‘Game of Thrones’ Speculation Roundtable

1. Jon Snow. That’s all this question needs. Discuss.

CHLOE

He is NOT dead. He is NOT dead. Okay… maybe he is, but he isn’t staying dead. Would I love to see that he has warged into Ghost? Yes to the power of a thousand burning suns… yes! To preserve his mental memories which I believe are more or less what might be lost when bringing him back from the dead. At least book canon I believe supports this theory. However, he has to be brought back before his body starts decomposing or he’ll be permanently damaged, right? At least, by the wall, it is freezing and will preserve him nicely. Interesting that after a couple of seasons of not being around,  wine-loving, flaming-sword-wielding red priest Thoros of Myr, if rumors are to be believed, will be showing up again… FINALLY. Which has led to some wild speculation which I’m quite fond of. Such as Jon Snow will become a White Walker who is aware of his humanity and fight the rest of them off by leading his former brothers into battle or somehow learn to control them to become their king. Jon Snow, being of Dragon blood, somehow would be impervious to a complete change and the relation to Daenerys Targareyn who must sit upon the Iron Throne, not just because she is meant to do so, but because she deserves to do so. Also, please let Lady Stoneheart show up to show Jon Snow and company just how to deliver vengeance without any hesitation at all.

Well I think we can assume that Jon Snow isn’t dead. I mean unless playing a corpse truly means that Kit Harington had to spend months and months in Belfast without cutting his hair. However I don’t see them bringing him back in the first episode, I think they’ll make us sweat it a little. But I do think that Melisandre will be bringing Jon back and that Davos will help her (otherwise why have the meetup scene of Thoros of Myr where he tells her about how the Lord of Light allows him to bring Beric Dondarrion back from the dead and also what’s the point of her making it back to the wall so quickly), Jon will return to the land of the living and take back Winterfell from the Boltons.

Frankly, I’ll be shocked if Davos isn’t protecting the body for Melisandre, who means to bring him back to life. At this point it doesn’t even seem to me like a leap of faith, I just think it’s obvious. But how the rest of the season will play out, I’m not sure. I think they’re just as likely to bring him back in the first episode, just to start with a bang, as they are to make us sweat for half the season. It all depends on how much more story they want to cover in the North. Because, obviously, after he’s brought back to life he’s waving Castle Black goodbye and going back to Winterfell, where he belongs. Hopefully he meets up with Sansa along the way. These aren’t the two Starks I dreamed of seeing reunited, but at this point, any Stark will do.

2. Cersei and Jamie seem to finally be on the same page, and poised for revenge. Do you think they can get it? And is the road ahead one they travel together or alone?

The Lannisters – another instance when it seemed that peace and alliances were all in place, and then it fell through with death. I was sad to see Myrcella go and I worry about what it will mean for Trystane and his plans. I’m not sure that Cersei and Jaime are 100% on the same page – I think Jaime is coming around to the revenge idea, especially after Myrcella’s death, but I still think that Cersei is the wild card here. She has the Mountain back, so she doesn’t need Jaime’s help or protection. For now I think they’ll be on separate paths, but if they do manage to come together again, I’m sure their determination will take them far.

I dunno about these two. Their love/hate relationship seems doomed, but then somehow, the tragedy that plagues the House of Lannister (for good reason I might add…) solidifies them once more. It’s a wild “will he/won’t he – will she/won’t she” conundrum and seems much too tedious for these two violent characters with very little patience to suffer idiots or zealots. As for being on the same page, these two both adored their daughter and are going to thirst for blood on that front. Now whether Jaime gets invested in his remaining son, who admittedly is quite timid for a Lannister, remains to be seen. The boy’s claim to the throne seems tenuous and his imprisoned wife isn’t in a good place. Jaime does seem willing to awash holy ground with blood for him — and Cersei — if a certain scene that happens in the trailer is to be believed. However, Jaime tends to be wishy-washy on who he wants on the throne and gets awfully attached to people who do not always see things the same way he does.

I’m not a fan of the Jaime and Cersei dynamic and one of the the things I liked most about them in the books was that Jaime especially learns to grow separate from Cersei. With regards to revenge, I think they will get revenge on the sparrows somewhat with the introduction of Robert Strong but with the Martells over Myrcella, I don’t think they will get their comeupperance yet (or well I hope). I am interested to see Jaime take on the Riverlands, and show just how much he has grown as a singularly person over the past few seasons.

Can we get Jamie away from Cersei? He seems to do better when she’s not around. He also seems to BE better. Heck, would a reunion with Brienne be too much to ask? Romantic or not, Brienne has proven that she’s the one person who can bring out the good in Jamie.  And I want to root for Jamie, I really do. I just can’t when he’s around his worst half.  Regarding Cersei, though, I think she’ll get her revenge. I just don’t think a happy ending is in the cards for her.

