Where does Game of Thrones season 8 begin and end?

2024 Author: Malcolm Clapton | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-17 03:44

Filming facts and fan theories about who will win and who will die. Caution: Spoilers!

The last season of the main fantasy series of our time starts on April 14, and everyone who has been following the development of events for several years will be able to finally find out the denouement. There will be six episodes in the season, in no way inferior to full-length films, and most of the episodes will last more than an hour.

The actors of the series claim that the ending will be especially emotional. In particular, Sophie Turner, the performer of the role of Sansa Stark, says that the final of the show is expected to be bloody and rich in violent scenes, for which "Game of Thrones" has always been famous. And Emilia Clarke (Daenerys Targaryen) admitted that, after reading the script, she wandered around London for three hours in complete prostration: she was so amazed.

The first episode was recently leaked to YouTube. Soon the material was removed, but the main events can be judged by the retellings of those who had time to watch it. Whether or not to take Reddit and Twitter commentators at their word and read spoilers at all is up to you. We only note that, as one would expect from the opening episode, large-scale military actions are still being prepared there and most of the time is devoted to the relations of the heroes.

How season 7 ended

Who wins the battle for power

Cersei Lannister eradicated most of her enemies by blowing up the sept with her political opponents Tyrells and religious fanatics, Sparrows. However, the queen faced a severe blow: her son Tommen, unable to bear the incident, committed suicide by stepping out of the window. Cersei even managed to quarrel with her own brother Jaime, who went north to oppose the army of the dead. And Euron Greyjoy, who had previously asked for Cersei's hand, only seeing the dead wight, decided to sit out on the islands and left.

Jon Snow teamed up with Daenerys, but it is clear that it is not only about politics, but also about love. John's allies, including his sisters, are unlikely to welcome this turn of events, since they want to see the North independent. On the side of John and Daenerys, Tyrion Lannister remains, who went against his brother and sister, and if warm feelings do not connect him with Cersei, then it is clearly not easy for him to be on opposite sides of the barricades with Jaime. Varys also gave Daenerys advice. True, in his opinion, power belongs to the people, and, probably, we will learn a little more about the motives of one of the most mysterious characters later.

It seems that everyone but Cersei has recognized the need to unite in the face of a common danger. However, it is naive to believe that everyone has abandoned the struggle for power and become good friends.

In addition to the two rival queens and the King of the North, there is another possible contender for the iron throne: do not forget about the blacksmith Gendry. As the bastard of King Robert Baratheon and the last surviving Baratheon, he too may be entitled to rule. In the seventh season finale, Gendry traveled beyond the Wall with Jon Snow, Jorah Mormont, the Wildlings, and the Bannerless Brotherhood, and managed to save his comrades besieged by the White Walkers by running for help.

Meanwhile, there is a confrontation because of the throne of the Iron Islands: Yara Greyjoy hoped to take it, but was captured by her uncle Euron.

What the King of the Night is about to do

In the finale of the seventh season, the squad that went beyond the Wall to get the wight managed to escape (only the priest of the Lord of Light Toros from the World did not survive). Daenerys came to their aid with her dragons. However, during the battle, one of them, Viserion, died. The King of the Night resurrected him, and now the leader of the dead has his own dragon.

The season ends with the dragon-wycht melting part of the Wall with its blue flame. The Eastern Watch fell, and the army of the dead went on the offensive, moving to the lands of the people along the Northern Mountains, that is, in the direction of Winterfell. Along the way, the dead can destroy other possessions of the houses of the North: the Amber castle (Ned Amber appears at the meeting of lords in the seventh season and swears allegiance to the Starks) and Dreadforth, the Bolton family nest (defeated after the battle of the bastards).

It is difficult to say what exactly the King of the Night wants: so far he has not aspired to communicate with people. It seems that he simply intends to destroy everyone in his path, making the dead soldiers of his army. And he has no plans to stop.

For a refresher on other seasons, watch this 15-minute video.

What will happen in season 8: facts and theories

Big battles

What will definitely show is several big battles, including a grand final one. According to the directors, the scale of future battles exceeds anything we've seen in the series before, including the Battle of Blackwater and the Battle of the Bastards. So if battle scenes evoke more emotions in you than love passions, prepare handkerchiefs. The first big battle we will be shown is likely to take place at the walls of Winterfell.

Birth of a child

There is also a possibility that a child will be born who will inherit the world of people, but whose it will be is a big question.

Cersei at the end of the seventh season confirms her pregnancy with Jaime, although a prophecy that was made to her many years ago says that she will have three children and everyone will die (and so it happened). Whether the fourth child is destined to be born is unclear. In the trailer, Cersei cries and drinks. It can be assumed that it was a miscarriage that could have brought her to such a state.

A very creepy fan theory says that it is Cersei who will end the war with the White Walkers, sacrificing a child to the King of the Night. Although given how fanatically she loves her children, this is hard to believe.

The love line of Jon Snow and Daenerys can also lead to a new life. True, the representative of the Targaryen clan considers herself sterile. According to the prophecy, she will be able to conceive a child when "the sun rises in the west and sets in the east, when the seas and rivers dry up, when the mountains fly in the wind like leaves." Perhaps these words of the witch are just a poetic version of the expression "when the cancer on the mountain whistles" (that is, never), but such cataclysms will soon happen in Westeros that apocalyptic visions may become true. In the end, Jon Snow returned from the afterlife, so perhaps he can overcome the curse.

