Game of Thrones season 8 will bring the final chapter of the series to the fore, with all lose ends being tied up (hopefully). There are so many things that we all wish would happen, and so many possibilities that the theories about the end are endless! So, without further ado, let’s take a look at all the possible endings of Game of Thrones, including hard core theories and wishful thinking!
1.Arya Stark will die
Arya Stark has been undoubtedly proven to be an extremely effective assassin. We have seen her commit countless murders and have cheered her on with every face she wore. Which is why this character sometimes feels like a red herring. Arya’s death has been foreshadowed in the first book, and we know how big a role foreshadowing plays in this series.
Here’s a line from the first book (in a Jon POV chapter) – “You had best run back to your room, little sister. Septa Mordane will surely be lurking. The longer you hide, the sterner the penance. You’ll be sewing all through winter. When the spring thaw comes, they will find your body with a needle still locked tight between your frozen fingers.”
Considering that Arya’s sword is called Needle, it does seem likely that Arya will be fighting all winter and may even be lost beyond the wall. Eventually, her body will be discovered when the snow begins to thaw.
There is another line from a Jon POV chapter from the first book – “I’m walking down this long empty hall. My voice echoes all around, but no one answers, so I walk faster, opening doors, shouting names. I don’t even know who I’m looking for. Most nights it’s my father, but sometimes it’s Robb instead, or my little sister Arya, or my uncle.”
Note that everyone he has mentioned is dead (though Benjen’s status is debatable, admittedly). If one is to consider this line as a foreshadowing tool, then perhaps Arya will be dead soon.
2. Sansa will be Queen
We had mentioned in an earlier article how we thought Sansa may just end up sitting on the Iron Throne, fulfilling Cersei’s prophecy in an unexpected way. Maggy the Frog tells Cersei that she will be a queen until a younger, more beautiful one takes her place. Cersei had originally thought this prophecy referred to
G.R.R. Martin had once said that everything that fans needed to know about the ending had already been set up in the first book of the series. If that is the case, we do have a line from Sansa’s POV chapter that hints at her future status of being a Queen – “She was a Stark of Winterfell, a noble lady, and someday she would be a queen.”
This theory is further strengthened by the fact that her husband, Tyrion Lannister, also had a similar first introduction in the book. His POV chapter included this line – “When he opened the door, the light from within drew his shadow clear across the yard, and for just a moment Tyrion Lannister stood tall as a king.” It would bring further depth into the repercussions of their marriage. Since we did mention the books, it is also worth mentioning that Sansa often thinks of Tyrion throughout her journey, and has fond memories of him.
As we have already seen this character grow more powerful with each season, ruling the realm seems to be a fitting end for her, since being queen is something she had desired since the very beginning.
3. Not all White Walkers Will Die
It does not seem likely that G.R.R. Martin would write an ending that is totally black and white. The mass killing of an entire species probable is not what is going to happen. Rather, like the First Men and the Children of the Forest, our heroes may succeed in driving away the White Walkers, rather than killing them all.
The very existence of the White Walkers brings forth the question – why now? These guys haven’t been seen for more than 1000 years, and we don’t really know why they’ve suddenly begun to wage war against the humans. If we go back to the reason for their creation, it was to curb the First Men, who outnumbered the Children of the Forest and cut down trees to create space for themselves. What if the White Walkers are simply a form of culling the species? Perhaps they’ve come in because the humans are using way too many of the resources present on the land, and it is time to put a dent in the population. Considering the fact that most citizens of Westeros are perpetually on the brink of starving, this could very well be the case.
Irrespective of why they exist though, it does not seem too likely that each and every one of them will die. We may see the Night King defeated, but that can occur in many ways that do not necessarily involve death.
4. Jon will end up on the Throne
This one obviously contradicts the theory about Sansa ending up on the throne (although there are many fan theories that suggest that a Jon/Sansa wedding is imminent). If we think about his lineage and the fact that he has proven himself to be a great leader, it does seem likely that Jon will make a good king. However, this may not really happen as Game of Thrones rarely offers us happy endings.