3. What does the future look like for the North? Is a confrontation coming? And what role do you think Sansa will play in all of this? Do you think we might have a Stark reunion of some sort this year?

CHLOE

THIS… this plot thread has me colored all kinds of desperately intrigued. Sansa Stark – you sly, bold, and brilliant lady, you! The North belongs to you and you must take it back from that damnable Bolton family. They’ve maligned the House of Stark’s name even though your stupid brother from another mother, Theon Greyjoy, started it down that path before they showed up. Which speaking of the Greyjoys, expect their lives to get all sorts of complicated because Sansa refuses to shut up or put up with their crap. And yes… it is time for the children of Ned Stark to get their revenge. Let them all find their way back to each other, invigorated, wiser and all the more powerful from where they’ve returned. They will not be broken.

God I really hope this is Sansa’s year, after getting the short end of the stick so so many times, I hope her ‘marriage’ to Ramsay ends up paying off and she gets to work with Jon, his army, and the Greyjoys to get back at the Boltons. There has been casting for a few Northern lords so I hope the great Northern conspiracy will come into play as well.

A confrontation IS coming as surely as winter is. I don’t think there’s any way to avoid it at this point. Hopefully it’s one led by Jon (and Sansa) against the Boltons, one that culminates in all the Boltons dead and Jon and Sansa back home. I’ll even accept Theon at this point, that’s how much I’m willing to give up for that to happen.  The Starks have done nothing but lose for the past five seasons. It’s about time they win one, isn’t it?

4. Arya’s story has been separate from her family for years now. Do you think she can ever find her away home again, and will she ever be the Arya of old? Also, do you think we’ll ever see Nymeria back?

CHLOE

BETH

No, never will Arya be the free-spirited, curious strong-willed child she was. Even if growing older had tempered her, Arya Stark has seen too much death to ever come back from those. She has known hate, anger and a raging desire to eliminate another person’s life and acted upon it. To become a “faceless man” she will have to sacrifice herself anyway. She isn’t quite prepared, given how she hid her sword; nor do I think she will ever be. Her family will always keep her grounded and give her an inner strength like nothing else. Oh please, let her dire wolf come back! Nymeria is a fighter, a warrior queen and she may have been banished, but her lady still lives and breathes. She will not have lost faith in Arya or deny the young Stark gal, if she were to call. My faith in these direwolves are ridiculous and I get so angry when they are hurt and killed. Together, I have no doubt that these two will find their way back home and hopefully in time to wreck havoc on those who have kept them away so long.

I don’t think Arya will ever be the Arya of old again but I do think she’ll make her way back to her family, we need all the major players to make their way back to fight the White Walkers. I think Arya will make the journey back to Westeros at the end of this season.

No, I don’t think she’ll ever regain that youthful innocence, but I do think her journeys will bring her back home. Question is, does this Arya really remember home, or the people she loves? Maybe she doesn’t. Maybe that’s why Nymeria has been conspicuously missing for five seasons. Surely Arya has an important role to play before this story ends, and I have to believe Nymeria is a big piece of the puzzle. Otherwise, why not let her stay with Arya all this time? No, something else is coming here.  And I’m going to enjoy it.

5. Is Bran the key to all the Game of Thrones secrets we’ve been promised? What role do you think he’s going to play going forward?

CHLOE

BETH

Sooooo… is it okay if I rarely think of Bran? I mean, I know he deserves better from me. The boy has been through the ringer, but in relation to plot, of course he will be important. Do figure that much like anyone in any epic fantasy with the ability to see the past, present and future; he cannot go about idly telling people that these visions are set in stone. He will have to mature and be responsible in how he predicts what will come to pass based upon what he sees and learn to inspire people to action, who can change these history-making moments.

Bran is very important especially for filling in the details that we don’t get because we are not inside the characters’ heads like in the books, I think his role will be pivotal going forward as he can see both the past and the present, and will an important member of the team.

Bran is the key to everything, I’m sure. We haven’t seen him in a while, and I expect him to be a full Jedi Master when we finally get to see what he’s been up to. I’m pretty sure he’s the key to Jon’s heritage, and probably a few other secrets of the past. And that’s not even the most important thing – he could very well be the key to the future.

6. Daenerys opens the season as a captive, but, considering she’s got a dragon, that’s sure to change. How do you think Daenerys will go about winning the dothraki to her cause?

CHLOE

BETH

Ugh… I don’t know! Daenerys has a way of existing like she wants you to be the better person, the brilliant you, you want to be. It’s a gift to make people feel like they can become more than they are in that moment. No doubt, this trait about her will convince them she is worthy of more than being just their slave. Now whether it will elevate her all the way to top female like before, that remains to be seen. Of course, she does now have a dragon as proof that she might be the most lethal of all in the tribe.