There have been a lot of shows I've been scrambling to finish as the summer comes to a close. But this show... this one is perhaps the pinnacle of summer TV, maybe even TV in general! It's Game of Thrones. And as we look down the barrel towards the final season lurking somewhere around late 2018/early 2019, I want to share my take on the show thus far and some predictions on where I think it could go.
No surprises here. I loved this season. Just like how I loved the season before this. And the one before that. What can I say... it's a great show! However, I do feel like the reason for this season's greatness varied slightly from previous seasons. What I mean is that when I think Game of Thrones, I think of plot twists followed by surprising deaths from beloved characters we're not ready to say goodbye to. From losing Ned Stark at the end of season one to Cersei blowing up the Great Sept at the end of the season six... holy shit, does this show know how to rip our heart out again and again. It teaches us to be weary about the bonds we form with these characters because they could easily be gone in an instant without warning.
Then we come to season 7... what I like to refer to as the reunion special. I didn't feel this season came with as many gut-wrenching deaths and good-byes (sans Lord Baelish), but rather brought people back together. This season was filled with the moments we've been waiting years for. Tyrion returning to King's Landing. Arya reuniting with Sansa in Winterfell. Snow and Daenerys getting... well, friendly with one another.
Rather than this season chiseling away at the cast we're deeply connected to, it built them up. Maybe only to hurt us even more when the show finally finishes next season. Plus on top of that we got plenty of dragon fights in. I mean... yeah, you gotta love that.
But where is this show going exactly? I have some takes. Maybe you'll like them. Maybe you won't. But they're just some thoughts on how the show could finish as the series is brought to a close.
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So as we've seen at the end of this season, the White Walkers have broken through the Wall and are now barreling down Westeros. Seems like the apocalypse is inevitable. And like with most ends of the worlds, there will be deaths. Probably a whole lot of deaths. So... let's play game I want to call: Live, Die, Reign. Pick those characters who will survive the White Walkers assault. Those who will not. And, finally, the one person whom we'll sit on the Iron Throne (note: could easily be the Winter King for all we know).
WHO WILL LIVE?
Sansa: She'll make it out of the fall of Winterfell by the skin of her teeth only to return to Winterfell after everything is said and done to follow in her father's shoes and be the leader of the north.
Bran: Sure, he'll live. But no one will really care. After evil has been stopped, he'll return to the north with the wildings to start his own freaky cult as the Three-eyed Raven.
Samwell: Dude will make it through, no problem. Not only that, I think the big twist we'll discover is that he's the true writer behind the historical chronicles of A Tale of Fire and Ice.
Daenerys: Not only will she survive the surge of White Walkers, I think we'll be in for a surprise to find out she's with child. (Let's ignore the fact that it's a bit of an inbred child and just be happy for her.)
Brienne: She will fight, and she will fight well. Battling alongside Tormund, I believe a romance will sprout.
Davos: He'll make it through, although I think he'll have survivor's guilt as to why an old fart like him, after all he's seen and done, deserves to be among the living.
Bronn: I don't know how... but he'll pull through. He always does.
Tyrion: I don't see how Tyrion can't make it through the battle. It may not be pretty, but he'll get through. Then he'll have some quippy chat with Lord Varys commenting on humanity or the ruthlessness of war or some seemingly insightful shit about what this all meant.
WHO WILL DIE?
Cersei: Yeah, of course she's going to die. I think the only twist here is that she's going to die by her own hand, much like she was prepared to do in season 3. And much like in season 3, she'll be killing her own unborn child as well. Oof...
Jamie: If Cersei is going, I think Jamie will go to. Not because he'll die defending her honor—in fact he's already abandoned her in a sense. But with another child of his dying and the guilt of supporting Cersei for so long... I just think he wants a warrior's death to prove he can still be a proud fighter protecting something much larger than himself.
Arya: This is going to be a tough one. I imagine she'll die in the battle of Winterfell. Maybe even die defending Sansa to ensure her escape. What's going to be really heartbreaking is that the next time John sees her, it will be when she's a White Walker. Not the reunion they had in mind.