As Game of Thrones uses a lot of foreshadowing in the form of past legends and stories, Jon’s destiny may run parallel to the first Aegon Targeryen (Jon’s real name is also supposed to be Aegon). Aegon is often referred to as the man who successfully unified the seven Kingdoms (something that is long overdue in current time too). Moreover, the conqueror is also assisted by his two sisters, which could be the series’ way of hinting that both, Sansa and Arya will play a huge role in Jon’s ascension to the throne.
Interestingly, Aegon Targeryen was a part of a smaller house of Valyria. Valyria was ruled by silver haired people who could control dragons and was one of the greatest kingdoms in the world, until its sudden doom. The only members of this race who survived were the Targaryens. They went on to unify westeros. Isn’t something similar happening in recent history too? The Targeyen dynasty was a formidable one, until it met its doom. In Valyria, the families died due to 14 volcanoes erupting. In Westeros, an indirect reason for their death was Mad King Aerys’s obsession with wild fyre. Now, Jon and Dany are the only surviving members and one of them must re-establish rule for the good of the realm. Who will it be? Jon. Because…
5. Daenerys Targeryen Will Die
As we mentioned earlier, Game of Thrones is really big on foreshadowing. We get glimpses of possible futures in the form of storytelling, prophecies and dreams and in terms of Dany’s future, we already have seen quite a bit of it.
In Season 2, Daenerys Targeryen visits the House of the Undying while looking for her dragons. In one of the rooms, she is exposed to a series of visions about the future. She finds herself standing in the Red Keep, and sees that bits of the ceiling have been blown in. She spots the throne in the distance and walks towards it, only to see that it is covered in snow. SNOW! Okay, you may think that this is just a random vision. However, in the books, Dany sees a celebratory party filled with corpses holding cups and forks. She also sees a King with a wolf’s head. This clearly foreshadowed the red wedding, and because this vision came true, many fans believe that the visions from the show are true too.
Dany extends her arm out to touch the throne but before she can reach it, she is distracted by a child’s cry. She walks out of the Red Keep to find herself at the wall (which can be another hint towards Jon). Spotting something in the distance, she walks towards it and the camera reveals that she has reached a tent. When she enters it, the weather outside changes to summer, very different from the stormy snow at the wall. She sees Khal Drogo and her son in the tent, waiting for her. They reunite and speculate whether they are in the Night Lands or just dreaming. After a point, she leaves.
This indicates that Dany may just come very close to getting the Iron Throne, but will die right before she can do so. Her walking outside the wall could indicate that she was walking away to a place where humans don’t willingly go – death. Another factor that hints at this is the fact that we as viewers tend to see the space beyond the wall as the land of the Dead (as that is where the White Walkers are). These hints seem quite strong and we can expect the mother of dragons to die, leaving her dragons for Jon Snow to inherit.
Conversely, the image of the Iron Throne being covered in snow may also be a hint that to get to the Iron Throne, she must marry Jon Snow. But, the previous theory seems a little bit more likely due to the repeated nods towards death.
6. All men must die
What if Valar Morghulis isn’t just a catchy saying that hails from Braavos? What if it is a prophecy handed down to the house of Black and White from the Many Faced God Himself? We know that all men must die, and all men must serve. Can this possibly mean that all the men fighting for the throne will ultimately die, leaving the women in charge of the realm? The latter part of the saying comes true if you think of all the other men in the realm ultimately serving their Queen and working towards a better future. As the city of Braavos and the Faceless Men have been given so much importance in the show their role ending with Arya Stark leaving them seems like a puny, undeserving way to wrap up their story line.
The Faceless Men hail from Valyria where the first Faceless Man was a slave (thus, all men must serve) who gave the gift of death to another slave who was starving. It is believed that the Faceless Man also went on to destroy Valyria by causing all 14 volcanoes to erupt at the same time. He then set up his establishment in Braavos and went on to train other potential assassins until the group became a formidable one. However, the first Faceless Man did not complete his task. There was a family from Valyria that survived – the Targeryens. Could the Faceless Men be behind the events in the realm and the eventual extinction of this house? Or are they rooting for the eventual death of all the potential kings, in order to reset everything and give Westeros a chance to start over?
We’ll find out soon, starting 9 th April!