Game of Thrones will be visiting several exciting locations later this fall, and today we have new details about one of them and their role in season 7, courtesy of Los Siete Reinos.
Extras casting in Malpartida de Cáceres, Spain kicked off earlier this month, providing a hint at season 7 and confirming that GoT will be filming in the area from November 14th through December 15th. We know from the casting announcement and process that HBO was hunting for Unsullied soldiers, and we also learned then the show was searching for a large amount of horses to use in a sequence for filming there.
Light spoilers below the cut!
It was commonly believed that Game of Thrones would be filming a battle in Malpartida’s beautiful Los Barruecos National Monument, but the latest spoilers have us shifting our attention a bit.
The newest info from Los Siete Reinos confirms that the battle will not happen on the water- it will take place alongside it. Game of Thrones will be shooting on a private property a few minutes’ drive northeast of Los Barruecos called Las Breñas. Los Siete Reinos has also heard strong rumors that the battle will include at least one dragon.
There apparently will be filming nearby in the more aquatic Los Barruecos area referred to as Barrueco de Arriba, but on a smaller scale for more individual scenes. The exact specifics are not yet known.
Furthermore, Los Siete Reinos has learned HBO will be using carriages or wagons in a scene to carry characters. As they note, we’ve rarely seen characters in a litter like this, and it was often nobility like Cersei, Tyrion or Lady Olenna. We have occasionally seen characters like Sam and Gilly journey in carriages, but most likely it will be a leader of some type being brought to the battlefield.
As if all that wasn’t enough, there’s even more new info from El Periódico Extremadura! They are now reporting that there will be three days of filming at Trujillo Castle, not one as we had previously heard. The outlet confirms that there will be one hundred extras present for filming at the location. The purpose of Trujillo Castle is not known, but it’s hard to imagine the place being a part of anywhere but Essos.
So we’ll have something like BOB but with DRAGONS? This is going to be amazing!
And still not done with Essos? What could be happening there?
Hodor!
darn so close…
Go Dragons.
Couldn’t it be Dorne? It’s the only place in Westeros that bears a light resemblance to Essos.
Could it be the Dornish Marches instead of Essos?
A Dornish Tyrell,
Yeah in theory but why would they go there, when it seems clear they’re cleaning up the Dorne story and minimizing it.
So its like Dragons, Navy,Cavalry,Knights,Unsullied in one big battle. HOLY SHIT
Yeah, I’m thinking it’s Dorne.
At least one dragon? Omg Emilia seemed kinda sad (when asked about S7) in one of her interviewes at the Emmys so I hope, if there’s only one dragon, it doesn’t mean the others have died 🙁
Essos? I was hoping we have seen the last of it. Oh well.
How could it have dragons and still be in Essos? Did she… did she TURN BACK ?
AAaarrgghhhh!!!!!!!!!!
Is it summer 2017 yet???
AAaarrgghhhhh!!!!!
Is it Summer 2017 yet??!!
There is no way that a big scene with 100 extras is set in Essos where the only known characters left are Daario and maybe Jorah. It doesn’t make sense for Dany to go back there so I’m pretty sure it has to be Dorne or some castle like high garden or casterly Rock which they will adapt with some CGI.
Sue the Fury,
That’s true… but the same could be said about Essos…
Oh well, I guess we’ll have to wait and see. 🙂
EDIT: in an unrelated note… Senpai noticed me!!! 🙂
Oh no, not Essos!
Is Daario up to something, after all?
Sue the Fury,
Just like Essos.
I guess I’ve been thinking they’ve been minimizing the Dorne characters that we’ve had but not the other main characters that may have reason to be in Dorne. It seems like that’s the probable entry point for Daenerys so all of those characters could be there…
This will be a long winter. Can’t wait for next season!
On another note: Anyone else seeing HUGE ads on the page?
the Battle of Fire!
It could easily be Essos. If you look at the map, there’s quite a bit of Essos coastline between Slaver’s Bay and Westeros. If there was a battle on Essos it would be early in the season, I’d imagine.
Sounds like this is going to be epic! Can’t wait!
Aryamad,
Haha lol! Love your avatar.
Unless Cersei has 3 dragons and 100,000 soldiers hidden up her sleeve, there isn’t going to be much drama here.
So no water battle?
Wildfire
Jack Bauer 24,
Dany has the guy who planned the last successful wildfire attack in her camp, and everybody knows that Cersei used wildfire to blow up the Sept, so it’s not like her using wildfire would surprise anyone at this point.
Like others said, it’s probably Dorne, not Essos.
Sue the Fury,
I had exactly the opposite impression from S6E10 – after the Martell-Tyrell alliance, Dorne will be more important than ever.
They are not doing 2 big battles next season and that one is definitely from the Dany x Cersei/Euron(?) battle. If we get anything from Essos will be a scene at most. Definitely Dorne.
So this is where Daenerys will win her crown
Daenerys Targaryen the First of Her Name The Queen of the Andals and the Rhoynar and the First Men The Queen of the Seven Kingdoms Protector Of The Realm
Long May She Reign
Hey Sue!
In L7R are speculating that it could be Essos because in the casting call for Trujillo, the women were told that they were going to be slaves
With 3 less episodes next season, there’s more money for another battle.
Clob,
Daenerys landing in Dorne would be the worst move, strategically. Especially if the Lannisters are in the process of besieging the Reach and/or Dorne.
Dorne is basically a bottleneck, and hundreds of miles from King’s Landing. For Daenerys’ forces to fight their way up from Dorne against the concentrated Lannister forces would be senseless. It makes even less sense given how little time there is left in the show.
There may be scenes in Dorne, featuring war or battles and possibly Ellaria and the Sand Snakes getting what’s coming to them.
But I’d be very surprised if they dumped Daenerys in Dorne.
Why are we back in Essos? I thought we were done there.
Is it safe to assume that based on the information so far we’ll have a small sea battle before this one?
I wouldn’t be surprised if one of the smaller dragons is captured/killed by Euron and the other small one ends up under the Night King’s control.
Jack Bauer 24,
But less time. It’s Dorne. It would be absolute madness to spend any more than about 5 minutes on Essos from now on.
Ramsay’s 20th Good Man,
In Dany’s defense, she’s at sea and she doesn’t exactly know what Cersei and Euron are up to. She also knows she has allies in Dorne, so landing there would be safer. Where would you have had her land?
I am- I thought it was maybe because I always am on my phone when I check the site, but the ads are massive and I keep getting pop-ups at the bottom despite my settings. Argh!
A lot of very cool news! ?
If this big battle is set to be on the scale of BotB and there’s at least one dragon involved, Cersei Lannister doesn’t stand a chance.
And I disagree that Castle Trujillo with it’s 100 extras will be a part of Essos. This castle looks very similar to the Tower of Joy castle stand-in, which was also a Spanish castle that stood in for Dorne.
Wow! Only ~40 weeks to premiere 😀
BunBunStark,
Yeah I doubt we’ll get a whole episode dedicated to this battle. Cersei is vastly outnumbered. Maybe it will be similar to the BtoB episode in terms of structure.
I hope you’re right about the castle.
I wonder what will happen in the North during this time. I hope we get some information.
I’m thinking Dorne for the seaside battle or maybe Casterly Rock even. And for the comment about the extras being slaves…maybe that is during Jorah’s quest maybe he goes to Volantis or somewhere like that. Or maybe the part with the slaves would be Bran learning important tidbits of the past to understand better what is happening and how to stop it. Ahh it could be so many things!! But I would think that the Essos part is Jorah searching for his cure since Dany already left.
Edith,
If true, that would indeed be fairly indicative (though I guess Euron does a bit of enslaving during his raids on the Reach in the books).
Jack Bauer 24,
Fewer 🙂
Flayed Potatoes,
I had assumed they were part of the same battle where Dany will be attacked by both sea and land simultaneously, her forces divided. It’s not yet possible not say if there is just one big battle or more than one.
Emilia did tease one big battle.
Any chance Daenerys and company stop to liberate Volantis en route to Westeros?
Granted, it seems like an unnecessary complication to the storyline, but that would explain the slaves, the Essos location speculation, and also tie to the introduction of the Red Priestess to Daenerys’ storyline last season. Plus the fact that Volantis was set up as an enemy when it backed the slaver cities against Daenerys. Sacking Volantis would also position her just across the sea from King’s Landing.
