In Game of Thrones, dragons have always been a threat to others, and not so much the other way around, but season seven proved to be the exception to the rule: first, Bronn almost managed to kill Drogon with Qyburn’s scorpion (the giant crossbow-like weapon pictured above), and then the Night King skewered Viserion like a pig. This trend may continue in the eighth season, with Qyburn’s latest innovation in anti-dragon warfare!
Bronn’s failure in “Spoils of War” must have damaged Qyburn’s ego, as he apparently decided to improve his original design by following the adage of “the bigger, the better.” Steve Bird recorded a brief video of a crew member testing one of the new scorpions in front of the Paint Hall at Titanic Studios. I stabilized it, zoomed in, and slowed it down:
The difference might not be obvious, but you only have to compare the size—relative to the weapon—between Bronn in season seven and the crewman at Titanic Studios:
These changes could also be due to the fact that the version we knew was portable, while this one will be affixed on King’s Landing’s walls. Three of them will, in fact:
Drogon and Rhaegal better be careful (Viserion can suck it.) Whether it is the Night King or Daenerys (or perhaps both) who take their dragons to King’s Landing in season eight, they will face this new and improved weapon of war—and more than one, this time!
I wouldn’t discount the danger: these are functional props because an action scene will revolve around them again … except this is the final season, so no one is safe. Drogon got hurt already and Viserion fell to a similar projectile (before a certain Olympic javelin thrower revived him), so could it be Rhaegal’s turn to face Qyburn’s latest monster?
It’s for Viserion. Likely after Jon ‘talks’ with Cersei. Cersei isn’t worried about Drogon and Rhaegal when she knows they’re occupied up north.
“so could it be Rhaegal’s turn to face Qyburn’s latest monster?”
You take that back! You take that back right now!
#protectthedragons #unlessthatwouldmeanmoredirewolfscreentime #inthatcasebyebyeRhae
So that’s what those platforms are for! Hard to see that they’re larger than the S7 scorpion but in any case, the set must be pretty sturdy to take their weight. I thought the central gate part was designed to be blown up/ removed easily?
Can’t wait until the cameras start rolling.. we’ll likely get numerous close up shots! 😊
I would love to think the dragons are all safe (except Viserion), but I fear they will all be gone by Season’s end. If Westeros is to be well ruled, Dragons can’t be part of the equation. Sigh.
On another note, I hope we don’t get yet another dragon being speared.. it’s getting a little repetitive now, surely they can come up with other ways. I was hoping for some mid air dragon fights 🙏
I doubt they’ll actually blow it up, as the whole thing is made of wood and plaster, so it wouldn’t look right, but the gate was first built to look breached, underneath its current appearance. The explosion itself will probably be CGI.
Anyway, one thing’s for sure: the scorpion in the middle, on top of the gate, as well as the gate itself, are doomed. As for the other two, who knows.
Let’s hope they don’t get speared when dany and Jon are onboard
Ryan,
She could send the ballistas not only to kill Viserion but also and the other 2 dragons..She had her secret plan with Tyrion and Euron to not help the North and to bring the GC to fight the Targaryens there where they are..Im sure she will put Euron in the one ballista to take off Drogon/Danny and Harry Strickland to the other ballista to take off Rhaegal /Jon while the others will try to take down Viserion /NK..but not make it..Cercei cannot be trusted ..she is a mad snake ..she could trap Jon in KL as she did with Ned ..and kill him.Jon should not to go in KL.
Am I the only one who actually wants the dragons to be dead by the end of this story? No more white walkers and dragons is likely in my opinion so if these take out a dragon then good for me.
Luka Nieto,
Yeah I figured that, but the set was built using strong steel beams with the gap in the middle, and IIRC that middle part went up pretty quickly, and assuming without using such a rigid/permanent supporting frame- from the pics we saw from Red Priestess.
I’m sure the structural engineers have it all under control mind you 😝
Luka Nieto,
I wonder when the filming is supposed to start and how long it’s going to continue? It looks like the set still needs some final touches, and Spain is scheduled for the first half of May. This leaves 3 weeks in April at best which looks to be too short for a such elaborated set. Maybe, they plan to return their after Spain?
Inga,
Construction has slowed down, and there are finishing touches still left to be added, so I wouldn’t be surprised if they wait until after Spain. Before we knew about Spain, and when construction seemed to be going faster, I figured the start date on this set would be around mid-April or so, but not anymore.
Artemisia,
Chill out, please. I won’t tell you again. And ease up on the language. Your comments already go into moderation, for good reason, and I’ve just had to trash one in which you repeatedly used a slur. Stop that too. Immediately.
If you went a step further and made your comments more readable and comprehensible, I think everyone would appreciate that, too.
The destroyed gate makes me think the ballistas aren’t much of a deterrent (one can hope 🙂
Oh, the irony
Luka Nieto,
oh yeah to talk like a Danny hater is more acceptable for you..Put that guy there in moderation ..not me .He has used more harshly language than me in his comments in other articles ..Im honest to what i say..he is not..Dannys fans always eat … from everywere and its really boring..Lets see and some Danny haters eat …. for first time now
Artemisia,
Cersei’s going to launch Euron on a ballista? I like the visual imagery, but that’s so ultra tinfoil even I wouldn’t propose it – and I am the King of Tinfoil.
