After waiting for almost two years, the much-anticipated final season of “Game of Thrones” will reveal who finally gets to reign from the iron throne.
Fans of the hit HBO series have been patiently waiting for the denizens of Westeros to return to the screen on April 14, and preparing for the new episodes by stockpiling all things “GoT”-branded. Brands of whiskey, Oreos, Mountain Dew, craft beer, sneakers and more have appeared online and on shelves donning “Game of Thrones” characters, sayings and house sigils.
Based on George R.R. Martin’s “A Song of Ice and Fire” book series, the HBO show has operated outside of the canon of the books after surpassing them with the start of season six.
Since the show has outpaced the books, die-hard “GoT” enthusiasts have come up with enough predictions to lead one down a sordid rabbit hole of YouTube videos and Reddit posts. Until Sunday, there are plenty of fan theories online about how the final storylines might play out in the eighth season.
Warning: This article contains spoilers to past seasons, and potentially spoilers to upcoming episodes.
Theory One: Jaime kills his twin sister Cersei
It has been theorized that the only way to rid Westeros of the madness of Queen Cersei is if her twin brother, Jaime Lannister, assassinated her.
As twins — and former lovers — the Lannisters have a bizarrely “unique” bond throughout the series. Though he abandons her at the end of season seven when she reveals she is going to rescind her declaration of alliance to Jon Snow, Jaime is likely the only one who can get close enough to kill her.
Support for this theory is seen when young Cersei receives a prophecy from Maggy the Frog that she’ll marry the king and have three children with “golden crowns” who will all die and wear “golden shrouds.”
One of Maggy’s predictions was that she would die by being strangled by her valonqar — High Valerian for “little brother.” This part of the prophecy was omitted from the series, but if it plays out in the show, either Jaime or Tyrion would kill Cersei, the latter of whom Cersei has never trusted.
Theory Two: The Night King is actually Bran Stark
Several videos, Reddit posts and articles share the idea that Bran Stark and the Night King are one and the same. According to this theory, Bran has gone back in time trying to save Westeros through greensight so many times and for too long that he ends up stuck when he wargs into the man who becomes the Night King.
Proponents of this theory cite references to the Night King being a Stark named “Brandon” in a story that Old Nan tells in the first season. This relates to another theory that all of the Bran or Brandon Starks in Winterfell’s history were actually all iterations of the most modern Bran, as he travels backward in time.
Lastly, with the recasting of the Night King in season six, his outfit and nose are said to be similar to Bran’s.
Theory Three: Arya Stark impersonates Petyr Baelish
At the end of season seven, we saw the trial and execution of Petyr Baelish in a powerful sister bonding moment between Sansa and Arya Stark.
If this theory turns out to be true, we will see Arya travel through Westeros as Littlefinger using the methods she learned from the Faceless Men. Fans theorize this could be a way for her to get to King’s Landing, where she proceeds to portray Jaime Lannister to kill Cersei, fulfilling the prophecy.
On the contrary, there is also a fan concept that Arya didn’t actually kill him, that Littlefinger hired a Faceless Man to die for him, and he is portraying someone else as he continues to pursue his evil schemes.
Theory Four: Bran wargs into a dragon
The Three-Eyed Raven once told Bran that while he would not walk again, he would someday fly. According to one theory, this means Bran will warg into a dragon during the final season of “Game of Thrones.”
In previous episodes, we have seen Bran travel into the minds of ravens, direwolves and Hodor — unlike other wargs, who are unable to go into human minds. Now with two living dragons and one of the undead variety, Bran could possibly use his abilities to fight the army of the dead as a dragon.
