'Game of Thrones:' The First Teasers

It’s been so long since we’ve seen Game of Thrones. Personally, it hurt me to go that extra year without my favorite drama. I love Game of Thrones more than anything else on TV. Though I’m excited for a prequel to see all the history of Westeros, I’m still sad the original series is ending. The creators know how big this is, because so far they’ve given us next to nothing, even with the final season to debut in less than three months.

So far, there’s a little teaser that premiered during the Golden Globes of Sansa welcoming Daenerys to Winterfell. This past Sunday, they released a minute and thirty-second long teaser that raises more questions than it answers. Jon Snow, Sansa, and Arya make their way through the underground tomb of Winterfell. They meet up at the end to see three statues that look suspiciously like themselves, only older. Suddenly, Jon’s torch blows out and the cold starts to creep in. As the ice makes its way to the Starks, Jon, and Arya draw their swords at the same time, ready to meet whatever White Walkers come their way.

I’m ecstatic about this. I don’t quite know what’s happening, but it’s amazing. Why are the statues there? What do they mean? Where is Bran, if we’re completing the Stark family? Personally, I love the Starks, and the focus on them for this finale is something I really appreciate. They’ve been our core family since the beginning. As much as I love Tyrion, or enjoy watching Lena Headey be the best actress on the show as Cersei, the Starks are our family. Besides the statues, this clip seems pretty straightforward. The White Walkers will make their way to Winterfell. I don’t know who will die, but chances are we’ll be saying goodbye to a lot of people in such a battle.

I have a few predictions about this upcoming season. I think my biggest question, raised more by the Golden Globe snippet than this one, is how the Stark girls will react to Daenerys. Sansa gives Daenerys the welcome, but I’m wondering if she and Arya may not take well to the idea of Dany and Jon taking over. Sansa and Arya work well together now. Sansa has taken over as the head of Winterfell, and she’s been great so far. I’m not sure what the disagreement would be, but I see something coming between Daenerys and Sansa getting along. The Stark sisters may be like the rest of the Northerners and not take too kindly to the Mother of Dragons waltzing into Westeros as if she already owned it. Then there’s Jon. If the ladies do have issues, whose side will he take? I’m praying it would be his sisters. Daenerys is great, but for me, I only like the dragons. I’m a little over her feeling like she’s entitled to the throne. She’s been through hell and back, but so has Sansa. So has Arya. Even Cersei has suffered incredible losses. All the women of Game of Thrones have experienced trauma, loss, violation, and manipulation. I don’t think Dany gets a special pass because she has dragons.

This brings me to my next prediction, Jon will be at odds with Daenerys as well. Once everyone finds out Jon’s real parentage, it’ll be over for them. Daenerys has clawed her way through the dirt to get to where she is. Everyone knows she wants to be Queen more than anything. Suddenly, Jon Snow is the rightful heir, a bastard who seemingly came from nothing. That won’t sit well with her. She’ll have a hard time trying to balance her feelings for him with her feelings for the throne. However, the throne has always been her goal, and if she has to drop Jon to do it, she will. She did it with Daario.

Continuing on this train of predictions, the next one has to do with the Azor Ahai myth. I think at this point, with Jon being born under a red sun, dying and coming back to life, as well as a host of other clues, it’s safe to say Jon Snow is the Azor Ahai. He’s the one with the most connection to the White Walkers, and I have no doubt in my mind that he’ll kill the Night King. However, there are some fun theories out there for other contenders, like Jaime, Arya, Daenerys, or Jorah being the Azor Ahai as well. I don’t think any of them are true, but they’re fascinating to read. To Keep a long story short, Azor Ahai had a special blade, Lightbringer, which he used to defeat the darkness long ago. The myth says he will come again to do the same. However, to make his original blade, Azor Ahai had to make it three times; one tempered in water wasn’t strong enough, the second tempered in lion’s blood wasn’t enough, and so the third left him to plunge the sword into his beloved’s chest to make it strong enough.