Seeing the dragons die will be brutal, but like most others, I assume they’ll die, so I’m trying to brace myself for it as far in advance as possible. No matter how much I try, it’s still going to be difficult though.
Artemisia,
Well, I did warn you. Enjoy not having your comments published for a while.
(For the record, I’m the opposite of a Dany hater, so perhaps you should consider that’s not the issue here; maybe the issue is your behavior.)
Qyburn really needs to get fried and eaten. Leave the dragons alone!!! (Same goes for direwolves).
Ha. Enjoy reading the comments.
The Tyrion betrayal/in cahoots with Cersei is an awful fanfic theory which has zero chance of happening. Makes no sense thematically, characteristically, and consistency wise.
Ryan,
Always seemed absurd to me. That said, I can’t rule out that Tyrion may have made some promises to Cersei, perhaps to keep her unborn child safe whatever happens or something like that; that is, the kind of promise Daenerys wouldn’t want him to make on his own. But actual betrayal? Nah.
The question is, of course, whether Daenerys would see any kind of deal or promise as a betrayal, even if it was for her own good (to try to convince Cersei to agree to Jon and Dany’s plan at the dragonpit.) We’ll see!
Jon Snowed,
Then they also need to take out any Direwolves too…RIP Ghost
Luka Nieto,
This also seems way more plausible to me. While I honestly won’t rule anything out, as long as it could make any sort of sense, I personally wouldn’t write in that Tyrion betrays Dany. But, as you point out, I certainly can picture Tyrion making a choice that Dany doesn’t see as in her best interest, and therefore sees it as a sort of betrayal. I don’t think she’d go so far as to kill him for this, however, unless Tyrion really screws the pooch. Which he has in the past, so I guess we shall see.
As for the dragons… I also unfortunately see them dying. Probably not by these Scorpion bolts, though. Maybe one of them. I would ideally like to see Viserion brought down by dragon-on-dragon combat. That would be so epic on screen.
Oh yeah I’m certain that scene is coming in S8 no way he survives this story in my opiinion
Apollo,
“…I was hoping for some mid air dragon fights 🙏”
——————–
Oh, me too! I want to see a nighttime light show in the sky. High altitude dragon dogfights. Streams of orange dragonfire and blue dragonfire. Wildfire-tipped bolts streaking across the sky. Dragonriders waving flaming swords. Divebombing dragons. Fireballs launched from the ground and exploding in midair into glowing fragments raining from above like meteor showers. Fusillades of flaming arrows. Explosions on the ground, and buildings going up in flames with embers floating up into the air. Firebombs flung from catapults on ships (a la Masters’ armada’s assault in S6e9). Wights ignited by molten volcanic goo poured from city walls. Choreographed, illuminated aerial acrobatics. Detonation of MOAB (“Mother of All Bombs”) invented by Qyburn making the Battle of Blackwater look like a stovetop grease fire. Plumes of incandescent liquified dragonglass. A real fireworks display!
I want to see the stars bleed!
I think you hit the nail on the head there Luka, the way that whole scene ended left some scope for comeback. A full on betrayal makes zero sense but some amicable agreement such as guarantees her life would be spared in exchange for her help could come into play.
I suspect Ghost will be killed off however direwolves aren’t magical so I don’t believe it to be necessary. Essentially I am looking for the removal of the magical elements as part of the stories closure.
Who’s “Ghost”?
Ryan, Except it was set up in S7 with Dany questioning Tyrion’s loyalty to his family over her more than once, with Tyrion guessing Cersei pregnant, and with Tyrion once again defending himself to Cersei regarding not killing her other kids.
I wonder if the reason Tyrion gave that semi-angry look towards Dany and Jon during the boat sex scene was because Tyrion assumed that Dany could not have an heir, so he made some deal with Cersei to make her unborn child next in line to take over after Dany, but seeing Dany and Jon have sex might make Tyrion wonder if Dany could have a child afterall and screw up his deal with Cersei?
I know, it’s somewhat tinfoily. Just speculating.
I assume the dragons will be dead by the end but I’ll never understand those who actively root for it. We’ve literally watched them grow from babies to adolescence to adulthood; one could argue that Drogon has more development and more of an arc than some secondary characters. Whatever the case, I’m sure D&D will make their deaths (Drogon and Rhaegal) emotionally moving. I’ll never forget Drogon learning how to cook his own food, or him crying out for his mama when she was pretending to trade him away, or Rhaegal and Viserion allowing Tyrion to remove their chains, or when Jon petted Drogon. 😢😢
I’m coming up with my excuse ahead of time in case I shed a tear or two watching the dragons die.
“Excuse me, everyone, I’ve got something in my eye.” *Runs off to the bathroom to grab a tissue*
Jon Snowed,
I am a huge fan of Dr. Q. However, assuming Qyburn will be snuffed out in Season 8, I think it ought to be at the hands of FrankenGregor, consistent with the theme of bioengineered soldier-slaves turning on their creators, e.g., WWs-CotF and Unsullied-Masters.
Ten Bears,
Maybe the little birds will take care of the Q-man.
Well in the books, all the Stark children are wargs (Arya and Bran have been shown to skinchange other things as well) but I doubt they’ll all die.
