Game of Thrones Season Preview MAILBAG

Hey folks. A few weeks ago on Twitter (@CharlieWisco if you want to follow but no pressure) I asked people to DM me their best Game of Thrones questions. There were some really good ones. Turns out the type of people who spend a lot of time alone reading blogs and Reddit theory threads and social media are the same people who enjoy a medieval fantasy series focused on ice zombies and dragons. Who would’ve guessed?! Here are the questions (also ICYMI the official Thrones preview MegaBlog was written yesterday, so please check that out as well unless you don’t have the time or don’t feel like it in which case you should proceed with your life as normal.)

Brendan asks: I’ll address the Gendry theories. Any chance Jon Snow goes all humble again and uses Gendry as sort of a figurehead for the right to the throne? His 1-parent claim is about as strong as Jon and Dany’s. Then again he could just die and none of this matters. Just a thought.

To be honest, I hope not. Ever since we last saw Gendry row, row, rowing his boat gently away from the bloody power struggle that he had no understanding of and nothing to do with, everyone has been waiting for his reappearance. But what possible significance could he have? At this point it’s been proven that “legitimate” claims to the Throne is just a polite fiction that has long since been discarded, and even if people did still care about that stuff, there are multiple actors with at least if not better of a claim than he does.

Now we know Gendry is returning this season in some capacity, but in the super soft and lame part of me that cares about the fate of fictional characters, I hope it’s for a brief reunion with Arya then he gets out of dodgs or something like that.  I just like the idea of Gendry getting away. The great message of Game of Thrones is that nobody really wins: you either die getting what you want, or you get what you want but it costs you everything in the process. Not one single person except Dany is currently in a better spot than when they started on the opening episode. Gendry can be the sorta, kinda exception, the one who got sucked into the mess but was able to survive and escape it. He even got laid by a smoke priestess and made a few friends along the way! Tough to argue he didn’t make it out as well as he really could have . I’m happy for him, I’d like the show to keep it that way.

W.M. asks: Is Euron the GoT equivalent of a college football trap game? Everyone underestimates him or undervalues him.

I like this. The Ironmen basically the MACtion of Game of Thrones, a degenerate, mostly unskilled horde with a ton of grit and drive to prove they can compete with the Big 10 of Westeros, the North. I personally do not think Euron will have a huge role in the ultimate outcome of Game of Thrones because he’s still relatively new and with less than 20 episodes of the show remaining, in order to have a neat ending this is when you have to start shedding plot elements, not adding them. But maybe I’m just underestimating him as well and he’ll be able to tip the balance of the Cersei/Dany inevitable showdown in one direction or the other, depending on which side he lands on.

Danielle (sup?) asks: Do you think we get a War of Five Kings 2.0 with Dany, Jon, Cersei, Euron, Ellaria etc.? If so, what wartime pairings do you expect-Dany/Jon, Euron/Ellaria? Cersei and who? Seems like the pairing of opposites (fire and ice) is inevitable.

War of the Five Queens perhaps? With Dany, Sansa, Ellaria, Yara and Cersei? It’s a fun theory, but I find it unlikely. I think the scale of the War of the Five Kings isn’t something that can happen again for the show simply because there hasn’t been enough time to recover from that war to have another one. Season Five was the weakest season in terms of fun and watch-ability, but did an excellent job at capturing the effects of a continent decimated by war. I don’t think enough time has passed for Westeros to have another similarly huge civil war or enough time left in the show to address a war AND all the other plot lines that need to be tied up adequately.

As for the pairings, the Jon Snow/Dany seems inevitable. They have the common Targaryean heritage, a similar sense of democratic duty and humanism, they both are from mothers who died in childbirth, they were marginalized by their circumstances most of their life and found redemption in leadership and so on and so forth. Dany and Jon uniting someday to kick White Walker ass with dragon breath is the most logical and obvious conclusion to Game of Thrones. That’s exactly why I think it won’t happen, at least not in the way we’d fully expect.

Dan asks: Any predictions for why Jon takes the fight to the White Walkers? Because Bran crossing the wall allowed them passage maybe?

Jon Snow might be a wight-killing, kiss-stealing, cold-blooded stud, but as his foolish attempt to rescue Rickon in the Battle of the Bastards proved, he isn’t a master strategist (although not worse than Rickon, learn to run in a zig-zag or throw in a few juke moves one time for me man.) Why would he go North of the Wall instead of wait for the Walkers to come to him? Maybe something compromised the magic in the Wall keeping out the undead (Bran has been touched by a White Walker). Maybe Jon’s unaware of that magic in the first place. Maybe Jon is just being stupid. I find all of these scenarios equally likely.

Victoria (sup?) asks: Hello! I’ve watched the GoT trailer 7 times already. Things are very lit. So question/theory. I’m not sure how familiar you are with the Tyrion theory with him being half Lannister/half Targaryen. Mom maybe had an affair when Targaryens were on the throne and her dying in childbirth fits the “blood of the dragon” narrative. And the countless amount of dragon/Tyrion moments whether it was him talking about loving them or them being very calm around him. Anyways! How likely do you think this theory is true/going to be shown on the show?

Tyrion very well could be a Targaryen knowing the Mad King’s budding hatred for Tywin yet affinity for his wife. Tyrion’s physical disfigurement could also then be traced to the mental and physical degradation of Aerys and provide him yet another link to the often-predicted triumvirate between him, Jon and Dany (the parallels between the three, both subtle and obvious, are seemingly endless). It’s an easy thing to predict.

