Obsessed with Game of Thrones? We’re Unpacking the Latest Fan Theories Here

Whether you’re a casual viewer or Westeros-obsessed, surely you’ve heard some of the crazy Game of Thrones fan theories that are circulating on the web. We’ve had two years since the last season aired, so there’s been a lot of time to obsess over all the little details of the previous episodes and speculate about the fate of our beloved characters. With just a few short weeks left to get through all the twists, turns and—let’s be honest, deaths—we’ve rounded up our fave GoT fan theories. (Warning: spoilers ahead, duh.)

We’ll see Ned Stark again

It’s been six long seasons since we’ve seen noble Ned. But if Game of Thrones has made us question anything it’s: Is anyone really dead in Westeros? With the Night King marching towards Winterfell, it seems possible that he will bring back the dead Starks buried there to join his army of the undead. The last few episodes have included a lot of important moments in those crypts (hello, Jon Snow learning his true heritage!) so maybe it’s foreshadowing an upcoming bittersweet resurrection. While we’d love to see the Stark patriarch again, as a murderous zombie hell bent on killing his own family isn’t really ideal.

Status: For now this theory is purely speculative, but it seems like just the kind of thing the writers of Game of Thrones would do—“Oh you miss Ned Stark? We’ll make you regret that.” Plus it’s been so great seeing all the Stark children (including Jon) together again, we know there’s going to be some kind of sick torture ahead for them, because that’s the fate of being a Stark, it seems.

Cersei will die at the hands of her brother

When Cersei was young she visited a witch who predicted her future. Almost every part of the prophecy has come true—including predicting the birth and loss of her children, her riches and gold, and the fact that she would one day become Queen. Cersei has always interpreted the line from the witch’s prophecy, “Queen you shall be… until there comes another, younger and more beautiful, to cast you down and take all that you hold dear,” to mean Sansa or Margery but some think that it references her brother Jaime. And then there’s the part from the prophecy that Cersei thinks means Tyrion will try to kill her: “And when your tears have drowned you, the valonqar shall wrap his hands about your pale white throat and choke the life from you.” Valonqar means “little brother” in High Valerian which could mean Tyrion, but of course could also mean her twin brother Jaime.

Status: Right now the relationship between Cersei and Jaime is the most strained it’s ever been. With Jaime leaving King’s Landing and Cersei in his rearview, will our favourite Kingslayer become the Queenslayer as well? First he has to survive his many enemies at Winterfell, but our money is on him being the one to end his twin sis’ reign.

Tyrion is a Targaryen

Just before he was shot and killed by his son Tyrion, Tywin Lannister’s last words were, “You’re no son of mine.” This could just be Tywin being a terrible father one final time, but was it actually a deathbed confession? There’s more evidence that Tyrion is in fact not Tywin’s child in the books than the show itself. The theory states that Tyrion’s real father is actually Dany’s father, Aerys Targaryen, who was infatuated with Tyrion’s mother Joanna. Tyrion has light blonde, almost white hair in the books and two different coloured eyes, whereas his siblings have golden blonde hair and green eyes.

Status: Tyrion definitely has an interest in dragons and is getting along better with Daenerys than he ever did with Cersei—but for now the theory is just speculative.

We haven’t met the Prince That Was Promised yet

From Stannis Baratheon to Jon Snow to Daenerys Targaryen, there have been a lot of theories about who The Prince That Was Promised (a.k.a. Azhor Azhai) *actually* is. It’s told that this warrior would be reborn to save the world. Obviously when we say rebirth, Jon’s recent return-from-the-dead makes him the most likely candidate, but Dany also had a bit of a rebirth when she arose from the ashes earlier in the series. Some theories predict that only together, as both fire and ice, can they defeat the White Walkers. I think we can all agree that Daenerys is most definitely preggers now that she and Jon are getting frisky, so is this future babe the Prince That Was Promised?

Status: Everyone seems to have a theory about who is Azhor Azhai, including new theories that it could be The Hound, Jorah Mormont and even Euron Greyjoy. Our money is on the unborn Targaryen king or queen.

Daenerys will become the Mad Queen

You’d be hard pressed to find a Game of Thrones fan who isn’t rooting for Daenerys in some way. After all, girl deserves some happiness after everything she’s been through. But some fans have started to question our Khaleesi’s trajectory, wondering if she’s becoming more of a conqueror than a ruler. Dany does worry about going mad like her father, but she has the best advisors in the game making sure that she keeps her cool in her quest for the throne. While her speech at the end of season 6 was definitely epic, it did sound like something her father would have said about his enemies, and lines like this have some viewers questioning if Dany is slowly changing into a villain before our eyes: “Will you ride the wooden horses across the black salt sea? Will you kill my enemies in their iron suits and tear down their stone houses?”

Status: We’ve been 100% team Daenerys but to be honest it was a little hard to watch Randall Tarly and Dickon Tarly burn alive for not bending the knee—and even harder to watch Sam find out about his brother’s death Hopefully Tyrion and Varys can rein her in a little before she becomes the Mad Queen.

Sam will be the sole survivor

Everyone’s favourite book nerd, Samwell Tarly, has made his way to Winterfell and is right where the action is about to be. But is Sam the only one we can be sure survives? It seems pretty likely that he’s the one narrating this Song of Fire and Ice that we’re so engrossed with. Online fans have speculated that the upcoming battles are going to wipe out magic from this world—meaning don’t get too attached to any mythical creatures.

Status: No one is really safe in this final season, but as we watch so many of our fave characters get murdered in the next few weeks, let’s hold out hope that sweet Sam, his wife Gilly, and their precious baby make it out alive to tell the tale.

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