Entertainment

Think You Know How ‘Game of Thrones’ Will End? These Are the Wildest Theories and Predictions

Game of Thrones / HBO

It’s finally here: The last episode of Game of Thrones. After eight seasons of intense battles, backstabbing, and shocking surprises, it’s time to see who takes the Iron Throne—and people have plenty of Game of Thrones theories about how it’ll go down.

Over the years, fans of the novels and HBO show have had countless theories about how the show will end, and how it’ll address some of the biggest mysteries from the Song of Ice and Fire series.

We’ve put together some of the best Game of Thrones predictions floating around the internet. See if your guesses stack up.

Compare your guesses with our roundup of where the main characters ended up on the series and how the show ended:

For access to exclusive gear videos, celebrity interviews, and more, subscribe on YouTube!

Game of Thrones / HBO 1 / 11

Jon Kills Dany and Becomes King of Westeros

The Theory/Prediction: After watching Daenerys burn innocent people in King’s Landing—not to mention her army who slaughtered defenseless civilians and soldiers who surrendered—Jon will intervene.

How it Could Play Out: While Jon has always said he doesn’t want to lead, he keeps ending up in leadership positions: He was voted Lord Commander of the Night’s Watch and named King in the North. Jon may see it as his duty to make the right choice for the Seven Kingdoms. If he does do that, he may follow the honorable ways of his “father”, Ned Stark, who said early in the series: “The man who passes the sentence should swing the sword. If you would take a man’s life, you owe it to him to look into his eyes and hear his final words.” Perhaps this time it’ll be a woman.

Game of Thrones / HBO 2 / 11

Dany Kills Everyone and Rules as a Tyrant

The Theory/Prediction: Dany continues her fiery actions after burning down King’s Landing, turning against everyone around her, including Jon Snow, Tyrion, and Davos. Sansa is back North and could be safe, but if Dany decides that Tyrion betrayed her by freeing his brother Jaime (with the help of Davos), he could be a target. Jon was clearly upset with how Dany killed so many innocent people in King’s Landing, and if he stands in her way, he could get burned.

How it Could Play Out: Episode 5—enough said. Dany went full Mad Queen, and the rampage could continue. While it would be a pretty grim ending for the show, isn’t that the type of story George R.R. Martin has been telling all this time anyway?

Game of Thrones / HBO 3 / 11

Jon Abdicates the Throne and Restarts the Night’s Watch

The Theory/Prediction: Jon Snow a.k.a. Aegon Targaryen has the best claim to the Iron Throne, even though he doesn’t want it. But let’s say things shake out where he ends up in power—Dany either cedes it or gets killed—what would he do? Jon has never wanted to rule and perhaps instead of ruling, he abdicates his throne and renounces his titles, leaving the Iron Throne to Tyrion, Sansa, Arya, Bran, or someone else, then heads back North to live the rest of his life in peace, while reuniting with his Direwolf Ghost.

How it Could Play Out: Jon has never wanted to lead, so if he ends up on the Iron Throne or in a position to take it, he could give up his claim and leave King’s Landing. Jon could leave the throne to Dany (unlikely), Tyrion, Sansa, Arya, Bran, or someone else and head back to where it all started: The Night’s Watch. With no one left to man the wall—and the possibility that the White Walkers could rise again one day in the future—Jon could take a vow and renounce all claims and titles to his name.

Game of Thrones / HBO 4 / 11

The Seven Kingdoms All Become Independent

The Theory/Prediction: After all the talk about the Iron Throne, it would be ironic if no one takes ownership, right? Maybe the best way to rule is by not ruling at all. Things can go back to the way they were hundreds of years ago, when each of the Seven Kingdoms were independent and ruled themselves.