Wun-Wun,
Gah! Any woman who has ever been pregnant knows that 40 weeks is a freaking ETERNITY!!!
I hope they somehow compensate for the lack of a fewer episodes for the last two seasons. It’s obvious that the budget/episode ratio will improve, but I hope the average episode run-time end up being closer to the 1-hour mark (or beyond). That, or have the finales be shown in movie theaters, a big worthy series finale seen as a long movie.
Anyone think they will introduce the horn that Euron has from the books? Could be what Dany meant when she mentioned the dragons and being sad.
Euron takes over Drogon, who kills the other two before coming back to its senses.
Sean C.
You are right! It could totally be
Euron…
Also I’ve been wondering about this Euron/Cersei alliance. If this something we are going to see happening or it’ll be already there when the season starts
Ramsay’s 20th Good Man,
I said nothing about marching through Westeros on land from Dorne. You think her best move after sailing for days is to float straight up to King’s Landing or any other location close that is more likely defended? It certainly seems like a wiser choice to land a majority of her forces at an allied location to restock, rest and then dispatch forces in multiple directions, land and sea.
Also, who says the Lannisters will be in the process of attacking Dorne before Daenerys would arrive there? Most are assuming that Cersei will have limited support as it is and the Lannisters alone aren’t going to march all the way down there.
Mawk,
Emilia did not mention dragons or that she felt sad. All she said was that there was some stuff other than deaths that made her emotional. It could be any number of things , finally conquering KL, finding out that she still has family left and maybe meet that family or it could also be the death of a dragon.
So the majority of commenters seem to think it will be Dorne. Either I’m missing something or I’m reallyyy slow. Didn’t Varys showed up in Dorne at the end of season 6? I took that to mean that he got Dorne and the Queen of Thornes to be Dany’s allies. Now if the battle is indeed in Dorne who would Dany be battling agaisnt?
Josla,
The assumption would be that Cersei has invaded Dorne to fight Dany.
The Wolves of Winter,
Thanks!! That pic makes me chuckle. 😀 You’ve got a good one too!
Pigeon,
Oh ok. I’m on a phone as well… Getting the pop up thing at the bottom also. I don’t mind closing it but was startled at how big the ads were.
Essos? WTF? Are they ever going to get rid of that place?
Aah, I won’t mind Essosi things if they’re to do with the Bear! Thank you!
NOOO! I want it to be on my TV (well, tablet or laptop since I don’t have a TV set) at home, I don’t want to travel 50K to the nearest cinema showing it ASAP. GoT is a TV show, it should stay that way! So there.
If that’s the case I think it is actually very plausible. My guess would be Euron is the attacker since we already know that he and Cersei will be allies next season
Flayed Potatoes,
I would have her roll straight up to Kings Landing. She has over 100k soldiers, ships w/ trebuchets, and 3 dragons.
Aryamad,
Thank you as well! Yeah that pic of Aidan Gillen, Michael McElhatton and Conleth Hill is hilarious. If there would be an award for best cast picture, that one would win for sure!
Kargaryen,
I actually hope for at least one dragon death. It’s unfair that direwolves get picked out one by one but dragons stay strong. It’s also better for the narrative to lessen Dany’s power. It’s high time she struggled in her endeavors like all the other characters.
With fewer episodes but the same or larger budget I wonder if we will get to see more than one battle. It’d be weird not to see Jon in one. It’s been obvious since season 4 that the showrunners struggle to give Jon quality material that doesn’t revolve around battles and fights. I fear the Northern storyline in s7 will be greatly limited or totally boring and melodramatic (the whole Jon vs Sansa and LF thing). What else is there for Jon to do but rally the armies and fight the WWs?
Clob,
You are thinking to current with the times. Her best plan is to straight attack Kings Landing. No place else on the East Coast. Stupid not to. Any day wasted landing somewhere else is an extra day Cersei gets reinforcements and defends much better. At the end of season 6 no one in KL was talking about Dany coming, no mention. They are not planning for it and if they were they don’t have enough time.
You wipe out Cersei as quick as possible so her supporters who are near by easily switches sides. You can win a war with one battle in Westeros.
I always wanted Daenerys to briefly stop at Volantis and put a real end to slavery. Plus the city is the center of the Red Priest/priestesses, so it sort of made sense to me that she would. I hope this is what it is.
I am really, REALLY excited for this battle and normally I am not a battle person. But a battle between very different factions, one that is NOT in the North, and one that involves a dragon? Oh WOW!
Recall Cersei’s screech: “I will burn their cities to the ground.” What if her first action as Queen is to begin an attack of Dorne? Daenerys will have to rush to the aid of her allies – she can’t see an entire region burn.
It could be interesting seeing it forming because Jaime would be super uncomfortable about it. This is his sister/lover, who’s done things he doesn’t approve of, and she then courting a madman who does things he doesn’t approve of. So you could get a heady stew of resentment, jealousy, honour, conflict. I doubt D&D will go there, there just isn’t enough time and Jaime is a secondary character in the grand scheme of things, and unlikely to survive the series.
As much as I like him, this isn’t his story, this is the Stark story. The only way for Jaime to survive is, ironically, to ally with the Starks… or, Rheagar’s last surviving child. If he doesn’t become dragonfood first. But Tyrion owes him one and in the show, Tyrion has already told Dany why Jaime killed her father, so there’s hope.
Any battles in s7 just won’ t be the same without the brilliance of Miguel Sapochnik. Hope he’s back for the ultimate one.
There’s one more fantasy trope GOT hasn’t used yet. Dragonslaying. Who could be our dragonslayer? Night’s King? Euron? Jon Snow (ironically)?
If you’re talking about bombarding King’s Landing in the same fashion as the Masters did Meereen, no, I don’t see her doing that and destroying the very city in which she desires to be queen. Not only has she not attacked a city in that fashion before, she also knows that blindly bombing like that leads to the deaths of many innocent people.
I still think that her being “chosen” and accepted by the people to be queen is important. If she just takes it, the issues that the former rulers and she herself had in the slaver cities remain.
Hmm only one dragon? Euron probably will take control of one then and the other could possibly escape an attack and fly to Jon.
The knight in shining armour will slay the dragon, of course! 😀
Only… GoT doesn’t have any such paragons, it’s part of the appeal. And the dragons, while terrible beasts, are needed for the War for the Dawn (or whatever the final man vs. white walker showdown is called) so dragon-slaying knights in shining armour really aren’t the thing. Quite the opposite.
And, please don’t discount all and every battle/action scene if it isn’t directed by Miguel Sapochnik. GoT has several other very capable directors, and isn’t it best to save Sapo for the crucial battles etc. in the final season? It seems from interviews that he might be returning for S8.
Interesting stuff. It is possible they’ll go back to Essos as I reckon Daario defects to Eurons side but as we saw vs BoB vs BoM, the money will go to emphasising Westerosi based battles
My guess is this will take place in the Stormlands. Quite possible Dany/Dorne/Tyrells vs Lannisters at Storms End?
Wouldn’t be surprised if Euron snares himself a Dragon
Stargaryen,
Bombing the homes of people she wants to rule over is really bad for her image. We also don’t know what Cersei is up to before Dany arrives. Cersei (and Euron) could invade Dorne or The Reach, so Dany would have to postpone her attack on KL to help her allies.
Also, having control over KL doesn’t mean she controls all the kingdoms (as we see with Cersei).
Why is everyone assuming it’s Essos or Dorne? They’re shooting King’s Landing scenes in Spain too, you know.
talvikorppi,
I want a Jaime/Jon reunion…would pay to see Jaime´s face when he sees how far the boy he mocked in the beggining, has come to be
I heard that interview with Emilia. She never said anything about deaths. In fact she actually said it wasn’t because people were dying. She said she got emotional because “emotional stuff happens. Some pretty emotional stuff, like big stuff”. So you can eliminate deaths causing the emotional reaction. Personally, based on the way she has answered in previous years, I think there stands a decent chance it’s meeting Jon Snow. In past interviews, she actually has answered the question on what it’d be like to possibly have scenes with her good friend Kit Harington one day by saying “emotional”.
Plus it’s all kind of been leading up to that moment from the very start now hasn’t it? To be there since 2010 working on it for it to finally get to that point…I could see the emotional aspect of it. Personally, that’s my guess.
They have less than ten episodes this season, so I can’t believe that they’d waste that on yet another battle on Essos. Dany’s armada was heading to Westeros. It’s difficult to believe that this battle could be taking anywhere else but Westeros.
