UPDATE: We listed 14 issues that still needed to be resolved on Game of Thrones after the living defeated the dead. Here’s where they stand after “The Last of the Starks.”
The Night King is dead, but the Mad Queen of King’s Landing still lives. Do Daenerys and Jon have enough forces left to do anything about it? And what can we expect from Game of Thrones‘ final three episodes now that the Great War has been won but the fight for the Iron Throne continues? Here are some the biggest issues and possibilities payoffs still left for the show to address.
Dirty Politics Preceding the Last Battle
With only one enemy left but three episodes left to fight her, the show should have time to return to its political roots, which should mean lots of loaded conversations, betrayals, and conniving. Will Euron abandon Cersei? Will Varys decide Jon is a better ruler than Daenerys?
Update: The backstabbing has commenced, with Daenerys’s own advisors questioning if she is the best choice to rule.
Will an Iron Throne Obsession Drive Daenerys Mad?
If Sansa and the North still refuse to accept Daenerys as her queen even after she helped save them from the White Walkers, will Daenerys go mad and burn all of her perceived enemies? What if she can only defeat Cersei by burning King’s Landing to the ground?
Update: Her current plan is to burn King’s Landing to the ground, which would definitely qualify as “mad.”
Jon and Dany’s Relationship
Forget whose claim to the Iron Throne is stronger—is the relationship between Daenerys and her nephew “Aejon” going to continue? Targaryens married one another for centuries, so it’s not an outrageous possibility. Their union would solve a lot of potential problems.
Update: It’s definitely “strained,” the question is whether it will break apart entirely.
The Truth About Jon’s Birth
Will the world come to know Jon is really Aegon Targaryen, lawful son of Rhaegar and Lyanna Stark and rightful heir to the Iron Throne? Or will he keep it to himself so Daenerys can rule? Does Jon want even more responsibility?
Update: The number of people who know is growing and that number will only get bigger.
A Possible Clegane Bowl
It’s been a fight that has been boiling since they were kids and hinted at since season one, and with both Clegane boys still standing and pitted on opposing sides, the Hound and the Mountain could finally have their epic clash.
Update: The Hound is heading to the proverbial ring to face his brother, so it’s on track.
A Big Name Still on Arya’s List
Arya might have said “not today” to Death itself, but Cersei’s death has always been on the young Stark’s mind. Now that the White Walkers have been eliminated, Arya can turn back to her own to-do murder list.
Update: Arya is traveling with the Hound again, on her way to kill Cersei.
Will Jaime Save King’s Landing Again?
He killed the Mad King before he could blow up King’s Landing and murder a million people, but will Jaime actually be the one to kill Cersei before she can finally finish using Aerys II’s hidden wildfire? He might be the only person she will let get close to him.
Update: It’s not totally clear what Jaime’s motivations for leaving Winterfell are – saving Cersei or killing her – but her actions might force his golden hand to stop her if she goes mad herself.
Is Cersei Actually With Child?
Jaime is convinced she is, which could also be why he won’t want to kill her no matter what, but seeing her drinking wine in the season eight premiere calls into question if she was lying to him all along.
Update: Maybe, or maybe she’s also lying to Euron to manipulate him and keep him loyal.
Can Daenerys Get Pregnant?
Since she’s still alive after the Battle of Winterfell, we can now take this possibility seriously. Jon suggested the witch who told Daenerys she can’t get pregnant might have lied, and Tyrion was worried about who will follow her on the throne.
Update: No one is worried about this, not when they are thinking about betraying her.
Bronn on the Hunt…Maybe
A castle-wanting killer is on the road with a crossbow looking for Tyrion and Jaime, the two closest things he has to actual friends in the world. Will Bronn actually go through with murdering one of them, or will he take up Tyrion’s offer to pay double what his sister offered?
Update: Indeed he is on the hunt, for the biggest castle he can get. He’s pretty good with that crossbow too.
Marriage Proposals
Beyond Jon and Daenerys, what about Brienne and Jaime? Brienne and Tormund? Arya and Gendry? Sansa and Tyrion? Euron and Cersei? A fractured Realm could be healed with some strategic, unifying marriages.
Update: Arya shot Gendry through the heart, then shot down his marriage proposal, but others are still possible. However, with Tormund gone and Jaime not seeming long for this world we doubt we see her engaged soon.
Who Will Fill All Those Empty Castles?
The Mormonts and Umbers are all gone, just like the Martells and Tyrells, and Gendry is the only remnant of House Baratheon. There are lots of wildlings who fought bravely. Who among them will fill those important, empty castles?
Update: Gendry Baratheon, Lord of Storm’s End….if Cersei loses.
Who’s Left to Fight Against Cersei?
The living won the Battle of Winterfell, but not many of them survived, so who is even left to take on Cersei? Even with two dragons, Cersei has the Lannister forces, the Iron Fleet, and the 20,000 strong Golden Company.
Update: Answered! Kinda! We don’t know the exact number of survivors at Winterfell, but it was more than we thought, seemingly in the tens of thousands.
Who Will Sit on the Iron Throne?
The question that has dominated the show, even as the dead were marching, will end up being the last major issue resolved. There are many candidates and lots of problems between them, even close allies like Jon and Daenerys. Who will sit on the Iron Throne at the end and how will they begin to restore the Seven Kingdoms to something resembling order?
Update: If Daenerys burns King’s Landing there won’t be an Iron Throne to sit on.
It’s only fitting a chair of swords will prove to be so dangerous in the end.
Images: HBO