How it Could Play Out: Maybe Dany decides to stop being the Mad Queen and opts to “break the wheel” by freeing each of the kingdoms. Although that would go against everything she’s been fighting for—and against what her character has been doing this season—it’s possible she could be horrified at her own actions and change her mind. On the other hand, let’s say Jon ends up in power after the main characters take down Dany and decides to abdicate his power and make each of the Seven Kingdoms independent. That would be his own way of “breaking the wheel” and bringing peace to the realm.

Game of Thrones / HBO 5 / 11

Bran Is Every Brandon Stark Through History

The Theory: Before everything happened with the White Walkers in Episode 3, a popular fan theory about Bran for Season 8 was that he was actually the Night King—or at least directly connected to him. This seems out of play now, but another wrinkle of that theory (h/t to the New York Times) was that Bran’s been part of history in Westeros since the beginning of time, meddling in events for thousands of years. The Starks have ancestry back to the First Men thousands of years ago, and a man named Bran the Builder made the Wall originally. There have also been many Brandon Starks through the years, and the theory is that Bran actually has been all of these characters the whole time, or at least has been connected to them in some way.

How it Could Play Out/The Evidence: Through the series, Bran has shown the ability to see the past and interact with it at various points. This could play into the idea that he’s been traveling through history, making sure certain events play out in a specific way, all leading to this current moment. While this would be a pretty jaw-dropping finish, the show has established that Bran can affect the past, like he did with making Hodor into Hodor and whispering to his father when he was seeing the vision of the Tower of Joy.

Game of Thrones / HBO 6 / 11

White Walkers Aren’t Fully Gone

The Theory/Prediction: The Battle for Winterfell was thrilling, but it also took out some of the biggest threats and mysteries of the series: the Night King and the White Walkers. When Arya Stark made the leap heard ‘round Westeros, she killed the Night King and destroyed the White Walkers and the Army of the Dead. After seven seasons of teasing the threat and theories running wild about the White Walkers, just one strike took them all out. Could that be it? Some people think the White Walkers are still out there and could play a role in the finale.

The Evidence: This isn’t direct evidence, but it comes straight from the creators. After Episode 3, co-showrunners David Benioff and D.B. Weiss were on Jimmy Kimmel Live! During the interview, Kimmel asked the creators: “Are we for sure done with the White Walkers?” The creators took a very long pause and Benioff chimed in: “We’re not gonna answer that.” While the creators wouldn’t reveal the answer anyway, the fact they were coy fueled the fire behind this theory.

Game of Thrones / HBO 7 / 11

Tyrion Gets Put on Trial for Freeing Jaime

The Theory/Prediction: After taking the Iron Throne and burning down most of King’s Landing, Dany starts to assess how everything went down, namely how Tyrion freed her prisoner Jaime Lannister and allowed him to escape. This could be looked at as a betrayal, and after she burned Varys for treason, she could put Tyrion on trial for his actions. Will she execute him? Allow him to plead his case?

How it Could Play Out: If Dany puts Tyrion on trial, it would be fitting for his character since he’s been put on trial multiple times during the series. Adding to that, both those times he did a Trial by Combat, first bringing in Bronn then Oberyn Martell to fight for him. This time, it could get very dramatic: Jon Snow steps up to champion for Tyrion because he doesn’t think he deserves to die. He could end up facing off against Grey Worm or Dany herself.

Game of Thrones / HBO 8 / 11

Sansa Stark Takes the Throne

The Theory/Prediction: Sansa Stark ends up on the Iron Throne at the end, leaving Jon, Arya, or Bran (or all three together) to keep hold of the North. As The Ringer wrote, “the Lady of Winterfell may be the last hope for restoring order to Westeros”; she’s been “shrewd” and “benevolent” in her leadership of the North and the Vale, and may be “Westeros’s only good ruler.”

How it Could Play Out: This season has had a lot of storylines converging, but one thing that’s been consistent is Sansa doesn’t like Daenerys. She’s suspicious, and didn’t hesitate to blow the whistle about Jon being a Targaryen. She told Tyrion because she supports Jon just as much as she mistrusts Dany. Let’s say Arya uses her skills as an assassin to take out Dany, but Jon doesn’t want to rule. Could Sansa take over and rule the realm, returning to King’s Landing—the place she hates the most after being held hostage there—to bring everything full circle?