As for where: Dorne is a possibility, as Dany might land there: It’s practical, considering geography and considering they’re allies. I can’t see Cersei sending her one army hundreds of miles away to Dorne, but maybe she does, as both Jaime and Cersei want to avenge Myrcella. It’s a good idea to limit unneeded Dorne plots, but this one is organic: Ellaria killed Myrcella. Ellaria is allied with Dany. Dorne comes in.
Depending on when in the season, it could also be Westerlands, Lannister home base. The Trujillo castle looks very Westerosi; it’s the classic medieval castle.
Ghosts Lunch,
My guess is also Stormlands, based on In Production teaser map at 1.30. I have to admit that I have to throw out most of my predictions I developed based on that, but that map has to be important. And now it really looks like Dany’s fleet could be represnted by the ship located by the southern coast of the Cape Wrath and Euron will come from the northeast.
Just because direwolves have been dying shouldn’t be an argument to kill dragons. Dragons will be much more useful for the battle against the WW than direwolves. I do agree though taking one or two dragons out would make Dany less strong, because at this point she has much more power than anyone. About struggles, I think people usually forget she had a bad childhood, while most characters didn’t. Just because it wasn’t showed in the books/show it doesn’t mean it didn’t happen.
And yeah, I don’t think the nothern storyline will be that much interesting in the next season. All that talk about Jon x Sansa/LF points to that. At least for me, doesn’t have too much appeal. So I think it will only get interesting again when the WW invade. That would give Jon less quality material yeah, but he’d not be the first major character to suffer with that. Just look at Dany S4-S5 (most of it) and Tyrion last season.
Kargaryen,
He will reunite with more family members and find out about his real identity.That’s plenty interesting to me.Much more than a Dany and Euron battle when Euron has been a character for like 2 seconds.
Jon Connington, f’Aegon and the Golden Company’s approach in the books may be melded with Daenery’s approach, as well as whatever happens with the Volantine and Redwyne fleets. (I can’t remember how to use spoiler tags, for what little is known.)
Tyrion blessed KL with the Chain and the use of wildfire for an attack on Blackwater Bay, so he is unlikely to just recommend an attack from the bay without knowing the way is somewhat cleared–especially if Dany suffers losses at sea secondary to Euron’s attack, as well as a possible loss of at least one dragon and a scattering of her fleet. She probably will have lost the element of complete surprise with the attack by Euron (as is expected) who’ll probably end up also allied with Cersei. Now that the show has Daenerys already allied with Dorne and with “friends in the Reach”, a beaching of her forces south of KL to regroup and get the Dothraki and Unsullied landed and recovered of their sea legs makes sense, even if it means a march, reverse Daeron I style.
Seems as though Storm’s End and the Stormlands will have to be a part of the show this year, too. Where the big battle will fall, though, is anybody’s guess.
Not sure about the “castle with the slaves” part of casting, but the first thing I thought of was a scene from Oakenshield Castle. Doesn’t have to be the exact location in book to show adaptation, but it could be reminiscent of the spirit of the scene, and the reason for it.
Fewer. Had to.
Flayed Potatoes,
Personally, I would say that landing in the Stormlands is the smartest move, strategically.
They’re weak and leaderless following all their losses during the War of the Five Kings and Stannis’s foray north.
It would also be a symbolic victory to conquer the lands of the Usurper.
It’d be new territory which, combined with her allies’ lands would mean she ruled the entire southern third of the Seven Kingdoms. But if the Lannisters have made gains into the Reach or into Dorne it would also give her a point from which to come to both their aid, attack supply lines from the Crownlands and potentially cut off and envelop any Lannister forces that are too far south.
talvikorppi,
I am sure this has already been suggested… I’m a little slow on the uptake, and a little absent in the offseason… but you just planted an idea in my head.
Is it possible Euron is the Valanquar, the younger brother? I’ve forgotten, has the show emitted this element from Maggie’s prophecy?
Ramsay’s 20th Good Man,
I have also been thinking the Stormlands is where she’ll land. Seems like there should be some power vacuum there; it would be some poetic justice; and it would mimic the (f)aegon/connington invasion.
Well, it depends on who’s Lord/Lady of the Stormlands after the extintion of House Baratheon… One would asume Cersei could inherit it as the widow of good old Bob Baratheon, but we just don’t know… If that were the case, then it would be a bad idea to land in the Stormlands.
In any case, the smarter move is always to land in a friendly territory where they can rest and resupply their forces. Tyrion knows very well that attacking KL by sea is not necessarily a good idea.
People don’t have to have the same opinion. We already saw him trying to gain support from other families in the past season. Doing the same again now will be interesting because…? This time he’ll actually gain? I’ll pass that.
Finding out about his true identity could be interesting but I don’t think he’ll care that much. He’ll always see Ned as his father, mainly after he finds out about his true identity and what Ned did to protect him. I don’t think it will take much time to reveal that to him. Everyone has been focusing on Jon x Sansa/LF since Ep09 from last season. They’ll keep doing that.
And I’d think they will focus more on Cersei than Euron in the battle against Dany.
I haven’t read the books, though I am a little spoiled by the internet, but didn’t the Golden Company have Blackfyre, one of two ancestral Targaryen swords? There are some common elements between Daenerys coming to Westeros and Aegon’s conquest. It would make for a nice bit of symmetry for her to come upon whoever possesses Blackfyre and ally with that person in her entourage. Could happen on her last stop in Essos before she approaches Westeros.
Clob,
The Lannisters may not have ventured into Dorne by the time Daenerys arrives, but I’d expect them to be besieging the Reach, which would mean that any attempt to attack them via land from Dorne would be playing right into their hands.
I don’t expect her to sail right up to King’s Landing, but gaining new territory from which she can both aid her allies and take the fight to her enemies’ lands would be smart.
Plus, if they land in Dorne to rest and refuel they lose the element of surprise. Cersei has no idea where they intend to land, so it’s hard for her to prepare adequate defences, especially if her forces are actively engaged in conflict in the Reach or Dorne.
But if the Lannisters hear that Daenerys has landed in Dorne then it gives them the time and opportunity to make plans to counteract her most likely next moves.
Ramsay’s 20th Good Man,
Traveling by ship is dangerous at the best of times. A competent strategist would land at the earliest possible opportunity rather than travel several hundred miles more by sea, which prolongs the risk of a storm sinking or scattering much of the fleet.
When you have overwhelming force, as Danny conceives herself to, surprise isn’t all that important. Aegon the Conqueror didn’t need it.
A Dornish Tyrell,
Is it?
And lose the element of surprise? Concentrate all your forces and place all your eggs in one basket?
You don’t think opening up a new front, in order to take the pressure off your allies and upset your enemies’ plans is a wise move?
This is an invasion force. They should have supplies and be prepared to land wherever necessary, not just where their allies are.
Again, it will depend of many factors… Olenna has threatened several times to cut the food supply to the capital (first to Tyrion and then to Cersei). And the (almost extinct) House Tyrell has one of the biggest (and intact) armies of Westeros. So, it’s not a good idea for Cersei to try to “besiege” the Reach (I guess you meant Highgarden). Plus the Riverlands in a chaos now that Lord Walder Frey and some of his heirs have been assassinated. Plus, there’s a vacuum of power in the Stormlands. Plus, the North and the Vale are in open rebellion (they even declared a Kit in the North!!!).
So, the Lannister army is mostly trapped, surrounded by enemies and probably worn out… Even if they have some time to prepare themselves, they are in a dire situation.
If I were Dany, I would cut supplies from the Reach and start a guerrilla warfare to exhaust and demoralize the Lannister army.
EDIT: Plus what Sean C. said.
seriously donald trump ads on here, cmon guys dont take that ad money, christ….i just wanna ready about GoT not politics barking at me, couldnt even mute it WTF…..
dblock,
We shouldn’t have any audio ads here, let alone any Trump ads. But I can have Oz look into it.
Clob,
There is obviously a battle going on. If this scene is Dorn that means one or more of the so called allies that were lined up changed allegiances. The Lannisters don’t have the men to invade the south, at least not with a resurgent North. And I don’t see the Iron born not fighting from their ships. If this is Dorn, who is the queen of dragons fighting?
