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. I’ll look first at the bigger picture, followed by various groupings of characters.
The groups will be: the Targaryens, the Starks, the Lannisters, and then finishing with other notable characters. Once I’ve gone through all those, there will be one last post. I’ll have 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?
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.
There has long been talk of a “bittersweet” ending to the series. And with the way Benioff and Weiss have run the show, that leaves open the possibility of, oh I don’t know, almost literally anything and everything. But regardless of what that ultimate ending is, how we get there comes down to two main conflicts: Westeros vs. the White Walkers and Daenerys vs. Cersei. Let’s take a look at both.
Westeros vs. the White Walkers
I think the one ending we can rule out is a White Walker victory. And that’s for a couple reasons. One, let’s go back to the bittersweet ending most are expecting. I don’t see how a White Walker victory leaves any room for the “sweet” part of bittersweet. However, this is still Game of Thrones, which means Benioff and Weiss – the geniuses they are – could have well found a way to give the show a satisfying send off, even with Westeros in the throes of White Walker rule.
The second reason is more of a traditional TV reason: it makes more narrative sense. Based on this incredible article from EW, we know the big battle against the White Walkers is not the series finale. That lends some credence to the theory that the season will split its time between the White Walker and Cersei storylines. Not that the show will make a clean cut separating the two, but that the first 2-3 episodes will focus on the conclusion of one conflict, while the remaining episodes focus on that of the next.
I believe the likeliest scenario is the White Walker conflict is resolved by the end of the third episode. That leaves 3+ episodes dedicated to Cersei versus everyone – well, everyone who hasn’t already died, that is. While the White Walkers have been teased as the “Big Bads” of the series since the first ever episode, the show has built up Cersei as the show’s ultimate villain for multiple seasons. Either would make sense as the proverbial “final boss,” but it makes more sense to end the series with the downfall – or victory – of the Mad Queen.
Anything more specific (who lives, who dies, etc) will be covered in the character predictions. Just prepare yourselves to see many characters fall during this massive battle.
Official prediction: Westeros prevails over the White Walkers
Khaleesi vs. The Mad Queen
With the White Walkers defeated, Cersei Lannister is all that stands between Daenerys and the Iron Throne. And while victory over the White Walkers feels like a safe bet, the outcome here seems less certain. With any other show, you would feel confident saying Daenerys will win, while seeing how much she loses along the way. But this is Game of Thrones we’re talking about. It’s rarely that simple. However, I think this time it is that simple. Or, as simple as simple can be with this show.
I do believe Daenerys and her forces defeat Cersei. That’s the general, big picture prediction. As far as specifics, though, you will have to wait for the character predictions. Cersei could be defeated and imprisoned; or she could die (by her own hands or another’s). Daenerys could be left sitting on the Iron Throne. Or she could perish as well, leaving someone else to rule over whatever remains of Westeros. She may not even survive the battle against the White Walkers, forcing someone else to lead the charge. Those predictions are coming. You will just have to wait a little bit more to find out how I see everything fitting together.
Official predictions: Daenerys’ forces defeat Cersei and King/Queen [name to be revealed later] resides of the ruler of the Six Kingdoms. Yes, that’s right, six. The North will be granted their independence, while maintaining a friendly relationship with the Realm.