By the way, this hypothetical child will also be the result of incest. At the end of the seventh season, it was confirmed that he is Daenerys' nephew. On the other hand, when did the Targaryens stop being closely related?

Death of characters

"Game of Thrones" never gave the heroes immunity from death, but the creators of the show still had favorites. But now the story ends, and really everyone can die. Here are speculations about some of the deaths.

Daenerys

The mother of dragons has a chance of dying if Jon Snow turns out to be Azor Ahai. According to legend, the ancient hero, who once conquered the cold from the north, tempered his sword in blood from the heart of his beloved Nissa-Nissa. So it's not safe to be Jon Snow's girlfriend.

Cersei

According to the same prophecy, she would die when the Valonkar, which means "little brother" in Valyrian, wraps around her neck. That is, both Tyrion and Jaime can become the killer. However, "valonkar" can still mean "younger blood" - this is what Cersei always believed that it was about a brother. The youngest of her kind is Arya Stark, who has long put Cersei on her "execution list". Or maybe it's about Cersei's own youngest child and she will die in childbirth?

Jaime

Lannister decided to oppose the White Walkers, and, quite possibly, this campaign will be his last. Another likely reason for Cersei's tears over the goblet of wine shown in the trailer is bad news from the north.

Bran Stark

Can sacrifice himself by grappling with the King of the Night one-on-one. It seems that the three-eyed raven is now the only character who can do something like that. True, according to a very popular theory, Bran Stark is the King of the Night, entangled in a time loop. The performer of the role of Bran, Isaac Hempstead-Wright, refutes this conjecture, calling it too obvious. Maybe he's just tired of fans spamming this assumption on his Instagram.

Arya Stark

The girl is an excellent assassin, but in Braavos she was trained for covert operations, and not for big battles. So in battle she may not be lucky. And according to one theory, there is no more Arya Stark. Under her guise, Tramp (her mentor from the Black and White House), Yaken Hgar, or even the Many-Faced God himself may be hiding.

Theon Greyjoy

He managed to free himself from one psychopath who tortured him, and now he confronts another - his own uncle Euron. If Theon is destined to die, then perhaps he will be allowed to do it with dignity - opposing the tormentor, protecting Yara and finally conquering his own fears.

Gray Worm

The Gray Worm and Missandei are in great danger: they kiss very romantic and doomed in the trailer. Knowing the bloodlust of the creators of the show, this is a sign of trouble. When Ellaria Sand kissed Oberyn Martell just as passionately before the fight, it all ended with squeezed eyes.

Varys

Melisandre told Varys that it was his destiny to die in Westeros. However, she is sure that the same fate awaits her.

But Jon Snow is rarely named as a candidate for death. Probably, the fact is that once we already worried about him and the second time the effect will not be the same. Also in the list of characters who are lucky to survive, the common favorite of Tyrion and Sansa Stark most often falls. She hasn't gotten a normal romance line yet. Maybe in the last season she will finally be lucky enough to marry for love.

Epic finale

The most popular happy end theory about who will ascend the iron throne says that it will be a Targaryen couple - Jon Snow and Daenerys, who will then pass the throne on to their children. But can everything be so cloudless?

If Cersei becomes the queen, it will mean that she will somehow destroy her opponents and defeat the huge armies of Daenerys. The only way to do this is to team up with the Night King and become his queen.

But if both the Targaryens and Lannisters die, Gendry can ascend to the throne, having received the support of the common people. Considering that there is a clear sympathy between him and Arya, in this version she has a chance to become his wife, and their union will unite the northern and southern lands. In addition, according to some assumptions, Gendry is Azor Ahai and he will have to defeat the King of the Night with a fiery sword. And then it's time to start worrying about whether he will have to sacrifice Arya.

However, there is also a very gloomy situation in which none of the people will survive and the King of the Night will win. A new teaser is trying to hint at this, in which scenes of destruction are shown, and the whole world is captured by the cold.

In addition, a poster was posted on the official Twitter account of the series, on which all the main characters appear dead, literally frozen into the semblance of an iron throne.

We don't know anything about the possible context, but if in the season finale it is shown how the iron throne collapses or melts, it will definitely look epic. After all, this mountain of iron has already hurt enough characters.

Will we be disappointed

Judging by the trailers, the announced budgets and the comments of the people involved in the project, the quality of the production has only increased. So there is no need to worry about this part: the shooting, visual effects, costumes, music and the general atmosphere should be impressive.

The situation is more complicated with the originality of the plot. This is the third season based on George Martin's drafts for the unfinished book. Nevertheless, Martin himself is now not taking an active part in the work. The series has become much more widespread. His tone has changed: now the focus is not more on politics, but on spectacular scenes and action. Because of this, logic suffers: the heroes "teleport", moving between locations much faster than the distances of Westeros would allow, perform unmotivated actions for the sake of beautiful shots or die stupidly, even if they previously showed themselves as smart and calculating people.

With thousands of people around the world making theories and guesses, it’s not easy for a small group of screenwriters to invent something that no one else has thought of.

On the contrary, there is a possibility that the creators analyze fan theories and choose the best ones to adapt. It can be assumed that the final plot moves will be exciting, but expected enough to please all viewers.

However, whatever is shown to us, it is "Game of Thrones" that will forever remain in history as a show that changed the attitude towards fantasy on television and the TV series as such.