Season 8 Theories and Speculation

[JohnCarlton]

That does seem to be where they're going. They seem hellbent on denying fans any of the promises that they themselves made. It's not like anyone forced D&D to make Clegane tell the Mountain that he's coming for him in Season 7. And then some folks are like, "psh... you know that GOT is known for surprises!" Like, seriously... why am I watching then? I get no satisfaction out of Greyworm killing the Mountain. I hope it'll be a good fight, but dude... am I supposed to be happy that something I've hoped for, for years isn't going to happen?

I feel like not even that is gonna happen they will subvert our expectations here & do something worse

 

[Deck Rickard]

LOL, at this point, I wouldn't be surprised if Sandor gets killed by a ballista bolt and Grey Worm kills the Mountain.

 

[Motown Marvel]

I think Jamie is going back to Kings Landing with the delusional intentions of being with Cersei but the reality of circumstances will result in him killing her.

 

[MaceB]

I think Jamie is going back to Kings Landing with the delusional intentions of being with Cersei but the reality of circumstances will result in him killing her.

Honestly, that's just as bad. Jaime's intentions are all that matters. Jaime's principle struggle has been his attachment to Cersei. If he goes back to Cersei and forgives her, then it undoes all of his progress as a character. At which point, Brianne has been wrong this whole time, and he's been nothing but a stooge that the show tricked us into caring about.

 

[warhorse78]

I feel like not even that is gonna happen they will subvert our expectations here & do something worse

There is one thing I am terrified they might do. For one last shocking/controversial moment, I am terrified they will have a sex scene now with The Hound and Arya. And these showrunners are sick enough to do that.

 

[Motown Marvel]

Honestly, that's just as bad. Jaime's intentions are all that matters. Jaime's principle struggle has been his attachment to Cersei. If he goes back to Cersei and forgives her, then it undoes all of his progress as a character. At which point, Brianne has been wrong this whole time, and he's been nothing but a stooge that the show tricked us into caring about.

I disagree. Character evolution isn't that clean cut. Despite the progress Jamie's character has made, his arc isn't complete. F**ked up relationships have long lasting issues which linger, and people who struggle with them are susceptible to poor decisions as a result. I think it is almost impossible for Jamie to imagine a life without Cersei and is desperate for the bond they once shared. Once he returns to Kings Landing and is forced to realize the reality of who she Is, the only way he can move on will literally be over her dead body. Think of it like a recovering alcoholic who relapses. The fact they relapsed doesn't erase the progress they made, it just means they still struggle and have work to do.

 

[CaptainWagner]

For me, Jaime leaving was very clearly a matter of him feeling obligated to end Cersei's reign. He tried to leave the war behind and stay in the North with Brienne, but his overwhelming guilt of every terrible thing he did and enabled Cersei to do prevented him from taking the "easy out" to a happy ending.

 

[Fist of Khonshu]

I've watched the scene with Jon, Tormund and Ghost several times now and I don't see it as quite the terrible and egregious act as some make it out to be --folks are really knee-jerk overreacting to it.

Kit Harrington isn't exactly the most dynamically-expressive actor out there and his emotions are subtle, but they are there, and I think that Jon also deserves the benefit of the doubt here. He looks at Ghost very sadly. Here's a gif of that:

That he acknowledged Ghost at all means that he cares. Additionally, and most importantly, the director didn't want a complicated, physical interaction between them because Ghost is CGI as explained here:

Here's Why Jon Snow Didn't Pet Ghost In His 'Game Of Thrones' Goodbye

They likely ran out of money, shooting the wad on dragons and big battles again.

It also makes sense just from the vantage point of a canine owner. If you give your dog any kind of encouragement they'll just follow you out the gate!

Now let's look at the script.

TORMUND: We need room to wander.
I'll take them back through Castle Black as soon as the winter storms pass.
Back where we belong.
JON: It's where he belongs too.
A direwolf has no place in the south.
Will you take him with you? He'll be happier up there.
TORMUND: So would you.
JON: I wish I was going with you.
This is farewell, then.
TORMUND: You never know.
You've got the North in you.
The real North.

Jon is looking out for Ghost's happiness and welfare and that line makes his intention clear. And it's true, a direwolf would be happier up there!

If the writers didn't care about Ghost (or had no plans for him), they wouldn't have even bothered writing lines about him. Jon would have said his farewells, there would be no Ghost in the scene at all, and it would just be assumed that Ghost was left at Winterfell with Sansa. That's been the case in many other episodes where we haven't seen him.

But this dialogue with Tormund portends that Jon will end up back in the North. Jon had already expressed dislike for the South, for King's Landing, last season and has no interest in being king --anywhere. After he loses Dany, after he discovers Sansa's betrayal, he won't live in King's Landing nor Winterfell which leaves Castle Black or the open wilderness beyond the Wall as the only choices left, and that's where his heart is anyway. My money's on a bittersweet reunion with Ghost.

 

[MaceB]

I disagree. Character evolution isn't that clean cut. Despite the progress Jamie's character has made, his arc isn't complete. F**ked up relationships have long lasting issues which linger, and people who struggle with them are susceptible to poor decisions as a result. I think it is almost impossible for Jamie to imagine a life without Cersei and is desperate for the bond they once shared. Once he returns to Kings Landing and is forced to realize the reality of who she Is, the only way he can move on will literally be over her dead body. Think of it like a recovering alcoholic who relapses. The fact they relapsed doesn't erase the progress they made, it just means they still struggle and have work to do.