Dany ‘questioning’ his loyalty out of frustration that things werent going her way, even though he was doing his best to help Dany, does not portend or hint at a betrayal. Theyve spent 7 seasons making Tyrion one of the most likeable characters, they wont have him turn heel by helping the villain in the last few episodes just for a twist. Theyve made several points about how Tyrion has found his purpose and what it means to him to be serving Dany. Also – how he wants to die an old man with a belly full of wine. Tyrion is smart – he knows betraying Dany = death. Hes not risking it for Cersei.
He may have told Cersei he doesnt want to see her or her child die, but certain events may take place where that becomes moot early in season.
Jay Targ,
I agree. I’m in this weird spot where emotionally I don’t want the dragons to die, but I think having them dead by the end of the series serves the story better. Having these WMDs around at the end seems.. too unstable to me for a satisfying ending.
Also, maybe I’m wrong but I get the feeling that some people underestimate the effects of losing a dragon. In other words, S7 has been criticized for not having any really heartbreaking deaths (so LF doesn’t count), but Viserion definitely counts in my opinion. That was brutal!
Having said that, the deaths of Ghost or Nymeria will affect me far more than Drogon or Rhaegal being the wolf/Stark fan that I am. So I’m praying that doesn’t happen..
Mr Derp,
I’ve totally given up on even trying to hide my tears for next season because I know I’ll be an emotional wreck.. In fact, I plan on taking the day off work following the final episode because I’m certain I’ll be in no condition to concentrate on work that day! 🙁
Er… may I remind you guys that Cersei never intended to honour the agreement? I mean, if Cersei doesn’t actually give her ‘help’, then it’s not really an exchange, is it?
IMO, if you really want to know how Dany feels about Tyrion, see how she didn’t tell him that the KITN bent the knee. Watch how she’s shifting her trust and reliance to Jon, and from Tyrion. Remember how she reeled around to attack Tyrion when he said they had the right plan, then pointedly asked Jon for advice. Recall the little dust-up Dany had with Tyrion when he tried to discuss what would happen in the event of her death.
Betrayal is the one thing Dany will not forgive…not easily, anyway.
Everything Tyrion has, belongs to Dany. Tyrion didn’t earn any of it. And it is the only reason he’s able to return to Westeros. I’d like to see him actually earn something.
I like to see her get to Bravos, then a voice : Sansa Stark sends her regards .
Only the link between them and their owner is magical, so perhaps they don’t die, but the Starks can no longer have warging abilities.
Bronn’s action sequence was one of the best and most exciting parts of any season in my opinion. Dang. My conflicting “Yeah, go Bronn!!!…no wait, dangit, nooo ack” confusion made it even better.
Well, I’m near 70, grew up with the birth of atomic weapons, and I root like hell for them to disappear. WoMD are uncontrollable, whether birth or invented.
They will loose their ability to warg, or it be really weakened; like Sansa.
Ryan,
I thought they were setting up a quandary for Tyrion – and Varys. In S7e7, Tyrion tells Cersei he’s supporting Dany because the “difference” between Dany and Cersei is choosing advisor(s) who’ll check her worst impulses:
(from S7e7)
Cersei: But eventually, you want everyone to bend the knee to her.
Tyrion: Yes.
Cersei: Why?
Tyrion: Because I think she will make the world a better place.
Cersei: You said she’d destroy King’s Landing.
Tyrion: She knows herself. She chose an advisor who would check her worst impulses instead of feeding them. That’s the difference between you.
And yet, Varys and Tyrion have been commiserating with each other that Tyrion hasn’t been able to get Dany to listen to his advice to restrain herself, e.g., burning both Randall Tarly and his son.
Aside from Tyrion warring against his own family (mitigated somewhat by Jaime’s defection), I suspect that is what’s going to create inner turmoil for Tyrion (and Varys) – especially if they happen to come across another potential leader “with the right family name” who doesn’t seem as impulsive. **cough Aegon Targaryen cough**
So glad I’m retired, I can hide in my man cave and let them tears flow.
By the way Watchers haven’t reported this yet but a certain actress has posted a pic of her filming S8 on set
and there are spoilers out there which episode this is also.
Anon,
Can I incorporate this into what I just posted at 1:59 pm? Because you make an excellent observation that Dany seems to be freezing out Tyrion and relying more on Jon for advice. And not just because of the six-pack abs and lush hair.
Grail King,
I don’t think the death of wargs or the wargs’ powers will have anything to do with the end of the show, really. The only Stark warg they delved into was Bran, but he ended up being much, much more than that. Sure, it might play out that way in the books, but we’ll be hard pressed to ever get A Dream of Spring at this point. It won’t matter in the show as we currently know of one warg, and he ended up turning into a much more important being.
Also, I don’t think we’ll ever find out if Sansa was a warg or not. I don’t think she is a ‘weakened’ warg in the books, just that she could only warg into Lady but she died so Sansa wouldn’t be able to warg into anything anymore (assuming she is a warg in the first place).
Also, can you remind me what else Arya wargs into besides Nymeria? I sort of remember something else but nothing comes to mind.
Jay Targ,
Sorry, that Arya comment above was supposed to go to you.
Can you remind me what else Arya wargs into besides Nymeria? I sort of remember something else but nothing comes to mind.