Theon: He will give his life to save his sister and kill Euron. Honestly, that's the only way his character can be redeemed at this point.
Jorah: I feel like this guy's days have always been marked. But makes sense that he may sacrifice himself to save Daenerys at some point.
The Hound: I think we'll finally see the battle of the Hound versus the Mountain. My take is the it's going to be a mutual knockout. They'll kill each other in the process. But the Hound will be able to take the Mountain down just a shade quicker, and maybe fulfilling some other worthwhile goal in the process—like saving innocent townsfolk from an evil plan hatched by Cersei.
Snow: So, this is definitely going to be the bittersweet moment of the entire series. Likely the climax of the series finale. John is already marked for death. At this point, he's just on borrowed time until he fulfills his destiny—defeating the Winter King.
WHO WILL REIGN
I think it goes without saying that Daenarys is the favorite to be the one true ruler of the Iron Throne. But if I had a dark horse in this race, my second pick would go to Samwell. Maybe the point of this show is to finally kill off the notion that only bloodlines deserve to rule. Rather, those who are intelligent and compassionate enough deserve to lead.
Regardless who reigns supreme, Tyrion will likely continue his counsel as the Hand of the King (or Queen).
Oh... and one last category.
WHO IS MY FAVORITE
Tormund. No one better fucking kill off Tormund or help me God! This man is my spirit animal.
I'm glad you liked it. I still have my concerns, but I went over those in my own post.
ReplyDeleteLet's talk about the endings we can have here. The way I see it, three categories are possible.
One is the heroic triumph. The true happy ending. Our heroes not only beat back the Night King, but completely vanquish the White Walkers for good. There's peace in the Seven Kingdoms. It cost them plenty, but the good guys have finally won. No need to rebuild the wall. No need to worry about the wildlings anymore. No need, even, to worry about political strife.
The second is the darkest timeline. The show stays true to its roots and gives us one final Red Wedding, one final Ned beheading. With Cersei undermining the Stark-Targaryen alliance, or perhaps just due to Dany's overconfidence or Jon's poor strategizing, the Walkers not only tear through Westeros, but end up sitting on the throne with three dragons at their disposal. They have won. Literally everyone in Westeros becomes a wight. Someone like Bran or Sam or Davos escapes on a boat to Essos or elsewhere in order to tell the sad, tragic tale of the fall of Westeros. The entire series becomes an allegory for how divisive in-fighting that distracts us from the bigger issues will ruin us all.
The third is the bittersweet compromise. Maybe the Walkers can never be defeated. Maybe they can only be pushed back beyond the wall for another thousand years or whatever. Maybe Jon and Dany die heroically to save Westeros, and we still end up with Cersei on the throne, still making life miserable for the little people. Maybe virtually everyone dies, leaving the Sam/Bran/Davos type survivor to tell the tale to future generations, and no one believes it.
I would absolutely love for the show to go with the second ending, staying true to itself, giving fans the finger the entire way through. "What, you thought this would have a happy ending? What show have you been watching?" But I don't think they've got the balls for it. On the other hand, credit where it's due, I think the show knows it can't go out with the first ending, the "happily ever after" story, because that's just completely unbelievable in this world. So I think we'll be left with the third option - the bittersweet compromise - and I worry that this gives the show all kinds of potential to cop out in a few places. It's a hard landing to stick! All endings are, but threading the needle just right here - gotta leave some people we hate alive and in power, gotta kill off a few more favorites - is a really difficult task.
I heard someone say on a podcast that the true "winner" of Season 7 of Game of Thrones wasn't the Night King or Cersei or "the fans" at all, but instead was George R.R. Martin himself, because now that the showrunners didn't have a blueprint already laid out for them, it became really apparent just how much of the show's good writing is coming from Martin in the first place. Does GRRM put Jaime in a position to charge headlong into the waiting maw of a dragon and somehow let him survive? No, of course not! Martin knows better.
These guys just seem like they want to wrap this show up as quickly and effortlessly as possible so they can move on to their Confederacy show.