I hope we dont have to wait all season to see Dany and Jon meet. I hope we get the voice of Tyrion in the trailer saying something like “Snow, my old friend, how have you been? Id like you to meet someone.” That would be so great. Or it would be awesome if Tyrion showed up at Winterfell ahead of Dany and we got to see him interact with the family, it would be great to get a scene between him and Sansa again. damn there are just so many reunion scenes i want this year that im sure we wont get.
Kargaryen,
I don’t think they will have him gain more support from famillies.He already has it that is done.And finding out who he is will be really interesting to me not because he will stop seeing Ned as his father but how it will affect him emotionally and those around.And even if the LF/Jon/Sansa drama will be somewhat anoying or maybe not there is potential for real conflict there,I assure you it will be the most talked about of the episodes considering it will have ambiguity in it.And even though they will touch on CerseivsDany I believe most of Cersei’s drama and her demise will involve her brothers.But as you said everybody has different tastes but imo this late in the game all the main characters will have strong material.
Yes. The two most difficult offensive ground operations are an assault on a fortified position and an opposed amphibious landing. In Dany’s case, especially, her army is almost entirely cavalry, meaning she doesn’t just have to land men, but land stupendous numbers of horses. Nobody with access to a friendly port would turn that down.
The show has minimized the consequences of the War of the Five Kings for the Lannisters, unlike the books. Last season, Jaime implied that the Lannisters still have the largest army in the Seven Kingdoms, which is definitely not the case in the books.
Rhaenys Stark,
The Revolution that was Promised
#FreeVolantis
A Dornish Tyrell,
Sorry, what? The Tyrells have the second largest army in Westeros and control food supplies to King’s Landing and you think those are reasons for the Lannisters not to besiege/attack the Reach.
And, yes, I mean the Reach and all its component lands and castles including Highgarden.
You think Mad Queen Cersei is just going to sit in King’s Landing and wait to be undermined?
Even despite the fact that Ellaria mentioned in the finale to Olenna that the Lannisters had declared war on both their kingdoms and that they needed to ally just in order to survive?
The Lannisters will attack their enemies in Westeros and I think we’re all assuming that Cersei will ally with Euron and set him the task of destroying Daenerys’ fleet.
Sitting back and doing nothing is not an option, nor is it in the nature of, the Mad Queen.
Battle Bob,
Technically, Dorne – not entire Dorne, but it’s capital Sunspear/Watergardens or some other castle where the Sand Snakes will happen to be – can be taken, if Euron attacks from the sea and catches the Sand Snakes by surprise. Those bastard girls want to play at war and they have to be punished for that. The rumours about Euron taking out at least one of the Sand Snakes, Ellaria an Tyenne being in Belfast when scenes of the naval encounter were filmed, and In Production Teaser map showing Lannister forces in northeastern Dorne kind of hint to such scenario.
Another possible scenario could be a coup against the Sand Snakes, but that would be complicated, because there are no other Dornish characters.
Sean C.,
Lannisters may have numbers, but I assume many or even most of their soldiers are new recruits. Bronn was very critical about their experience and capabilities last season.
Kay,
IIRC, the whereabouts of Blackfyre aren’t known at the time of novels. Likewise with Dark Sister, the other Targaryen ancestral sword. There’s a possibility that the Golden Company have some knowledge of what happened to Blackfyre – there’s a possibility that Bloodraven had Dark Sister or knew where it was… Mysteries that may become important 🙂
Glad you raised this.
spaewife,
Maybe a possibility of meeting of these two swords? Maybe against the WWs? Lots to play with, here. But neither has been important in the show, so maybe not.
(And sorry about typos in last message – the ‘Stannis’ in me is peeved about them…)
Ramsay’s 20th Good Man,
Oh, I’m sure Cersei will do something rushed and foolish… But not attacking the Reach, she ain’t.
Sean C.,
Who says she will land somewhere where she’d be heavily opposed?
How many men do you think the leaderless Stormlands could rally at short notice, considering Stannis could only rally 6000 men, most of whom were sellswords, when he travelled north?
You said yourself that such is Daenerys’ overwhelming force she’s probably confident she can roll over anybody obstacles she encounters. Such is the size of her forces she could land at multiple locations along the coast, reducing the chance of facing strong oppostion.
Anyway, let’s be honest here. We can talk about where is best for her to land strategically until the cows come home. But she’s not going to land in Dorne. She’s just not. We have 7 episodes this season. They are not going to waste any of them with her landing at Dorne, hanging out with Ellaria and the Sand Snakes, before finally getting down to her invasion proper.
They’re going to cut to the chase and throw her in at the deep end.
A Dornish Tyrell,
Why on earth not?
A Dornish Tyrell,
Regarding the Reach, a coup against Ollena would be the most reasonable solution and considering how much Randyl Tarly hates all kinds of wildlings and women doing something else than spinning, he may come into play. Though on the other hand, he may despise Cersey allied with Euron even more than Dany with her hoards.
“They’re going to cut to the chase and throw her in at the deep end.”
Baptism by fire!!! Ahahahahahaha!
Ramsay’s 20th Good Man,
I’d actually say the reverse: the writers will want to delay direct confrontation so that they can do the appropriate scene-setting (in particular, if Cersei’s going to be allying with Euron, that has to happen first).
Sean C.,
They’ll need to have Cersei ally with Euron and set up the sea battle possibly before Daenerys even lands.
They’re not likely to have Daenerys land in Westeros completely unopposed and then have a random sea battle once she’s already invaded.
So let’s say the sea battle occurs no later than episode 3, then there’s even more reason for Daenerys not to become bogged down in Dorne with even fewer episodes left.
Aryamad,
Yeah it sucks.
Why, oh why would Tyrion show up at Winterfell of all places, when he is the Hand of the incoming Queen? This is just my bias, but I very, very much hope that rather than Tyrion or Daenerys ever setting foot in Winterfell, Jon finally decides to see a little more of the world, and comes down South to meet them. Otherwise, he will start to sprout roots from his feet! 😀
The Tarly sword was not important in the show before it became important last season. Similarly, those two (or at least one) Targaryen family swords could become important next season? Tyrion’s throwaway line “But I don’t actually own a sword” could become important if he got a small one. Perhaps Jorah in searching for a greyscale cure in Essos, stumbles across one of them? Yes, lots of possibilities.
Ramsay’s 20th Good Man,
News somehow travels amazingly fast in that world it seems. I don’t know that it’s going to be a big surprise when they get there? I mean beyond not knowing where they’ll beach. (I don’t really care where that location is. I just assumed she’d go to Dorne first since it seems like the safest place to serve as a preliminary base of operations.) The bulk of her force is made up of men that fight on horses not boats, so floating around too long probably isn’t a good thing.
Euron already knows Yara and Theon were going to aid Daenerys. Hundreds of ships and men presumably sailed down the Mander from Highgarden, possibly some from port in Oldtown as well, and out of Sunspear. News will also likely arrive first from Essos that Daenerys defeated the Masters and attained their ships since there will be quite a bit of time between that event and their arrival. Moving a force that large with three dragons flying overhead isn’t a covert operation by any means.
One would think the birds will be flying so most of Westeros will know they’re coming and have a good idea of the numbers she’s bringing. It would seem like a wise plan for Cersei to move what forces she has as close to King’s Landing as she can. Wouldn’t you think she’d fear a direct attack? Euron can get all ballsy and chase them around if he wants but Cersei can’t leave the capitol undefended.
I’m just not looking at this and relating it to a country invading another country that has unity. She’s already allied with the lord Houses of the southern regions. If their banner houses fall in line they could practically walk right into The Crownlands. However, the Iron Throne, the Red Keep, the person standing in there proclaiming to be King/Queen mean nothing without support of the people. Daenerys can essentially ignore it for a long time if she’s moving around it earning that support and defeating that oppose her.
The scenario I proposed was that she land (wherever) with the bulk of her troops and then sends a contingent by sea with Yara and Theon to overthrow Euron and provide a force on that coast. It was in that plan/idea that I suggested the Greyjoy is captured…
Inga,
You’re absolutely right and it would make sense considering the power vacuum that the exctinction of House Tyrell creates in the Reach. I think ACME has explored this issue extensively in other threads. Had Cersei any diplomatic acumen, she would exploit that situation by offering the Wardenship of the South to some lord/lady of the Reach in exchange for his/her alliance. Allas, diplomacy is not Cersei’s strongest trait… and the reputation she has built for herself on how she treats her allies is not very tempting either…
I guess we’ll have to wait and see how the story goes in S7.