Jaehaerys,
I think she subconsciously wargs into a cat?
best description of a vintage windows media player skin i ever read.
he once tried to earn something. that was the previous time he served as a hand. i remember he did not get what he deserved then.
it seems he can try and try with best intentions – circumstances or his environment will make him fail.
Mr Derp,
That’s what came to mind for me, too. I wasn’t sure if it was just because she was called Cat for a while or if it was because she’s been involved with cats the most in our story. I’m guessing this warging experience is in Braavos because that is when she really starts warging into Nym a lot… but it also could’ve been in King’s Landing when she was chasing cats all the time? Not sure.
But (if she actually was warging into a cat; if I recall, it was sort of ambiguous) it is pretty interesting because she’s the only Stark we know besides Bran to warg into other things. But Bran shouldn’t count. So in the books, she must be a really powerful warg.
Tinfoil theory: My guess is at some point in the later books (if they’re ever published), Arya probably wargs into Nym and leads the giant wolf pack into battle. That would be an awesome thing the show could do, too, just without the warging.
death by chickenfire,
Even when he succeeds (in saving King’s Landing), he still loses (some spoiled brat tries to have him killed).
He’s the most unlucky main character in our story, hands down.
Mr Derp,
I agree and I also thought that when Tyrion spoke to Cersei it may have been a throw back to when Tyrion asked Jon what he (Tyrion) could do for him, when they were speaking at Dragonstone on the rocks.
I like this because there were those who said that Dany should have just attack KL in S7 and she would won for sure. I said that there was a chance that Cersei would put scorpions all over the city’s gates and this is exactly what is going to happen in S8.
I agree the dragons will be dead by the end but it would be cool to see a couple eggs survive somehow. Maybe get magically transported to Alagaesia where they are found by Galbatorix
Don’t ask me the logistics because the remaining 3 dragons are male, male, zombie male but maybe I’m inaccurately assuming genders here.
I don’t know what that is, but now I want one. 😃 💫☄️💥🔥🚀🌠🎆🎇
Jon Snowed,
Is there
Can we do the same with the dragons? The connection between dragon and it’s rider is lost, and the simply dragons live on in Asshai (as seen in AGOT Bran III) or the ruins of Valyria.
And besides, the Stark children have other magical aspects to them that go beyond warging. Like the skills Arya acquired with the Faceless Men, or Bran and his greensight, or even Jon simply being resurrected. Will all this also be lost (not sure how it would work in Jon’s case)?
I definitely think Brienne is going to slay a dragon. There is book foreshadowing for it.
Jaehaerys,
Mr Derp,
It begins for Arya when she has what she believes are just dreams of being Nymeria. An example that they aren’t just dreams is her witnessing actual events involving LSH. She then starts to purposely warg the cat at HoBaW while she is blind. Even though she does train her other senses as the Kindly Man wants, she is able to impress him with things that she’s able to see through the cat’s eyes. She has learned to control her warging as we’ve seen Bran on the show do.
It could be. Though I’m not sure I’d say Jon is less impulsive… It’s one of the things that always seems to get him into trouble throughout the entire series.
Making the 8,
I could be wrong here, and someone please correct me if I am, but I am fairly certain that I read somewhere that all dragons in this story don’t have a gender. I don’t think any dragons actually reproduce… but then again, I don’t really remember reading where their eggs come from.
But I am pretty certain they do not need males and females to make eggs.
I know it’s just personal viewpoints but I just think it would be dumb to finish the story by eliminating or destroying any sort of magic or magical abilities. Wanting a fantasy land and fantasy story to end in a manner that it becomes just a regular, mundane world (if you allow me to use that term again) is lame to me.
To add to that I don’t really see THESE dragons as magical creatures. While I think getting the eggs to hatch took something ‘special,’ they are now living, breathing animals that I don’t believe will instantly die by killing the NK or something else odd. Like just about everyone, I do think the chances are low that any of the current dragons live. However, if they do all die I’d prefer it if someone finds dragon eggs at the end so at least there’s the hope that more can exist in the future of their world.
As for the warging/skinchanging abilities. That isn’t something new in their world or unique to the Starks. There are several in the books by name that interact in pov (Jon) and mentions of others supposedly fighting with Robb. House Mormont is also rumored to be able to turn into bears…
Luka Nieto,
There’s one thing that goes against KL happenning after Spain: they have already installed the greenscreen at the gates and I assume the greenscreen is something installed right before filming. Therefore, some sequence at the KL gate should be filmed in April. Maybe, it will be covering events before the breach of the gate and “after the breach” will be done later?
As for Tyrion, IMO Dany has a certain record of overreacting in case of a true or aleged treason. Like in case Jorah – Jorah never betrayed her. He spied on her, but he did that serving his king and his country. When he got to know Dany better and fell in love with her, he stopped spying and King Robert was the only one who had a right to complain about being betrayed in this case. Nevertheless, Dany banished Jorah – twice! IMO, she has been may have issues with accepting that people around her may have shifting and sometimes conflicting allegences, and her final season arch may evolve around overcomming these issues.