I guess you're right. If he makes a last second change and kills Cersei, then he still redeems himself.... seems cheaper to me, but it'd still be a redemption. If it turns out that way, it sounds like it'd be a last minute redemption in which he kills her right before he dies. Which to me, seems a little forced.. but I imagine the directors could do a good job with something like that.

I do think that he's going to kill Cersei though. His language to Brianne was so coded, that I think he's going to kill her.

 

[Mjolnir Reborn]

I disagree. Character evolution isn't that clean cut. Despite the progress Jamie's character has made, his arc isn't complete. F**ked up relationships have long lasting issues which linger, and people who struggle with them are susceptible to poor decisions as a result. I think it is almost impossible for Jamie to imagine a life without Cersei and is desperate for the bond they once shared. Once he returns to Kings Landing and is forced to realize the reality of who she Is, the only way he can move on will literally be over her dead body. Think of it like a recovering alcoholic who relapses. The fact they relapsed doesn't erase the progress they made, it just means they still struggle and have work to do.

I don't think it's impossible for Jaime. It hasn't been in the books, where he's broken away from Cersei pretty clearly and much earlier than in the show. Not only does it make sense with who he is and what he's going through, it's also better written than the show.

 

[Fist of Khonshu]

After contemplating that last conversation between Jon and Tormund, I'm calling this now--

Opening scene of SE1EP1: Rangers leave the tunnel from Castle Black and ride into the wilderness.

Final scene of SE8EP6: Jon, Tormund, & Ghost leave the tunnel from Castle Black and ride into the wilderness.

 

[JohnCarlton]

After contemplating that last conversation between Jon and Tormund, I'm calling this now--

Opening scene of SE1EP1: Rangers leave the tunnel from Castle Black and ride into the wilderness.

Final scene of SE8E6: Jon leaves the tunnel from Castle Black and rides into the wilderness.

As long as Jon is given a reunion with Ghost & Ghost gets better treatment before the end. Otherwise Ghost is the ONE character that was treated like ****

 

[Mjolnir Reborn]

As long as Jon is given a reunion with Ghost & Ghost gets better treatment before the end. Otherwise Ghost is the ONE character that was treated like ****

There are more characters that were treated like crap, like Doran Martell.

 

[Fist of Khonshu]

As long as Jon is given a reunion with Ghost & Ghost gets better treatment before the end. Otherwise Ghost is the ONE character that was treated like ****

I don't think he was mistreated at all and I made a detailed case why he wasn't in post #658 above.

 

[JohnCarlton]

I don't think he was mistreated at all and I made a detailed case why he wasn't in post #658 above.

& that is simply your opinion

 

[JohnCarlton]

There are more characters that were treated like crap, like Doran Martell.

Since this season sucks #Team Ghost

 

[Fist of Khonshu]

From Se6Ep8--

LADY CRANE: Where will you go?
ARYA: Essos is east and Westeros is west.
But what's west of Westeros?
LADY CRANE: I don't know.
ARYA: Nobody does.
That's where all the maps stop.
The edge of the world, maybe.
I'd like to see that.

If Arya somehow survives the next two and half hours, I think she's on a boat headed "west of Westeros".

 

[Brother Jack]

I'm expecting a symmetrical ending. The adversaries will be defeated, someone will end up on the iron throne, and the "game of thrones" will begin again. And maybe, hopefully, someone will come across another white walker in the far north.

 

[Deck Rickard]

I'm expecting a symmetrical ending. The adversaries will be defeated, someone will end up on the iron throne, and the "game of thrones" will begin again. And maybe, hopefully, someone will come across another white walker in the far north.

That last bit would be good. It would mean there’s a looming threat to Westeros in about 8,000 years or so.

 

[warhorse78]

After contemplating that last conversation between Jon and Tormund, I'm calling this now--

Opening scene of SE1EP1: Rangers leave the tunnel from Castle Black and ride into the wilderness.

Final scene of SE8EP6: Jon, Tormund, & Ghost leave the tunnel from Castle Black and ride into the wilderness.

Truth, this would be Jon's happy ending. He never wanted to be a king, commander of any of that. He wanted to be like his Uncle Benjen. Be a ranger north of the wall. It would be bittersweet if Arya joins him, since she is the one person he loves more than anyone else, and they change the rules to allow females to join the Black. They could do it in the memory of Lady Mormont, who refused to let the women coward and hide and wanted them to learn how to fight as well.

 

[CaptainWagner]

There are more characters that were treated like crap, like Doran Martell.

I get that he was a much more complex story in the books, but purely from the show's perspective, I think what they gave us wasn't bad in its own context. I definitely would have liked to see more of him, the Dorne plot was way too rushed, but he was interesting enough, in my opinion.

 

[The Big G]

Truth, this would be Jon's happy ending. He never wanted to be a king, commander of any of that. He wanted to be like his Uncle Benjen. Be a ranger north of the wall.

Not so sure about that. Yes, he might feel belongs more beyond the wall than with the rest of Westeros...but if the leaks come to pass. The dude is going to be a shell of himself.

 

[TheVileOne]

It will be like the end of The Terror miniseries

 

[Deck Rickard]

Never finished The Terror but Mance and Edmure annoyed the hell out of me in it, lol.

 

[Fist of Khonshu]

Well I was way the hell off on "King Gendry", the extent of the so-called "Great War", Howland Reed, and the Azor Ahai business, but I predicted Arya's and Jon's endings (and the final shot) accurately above.

Hard to feel very satisfied with this story though...