The Long Night Begins

And now we wait. That was all I could think as I tried to calm down and watch the closing credits. The penultimate season of Game of Thrones is in the books, and while it might not have been all we’d hoped for, it was never dull. We have just six episodes left, and plenty of big moments still to come. The question is when that season will come.

All we know for sure is production begins in October, and the show is “likely” not to return until 2019. It’s gonna be a long 18 months for fans. But at the same time, I’m not sure I want this ride to end, especially after an emotional and revelatory season like the one we just had. But enough about the future (at least for now), and on to the present.

All season I’ve recapped episodes done a deep dive on what we saw and what stood out to me. Has this been the best Game of Thrones season? No. Has it been a good season? I say yes, and I know that’s controversial. I, like many, am a super fan that borders on obsessive in theorizing, reading and prepping for what’s to come. I think when you’re at that level, there is so much you want to see achieved that sometimes the show doesn’t feel like it delivers. But this show has to serve fans across the spectrum of knowledge, and given that I’m more prone to overlook things that don’t serve my particular desires. So while some will be frustrated by the progress in this season and in the way big pieces were revealed, I enjoyed this season and the finale. That might be a hot take, but it’s my take.

Now let’s explore why.

Predictions in Review

Each week I’ve offered some fearless predictions. I did the same for the finale, and it’s time to check back and see what was right and what was wrong.

• The Hound (Rory McCann) and The Mountain (Hafþór Júlíus Björnsson) will cross paths. So many people thought we’d see the Clegane Bowl in the finale, with the brothers battling. I didn’t think that battle would happen, just that they would cross paths and set something up. That, essentially, happened. The Hound made it clear a bigger battle is coming. 

• Jamie (Nikolaj Coster-Waldau) and Cersei (Lena Headey) will survive to see season eight. Both Cersei and Jamie are, indeed, still alive at the close of the finale. But we also saw some movement toward a long-held theory that Jamie would be the one to get her in the end. She finally pushed him too far, and we left season seven with Jamie riding north alone, perhaps to reunite with his brother, Tyrion (Peter Dinkledge). Jamie has long lamented that people don’t believe he is honorable and keeps his word. That idea has frequently been in conflict with his love for Cersei, and it was a question of when it was going to happen. We got that in the finale. Cersei has tried to push and cajole Jamie into abandoning his stances for seasons, and often it’s worked. It didn’t this time.

• The wall crumbles. That climactic final scene paid this off. To be fair, I sort of thought the whole wall would come down, and it was really just a corner and Eastwatch. But I think this still counts. The better question is whether Tormund (Kristofer Hivju) and Beric (Richard Dormer) survived. (For the record, I think they did. I don’t think the show would kill them, especially Tormund, without us seeing it.)

• Littlefinger (Aidan Gillen) meets his end. This happened, too. If you follow me on the Fantasy Life App, in our Game of Thrones chat I expounded on this. From all we’ve seen of Arya (Maisie Williams) and her Faceless Men training, it was galling to believe that she was being played by Littlefinger this badly. It also seemed weird that she and Sansa (Sofie Turner) could be so easily set at odds. I was certain that Arya would, in the end, kill Littlefinger. And that happened, but not in the way I expected. And while the ending was satisfying, there is an implication in that resolution that the rift between Sansa and Arya was real. That is troubling to me, even if they got it right in the end. It’s also a little bummer that Littlefinger’s death felt so telegraphed and didn’t feel quite as satisfying as I’d hoped. But that is a minor quibble that, as I said above, based probably on how obsessive I and others are about this story.

There’s one more prediction, so let’s get to that here.

A New King in the Realm

My final prediction (combined here for clarity) was that we’d get a Stark reunion (Jon (Kit Harrington), Arya, Sansa and Bran (Isaac Hempstead Wright)) and that Jon would find out who his real parents were. Again, if you follow me on the Fantasy Life App, I further predicted that Sam (John Bradley) would make it back to Winterfell, too, and would reveal the contents of that letter that Gilly (Hannah Murray) found a few weeks back. Well, this is both a hit and a big miss (especially for Gilly fans).

I feel like the show teased us for a majority of season seven. Bran got to Winterfell in episode three. Arya got there in episode four. And we had four episodes for Jon to return and complete the reunion and… it never happened. Jon’s on his way, with his new lady love, Daenerys (Emilia Clarke), who happens to be his aunt. But he doesn’t know that, and he still hasn’t seen his “family.”

This might be more of a personal qualm. One of my favorite moments of the entire season was when Hot Pie (Ben Hawkey) told Arya that her brother, Jon, was King in the North and ruling Winterfell. There was a look of unbridled joy on her face. And I remember what that relationship with Jon and Arya, and Jon and Bran meant to the show. So it’s a little bummer that we haven’t seen that reunion.

