Snow in the header picture. That was intentional, as a spoiler-block. I would hate to inadvertently spoil such a massive reveal to someone who isn’t yet caught up and is just scrolling past. Okay, here we go.
Daenerys Targaryen
Daenerys’ goal has always been to return to Westeros and claim the Iron Throne, which she believes to be her birthright. This ties directly into one of Jon’s big questions for season 8. How does she react when she learns Jon is the true heir to the Iron Throne? Whatever the case, I don’t believe this is going to be a long-lasting conflict. But the specific steps towards a resolution could go a couple different ways. If they learn the truth early on, they will likely talk it out and come to a resolution. If they learn it later in the season, one of them might die before they have a real chance to work it out.
The show has long painted Daenerys as an obvious choice to take the Iron Throne at the series’ end. And in a show like Game of Throne, that makes that outcome seem less likely. Thrones loves to deviate from the predictable, making Daenerys a long-shot to survive and actually get what she wants. However, that might be so obvious that her death then becomes the obvious choice, making her sitting on the Iron Throne the twist ending. Did you follow all that?
Whatever your thoughts are on that, I think Daenerys ruling Westeros makes the best ending. And I fully trust Benioff and Weiss to choose the best ending for the show, even if the outcome might seem obvious or predictable.
Does she survive? Clearly I believe yes. I’m predicting Daenerys ends as Queen of the Six Kingdoms. As I mentioned in my Big Picture preview, I’m calling for the North to be granted independence by Queen Daenerys. After the White Walkers and Cersei have been defeated, she will do so as both a token of her gratitude and as an homage to Jon’s life.
And if she ends as Queen of Westeros, there must a king, right? Not so fast. I think the show will end this storyline one of two ways. One, she does not marry. Or two, she marries for love rather than power or to make an alliance. She wants to “break the wheel.” And marrying for love – or not at all – would be another step toward that goal.
Jon Snow/Aegon Targaryen
Jon Snow has had quite the journey to even make it to season 8. We of course now know that he is not Jon Snow, but Aegon Targaryen, the true heir to the Iron Throne. As far as viewers know, only Bran and Sam know the full truth. One of the big questions surrounding season 8 will be when – or even if – Jon discovers his true parentage. There are a couple issue that come with that. First, Jon is the true born heir to the Iron Throne, the thing his new lover Daenerys has fought so hard for. Even if it’s short-lived, that’s bound to cause some tension.
The second is that Daenerys is actually Jon’s aunt, which could, well, complicate things. I believe it won’t cause too much friction between the two, or between the extended characters. Mostly because there just isn’t enough time to dedicate a full episode – or more – to that sub-plot. Once they learn this information, the two resolve relatively quickly.
Now that fans know that Jon is a Targaryen, we’re all excited for the inevitable moment he flies a dragon. The first full trailer for the season shows what might be the lead up to that moment, as he and Daenerys are seen approaching the two remaining dragons. Whether or not this is that exact scene, the safe assumption is that Jon will fulfill his Targaryen destiny as a dragon rider at some point this season. And when he does, it’s going to be an instant fan-favorite moment.
As fun as those plots are sure to be, the big one everyone is watching for is Jon’s final showdown against the Night King. I can’t imagine anyone other than Jon dealing the final blow to the Night King. We know that battle is going to be MASSIVE, so many others surely have big parts to play. But in the end? It has to be Jon. But as for his ultimate fate?
Does he survive? No. There are numerous remaining characters you could characterize as “destined to die,” and Jon fits that mold. I say he survives the big White Walker battle, but doesn’t make it out of the fight against Cersei and her forces.
