Updated May 20, 2019 32.9K votes 3.7K voters 124.0K views
Voting Rules
Vote up the fan theories you think we're actually going to see played out in Game of Thrones Season 8.
Editor's Note: Voting and Reranking have been closed.
WARNING: This list contains spoilers for the entirety of Game of Thrones, including book spoilers. Voting on theories will be closed when they are either disproven or come to fruition.
There may be no season of television in the history of the medium that was more hotly anticipated than the final season of Game of Thrones. Despite seven action-packed seasons, the list of mysteries and unanswered questions on Game of Thrones was still quite long before the premiere of Season 8, which meant that fan theories about Game of Thrones clogged up the internet pipes as the final season progressed. The massive world created by George RR Martin has always welcomed fan speculation through its sheer scope and depth, and everyone zeroed in on the end game.
Game of Thrones ended on May 19, 2019, and while many fans were disappointed with the final season, they were right about a few things, as these Season 8 theories prove.
Voting Closed: Cleganebowl took place during Season 8, episode 5 ("The Bells").
No fan theory in the history of A Song of Ice and Fire has been more-hyped than the potentially upcoming fight-to-the-death between The Hound and The Mountain - more properly known as Cleganebowl. Such a monumental battle surely belongs in the series’ final season, leading many, like DigitalSpy’s Sarah James, to speculate that Season 8 will bring the fraternal clash fans have been clamoring for. When Sandor and Gregor Clegane locked eyes during the Season 7 finale, Sandor told his brother: “You know who's coming for you. You've always known.”
There are a few different interpretations for what that quote might mean, but the simplest is that The Hound is the one who is coming, and it’s time to get hype[d].
Voting Closed: Jon Snow rode Rhaegel during Season 8 episode 1 ("Winterfell")
Season 7 ended with the long-awaited hookup between Jon Snow and Daenerys Targaryen, but fans have also been waiting for Jon to climb on top of a literal dragon as a true display of his Targaryen history. There have been some hints of it throughout the series, but Reddit user No_conspicuity thinks they know how it will be going down.
A Song of Ice and Fire lore tells that no dragonrider can ever ride two different dragons. There’s a dramatic scene in Season 7 in which Jon nearly mounts Drogon to escape from the White Walker army, but he breaks away at the last second to charge at his foes. No_conspicuity theorizes that this was because Jon is destined to ride a different dragon, most likely Rhaegal, and him having previously played passenger on Drogon would ruin that.
Voting Closed: The Golden Company stayed by Cersei's side until they were annihilated in Season 8, episode 5 ("The Bells").
“A Lannister always pays their debts,” is a classic Game of Thrones catchphrase, but it could prove cruelly ironic for Cersei if Reddit user FellatioNelson’s fan theory is correct. Season 7 saw Cersei finally pay off the kingdom’s debt to the Iron Bank of Braavos, something that banker Tycho Nestoris mentions even her father, Tywin, couldn’t do.
As the theorists explains: “This is her big mistake, Tywin was no fool and he knew that while the Lannisters were in debt to the Bank, the Bank had a vested interest in their success. By paying the debt in full Cersei has allowed Tycho to wash his hands of the Lannisters altogether. After what we saw on the battlefield we have a good idea whose position is strongest and who the Bank would like to back. This clearly contributes to the dire situation in Kings Landing with no grain and limited supplies... The irony of this theory is in this case the Lannisters are undone by paying their debt.”
1,393 votes
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Samwell Tarly Will Become The In-Universe GRRM, And Write 'A Song Of Ice And Fire'
Voting Closed: Sam Tarly presented his book A Song of Ice and Fire to the Lords and Ladies of Westeros during the series finale.
Although George RR Martin has always testified that Tyrion Lannister is his favorite character, the individual he most relates to in the story is Samwell Tarly, for somewhat obvious reasons. Reddit user theblackdoncheadle thinks that the similarities between the two will go beyond their academic pursuits and waistlines, and that Sam will eventually pull a Lord of the Rings and write down the story of Game of Thrones. In Season 7, Sam shows interest in a modern history book being written, but comments that its working title is rather dry. Perhaps he will take over authorship of the tome and rename it something more poetic - like A Song of Ice and Fire.
Voting Closed: Jaime and Cersei died together in the war room of the Red Keep as the walls around them collapsed in Season 8, episode 5 ("The Bells").
The theory that Jaime Lannister will kill Cersei, his twin sister and long-time lover, has been popular among the A Song of Ice and Fire fandom for decades, and it’s still entirely possible it will occur in the show’s final season. The relationship between Jaime and Cersei stayed relatively strong and stable until the finale of Season 7, where Cersei’s arrogant actions finally drove Jaime away, possibly for good.
The list of evidence that this is Cersei’s ultimate fate is so lengthy that it would almost be disappointing if she died in any other way. Now that Jaime’s motivation has clearly been established, fans will be sitting on the edge of their seats waiting for it to happen in Season 8.
Voting Closed: Vary's letters did not play a pivotal role in the series finale.
In Season 8, episode 5 ("The Bells"), we see Varys writing letters revealing Jon Snow's true name and Targaryen lineage. While we see him burn one just before he is tried (and executed) by Daenerys, there is no telling if - and how many - he got letters out before his fiery demise.
If Varys did get word out about Jon Snow's Targaryen and Stark parents, perhaps his "little birds" can get to work and dethrone the Mother of Dragons.
