Oof. That was… something else. At 81 minutes, the Season 7 Game of Thrones finale ‘The Dragon and the Wolf‘ was a record-breaking episode, and it packed a helluva lot in there.
Almost every major character met with an old nemesis or old ally in the Dragonpit. R+L=J was finally confirmed. Jon and Dany hooked up.
HOW THE HELL ARE WE SUPPOSED TO DEAL WITH WAITING FOR SEASON 8?
We’re not. Cry into your pillow, rewatch the series, aggressively comment on George R.R. Martin‘s LiveJournal until he releases ‘Winds of Winter’… whatever you have to do to get through these long months, do it.
The finale left us with a bunch of burning questions to mull over in the meantime; here’s the main ones we can’t stop thinking about.
1. What is Qyburn going to do with the knowledge that wights exist?
The creepy Hand of the Queen got a huge nerd boner after seeing the wight jump out in the Dragonpit. Qyburn, who was famously thrown out of the Citadel and stripped of his maester’s chain for performing experiments on living humans, is fascinated with all things macabre. (He was also the one who brought the Mountain back to life, or something resembling it, after all.) You could SEE him itching to get the wight down to his dungeon for some intense experimentation; who knows what he’s planning now that he knows such creatures exist.
2. Will Cleganebowl ever actually happen?
Game of Thrones teased us with the long-anticipated Cleganebowl this episode, a.k.a. the fight to the death between brothers the Mountain and the Hound. “It’s not how it ends for you, brother. You know who’s coming for you. You’ve always known,” the Hound says. It looks like Season 8 will finally give him his chance to cut his older brother down.
3. What did Tyrion say to Cersei?
After Tyrion clocked that Cersei was pregnant, we skip back to Jon and Daenerys chatting about their situation. The next we see of the Lannisters, Cersei has changed her mind about abandoning the fight, instead agreeing to a truce and pledging her armies to fight the army of the dead (or so it seems). What the hell did Tyrion say to sway her? Based on where we left their conversation, it would undoubtably be something to do with Cersei’s unborn child. Was Tyrion explaining that Daenerys can’t have children, and so Cersei’s child might rule? That theory might also explain Tyrion’s concern as Jon and Dany hook up later in the episode (more on that soon). There’s also the possibility that Tyrion, whatever he told Cersei, was lying through his teeth. Moments before the chat he’d admonished Jon for speaking the truth. “Have you ever considered learning how to lie, just a bit?”
4. Will Dany get pregnant?
As we’ve already written about, there’s a strong chance Dany’s belief in Mirri Maz Duur‘s prediction that she will never have children again is perhaps misguided. This episode, Jon even asks Dany if she’s ever considered that the healer might be lying. Since we got them boning later that episode, it looks like the show is leading us to a potential Daenerys pregnancy. (And speaking of pregnant people, it looks like Cersei wasn’t lying about her bun in the oven. Who’da thunk it?)
5. How will Jon react to learning about his true heritage?
Not only did we get a final confirmation of R+L=J this episode, but we learned Jon’s true name: Aegon Targaryen VI. That makes him the rightful person to sit on the Iron Throne. But Jon, despite being named Lord Commander of the Night’s Watch and King in the North, has never asked for titles or responsibility. There’s a chance he won’t want to take the throne away from Dany, unless he believes it will benefit the realm in some way.
He’s also likely going to be devastated to learn he’s not Ned Stark‘s son, and was lied to and made to feel inferior his entire life. Ned treated him as a son, but Catelyn treated him with nothing but contempt, and Jon’s title of ‘bastard’ defined his character for the first 16 years of his life. Dude’s gonna be pissed. And then understanding, probably. But first he’ll be pissed.
6. How will Dany react to learning about Jon’s true heritage?
Dany’s story arch has been driven for pretty much the entire show by the belief that she is the true ruler of Westeros. She was never stupid enough to believe the lies her brother did, about the people of Westeros saying silent prayers for the Targaryens‘ return, but she does believe she’s the best person to lead the country. So how is she going to react when she learns that Jon, not her, is the rightful heir, and even shares a name with Aegon the Conquerer?
7. How will BOTH of them react to incest?
Oh man. Jon and Dany finally hooked up, and the sweetness of the whole thing (neither has loved since their last love died) was totally undercut by the show confirming incest at the same damn time. Dany grew up believing she was going to be married off to her brother Viserys, in Targaryen tradition, so she might not find it as weird as your regular Westerosi. Jon, on the other hand, has the second strongest moral compass of the show (first is Davos, hands down), and is far more likely to be disgusted and ashamed by what he’s done.
8. Why did Rhaegar Targaryen name two of his sons Aegon?
Rhaegar had another son, Aegon, with his first wife Elia Martell. Aegon, Elia, and Aegon’s sister Rhanys were killed by the Mountain during Robert’s Rebellion. Did Rhaegar just want to give it another go? Did Lyanna Stark forget about her husband’s other child? Does George R.R. Martin have a different name (for example, Aemon) in mind for Jon? Some questions may never be answered, unless George publishes another book or two.
9. Where is Jaime headed?
The last we saw of him, he was riding away from King’s Landing as snow began to fall. He’s finally seen Cersei for who she truly is, but the lone Lannister doesn’t look like he’s bringing his armies north with him. Is he making a beeline for Winterfell, in what looks to be the rallying point for the army of the living? Or does he have another destination in mind? He’s a lone lion now, and Ned Stark wisely said that a lone wolf (or lion) doesn’t survive the winter.
10. How will the North fare under the leadership of the Stark siblings?
As last episode proved, Arya, Sansa and Brann work well together when they want to. We’ve finally got the dream team fans have been thinking about for years: a politically savvy leader, a powerful assassin, and the Three Eyed Raven, all working together. The North is probably in better hands than it’ been for years – and just in time, really. The Night King is coming.
11. Did Tormund and Beric survive?
There’s an important rule to remember with Game of Thrones deaths: if you didn’t see them die, they probably didn’t die. And since we didn’t explicitly see Tormund and Beric die, there’s a chance the men both lived – they both appeared to make it to a section of the Wall that didn’t come crumbling down, after all. Then again, even if they did survive, they’re now trapped on a ledge of wall 200m above the ground, surrounded by the army of the dead.
12. Where is the Night King headed?
If he heads directly south of Eastwatch, he’ll hit the Dreadfort and bypass Winterfell altogether. If he cuts across and follows the road, he’ll walk straight into it. Is his endgame to eventually march on King’s Landing and beyond, turning everyone in his path into the undead first? Actually, what is his endgame at all? Why does the Night King hate the realm of men? Does he want to set up a White Walker only civilisation? Does he want to turn everything into a cold winter and just relax a bit for a few centuries? GIVVUS SOME ANSWERS, maybe.
13. HOW ARE WE SUPPOSED TO WAIT UNTIL 2018 OR EVEN 2019 UNTIL NEXT SEASON?
There is a small-to-middling chance that Season 8 might not air until 2019. HBO programming president Casey Bloys told EW that it all depends on how long production takes, meaning there’s no clear answer as of yet.
“[Showrunners D.B. Weiss and David Benioff] have to write the episodes and figure out the production schedule,” he said. “We’ll have a better sense of that once they get further into the writing.”
Ugh. And now our wait begins.