Jaehaerys,
I agree, I don’t think the show will focus on the death of wargs or their powers. But even if we ignore that, in the show many of our protagonists (namely the Stark children and Daenerys) have involvement with magic: Arya with the Faceless Men, Bran with his greensight, Jon with his resurrection, and Daenerys with her fireproofness. Will they all die, or will they simply lose these abilities? Or perhaps magic isn’t gone from the world.
It seems others have answered your Arya question ☺
Clob,
It was when she was blind! I kind of do remember that. Most things from ADWD are a little fuzzy for me.
I really liked how Arya wasn’t aware of her warging abilities and thought they were dreams…. and still thought they were dreams while letting the readers know she’s actually a warg by showing us the Lady Stoneheart getting pulled from the river scene. GRRM is really good at letting the readers piece things together while keeping the characters in the dark. I’m pretty sure he does this with Jon too, by having him witness the attack on the Fist? I may be wrong here.
Jorah best watch himself around Tormund!!!
I just wanted to say I agree with all of this. This is what I’m beginning to lean towards as well
Jaehaerys,
You do know that all the Stark kids are wargs? Jon saw where Mance had his wildling camp through Ghost, Rickon was the reason that shaggydog was so wild and Sansa apparently also had instances of warging (although I admit I never really caught it in the text myself).
Also, your tinfoil theory is already a very well established loaded theory within the fandom 😝
Carice’s Melisandre photo on Twitter and Instagram is probably from a previous season.
As far as the magic going away or not, it could be that the magical creatures which currently exist will die, but there will be a hint of rebirth to ensure that the magical elements will continue on.
History always has a way of repeating itself, and I assume that will come into play one way or another in the end.
HA!!
Although… it does give a certain level of legitimacy to Tormund’s tale. If the “bear” was actually a skinchanged person… Still pretty gross, but more believable. 🙂
Clob,
I can imagine (though I’m really trying hard not to) Tormund and his “bear” making some sweet love by the fire and then all of a sudden the bear’s face turns into Jorah’s in mid coital bliss, sending both Tormund and Jorah into a freakout for the ages.
Mr Derp,
Well, we’ve managed to take things to weird again after the Ms. Arya the Dominatrix previously. 😛
Making the 8,
What makes You that assured, the dragons are male?
Maester Aemon told, that dragons have no anaedeous, so that no one can say, whether they are male or female, and that they are able to change their sex, just like they want to or is necessary.
I always ( still do ) she got into Sandor’s head without knowing it, in the BBWB; or her snow castle scene.
Apollo,
Actually, we don’t know that all the Stark kids are wargs. We do know that Jon, Bran and Arya are wargs, but there was definitely no confirmation on the rest. Yes, stories about Robb are there, mostly told by Southerners who don’t really know anything. Sansa’s wolf died too early to know for her, there were absolutely no signs of her warging abilities. She could’ve been, but again we don’t know. And we also never get a POV chapter with Rickon, so we don’t know about him either. Their wolves are all very connected with the owners, so this could be why Shaggydog can be seen as wild like Rickon, and Lady can be seen as very polite and lady-like as Sansa is. Nothing was confirmed about them, but yes, I am aware of all of this.
I’ve heard theories of the Nymeria’s pack returning (especially in the books, since GRRM said in an interview something along the lines of, “You don’t hang a wolf-pack Chekov’s gun on the wall unless you intend to use it”), but I haven’t heard any theories about Arya warging Nymeria and leading the pack. Then again, I don’t really go searching for theories.
There is a main difference between the sets of WMD, bombs actually need a human to launch them, Dragons have minds of their own..
Direwolves actually existed, yet to see proof of dragons existing.
I rather see dragons die, then Danny, though I’m still on the fence with her, I want to see her without those dragons and measure her that way.
Clob,
Lol, I just call em as I see em.
Clob,
I’m also gonna go ahead and shamelessly blame it entirely on Pigeon since her comment sparked the weirdness, lol 😉 I take no responsibility here whatsoever!
Jaehaerys,
I believe it was George himself some years ago that either stated or suggested that all of the Stark children have the ability. It just hasn’t manifested itself in all of them. I think that’s probably where people got it from and have continued to repeat it. I personally don’t remember ever getting the idea (from the released books) that Sansa has the ability. I didn’t see it in Robb as anything related to it just seemed like people calling him Young Wolf and spreading fear-inducing rumors. With so little written of Rickon it was hard to get anything from that other than suggestion.
I’ve been waiting for Jon to really grasp the ability but so far he’s just kind of hovering around it, but it’s pretty obviously there. Arya and Bran definitely have and use it.
There’s plenty left in George’s story for him to bust it out with all of them. I for one actually think it will be an important element for them in the climax of the written story.
cos alpha,
I said in my comment that I may be inaccurately assuming gender. I really don’t care what gender the dragons identify as, so long as they are happy 😉
I guessed they are males based only on their names but I’ve also heard of a boy named Sue so I can most assuredly be wrong on thinking the dragons are all males.
I just think it would be cool if some dragon eggs somehow survived season 8 so their species could have hope of new life in the future. As I said before I don’t believe the 3 current dragons survive the final season. Not due to magic being wiped out completely but more likely in some gnarly battle or another.