HOWEVER, Tywin did say the words, literally verbatism “You are my son” to Tyrion when expressing disgust for why he didn’t just drown him in the season. This can be taken two ways. At surface value, that Tyrion is Tywin’s son. But also maybe in a spiteful, “you are my son because I can’t prove or admit otherwise” sense? The fact Tywin was seemingly going to let Tyrion die (although we’ll never fully know) might hint that he discovered some information that Tyrion wasn’t truly his blood however? There is endless, seemingly contradictory evidence to speculate on when it comes to Tywin’s words and actions. Quite a tough nut to crack, that one.

Alex asks: So I think in both trailers Arya is seen on horseback. Any idea where she is heading/what her next goal is?

What’s Arya’s next goal? Uhhh, I have an idea…

Arya is about to smoke fools! I think it’s fair to say she’s headed North based on the warm clothing she was wearing in the released set photos from HBO, but then again #WinterIsHere so she could theoretically be anywhere. Most of the names of people she wants dead are in Kings Landing, but my money would be she goes North to try to assist Sansa and Jon.

Ryan asks: Do you agree that the season will end with the wall coming down? If not what are you thinking?

The Wall falling is a popular theory but still one I’d be shocked to see happen. The Wall has withstood for thousands of years, for it to fall something truly spectacular would have to happen. While I think last season ending with Dany crossing the sea with her fleet of dragons, advisors and warriors was fairly obviously going to happen from the outset (I mean they HAD to pull the pin out of that grenade at some point), I don’t believe there’s a slam dunk ending we can predict to this season at this point. We have to watch the show instead of basically writing the script on Reddit like a bunch of normal losers, unfortunately.

Shannon (sup?) asks: Do you think Arya crosses paths with Melisandre this season and does she kill her? Who else on her list does Arya knock off? Arya and Nymeria have to have a reunion right? Also, do you think there’s a possible Lady Stoneheart appearance (for book readers)?

I think Arya crossing plans with Melisandre as the Lady In Red prophesized when they last met is likely. Would she kill her? She would definitely try, but it might not be as easy as one thinks, who knows what tricks Mel could have up her sleeve? I mean remember when she [SENTENCE REDACTED BECAUSE THIS BLOG IS BEING PUBLISHED AT LUNCHTIME AND MOST OF YOU ARE EATING]. Nymeria I would guess is long gone, along with the rest of the direwolves save for Ghost. I believe if Lady Stoneheart were to make an appearance it would’ve happened already.

Taylor (sup) asks: Who’s going to kill Littlefinger this season? Sansa? Arya? Me?

Sansa will be the death of Littlefinger is one way or another, but will find a way to have him ripped apart by his own devices e.g. being letting Ramsay be torn apart by his own hounds. Ordering a hit on him from Arya would be delicious.

Tank asks: What two story lines would you like to see done as spin-offs?

I hope HBO gives us 12 Game of Thrones spinoffs for us to grab, melt down and inject directly into our veins. If I had to pick two however I would want to see the full Robert’s Rebellion and something in Essos, perhaps the Doom of Valaryia if the Faceless Men had anything to do with it like some have hypothesized.

Ethan asks: Question, what are your thoughts on the chances of Bran warging into one of Dany’s dragons? The Three-Eyed Raven did say he will fly and he’s warged into animals before.

Bran is going to have a bigger and bigger role in the show with every passing episode, there’s no doubt about that. Him warging into a dragon would be crazy but difficult given their superior intelligence (remember how hard it was for him just to warg into Hodor?) As far as I know, there is no recorded instance of anyone in Westeros lore being able to warg into a dragon, but that doesn’t necessarily mean it’s not possible. Dream on if it makes you happy.

Scott asks: Hey man, was wondering who you might think the Night King is? I’ve seen a few things leading to Bran Stark crazy enough. Also-do you think Dany might be Azor Ahai? She was reborn through fire, had to kill her significant other, and she’s going to be fighting the walkers soon enough.

The Night King clearly has some connection to the Wall, making me think it was a former Lord Commander of the Night’s Watch. While there is a whole literature to be read online about a former Ranger who slept with a White Walker lover, his Stark heritage and clues about the Night King’s identity, 99.99% of the information derives from the books. As far as the show is concerned, we simply don’t know enough about the deeply mysterious White Walkers to understand them or their origins. I expect we’ll be educated by Sam and Bran soon enough.

As for Dany being Azor Ahai? Either her, or Jon, or both. Probably.

Brandt (that’s basically a GOT name in itself) asks: Oh here’s another one. Do any Lannisters make it out of this season?

I expect every Lannister to make it out this season and into the next because GOT has already proved that nobody is safe but HBO is going to want it’s biggest stars all involved next year in what is going to be the most anticipated season of TV in the history of the network. Then again, right when you start to think everyone is safe is precisely the moment when Thrones will snatch one of them away from us. If one were to die I would guess Cersei by the sword of Jaime (an inevitable fatal attraction from the first scene they were in). If I were to guess one of them was going to be safe, I’d say for sure Tyrion.

Well I think that’s quite enough from me. Twitter is @CharlieWisco. Enjoy the show. I know I will.