But I had speculated that Jon and Daenerys would expand their relationship before he learned the truth, and that certainly happened. And I guessed we’d get the truth of his parentage, and his claim to the throne spelled out in the finale, and that happened. Sam even made it back and too credit for Gilly’s discovery. But there was one thing missing — Jon.

Once again, it feels like Jon is the only person that doesn’t know Ned Stark (Sean Bean) isn’t his father. Still, that sequence with Bran and Sam was thrilling. The flashback was thrilling. Listening to Bran spell it out and give us Jon’s real name — Aegon Targaryen — all worked for me. I got chills and, as my wife can attest, could no longer stay seated. I spent the rest of the episode pacing and pumping my fist, then pacing again as the wall came down.

So while I was right about a big rock (the full truth would be known) I was wrong about the circumstances (Jon still doesn’t know and he didn’t reunite with his family). My guess would be that HAS to happen in the premier of season eight, whenever that takes place. And when it does, it’s going to be a game-changing moment.

Plot Points

If you’ve spent any time reading these recaps, you know I’m a softie at heart. Therefore, I can’t leave this season without looking at a few of the moments in this episode that gave us quiet, character building beats.

• After their initial reunion, we haven’t had a lot of great Arya-Sansa moments. But these are characters who’ve grown and endured a lot, and they need each other. They are at their best when they can use their unique skills in common mission. We got that in the resolution with Littlefinger, but more importantly I loved their final conversation on the wall. Especially the use of the line that was so much a part of marketing season seven, “the lone wolf dies but the pack survives.” They need to be a Wolfpack from here on out, and I think they will be.

• What about Bronn (Jerome Flynn)? He had a great exchange with Jamie to begin the episode, then another good one with Tyrion. Then he got some bro time with Podrick (Daniel Portman). But when Jamie left, he left alone. That left me to wonder where Bronn is and what his fate will be in the final season. (It’s clear from earlier this year Cersei is no fan.)

• Most people probably don’t care about Theon (Alfie Allen), or his redemption story. And, to be honest, I didn’t think I cared much, either. But when he and Jon had their exchange at Dragonstone, it moved me. In fact, it might have been the most emotional moment of the finale for me. In part that’s because I always find deep beauty in the act of forgiveness. And consider where we started with these two, in episode four of this season, when Jon looked ready to kill Theon, and for good reason. So when they crossed paths here, I wasn’t sure what to expect. But Jon’s offering of forgiveness and his speech about Ned always being a part of them was beautiful. In some ways it reminded me of that Arya scene I loved so much. No matter what Theon has done, no matter how far he’s fallen, there is still time for him to turn it around. And, again, many may not care about that, but to me it was beautiful, and it’s one of the reasons I love the depth of character and writing on this show.

The Wars to Come

I wrap up every recap with predictions, and this will be no different. But here are my fearless predictions about what we’ll see in the final season. Bookmark this so that in 18–24 months you can see if this turned out right…

• Theon will find redemption through self-sacrifice. Starting with the one you care the least about here, but I feel like this has been coming. I think he will succeed in saving Yara (Gemma Whelan), but at the cost of his life. I feel like this is why he keeps hanging around, and this is what we will see.

• Clegane Bowl will happen. And I think The Hound will put an end to The Mountain. Book it.

• Cersei will fall, but not in a way we expect. I get the Jamie theory, and it feels plausible, but I somehow feel like Arya will be involved. Her whole life’s work has pointed to this moment.

• Jamie will find ultimate redemption. Much like Luke Skywalker felt about his father, I feel like there’s still good in Jamie, and it fights with his devotion to his sister. Good seemed to win out in the finale, and I think it will continue to win out in the final season.

• Daenerys will fall. This might be my most controversial prediction, and there’s a part of me that hopes I’m wrong. But I have this feeling that in a show and story that has constantly taken a left turn when you thought we were headed right, this is one last big boulder to fall. I think she will fall in the war with the Night King.

• Jon, or is it Aegon, will rule the Seven Kingdoms. Much of the talk of this show has been about “breaking the wheel” and changing the game. What could be more game-changing than Jon Snow as the rightful kind of Westeros. He never sought power, and in fact doesn’t even want it. That’s what makes him an ideal choice. He’s always put the good of the people charged to his protection (and in the case of the Wildlings, even those he doesn’t owe anything to) ahead of everything, including his own happiness and well being. That is a leader, or at least the kind of leader we’d all like to follow. Jon isn’t like Daenerys, Cersei, Robert Baratheon or even Stannis, all those who’ve claimed or fought for the throne. And that is why he’ll be the last one standing. He is, quite literally, a “Song of Ice and Fire.”

That’s it for this week. Have thoughts, a favorite scene or predictions? Hit me up in the comments.