Hey!!!! 😐
Continue Your 8, man, everything’s allright :o)
And I definitley agree that eggs must be left somewhere – and hopefully someone finds one or another, before credits run the black screen…
Jon Snowed,
Yaaassss!! And I really, really hope she brings Kinvara with her. That season six exchange between her and Varys was gold, and I want to see their interaction continue to a payoff.
Qyburn will survive the whole series. Just like the Nazi scientists who fled to Argentina after the war.
He’s a survivor. Remember that we first saw him waking up in a pile of corpses.
Well, let’s return there for a brief visit, shall we?
The Waif: “Arya Payne?”
Arya: “You’re about to find out.”
Clob,
Yeah, I get that it could be inferred that all the Stark’s can warg into their direwolves, and GRRM definitely has big plans with the wolves. I was just pointing out to Apollo that it is nowhere near a definite thing that they all can warg, at least as far as the text goes; GRRM may have confirmed this, but I haven’t seen anything about him confirming it in Sansa, Robb, or Rickon.
I kind of briefly remember some things concerning Robb and warging; stories that people tell that say Robb can even turn into a direwolf himself (obviously an exaggeration by those who tell it, but it could stem from him warging inside his wolf) and I sort of remember something about scouting for Jamie’s army inside Grey Wind at the Whispering Wood, but this was from an unconfirmed story as well (if I’m even remembering correctly; maybe I read this somewhere as speculation).
I agree and think it’ll be a huge plot device in the remaining books. I’m excited to see where he takes all the remaining Stark’s with regards to warging. Makes me a little nervous for Sansa and (maybe) Bran in the books though. I just hope that their parallels with their wolves doesn’t mean they’ll follow their wolves’ fates like Lady and (show) Summer.
Personally, I like to subscribe to the idea that the Starks’ deaths were foreshadowed by King Robert touching various Stark’s in the first episode. Since he touched everybody but Bran, Sansa and Arya, I would like to believe they’ll be safe. A guy can dream.
Grail King,
Yea, I actually have a hard time imagining people wanting the dragons to stay alive. They’re weapons of mass destruction even if they’re living and breathing, as Jorah said they don’t differentiate between what’s theirs and what’s not. They are a destructive force, not some cute cuddly pets. I’m also surprised when people say they were sad when Viserion died, we hardly knew him? Drogon is the only dragon who got a bit of a personality in the show, the other two are just there. Dragons plan no trees and in the end, there’ll be a dream of spring and there’s no room for dragons in that.
I don’t think that the Stark kids’ connection with the fates of their wolves needs to be so literal. That’s one reason why some people feel that Sansa won’t survive, but I see Lady’s death as more symbolic of Sansa’s loss of innocence and her dreams. And Ned, being the one to kill Lady, in a way indirectly causes this by bringing her south to KL. It also foreshadows Cersei’s eventual influence over Sansa as she is the one who is mostly responsible for Lady’s demise.
I definitely don’t think it foreshadows Sansa having to sacrifice herself for Arya, or that this previous wrong needs to be somehow corrected by Arya sacrificing herself for Sansa. It’s too on-the-nose and not very interesting for either of the sisters’ arcs.
Me too! The one question mark for me here is Bran, who I’ve said before is unlikely to make it out of this alive. But, it’s very possible that he will either warg into a wolf or that his spirit will live on in the Weirwoods or something, so that means that spiritually he is still alive, and thus satisfies Robert’s curse.
Furthermore, if this was the only bit of foreshadowing in this scene it might seem more like a stretch, but this scene in particular is full of foreshadowing (as is the episode itself). Notice Rickon’s positioning relative to the other Stark children: he’s standing to Cat’s left, totally separate from the others. And he ends up having almost no effect on the story at all. Robert also doesn’t say anything to him. He then embraces Cat and Ned, and shakes Robb’s hand as a fellow leader/king. From then on, he does not touch any of the other Stark children and comments on Sansa’s beauty, asks Arya’s name (ahem.. “a girl has no name”), and Bran being a soldier (which he kind of becomes through his 3ER powers).
You know that. We know that. Tyrion doesn’t. So I don’t see your point. I wasn’t saying that, if Tyrion made any such deal, it will turn out okay; but he’d try to do it if he believed it was the only way to convince her (a moment we didn’t actually see on screen, even if she was faking being convinced.)
Jaehaerys,
Can I just say I dread fan theories that Jon’s human form will die but he will warg into and live on in Ghost, or that Arya’s human form will die but she will warg into and live on in Nymeria?
Luka Nieto,
Bravo, sir
Ten Bears,
Same! However, I do see a silver lining in the case of Arya warging into Nymeria in the books. To me, the thematic undercurrents here are that she gets a second life as her wolf, and her new identity embraces her free and independent nature. So even though her physical body may be gone, her spirit and mind are still alive. If that is her ending in the books, the show will have to find its version of that, and that means she survives (and is why that line of hers to Lady Crane about sailing West seems significant)! How they would go about this character shift, I don’t know, but my theory (as I’ve stated several times before) has to do with her giving mercy to someone she loves/cares for. That could perhaps teach her the real cost of taking a life instigating her character change, and through that she learns to let go of her anger and violence (which is something Maisie has hinted at that she wants for Arya at the end).