The obvious prediction for this is that somehow, Jon will have to stab Daenerys. I don’t know how it would happen, unless she directly antagonized his sisters or Westeros at large. Maybe she starts showing shades of the Mad King, her father, and Jon can only find one way to stop her. It would be heartbreaking, but when has Game of Thrones been lighthearted? Another idea, though this one seems far-fetched, is that Jon will stab Arya. Arya is by far his favorite and closest sibling. He gave her needle, and the two regularly thought of each other on their separate journeys. There’s also the detail that the two would’ve fallen in love at some point in the original outline for the books. This version is much better, thank goodness, but Arya and Jon are close. What if he stabs her accidentally? It all depends on how much he loves Daenerys. Will he turn his back on Winterfell for her? I don’t think so, but you never know. It’s still an idea to entertain.

Another prediction, to get away from the Starks for a bit, is that all the dragons will die. This hurts me. I love the dragons so much. They’re awesome. They look great and make incredible the scenes and sets look ten times more incredible. However, I can’t see there being dragons at the end of this show. Rhaegal, the green dragon, is certainly going to die, maybe in a fight with his ice brother Viserion. Drogon will last the longest, as he is Dany’s favorite. I see him being struck down in the very last battle in the show, whether that be the battle for the Iron Throne, or a huge mess of a battle with all of Westeros and the White Walkers. Losing her three dragons would parallel to Cersei losing her three children. I think there’s more to explore between Dany and Cersei, and this would be the way to do it.

Speaking of Cersei, I think Jaime is finally going to kill her. I see the three Lannister children in the same room, but I’m not quite sure what to make of them. That’s why I love the Lannisters. I never know what they’ll do next. Cersei could kill Tyrion, and then Jaime kills her. Maybe Cersei even kills both of them with poison, or Jaime kills both his siblings. At least one of the Lannisters is going to die, but I’m convinced it’ll be at least two.

My final prediction is of course, who sits on the Iron Throne in the end. This might be the hardest, because at this point, I can’t quite picture anyone there. One thing I can say for sure, I don’t believe Daenerys will make it. I see her dying right before she reaches the Throne, literally or figuratively. Her rise to power is too perfect, and as we’ve established before, Game of Thrones likes to hurt its viewers. Worse, maybe Dany will sit on the throne, and five minutes later be killed where she sits. That seems more likely to me. After her, it’s really anyone’s guess, so I’ll just go with who I want to sit on the Iron Throne and rule Westeros. Sansa Stark.

I love Sansa. I’ve always loved Sansa. Though she was a handful in season one, she was a teenager promised the Queen’s seat. She was naïve and of course, fell for everything everyone else wanted her to do. Her growth has been amazing, and I see her being an incredible leader. She can be kind and cruel depending on what’s needed, and I want to see her be happy. I’ll offer one other small prediction that may serve as a glimmer of happiness in the desolate winter to come. I think when Sansa and Tyrion meet again, they’ll be friends. I enjoyed their friendship, even though the circumstances were horrible. Tyrion never disrespected her, and she grew to be able to joke with him at times. I think the two of them definitely have some respect for each other, and it’s one of my favorite underrated friendships on the show. I’d love to see them say hello to each other during this new season.

To bring the mood down again, here is a list of more characters I haven’t mentioned who I believe will die:

• Tormund (I’m sad over this one)
• The Hound
• The Mountain
• Beric Dondarrion
• Theon Greyjoy
• Euron Greyjoy
• Greyworm
• Jorah Mormont
• Missandei
• Bran Stark
• Dolorous Edd
• Ghost (super sad over this one)
• Qyburn
• Melisandre
• Davos

Looking back at that list, it looks like I basically listed all the side characters. Have no fear, because I believe Brienne, Podrick, and Yara Greyjoy will live. Hopefully. However, we won’t know until April 14th, will we? Until then, prepare yourselves for the Long Night…