Also, by the same token, a power vacuum has been created in the Westerlands… would the lords of this region rise against the Lannisters? I don’t think we would ever hear about that in the show, but it’s interesting nonetheless.
What about this…at least part of the forces land in Dorne because that is the safest place with a port to land with all the horses and unloading them. I don’t know about you but after being on the water my legs feel like concrete when I get to shore and step on solid land. If they have to stop and rest for the horses and the Dothraki that would give Cersei an opportunity to gather some kind of forces.
So they land there and then when the fighting is going on Drogon takes Dany away like he did in Meereen but goes to KL and stops at the dragon pit!!! There was a clip from Bran’s vision that a dragon flies over the Red Keep and it’s still standing so maybe it’s Drogon going rogue again! I could totally see Dany getting on Drogon and Tyrion getting on whichever dragon decides to let him (lol!!) then he thinks they are going to fight in tandem (and is all pumped up in his mind like yaaaassssss!!) but Drogon takes off with Dany and the third dragon follows them leaving Tyrion on his dragon at the battle to improvise like he always seems to have to do lol!! I hope he read some dragon commands in one of his books :).
You cannot possibly eliminate deaths. To do so is beyond naive. Considering several main characters have pretty much confirmed there will be deaths. And theres always the fact that this is, ya know, Game of Thrones.
Do you think we’ll get a Season 7 teaser before the end of the year?
I might be one of the greatest GoT fans in the entire fandom for my discipline in avoiding spoilers. No one can question my fortitude in avoiding spoilers — I did not read one major spoiler from the winter before season 3 (when I started watching) all the way till season 6. Didn’t know about the Red Wedding, Joffrey’s Death, Oberyn’s Death, Jon’s “death”. Still haven’t read a season 7 spoiler article. Sure, I shitted all over season 6, but that was only because of my love of the show. You guys need to step your game up when it comes to avoiding spoilers.
Jack Bauer 24,
How can you be a GoT fan and say LESS episodes? Good for you Stannis is dead.
I think this is Dany landing somewhere in central or southern Westeros and battling it out with the Lannisters. Cersei (probably aganist Jamie’s advice) will attempt to contest Dany’s arrival and probably end up BBQ’d like all the characters that went up in the Faith’s temple.
Kargaryen,
Jon struggling with his Targaryen identity will be a big part of next season. He may consider himself Ned’s son, but he still cannot ignore what he really is.
GRRM would not have built this up to such a big reveal if it were not going to have a major impact on his character and the story overall.
Jack Bauer 24,
Doubt it. Certainly nothing with much substance. At most maybe a teaser like the hall of faces one.
Jack Bauer 24,
Not a chance 🙁
Didn’t the first one this year get released during March madness?
There was a Bran teaser around Thanksgiving last year, which was about 5 months before the premiere.
https://youtu.be/IxI8aPISq8I
They’ve announced the premiere dates the past few years in January at the Television Critics Association tour. Hopefully they do the same again.
I would be happy with another In Production teaser or Behind the Scenes or something similar with some minor spoilers and riddles.
Btw, I’ve seen all of these Emilia/Maisie/Sophie Emmy interviews, but where are the Kit, Hannah Murry, Nikolaj, Conleth, Dinklage, etc?
ghost of winterfell,
The problem with it is that D and D struggle to give Jon good non-battle/fight material. They never focus on Jon’s emotional journey or any of the changes he undergoes. See season 6 for reference. They completely disregarded to address Jon’s mental state after his death and resurrection, how he handled it or how other people handled it in favour of Sansa’s revenge mission. There were times it felt like he didn’t die at all. It was just completely downplayed and brushed aside.
So I have little confidence in them giving Jon some good identity crisis arc. They will have him shocked initially, maybe a bit angered and confused and then move onto the White Walkers like nothing happened. They won’t put much emphasis on his emotional conflict regarding his origins. That’s for sure.
icequinn,
I do agree that D&D struggle, but that is mainly caused by Jon’s personality and by the agendas of the people around him as well.
Jon has been set as been an introvert. Speaking of his feelings has always been hard to him and Sam was probably the only one Jon could open to. But last season Sam was far away, and when Jon tried to say “I fought – I lost” to other people, neither of them was willing to listen. Davos and Edd just wanted him to rise and lead them against the WWo, Mel was mostly interested in his afterlife experiences; Tormund made small pecker jokes (which was probably the best thing in that situation, but not a solution anyway), and Sansa was too concentrated on her own post-traumatic feelings to even hear what Jon was trying to say to her (she has always been a bit egocentric). So, Jon had no other choice than to sweep his PTSD under the carpet and do what other people wanted him to do, while we, the viewers, were left with the taste of incompleteness and dissatisfaction.
But who knows: maybe that was exactly what D&D intended? Think of it: how often we concentrate on our own agendas neglecting other people’s problems? How often we see the others only as means of achieving our own goals? I don’t know whether that was the intention but Jon’s story really made me to contemplate that and probably this means that D&D did a good job.
And I also think that all these issues of death, resurrection, eternal life and similar are going to be addressed further on from different angles and perspectives. I hope that the faceless men and the WW will get involved in that somehow, and that these issues will play the key role in the endgame. If not, that the entire Jon’s death and resurrection plot would be just for shock value. I don’t believe that GRRM would be playing such a cheap trick, though I suspect that all the delay of the WOW is caused by the problem that he can’t get Jon’s resurrection right himself.
The pics were taken (by me, hehe) in summer, last weekend. That’s why it’s so dry and yellow. In November-December, when the battle will be filmed, it will be look green, with vegetation and grass. It could be everyone in Westeros except the North IMO.
icequinn,
I had some of the same frustrations last season. But still, to be fair, they did include a lot of his story (related to the effect of death and resurrection on him) within the battle itself. So when you take the season as a whole, it kinda makes sense.
As for next season, there is no battle to fight, which means they will have to spend time next season tackling identity and politics. Besides, the question of his identity will not affect only him. It will affect the north as a whole. LF might well try to use this against him. So lack of battle for Jon might well be a good thing.
We already did, but I somehow have a feeling we’ll be getting another one. Or at least a tiny glimpse in the year-ender.
ghost of winterfell,
I’m just not sure how D&D will deal with it. They have been sacrificing a lot of inner struggle, character development and politics to have more and more epic battles/scenes. Jon wouldn’t be the first one to suffer with that. They basically cut all inner struggle Dany has in the books in the show.
Hmm, good to know.
I forgot about the year ender. There’s always a couple clips in there, so hopefully there will be this time too even with the later filming.
If LF finds out whose son Jon is then he willy try his best to use it to drive a wedge between Jon and Sansa, arguing that Jon isn’t a Snow never mind a Stark and therefore she has no reason to support him. The irony of that, of course, is that if Sansa was to try and push Jon in the direction of the Iron Throne (something he would never have any interest in) then she would have more power with him on it than with LF.
I could also see LF telling lots of stories about the Targaryen madness, and reminding Sansa that Aerys killed her uncle and grandfather. And that will be something Jon will have to get his head round – the fact that one of his grandfathers burned the other one alive. One thing I think that will help Jon is that the only Targaryen he has ever met is Aemon; he therefore has an example of a Targaryen that was intelligent, kind, measured and above all clearly not as mad as Aerys.
I do agree that the lack of battle will prove to be a good thing for Jon’s arc next season; politics and identity are the two things I want to see with him. There will be some action, though, I think, as I can see Jon continuing his fighting training at Winterfell and he will want to ensure that those fighting for him are capable. If the writing can do justice to Jon next season, it could prove to be a big one for him in spite of the lack of action. The reality is that the reveal in 610 that Lyanna is Jon’s mother answered a question that has been around since 101; it would be bad storytelling to spend six full seasons stringing out hints that it was Lyanna, only for the reality of Jon’s parentage to be skimmed over.
Kargaryen,
True, I agree. I will hope for the best right now 🙂 . In Dany’s case, I feel it was a conscious decision to focus more on her as an achiever than on her doubts and struggles, which I think harmed her perception among the book reading audience a bit. She is still very popular with the general audience though .
Javi from Los Siete Reinos,
Does it make this battle less likely to be in Dorne?
icequinn,
There are four candidates for Dragon slayer
1. Jaime- He’s the disgrace who yearns to be a true knight of stories. True knights kill the monsters. Jaimie Lannister, Dragonslayer. Kingslayer no more.