Game of Thrones / HBO 9 / 11

Tyrion Is a Secret Targaryen

The Theory/Prediction: This one is more of a book theory that fans have brought into the show, but it’s a pretty bonkers one: As explained by Business Insider and The Ringer, Jon Snow isn’t the only secret Targaryen. Theories infer that Tyrion is actually the son of the Mad King Aerys Targaryen. In George R.R. Martin’s books, it’s mentioned how the Mad King lusted after Tyrion’s mother multiple times, potentially implying that he slept with her at least once. While it’s not confirmed it ever happened, Martin also describes how Tyrion has different-colored eyes, which another Targaryen bastard, Shiera Seastar, also had. The show hasn’t pointed much to this theory and with just one episode left it’s very unlikely that it will get shoehorned in.

The Evidence: When Tyrion goes to the dungeons of Meereen, he interacts with Dany’s dragons. He pets them without any issue, and even goes as far as to unchain them.

Game of Thrones / HBO 10 / 11

There’s a Secret 7th Episode

The Theory/Prediction: This Reddit user has a pretty wild theory about the final episode—and it includes a secret episode airing a week after the scheduled finale. The user, “bpk9lm”, predicts the “finale” in Episode 6 will be a “slow-paced” episode that goes on as “if it were any other episode”, then after the credits roll, this will happen: “After the episode, a preview of the next — and final — two-hour-long episode will air. D&D will explain the bait-and-switch, and with that, HBO will have created the biggest hype machine to sweep the media in a generation.”

How it Could Happen: The user writes that since HBO is airing a Game of Thrones documentary at 9 p.m. on May 26, the doc will actually be Season 8, Episode 7, and the “true finale.” This theory is bonkers and we definitely don’t think it will happen, but it’s kind of fun, right?

Game of Thrones / HBO 11 / 11

Characters Denied Claims End Up as Rulers of the Seven Kingdoms

The Theory/Prediction: Men’s Journal video director, Christian O’Toole, has a theory that would bring many stories full circle on Game of Thrones. Basically, there would be no king, queen, or overall ruler of Westeors, but instead, someone who was denied a claim during the run of the series will each rule one of the Seven Kingdoms, or at least rule the major areas in them.

How it Could Play Out: Jon Snow, thought to be a bastard, will rule The North; Robin Arryn, a sickly kid no one expected to do anything, rules The Vale; Samwell Tarly will rule The Reach/Highgarden, as his family previously swore fealty to the Tyrell’s, who previously ran Highgarden; Tyrion will rule Casterly Rock after his father said he’d never inherit the Lannister land and titles; Gendry would rule the Stormlands after being legitimized as Robert Baratheon’s bastard; and Sansa would run the Riverlands, taking over since she’s also a Tully from her mother’s side. Dorne hasn’t been mentioned much all season, but in Episode 4, Varys says, “The new Prince of Dorne pledges his allegiance.” While we don’t know much about who that character is, it could fit into this theory.

More News

BikData’s Franzua Rudder Reveals Blockchain Innovations for Businesses

JMH Development’s Jason Halpern Takes the Meaningful Route With Real Estate

Usain Bolt Confesses That Speed Isn’t Everything

Being Honest With Usain Bolt

Runaway June’s Country Concert With Duke Spirits Raises More Than $50,000 for the John Wayne Cancer Foundation

Jason Isaacs Explores Masculinity and Trauma in ‘Mass’

All Stories

‘Game of Thrones’ Final Season Power Rankings: Who Will Win the Iron Throne?

‘Game of Thrones’ Prequel: Everything You Need to Know About the New HBO Series

How ‘Game of Thrones’ Ended: Where the Main Characters Finished the Series