Season 8 of “Game of Thrones” will usher in the end of one of the biggest TV shows of all time. But with a mere six episodes to go we still have a ton of questions about events, characters, and the world in general. Here’s some of the gaps we’d like for Season 8 to fill in.
How much can Bran influence time, and is he going to?
Bran can visit the past, that much is clear. He can affect the past, as we saw when he turned Wyllis into Hodor during a vision in Season 6. So how much can Bran change the past, and will he again? Fans suspect the whispers the Mad King heard years ago telling him to burn them all might have been time-traveling Bran, trying to warn him about the White Walkers. What can Bran do with time travel, and what might he already have done in the past, in the future (whew, that’s confusing)?
Why does the Night King want to kill everyone?
The only goals anyone knows about the Night King are that he wants to kill everyone, but the sources who claim that’s his motivation — mainly Jon Snow, someone who is not the Night King — are somewhat dubious. Even if the Night King’s plan begins and ends with genocide, well, why? Is he hoping to build an undead utopia? Is he mad at the First Men and the Children of the Forest because he has to exist as a silent blue ice gremlin forever and ever? It’d be cool if, ahem, an all-seeing magic kid could take a dip through the past to get some intel here.
Also Read: The Night King Needs to Become Just Another Player in the Game of Thrones (Commentary)
What really happened with Azor Ahai and the Last Hero?
There are two legends that relate directly to the coming Great War. The Last Hero was a First Man largely credited with helping beat back the White Walkers by allying with the Children of the Forest, thousands of years ago during the Long Night. Azor Ahai is the hero who supposedly banished the darkness with Lightbringer, according to Melisandre and the Red Priests. Since Bran can see anything in the past that he wants, it’d be great to see what really happened to these heroes, and where the legends and mysticism meet “Game of Thrones” reality.
What do the Night King and the Three-Eyed Raven have to do with each other?
It seems at least one other person shares at least part of Bran’s outlandish skillset: the Night King, who was able to see and touch Bran during one of his dreams in season 6, and then sense and attack the ravens Bran was using to scout the far north in season 7. That connection has led some fans to believe that Bran is the Night King, somehow, but it’s more likely that the role of the Three-Eyed Raven exists as some kind of counter to the evil of the Night King. Whatever the answer, we need to understand that relationship before the show ends.
What does it matter that Melisandre is super old?
Back in Season 6, Melisandre took off the choker she always wears while alone in her room, and transformed from actress Carice van Houten into a much older woman. So, uh, what’s the deal with that? In the books, there’s a suggestion that Melisandre can “glamor” things using magic, to make them look different than they really are. It seems she might have used a glamor on herself, anchored by the choker, to change her appearance. But the question of why remains — and what Melisandre’s true form means for her character.
What did Melisandre mean when she told Varys they both must die in this strange land?
Midway through Season 7, before she departed Dragonstone, Melisandre told Varys the pair were fated “to die in this strange land.” Both are foreigners from Essos who have had a big impact on the country. But it sounds like Melisandre has some foreknowledge, maybe stuff she’s in the flames. And Kinvara, the Red Priestess Tyrion asked for help in Meereen in Season 6, seemed to know something about the sorcerer who castrated Varys, and the voice he heard in the flames on that night. Is it all related to Varys’ fate?
What’s Melisandre’s role in the Great War?
Speaking of Melisandre’s forward-looking cryptic statements, when she leaves Dragonstone for Volantis, she tells Varys she’ll return “one last time.” She, too, will die in Westeros, she says. It makes sense that Melisandre would see herself as being a part of the Great War, which she’s been trying to prepare people for since we first met her in Season 2. But for a Red Priestess who’s been worried about the coming darkness for years, what will her role in that battle look like?
What is the Lord of Light’s deal?
For that matter, it’ll be interesting to see if the show expounds on the religion that worships R’hllor, the Lord of Light, which is by far the most tangible of any of the religions in “Game of Thrones.” Nobody who worships the Seven or the Many Faced God can claim the miracles Melisandre and Thoros have performed, repeatedly and in front of witnesses. Will we finally learn anything about the big power in the sky that might be directing the fates of everyone in Westeros? Specifically, we’d like to ask R’hllor why burning children is a thing.
How are magic, dragons and White Walkers related?
Fans have long seen a correlation between the birth of Daenerys’ dragons and the apparent return of magic to the world of “Game of Thrones.” Things were relatively normal in that world until her dragons were born, and suddenly warlocks could do their thing again, red priests were reviving people, and White Walkers were making their push for the world of the living. And seemingly essential to the Night King’s plan to breach the wall was gaining access to a dragon of his very own — suggesting there’s a significant link between all these things and those creatures. But are these things really related, and if so, how?
Also Read: “Game of Thrones”: How the Night King Pulled a Fast One on Jon and Daenerys With That Dragon Thing
Who is the prince, princess, or Davos that was promised?
The prophecy of Azor Ahai is a big factor in the story of “Game of Thrones.” It’s what drives Stannis Baratheon to do some awful things, including burning his daughter alive and murdering his brother with blood magic. Melisandre now believes Jon Snow could be the Prince That Was Promised, although Missandei corrected her Valyrian — it could also be a princess. So who is the Prince or Princess That Was Promised, and most importantly, could it really be Davos Seaworth as some fans believe?
What’s with those White Walker rune things?
From the first episode of “Game of Thrones,” we’ve been occasionally treated to strange markings left behind by the White Walkers — specifically, giant rune-like symbols made out of bodies. Not only is it scary and weird, but we have no idea what those symbols are for, and they seemingly showed up again on Dragonstone, in the carvings Jon Snow found left behind by the Children of the Forest and the First Men. What’s their significance, anyway?
Is Ghost coming back to the show?
We know direwolves are a pain to animate and cost a lot of money, and a big reason Jon Snow’s direwolf, Ghost, has been absent is that special effects money went toward those awesome dragon scenes. But for a long time, direwolves were essential to the Stark kids’ stories. And those direwolves had a deep, innate connection with their corresponding kiddos. So will we see Ghost again, and will we finally learn something behind their seemingly somewhat magical relationship to the Starks?
Also Read: “Game of Thrones”: Where the Hell is Ghost, Jon Snow’s Direwolf?