2. Brienne- Similarly, Brienne wants to be a true Knight. The Knight slays the dragon
3. Bran- In the books he has a vision of someone carving three arrows out of Winterfell’s heart tree. In another bit we learn Torrhen’s bastard brother had a plan of stealth to kill Aegon’s dragon’s he never went through with. Its likely him that is carving three arrows for three dragons. Only 1 showed up though. We never see the Targs battle the Starks. GRRM has the Starks nobly surrender. I think he’s withholding that so we get no clues about when it does happen. Bran of course is an awful archer, so either that early scene is setting him up to learn or…
4. Arya- Arya in the books can’t shoot an arrow but they’ve set it up a few times she can in the show. She is taught properly by Anguy.
It looks like the cast are not allowed to take photos with fans
https://twitter.com/Schism2131/status/779688282506616832
Myname,
That’s weird. Last year I understood the reasoning why Kit refused to take pics with fans, but what secret are they trying to hide this year?? And it’s not just Kit but the whole cast? Even stranger.
I wonder if they are trying to prevent people working out who is filming together? Although there are multiple units shooting at any given time, it could be possible – particularly when one of the units goes off to shoot on location in Spain – to try and piece together some of the plot lines for season seven based on who is around Belfast at the same time. We saw in season six that characters who had met previously were encountering one another again – if that continues, they may want to hide who will be meeting up again in season seven. They may also want to hide someone coming back.
The thing is, preventing people from taking pictures of the cast does not prevent them from tweeting that they have seen that person in a pub or shop or walking down the street.
It also doesn’t prevent people from just photographing them out walking, as often happens.
Myname,
Great now people will turn into paparazzis lol
Rhaenys Stark,
They only think it’s Essos. It could very well be somewhere in Dorne or maybe the Stepstones.
Cáceres was rumoured as being a possible shooting location for King’s Landing this season, and there was no shooting in Dubrovnik announced.
Interestingly – and I don’t know if it has been reported here – yesterday a reddit user posted a pic of himself with the Mountain – taken in Dubrovnik 😉
So it seems there ARE at least some minor scenes being shot there again this year…
Sean,
Actually Essoss (Volantis) makes a lot of sense. The northern plot and the one of KL have to have some development until Dany reaches Westeros, and D&D have to give her something to do. So, a stop at Volantis would be very convenient: Dany has to replenish her food and fresh water resources, she has to check the abolition of slavery and last but not the least she has to meet with Kinvara. The Castle of Truillio could be used for the red temple and extras could play grateful exslaves greeting Dany. Maybe that was the extravagance D&D were talking about some time ago? (A new version lol).
Meanwhile, the battle will be something totally different and happening in Westeros, of cause.
Green Chili,
Most probably, that will be a scene (or scenes) in the harbour like in S6. And people have to look for Cersey: the Frankenmountain rarely walks alone.
Or was she caught, mid-sea, and driven back? Oh, perish the thought. After that epic ending scene, with the Armada afloat, heading toward Westeros, it would be totally shitty if she gets turned back. What could possibly happen? Are the Dothraki so unsettled on the sea that they are losing their minds and she has to take them back? No … if there’s a dragon involved, it has to be Dorne, or somewhere on the Westerosi shore. I can’t bear the thought of her not making it to Kings Landing. She was there in her vision. She has to make it, right?
arvgar,
Field of Fire II
Thronetender,
She’ll make it. She’s supposed to
.
Javi from Los Siete Reinos,
Ehh, no… I looked at other pictures. Even when’s it’s green, this place doesn’t look like, let’s say, the Riverlands. There are no trees and, more importantly, there’s a distinct lack of the ‘damp, wet and miserable’ factor.
Inga,
Ehh. I’ve long thought that Dany may start the season with E1 in Volantis/Essos, use the next four episodes to ferry her army over the sea + have some minor battles, have the climactic battle with Euron in E6, and enter King’s Landing, with most of its interesting inhabitants (Cersei, Jaime, Mountain, Qyburn) dead, in E7. It’s a good frame for a transitory season, bookended by cities on different continents.
But you don’t put a climactic battle in the first episode.
Yaga,
Yes, we can’t exclude such a possibility: Dany’s journey to Westeros may take the entire season (5 episodes to be more precise). S2 had a similar layout and S4.
The placement of the battle will also very much depend on its supposed result. If Dany is to win, then yes – it should be in Ep6. If she is to lose, I would expect the battle to heppend in Ep4 to give her some time to recover and work out a new plan, but again who knows: the recovery may become the plot of S8 (it’s hard to imagine 5 episodes to be dedicated to the war with the WW (leaving the last one for the aftermath) – it’s quite a lot of screen time: most of battalic moves wrap up in less than 3 hours).
Sean C.,
It would surprise Dany, how would she know? She’s been on a boat this whole time.
Inga,
Yaga,
I highly, highly doubt that. They’re not going to leave all of Daenerys’ exploits in Westeros until Season 8. It’d be illogical, anti-climactic and hurried.
There will be no more adventures in Essos or Volantis.
They’ve already set everything up for Season 7.
She’s on her way to Westeros.
Cersei is on the Iron Throne and at war with Dorne and the Reach.
Euron has been set up as her first big hurdle to conquering Westeros.
Season 7, I could picture a few episodes dedicated to overcoming Euron and landing in Westeros. A few more episodes dedicated to her conquest, battles and the politics of her situation. And then the climax in her defeat of Cersei (or Cersei’s self-destruction) and the revelation that the real battle is yet to come.
Season 8 may have as few as 6 episodes. In which case you could see a couple of episodes of frantic alliances and politics in the face of the oncoming threat. A few episodes dedicated to the battles, cliffhangers, disasters and the ultimate, climactic battle (which could perhaps be split into two episodes, if it’s really huge in scale). And then an episode for the post-war conclusion.
Having Daenerys’ crew messing about in Essos again would be disastrous for the narrative pace.
Anyway, they managed to fill 10 episodes last season with about 12 story strands: The North – 3 (Jon, Sansa, Ramsay) eventually converging into 1. King’s Landing / Faith Militant story – 1. The Riverlands – 2 – Riverrun siege + the Hound. The Reach – 1 – Sam. Dorne – 1 – the Martells. Braavos – 1 – Arya’s exploits. Bran north of the Wall – 1. Daenerys & co – 2 – the Dothraki and Meereen.
Next season they could have minimum potentially 9 story strands to begin with, but with just 7 episodes: The North – 2 – Winterfell + Bran / the Wall. The Riverlands – let’s just say 2 – any combo of Arya, the Brotherhood, Brienne and Melisandre. King’s Landing – 1 – Cersei / Jaime. Oldtown – 1 – Sam. War in Dorne & the Reach – let’s just count that as 1. Daenerys – 2 – defeating Euron + invading Westeros.
There’s more than enough potential material without any need for any faffing about in Essos to waste screen time.
Daenerys is going to Westeros. Essos is done and dusted.
Myname,
Well, here’s at least one breach of that rule:
https://twitter.com/Shannon_Black97/status/780094243352215556
Ramsay’s 20th Good Man,
In general, I do agree: Dany will reach Westeros rather sooner, than later and Essos is done and dusted except for the red priests, but I expect them to come into play in Ep1. And my prediction for the big battle (everything implys that it will be related to Dany’s landing operation) is mid-season, most probably Ep4. The rest of the season should be about it’s consequences.
BTW, I have noticed an interesting thing in that In Production teaser. They showed some welding works on the background of the tree at which the first man had been converted into the Night’s King (they even focused on that tree a bit) and the next shot was Cersey’s cup. Could it be that Cersey will be allying with the WW next season? I don’t know how it could be done technically (yet), but in general it would be very much in her character. What do you think?
No. There is absolutely no way you can make predictions on potential alliances because of the way the production teaser has been edited. Besides which, that’s just a ridiculous notion, sorry. Cersei refuses to even believe of their existence.
Sophie with fans today and she is still blonde.
https://twitter.com/Shannon_Black97/status/780094243352215556
*And we clearly can see that the cast isn’t forbidden to take pics with fans. So I guess Kit ‘lied’ to that other fan about that LOL
Inga,
No, there’s absolutely no chance of Cersei allying with the White Walkers. That’s absolutely out of the question.
Cersei will go down in flames by the end of this season, lashing out at everyone and everything in a vain attempt to hold onto a throne and power she has no right to.