Another thought I had a while ago was that instead of dying physically and living on spiritually, that the show would reverse that and have her live on physically but abandon her identity as Arya. I think this is less likely now though because her journey has really started to emphasize her reclaiming her identity as Arya, so to do a 180 on that at the end doesn’t seem like a great way to end her arc.
Of course, Tyrion would think that the best thing about Dany is ….himself. And when he says people should bow to her, he means they should bow to him – the small man casting the large shadow.
I wanna see how he’ll deal with it when Dany realizes that Cersai has gone back on her word. Not only that, but Cersai got a good look at all her opponent’s forces. She got to see the dragon up close and now she knows exactly where on the map her enemy is. Dany/Tyrion tactics are not dragon tactics…they’re bunny rabbit tactics.
But he ought to know it. He knows his sister and she agrees in words only that causes Dany to take a decisive step when she never intends to act on those words. I guess it remains to be seen whether Tyrion planned for Cersei’s betrayal; although I don’t see how he possibly could. That agreement caused Dany to march north. How can he possibly mitigate that?!
Did You ever see an individual die, a human, an animal -?
Viserions dyingscene was really great pictured – I was heartstricken. Although I wasn’t touched by Viserion before.
Nevertheless: there is no room for dragons in the end, as sad as it might be.
Enharmony1625,
I don’t know what to make of the S7e2 Arya – Nymeria scene. Though personally I found it oddly underwhelming (I’m just not a fan of the director’s style), I can’t help but think they didn’t fly Maisie Williams all the way to Calgary to the “wolf actors” sanctuary for a throwaway scene. Arya was already headed home to WF, so she didn’t have to be reminded of her ties to her “pack.” That happened earlier in the episode in her scene with Hot Pie, and her decision at the literal and figurative crossroads to head north towards home instead of south to KL.
Considering the producers’ constant refrain that direwolf scenes are expensive to stage, and that Ghost hasn’t even made a cameo appearance recently, I have to assume that scene with Nymeria was a setup for something in S8.
I just can’t imagine what it could be. (It had better not be some permanent warging into Nymeria nonsense. The show has downplayed Arya’s psychic link to her direwolf, so transferring her consciousness into Nymeria would really come off as a deus ex machina.)
Anon,
Really! If Tyrion couldn’t anticipate a Cersei double-cross then he really has turned into an “idiot”, and shouldn’t be Hand to anyone. He was the one counseling Dany to learn to think like the enemy, or something like that. He knows his sister despised him. He knows she will say anything get what she wants.
I’m kind of surprised that Dany didn’t assign a bunch of Dothrakis and Unsullied to march north with their new “allies”, i.e., to make sure Cersei wasn’t full of sh*t.
Or…maybe the “old” Tyrion will be back and S8 will open with Team Targaryen having planned for a double-cross all along. If not, Tyrion is going to lose even more credibility.
Ten Bears,
I think that there is literally no chance that Arya suddenly becomes a warg in S8. That would be so out of left field and tacked on considering that there hasn’t even been the slightest of hints that she’s a warg in the show. Not only that, Arya warging into Nymeria is something that comes across better on the written page than on screen since in the books, you are in the character’s mind.
If that scene in 7×02 is a precursor to anything in S8, my guess is that Nymeria will either save Arya or fight off wights along her with the rest of the pack. Perhaps both. I’m fearful that means Nymeria might die though.. Ugh, I really don’t want to see that happen! How amazing would it be to see Arya and Nymeria fighting wights together though?! George has said that he intends to use the “pack” in the books, so maybe this is part of what’s taking so long is that they’re finally giving us the wolf pack. Or it’s just me being wishful.. 🙂
As a side note, I live in Calgary, and last year when Maisie was here there was an article in the paper that she was at a karaoke bar that is literally 15 minutes from my house. ARGH! Had I only known. So I’m keeping my ear to the ground for any news that she’ll be back this year for any potential Nymeria scenes.
I think he just needed Cersei to look like she was agreeing for a certain period of time.
Wight hunt was a plan to “try to find a way to make her listen,” because he comes up with it right after that discussion with Varys about the dilemma of her acting like her father.
He’s giving Dany a reasonable war to fight so that she can look better than whatever path she would be going down by looking like her father.
He’s trying to give Dany a PR boost, and a ceasefire with Cersei is just a means to do that. I think he knows Cersei will not honor that ceasefire. But he’s gambling that it will give him enough time for Dany to pull out a victory and look like a savior.
Unfortunately for Dany, she is clueless that Tyrion is playing this game with her. She’s also clueless about Cersei.
It could have merely been closure. But I think it was her final chance to choose between her family Pack and being a lone wolf. She understood and accepted that Nymeria now had her own pack and chose it. This symbolises that Arya has grown up. And her Nymeria scene parallels the Odyssey where Odysseus comes home in rags and tatters and only his old dog recognises him…and dies from joy. Then Odysseus is blocked from getting into his home, just like Arya was blocked from hers. Benioff said the Winterfell guard scene was based on the Odyssey.
BTW, today there was a very interesting podcast called “The Hero’s Journey of Arya Stark.” Gemma from Secrets of the Citadel was especially insightful. It lasts a bit over an hour and there’s Q&A at the end. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yC1KvSLB-Dw
Ten Bears,
I’ve always thought GRRM’s original “bittersweet” ending was both Jon & Arya dying while saving the realm and both warging into their direwolves and being able to fulfill their “forbidden love” through their wolves. And I definitely think he heavily foreshadowed it in the ADWD prologue.
