Game of Thrones: The Final Season

Here we go, so we’re having the final season finally. As usual I’ll make some predictions:

– A lot of circular stuff. Martin is a big fan of this, as evidenced by what we know so far. For example, the things I expect:

None of the main Lannisters are going to make it. Circles back to the Rains of Castomere. We all like Tyrion way too much. Jaime is on the road to redemption and what greater fantasy story redemption is there than self-sacrifice? He’ll die to protect someone. Brienne maybe, given their weird friendship/flirtship. Cersei cannot survive, and my guess for full circle-tude is that Arya kills her wearing Jaime’s face.

Cleganebowl: the ultimate circle for Sandor is that he kills his elder brother, somehow involving fire. They are killing the undead after all. I’m not sure if Sandor survives the encounter.

Tormund and Brienne end up together; Jaime dying guarantees that.

Jon isn’t going to like hearing the truth, and he may have to hear it from Howland Reed. He and Dany still end up together. Maybe we end up with two thrones. Or zero — does Dany break the wheel?

A lot of folk do live: Davos, Brienne, Jon, Dany, Arya, Sansa, Tormund. It’ll be more than we expect. Most of them will have some sort of full circle reason or purpose for living.

The people win. Martin likes to throw aside tropes and painted himself into a corner doing it, but there’s no ending that doesn’t involve the people surviving. Who tells the story otherwise?

Oh, and Sam lives: he writes A History of the Song of Ice and Fire or something. He’s the GRRM Mary-Sue. He’s got to live.

The Euron/Theon/Yara storyline will be the Sand Snakes of this season. We all know how it’s going to end (c’mon, Theon dies saving Yara, duh), and we’re just going to want it to be over.

We’ll get at least one absolutely stupid twist: someone will do something that seems out of character and/or just pisses everyone off. Just watch.

I might update this as I finish skimming through the fifth and forward seasons.