Countries/continents aren’t conquered in one big battle. Euron is just one of Daenerys’ obstacles this season. We’ll see her clash with Euron, clash with the Westerosi/Lannisters in Westeros and see the culmination of the first phase of her conquest at King’s Landing.
The second phase will be in defending the Seven Kingdoms from the White Walkers in Season 8.
Myname,
If Sophie’s wearing a wig it’s going to be so distracting after 6 seasons of her own hair.
Her hair looks soooooooooo much more natural than Lena’s, Emilia’s or Natalie’s on the show.
I mean, there’s just no comparison:
http://i.lv3.hbo.com/assets/images/series/game-of-thrones/character/s5/daenarys-1024.jpg
http://i.lv3.hbo.com/assets/images/series/game-of-thrones/character/s5/cersei-lannister-1920.jpg
https://pcavote.files.wordpress.com/2016/04/natalie-dormer-margaery-tyrell.png
http://www.digital-news.it/files-admin/Simone/Sansa%20Stark-2.JPG
It’d be such a shame if they’ve had to ruin the consistency after 6 seasons and dump a hair helmet on her head right towards the end of the show.
Ramsay’s 20th Good Man,
Well, maybe I chose a wrong word. I don’t mean alliance like alliance from which both parties benefit, I mean it like an addition to wildfire.
I totally agree that Cersey will go down by the end of the season and that she will destroy or at least try to destroy KL. But KL is just a city and cities can be rebuilt. Destroying all the Seven Kingdoms (and the rest of the world) would be far more satisfactory, and Cersey would absolutely do that given a chance. I think we can agree on that.
So, the only question is whether that chance will be given to her and how. The Night’s King is searching for ways to break through the Wall and IMO he has to establish a contact with someon beyond the Wall like he did that with Bran when he was in the cave. And maybe preconditions are already set. Remember that hand of a whit that LC Mormont sent to KL in S1? I have a theory that Qyburn used that to create the FrankenMountain. On the other hand Euron can also talk Cersey into some crasy shit (he said he was a god so he has to wield at least some magic). And though Cersey has never believed in magic, now she believes in prophecies and soon will se dragons, therefore believing in the WW won’t be that hard.
And wouldn’t it be a great ending of her story, if she facilitates the breach of the Wall and goes out in both flames and snow?
So, it might be just a whishful thinking, but I wouldn’t exclude that.
Hannah Murray and Jacob Anderson
https://www.instagram.com/p/BKyxtBAAuP_/
And Jon Snow and Ygritte bought some candles to their cave lol
https://www.instagram.com/p/BKyxv53gA_L/
Inga,
I think you’re overthinking what could happen.
Cersei has been entirely self-centred throughout the show and that is how her story will end too. She’ll probably remain oblivious to what’s really going on in the North and the threat of the White Walkers, which renders all her petty grudges and quests for power pointless.
Euron is just narrative tool. He exists to push the other Greyjoys into Daenerys’ company and as a preliminary obstacle for her to overcome in her quest to conquer Westeros. If they give him any magic powers it would officially be the worst thing they’ve done on the show.
And the means by which the Night King will breach the Seven Kingdoms has already been established. The magic holding the Wall together will be undermined, most likely by Bran, in the same way the Three-Eyed Raven’s cave was.
The pieces are already in place, and the producers only need to connect the dots. They don’t need to dream up any convoluted ways to bring characters and antagonists together that need not be connected at all.
Sean C.,
Yeah I saw it 🙂 Probably he didn’t want to take any photos so he lied lol
I agree that the wigs the other women wear, no matter how expensive, do not compare to Sophie’s beautiful natural hair. But wasn’t the Darth Sansa hair at the end of S4/beginning of S5 a wig? If it was, that wasn’t bad at all so this season’s wig may not be so bad.
Now that it’s pretty much guaranteed that Sophie will wear a wig, I wonder if it has anything to do with Sansa’s storyline. Maybe Sansa chops off her hair for some reason and Sophie didn’t want to cut her own hair. Or maybe it’s just that Sophie is tired of dying her hair. *shrugs* Guess we’ll find out in a few months when, hopefully, they release a trailer.
Huh, I guess Sophie was right in saying cast members are now staying in Belfast for the weekends instead of flying home; because Kit, in particular, seems to always go back to London during breaks in filming. And LOL at your caption of Jon and Ygritte buying candles for their cave. Cute.
Apologies if I missed this idea…
But if it is Essos, couldn’t Jorah be there searching for a cure?
BunBunStark,
I mean sometimes they do film on the weekends.Who knows what their schedule is.
Sophie’s hair is quite fine, so multiple dye jobs are harder on it, and red is a tough colour to keep vibrant looking as it tends to wash out easier. Hers tends to get thinner around her hairline and I think that’s why (there were some quite nasty comments about her ‘bald patches’ last year, which was stupid). So she might just be trying to save the health of her hair. Mine is pretty much just like hers, so that’s just a guess….
Pigeon,
I don’t blame her if her hair has been damaged and it’s good of the producers to let her wear a wig if that’s the case.
I just think it’ll be a real shame to have that inconsistency at this late stage.
If the hairpiece is rubbish and distracting then it’s not like they can go back and re-shoot the last couple of seasons with Sophie’s real hair.
Daenerys and Cersei’s wigs I find genuinely distracting at times (e.g. Daznak’s Pit). Not enough to ruin the show, obviously, but it does occasionally grate even though they’ve been wearing them since day one.
So it’s a shame if they’ve had to go with a wig on Sophie so late in the game.
Ramsay’s 20th Good Man,
Oh I agree. Dany’s hair is like armor and Cersei looks like she scalped Tommen and is wearing him as a hat.
Ramsay’s 20th Good Man,
OK. I may be overthinking. It’s just that D&D implied that Cersey would be going far, and I don’t see burning King’s Landing as far enought. Though on the other hand, if she ends up as a miserable villain incapable of inflicting any major damage, that might be satisfactory as well.
Ramsay’s 20th Good Man,
I didn’t say anything about ‘faffing about in Essos’, though? I said that I thought Dany could start the season there, simply to give us orientation where she is physically located (hard to do that at sea, and Volantis is a known landmark). I would envision the majority of the action (from episode 2 onwards) to take place in Westeros and on the Narrow Sea.
Furthermore, I definitely think that, by the end of the season, Cersei (and Jaime, Mountain, Qyburn etc….) will be done with. In fact, I think that, by the end of the season, there will be just two camps remaining: Dany’s/Tyrion’s, joined by Arya and Sam, in King’s Landing, and Jon’s/Sansa’s, joined by Bran and possibly Jorah in his dying moments, in Winterfell. It’s just the most elegant set-up for Season 8, I think.
Season 8 will probably spend two or three episodes on the alliance-making, then an episode or two on the final battle, and an episode on the aftermath. There just won’t be much time required for all that – although again, with the proper set-up.
Maybe it’s the Arbor or the Mainland region nearby. The battle would be between Dany + Euron.
Makes sense for Tyrion to go to the Arbor at least.
I am sorry for showing up so late in the conversation but I cannot shake a certain amount of trepidation in relation to the Reach.
House Tyrell is, for all intents and purposes, done for : no heir, no hope for an alliance with another house through marriage (Lady Olenna ain’t playin’ the blushing bride for no one !), nothing even resembling a potential legacy. In the nearish future, it will have to be replaced by another House no matter what happens to Westeros as a whole.
Would it be that unthinkable for Cersei to get some of the Reach’s families on her side, by offering to put them in charge of the region ? She can even put Jaime on sale (maybe without telling him !) : he is single, out of the King’s Guard so he can marry and inherit now, very far from ugly and, as a Lannister, could be set to take over the Westerlands. On paper, he is the kind of catch many Westerosi ladies would not spit at : for example, Talla Tarly isn’t married quite yet and she would surely prefer Jaime to yellow-toothed Simon Fossoway…
Now, it is true that historically the Reach has been faithful to the Targaryens (alongside with Dorne) but that was due to the leadership of the Tyrells who owed the Dragons their status. The last time a Targaryen conquered Westeros, the Reach fought against the invasion… Before they got shish-kebabed. ^^
There is a precedent, no matter how unfortunate.
So, while I agree with A Dornish Tyrell that it would be a highly risky move for Cersei to attack the Reach head on, I believe it would not be overly far-fetched for her to attempt a more “diplomatic” kind of takeover. Especially if she starts looking like a potential victor. As Davos wisely said, people prefer to be on the winning side.