Now, he may have abandoned the Jon/Arya love story but he could still use them warging into Ghost & Nym as a “bittersweet” ending. As my 2 favorite characters, I kind of wish he had stuck with the original outline of Jon & Arya being an item. Maisie starting the show so young kind of nixed that but I still hold out hope for it in the books. He could even initially broach the subject while both are warged into their wolves.
And I’d prefer them both to live and not die but them dying saving the world and warging into the direwolves certainly fits the bittersweet ending…
Cersei takes out Viserion and the NK, thereby becoming the hero who saves Westeros. This puts Jon and Dany in the unenviable position of having to fight “the saviour of humankind”.
We know Cersei as a ruler is and would be a terrible tyrant but the people of Westeros might not see it that way. Cersei is sure to make most of her (stroke of luck?) victory in the propaganda department.
“These rebels brought that thing right here, into our beloved city to try and intimidate and threaten you, the good people of Westeros. Ask yourselves how they were able to capture one of the dark lord’s very own? Is it not clear they were working with him, he sent these pretenders, these rebels here to do his bidding. I have now vanquished the dark lord but we must stand together and finish this threat to our peaceful, bountiful realm by stamping out his last minions, Daenerys the Mad Queen and this northern bastard rebel.” (cue cheering crowds)
Maybe the only way to free the realm of the mad tyrant, Cersei, is via assassination. And Jaime might be the only one to get near enough. Sigh, I don’t want Jaime to become a kinslayer, but it’s looking increasingly probable. It’s also got that Shakespearean tragedy element about it. Jaime might’ve somewhat redeemed himself, joining Jon and Dany in the real war, but Cersei will be his doom… I only wonder about the foreshadowing of dying in the arms of the woman he loves, which has got to be Brienne by this stage… Maybe that is his end but Arya is there and takes his face to assassinate Cersei? I dunno.
Man, this is reallyreally scary – but even therefore it sounds more than possible!
Twistest twist in the endgame…
Stark Raven’ Rad,
“…But I think it was her final chance to choose between her family Pack and being a lone wolf.”
————————
I figured she had already made that choice. She told Nymeria: “I’m heading north girl, back to Winterfell. I’m finally going home.”
I am hoping that scene with Nymeria had some purpose for events in S8.
mau,
which proves those who said she should have attacked in S7 correct. That attack would have been before they had time to set up the ballistas in KL, which seems to have taken a year,
Aegon the Icedragon,
Oh my, no! Thats just ,ewwww. Actually I agree that there has to be some reason to show the scene with Nymeria. Be interesting to see what happens. Tho I do agree with you that the two of them, being so close, fight together and die saving the world.
As far as the dragons dying – I wonder part of the bittersweet part of the ending is that magic dies in this world. No moore wights and walkers, but no more dragons or warging as well. That would be sad for me, because Im always wanting a good fantasy where magic is used. Don’t want Westerous to just be the same as us….
Enharmony1625,
“As a side note, I live in Calgary, and last year when Maisie was here there was an article in the paper that she was at a karaoke bar that is literally 15 minutes from my house. ARGH! Had I only known. So I’m keeping my ear to the ground for any news that she’ll be back this year for any potential Nymeria scenes.”
————
Last year, I think they sent Maisie to Calgary well after principal shooting had already been completed. So it could be months before that happens this year, though I wonder if they’ll use CGI if there’s a huge wolfpack vs wight squad scene in S8. Or…
Since Puppy Nymeria jumped into action to protect little Arya by biting weenie Prince Joffrey in S1, night full grown Nymeria jump into the fray to protect Arya by chomping on NK in S8?
Ol NK would be so surprised, he may just shard himself!!!
Here all week, folks.
Ten Bears,
It was at the end of February last year (I don’t know where that fit in with principal photography):
http://calgaryherald.com/entertainment/television/game-of-thrones-returns-to-calgary-to-shoot-scenes-for-season-7-actress-maisie-williams-spotted-singing-karaoke-at-duckys
And yeah, it’s entirely possible that if Nymeria will be fighting wights along with her pack that it will be entirely CG. If there are more personal moments between them I would hope they use the real dogs and then grow them with CG like they have done in the past.
Pigeon,
Three days later, and I finally got the joke. I must be getting dense.
First of all, it doesn’t matter how large the ballista is considering Viserion is an undead (Wight?)/White Walker dragon now, and I doubt even fire (considering he’s still a dragon) could bring him down. You’d need a giant bolt made of pure dragonglass (if that’ll even work) in order to take him out, though given his newfound speed and power, I can’t imagine such a device actually being of any use in destroying the Night King’s deadliest weapon. My theory is that the NK will take/destroy Winterfell, and everyone will go to KL for a final battle/showdown, an all out, three-way war between Cersei, Jon/Dany and the NK. Rhaegal will likely be killed by Viserion whilst injured from ballistas/ice spears thrown by the White Walkers, and Drogon – also injured – will injure Viserion long enough for him to be taken down by a bolt of dragonglass, eventually succumbing to his wounds and also dying at the end of the battle, thus bringing an end to the existence of dragons in the world.