This is for show discussion with the show as its own entity. No book talk. Using book knowledge to guess about the ending of the show is the perfect thing to discuss in this show/book thread, not this one.
Open spoilers about the show once it begins airing on the east coast/streaming in a few hours. If you have an actual spoiler (taken from leaks from cast interviews or gossip magazines or whatever) that would be an appropriate use for a spoiler box. A few of us would prefer that if you want to talk about plot points revealed in “next week on…” promos you warn people that you’ll be discussing that first. Thank you.
Previous thread (with links to previous seasons found in the first OP of the season):
It’s going to break cable (and internet, if the HBO Go feed starts at the same time).
My prediction: Evil Dany gets either chomped or fried by Drogon, after she orders Drogon to kill Jon, and Drogon decides the True Heir and Rightful Noble Ruler is Jon. (“Fried” as a possibility because though as far as we know Dany is immune to regular fire, we don’t know for certain that she’s immune to a dragon’s building-exploding exhalations.)
Further prediction: the writers won’t make up for the rest of season 8 with this episode; millions will have to work very hard to rationalize why this episode was Perfect, while millions more will shrug and move on. (After cancelling their HBO subscriptions.)
Your second prediction is wrong. The internet has full on turned into “LOL D&D COULD NEVER WRITE THIS SHOW IS AWFUL” circle jerk, it’s actually the opposite - even if it’s great, the internet is going to call it the worst episode ever.
But, shockingly, there are still people in this world who think for themselves.
On the topic of this episode: it’s not easy to see how the bad (to some of us) decisions made in the first five episodes of the season can be redeemed. I mean, the sweeping aside of the entire “winter is coming” theme alone is difficult to rationalize (though I know some have managed it).
HBO is probably happy no matter what. They’ve made back their investment, I expect, and then some.
Drogon kills Dany, or specifically that Bran wargs into Drogon and kills Dany
so common that I suspect that they aren’t “predictions” but people who read the leaks and want to seem smart by spoiling it for people. If that ends up being the case, there are a whole lot of dicks out there.
To be clear, there are no actual spoilers in my spoiler box. I’m just commenting on a “prediction” I’ve seen a lot of people make. But I spoiler boxed it just in case people want to avoid even reading about predictions - although in that case coming to the show thread a few hours before air time is probably a bad idea.
Also, I may be wrong. Those may be totally organic predictions and it may turn out to be wrong. But the number of times and context I’ve seen it crop up makes me suspicious.
I just want to watch and enjoy the show. I want to see all the fuckery. I want to see the faces of those who KNEW what was going to happen. It is either going to be an ending like Breaking Bad or Lost? Or…
It was all part of Olly’s imagination.
…based on my reading of the most humiliating possible death for Dany, given the plot elements still in play as of the fifth episode.
Having her “child” turn on her would be the worst thing that could happen to her, and that’s what the writers are going for, I believe.
I have no predictions about Bran warging. Admittedly that would help the writers dispose of the objection that Bran hasn’t had any seeming role in the plot other than to sit under a tree as a magnet for the Night King, but having him warg into Drogon would remove the “humiliating for Dany” aspect, so I’d be very surprised if the show runners went that way.
My predictions remain basically this(most of my original predictions are fulfilled or destroyed now):
Jon kills Dany in a very dramatic scene. Like, says he loves her, but stabs her through or something. I have no idea what would happen to the dragon at this point.
Jon is encouraged to take the throne, but abandons westeros to go north. Maybe even meets up with Ghost and Tormund.
Sansa takes the throne with Tyrion as her hand(and possibly husband???)
No Azor Ahai prophecy resolution given to us, which is insane, but I cynically think is the case.
Think we get any insight at all to the odd behavior of Bran during the Night King battle? I mean, he clearly told him about the fire-trench and the way they looked at each other just before Arya killed him…I mean, there had to be something!