On a more general note, I think it would be interesting to see Daenerys be opposed by characters who are not “villains”, for lack of a better word : Cersei, Euron, etc. It would highlight a very real, yet not often mentioned, dimension of her arrival namely that it is an invasion ! While Daenerys may feel like she is “just” coming back home and reclaiming what is rightfully hers, to the overwhelming majority of Westeros, it is bound to look like a foreign invader conquering a country.
Furthermore, it would put into perspective the whole “breaking the wheel” logic : while her revolutionary agenda was strikingly obvious when taking over places like Meeren where she completely overturned the political and social landscape (no more oligarchy, no more slavery, etc), it is much more difficult to pin down the ways in which she intends to change Westeros… She does not seem keen on abolishing monarchy (she wants to be Queen herself, that would be counterproductive) and she now appears unlikely to take down the feudal House system, since she allied with the Tyrells (a feudal House) and the Sands (a new type of House who, for all intents and purposes, simply replaced the Martells without changing anything else to the Dornish government).
So what does she intend to break exactly ?
Ramsay’s 20th Good Man,
Maybe they will reuse some of Catelyn’s wigs, dyed a lighter shade of red ? It has been a while since I rewatched series 1-3 but I cannot recall Michelle Fairley’s hairpieces ever seeming too weird-looking to me…
I suppose it is also a matter of how the wigs are styled : Daenerys’s hairstyles tend to be so complex and “compact” they feel fake; and I guess the same can be said about Cersei’s former long waves and current “Romulan” do. A simple braid or a relatively lowkey “half up, half down” may not look as jaring.
Fingers crossed 😉
Surely Dany is heading straight to Storms End
Its on the East Coast, and its a stronghold that has never been taken so its would be a great strategic location from which to base her operation. Its close to KL and would be a great place to attack it from by land and sea simultaneously.
We also know that there are Lannister forces already there besieging it so it would make sense that this would be the first Lannister v Dany battle.
ACME,
Yeah, I don’t think it’s out of the question that some of the Lords of the Reach could be opposed to the Tyrells’ allegiance with Daenerys. It was made quite clear in the dinner scene at Horn Hill that Randyll Tarly is not a fan of “savages”, so he and others might not be too happy about allying with Daenerys and her Dothraki.
However, as you point out, people want to make sure that they’re on the winning side. So if you don’t want your lands overrun by Dothraki savages or ravaged by a foreign conqueror’s armies then it’s surely smarter to remain allied to Daenerys rather than oppose her.
Anybody who distinguishes themselves in support of her cause could potentially be rewarded with control of the Reach.
I guess it depends on how matters proceed before Daenerys arrives. If the Reach was really taking a battering and it looked like the Lannisters might win out, especially if they let it be known that they are challenging Daenerys’ fleet at sea, then some Lords might be convinced to throw their hat in with the Lannisters.
But I think it’d be difficult to depict such ebbing and flowing of the sides’ prospects and loyalties and the political machinations that would lead to such a revolt in just the 7 episodes of this season. If it was the usual 10 episodes and we weren’t so near to the end I would definitely consider such a scenario possible.
Especially, as you say, in order to better depict how the Westerosi would feel about an invasion. Back in Season 5 when Daenerys mentioned that the common people would support her, Tyrion practically scoffed at such a notion.
But it’s hard to predict how convoluted the producers will want to make things with so little time left.
I agree about the whole “breaking the wheel” issue as well. It’s hard to tell exactly what she intends.
But many of the Great Houses have already fallen into decline or been wiped out already. It may be that once she has conquered Westeros she will decide that there will be no successor to the Tyrells, that Ellaria and co (if they survive) have no right to rule Dorne, and demand loyalty direct to the Crown.
Or perhaps she will declare herself Protector of the Realm, go and live on Dragonstone and just oversee the wheel, rather than break it. Or perhaps she’ll realise that breaking the wheel simply isn’t practical. People having their idealism crushed or compromised is not exactly an unfamiliar theme on this show.
As for Michelle Fairley’s wigs, as I understand it she used her real hair, dyed, but with weaves/extensions to make it longer and more extravagant than her ordinary hair.
Arya Serious,
Haa!! I was thinking the exact same thing 🙁
Ramsay’s 20th Good Man,
I remembering reading last year that they don’t use chemicals like peroxide and ammonia but rather something probably similar to henna that doesn’t damage the hair. Does anyone else remember that and what it was exactly?
ygritte,
As I recall they used a sort of wash when she was starting out, specifically to avoid using dye on her hair when she was that young, but that had to be redone every like two weeks, so at a certain point she switched to dyeing it.
Ramsay’s 20th Good Man,
You are absolutely right, time is of the essence and it is tough to imagine what the showrunners will want to dedicate it to, in priority.
I believe Cersei’s attempt at getting support from within the Reach could be done relatively quickly : at a war council with Qyburn, they could discuss their options in relation to their enemies and the possibility of making a few, strategically chosen Houses an offer they may not be able to refuse. We then hear nothing about it for a while. Cut to a few episodes later, Lady Olenna promised X number of troops to Daenerys and, lo and behold, only Y men show up because, shock horror, Houses Whatever-ington and Something-or-Other-field have switched side ! They may even reveal their change in allegiance mid-battle or mid-march, suddenly attacking those they were supposed to fight alongside with…
It borderlines on fanfiction at that point but I suppose it could work out : set up, build up, pay off. Simple, efficient and, above all, not too time-consuming.
In relation to Daenerys’s invasion, I did have the Tyrion scene you mentioned in mind. It is a rather significant part of what is about to unfold, I believe. Wherever she has gone, the Mother of Dragons has been welcomed as a liberator by the overwhelming majority of the population. This is what she has very understandably come to expect. But Westeros is a completely different ball of wax…
Poor Daenerys is not properly surrounded in this regard. One of her most fascinating characteristics is how she attracts people who feel the need to redeem themselves, to get a new lease on life or to believe in something (anything ?), be it Jorah, Greyworm, Missandei, Daario, Selmy, Varys or Tyrion. They pin on her their crumpled dreams and aspirations as if she were their last hope, their ultimate chance (“My heart’s been broken too many times already” said Varys) and they end up behaving more like disciples than advisors.
Tyrion made the switch when she appointed him Hand of the Queen. Being the sentimental man he is, so eager and hungry for love and approval, that sealed the deal to transform him into a believer. Will he lose his edge as a result of it ? Will he no longer be able to advise her appropriately and see reality for what it is, blinded by his faith in her ?
We’ll have to wait and see, I guess ^^
Ramsay’s 20th Good Man,
Strategically it’s always dangerous to divide your forces.
Fatio Corcyn,
No. Euron’s hypothetical storm blew her all the way back to Essos.
Yaga,
But why wait? I think they’ll start the shortened season with a bang. If they show lots of sea scenes, they have to cgi the ships and the water, which I imagine is expensive, for very little benefit. Remember how powerful that season 6 episode was that opened with the masters wailin’ on Mereen…from the fireball’s perspective, no less.
I’m convinced the last shot of Dany’s fleet was of her getting ready to approach something. There was lots of activity on decks. The Dothraki had their sea legs, with no sign of anyone vomiting. Dany – and crew – is standing at the prow of her ship wearing an evening dress(dragon dress) while covered in salt spray. That’s not what one wears for sailing, is it?
Anyway. Suffice it to say that I think they’re right up Westeros’s butt.
Ramsay’s 20th Good Man,
This is a figment of imagination.
Rosa,
Varys is with her. Even if Tyrion didn’t know, then surely Varys knows(about wildfire at Sept)
ghost of winterfell,
I think she said she was emotional, not that people are dying. If dragon(s) are dying, then that might be emotional…dragons are not people.
It could be that Dany takes KL and grieves for the fact she can’t visit at the gravesite of her ancestors….cause Cersai blew it up(The Sept).
Kay,
“Why, oh why would Tyrion show up at Winterfell of all places”
My thought is because the big bad and the story is in the north. Dany may want Support from the North and offer “vengeance on the Lannesters” as reason to help her cause. Tyrion would play Head of State especially since he has connection to Sansa and Jon. I dont think Jon or the Starks will be looking too far south especially since they know whats coming.
Although.. if the north is overrun by White Walkers and the North has to flee south as refugees that would be interesting and rather apropos considering the modern climate on the matter. Jon becomes the sort of “Moses” of the north as he leads them south after Others devastate them
Anon,
What do you mean?