Is everyone else starting to feel like we've made it through the wilderness and are slowly reaching the end of Game of Thrones? We might as well start predicting what will happen in Game of Thrones Season 8. Don't hit send on that tweet just yet, I know that the Season 6 finale is Sunday. You read that right.
Why are we looking so deep into the flames for spoilers now? The show has only been renewed for Season 7 so far, but The Hollywood Reporter recently disclosed upcoming raises for Game of Thrones actors that extend through the potential Season 8 — the stars included in this negotiation include Kit Harington, Emilia Clarke, Peter Dinklage, Lena Headey, and Nikolaj Coster-Waldau. While that doesn't necessarily mean that their characters will survive another season, it is a nice security blanket and it does mean that on some level, HBO is thinking that far in advance.
From where we stand at the end of Season 6, what is the endgame for this series? What are we all leading towards? Democracy? One big happy family? The return of Gendry? Your guess is ultimately as good as mine, but here are some of my own predictions for where Game of Thrones could go, not in Season 7, but in Season 8.
1. Daenerys In Westeros
I mean let's hope she gets "home" by Season 8, even if King's Landing is all burned down. She's got boats now. She's ready to be done with Meereen. Euron Greyjoy may keep Team Targaryen from crossing the Narrow Sea as early as next year, but it has to happen by the year after that.
2. A Major Power Vacuum
Even if Tommen Baratheon doesn't die in the Season 6 finale, there's no way he makes it through Season 7. Absolutely not! That leaves the Seven Kingdoms without an obvious King (and Queen, if Margaery is killed or ousted as well). It could be Jaime Lannister, Daenerys Targaryen, Jon Snow, Euron Greyjoy, or even the Queen's brother Loras Tyrell — who is my pick, though I have no evidence to back it up.
3. More Dragon Riders
It took 5-6 seasons for Daenerys to master the art of riding Drogon. Who is going to ride Viserion and Rhaegal?
4. Blizzards, One Would Assume
By the time Season 8 rolls around, winter better be in full force! If this book is indeed the "pre-adaptation" of the as yet unpublished novel A Dream Of Spring, then that's what I want to be seeing. Sweater weather, all the time. Even in Dorne.
5. Reform In Westeros
I don't think we should forget that a major battle just took place in the North in which both armies were being lead by noble bastards. Not only that, but two women, Sansa and Lyanna, played a significant role, and the battle was ultimately won by the Knights of the Vale, who are lead a man with no house, Littlefinger. The old ways are slowly dying, and that isn't a bad thing. Change is coming to the Seven Kingdoms in many ways.
6. Rebuild King's Landing
One of the spoilers (already) for Season 7 is that the King's Landing filming location has been removed, which means that hopefully by Season 8, they will be ready to start work on the capital.
7. A Song Of Ice And Fire
A lot of fans have the sneaking suspicion that if and when Jon Snow and Daenerys Targaryen meet, they will fall in love — even though she's probably his aunt. That's pretty mild incest for Game of Thrones, honestly. Then again, Yara Greyjoy is in the picture now. I doubt that Game of Thrones is ultimately a romance, but as these fated characters come closer to meeting, you have to wonder.
Images: Helen Sloan/courtesy of HBO; Giphy (7)
