‘Game of Thrones’: Five Questions We Need Answered in Season 7
Season Six ended with a bang – and enough wildfire to send countless troublesome characters up in smoke. The ruthless Cersei sits on the Iron Throne, Daenerys has set sail with Tyrion as her Hand of the Queen, Jon Snow rules in the North, and Arya proved that revenge is a dish best served cold. But where does GoT go from here? These are the top questions we need answered when Season Seven kicks into gear starting July 16th.
1. When will Cersei’s reign of terror end?
Sitting on the Iron Throne is like playing keyboard for the Grateful Dead – life expectancy tends to drop drastically. Cersei finally took over, but she had to turn herself into the Mad Queen to do it. How long can she count on the bloodlust loyalty of her brother-with-benefits, Jaime? Especially since her coup cost the life of their last remaining child? After all, the Kingslayer got his name by slicing up the Mad King to prevent the exact same wildfire massacre Cersei just added to her résumé. How much of her ominous childhood prophecy will come true?
2. What has Bran Stark done?
Last season, we learned that Bran’s warging can leave serious damage behind – in the sad tale of Hodor, we saw the moment when the boy’s time-traveling broke the giant’s brain. So that raises the big question: What else in this entire story is a result of Bran’s psychic trips? What other kind of butterfly effect does he cause when he goes back in time? Did his encounter with the Night King, leaving that icy mark on his arm, weaken the spells protecting the Wall?
3. When will Daenerys reach Westeros?
At the climax of Season Six, the Khaleesi dared to go where the Dothraki always feared – the water. Now the Mother of Dragons is sailing home to claim the Iron Throne. But will she run into trouble, especially with the Greyjoys prowling the seas? Can she keep her new team of rivals – Tyrion Lannister, Olenna Tyrell, Elaria Sand – allied together? Will she make haste to King’s Landing for the big blonde-on-blonde battle with Cersei? Or cool her heels in her ancestral home of Dragonstone? And who will ride her other two dragons?
4. Will the Wall hold?
This is a song of ice and fire, and while Daenerys brings the fire, we can’t forget about the White Walkers rising up beyond the Wall. Will Jon Snow’s victory in the North leave him strong enough to take on the Night King and his evil undead wights? (Bran might be keeping an eye on the Wall, but with all due respect, that’s like leaving Meadow Soprano in charge of a turf war.) Will Littlefinger’s manipulations doom Sansa’s alliance with her bastard brother? Especially if she gets some answers about his mysterious parentage? And will a pivotal character, resurrected in the books, but thus far skipped over on the show, finally make an appearance?
5. Who is next on Arya’s kill list?
Congratulations, Arya – Walder Frey was a big score, and serving him dessert first was a stylish touch. But there are plenty of names left on this Young Thug’s to-slay list. No matter how much trouble her surviving Stark siblings face in the North, it wouldn’t be like Arya to just rush there without turning the trip into a lavish murder tour. So who faces her wrath next? Melisandre? Jaime? The Hound? The Mountain? Or will she slide the new Queen Cersei to the top of the queue?