Game of Thrones Season 6 - Discussion & Predictions

This post is mostly about the revelations from the latest season of the show, however I will talk about the book and the future of the books within this post.

SPOILERS will be heavy.

Hit the jump to read on…

Once again, MAJOR SPOILERS FOR THE BOOKS AND SHOW AHEAD!

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Okay! Here we go:

Overall

Season 6 is fun because it’s ahead of the books. I didn’t know what would happen, even though I’ve had some predictions. The wait for the next book is killing me, because I want to see the differences there will be. I don’t believe Stannis will die in the way he did on the show. I don’t believe Dorne will plummet into chaos like it did. Aegon is coming. The Sphinx is the riddle, not the riddler. The Faceless Men have actual ambitions. There are so many things that will make the book so much deeper than a television show can possibly go, and I’m excited for it like nothing else. That said, I loved season 6. It’s better than 99.9% of television out there, so as many criticisms as I could have for being a book-nerd, it’s still awesome entertainment.

Mel and Arya

Jon sent Melisandre riding south, but to where? Well, she did make a promise to Arya that she needs to keep: I predict that they will meet again. Mel told Arya so. But to what ends? Well, Arya just got out of a death cult (she still has face-change powers), what if she’s taunted by the powers of a new religion?

But why? Well… Arya Stark has names to check off her list:

1.Cersei Lannister

2. Ser Ilyn Payne

3.The Mountain

4.Melisandre

5.Beric Dondarrion

6.Thoros of Myr

It might just be convenient that Mel is on Arya’s list for what she did to Gendry, but Mel has a way with talking herself out of being murdered. So, maybe, just maybe… the Red Woman and Arya will have a shared purpose.

That purpose, I’ll talk about in a minute.

But first….

I predict that Mel and Arya will meet up with the Brotherhood Without Banners. That would reunite Arya with several more names on her list, for one thing, but I believe that she and the BWB will tell her that they plan to fight the White Walkers by meeting up with Jon Snow, KINGINDANORF!

The promise of seeing her brother and sister at Winterfell seems like it might make Arya postpone or even forgive the BWB deaths on her list. After all, she’s forgiven someone of death before…

However, I also predict that Mel will see Cersei and/or Gendry in her flames. This will leave Arya with a choice: Go north to Jon Snow, Winterfell, and family or go south to complete her revenge and possibly save Gendry.

I think she’ll ultimately head south with Mel.

The Hound

But with a BWB/Arya/Mel meetup comes an awesome Arya/Hound reunion.

Thought: The Brotherhood Without Banners started when Eddard Stark sat the Iron Throne in King Robert’s name and sentenced Ser Gregor “The Mountain” Clegane to death.

Nobody hates Gregor Clegane more than Sandor Clegane.

Therefore, it is weirdly appropriate that Sandor would join the BWB.

Mel, Arya, the BWB, the Hound…

They will all cross paths… but they will split. The BWB will die to save them all (more on this after the Brienne section below). The Hound will ride north to inform Jon Snow of what happened, and Arya and Mel will join a certain hostheaded south…

Let’s Talk Littlefinger

The Hound, upon arriving at Winterfell, will tell Jon Snow and Sansa that it was Littlefinger who betrayed Eddard, put a knife to his throat.

Jon, now KINGINDANORF, will have to decide his fate, as he just did for Mel.

Jon didn’t kill Melisandre. She saved Jon, but she committed a terrible crime. Jon sent her south as a punishment. He couldn’t kill the woman that saved him.

Prediction: Jon Snow won’t kill Littlefinger. He saved Jon, but he did betray Eddard to his end. I predict that Jon will send Littlefinger south as his punishment. He won’t kill the man that saved him.

But, if Littlefinger is sent south, then where will he go?

I predict that Littlefinger will be tasked with proving his loyalty to Sansa and Jon by retaking Riverrun from the Freys.

Sansa, with the building strife between her and Jon, will want a seat of her own away from the north. Riverrun could be that seat. She should be angry that the northern lords bypassed her and named Jon their king, when she is a legitimate Stark. So, this will be her plan: She is half-Tully, she will take Riverrun and declare herself Queen of the Riverlands.

Remember, Littlefinger is technically Lord Paramount of the Trident (which is a part of the Riverlands), lord of Harrenhal… so a marriage between the Lord of the Trident and the Tully-descendent at Riverrun would have huge legitimacy in declaring themselves King and Queen of the Riverlands.

The Mad Queen and Jamie

Jamie Lannister to Walder Frey (Season 6, Episode 10): "They don't fear the Freys, though, they fear the Lannisters. We gave you the Riverlands to hold the Riverlands. If we have to ride north and take them back for you every time you lose them, why do we need you?"

Imagine if my prediction comes true and Littlefinger and Sansa take back Riverrun in the name of the Starks and Tullys (which Sansa is both). Walder Frey and his closest heirs are both dead. There will be a new Frey heir, but they will squabble about who that should be. Meanwhile, a North+Vale army could descend upon Riverrun.

Would Jamie and his Lannister army bother to come to the aid of the Freys? After what Jamie said to Walder, I think not. They don’t need the Freys anymore. They can’t even hold the Riverlands, so what use is their allegiance?  

So, assuming that the Freys are removed from Riverrun, and Sansa and Littlefinger now sit behind the walls.

I predict Jamie will be forced to return to Riverrun, under similar pretenses as the last time. The difference is that it will not be the Blackfish, but Sansa behind the walls… with Brienne.

From Season 6 Episode 9: Brienne to Jamie: "Should I fail to persuade the Blackfish to surrender and if you attack the castle, honor compels me to fight for Sansa's kin."

Jamie - "Of course it does."

Brienne - "To fight you."

Jamie - "Let's hope it doesn't come to that."

That could be exactly what it comes down to. But what choice will Jamie make this time? Will he begin a new siege? Will he try and remove Sansa and thusly be forced to fight and perhaps kill Brienne?

Everyone knows about the Maggie the Frog prophecies. They’re slightly different from book to show. I want to key in on a certain line:

Season 5, Episode 1: Maggie the Frog to Cersei: "Oh yes, you'll be queen, for a time... then comes another younger, more beautiful, to cast you down and take all you hold dear.”

What does Cersei have left to hold dear? Her children are all dead. She only has power and her brother left. Most people have assumed that Margery was the younger, more beautiful woman to cast Cersei down… but Marg is dead, and now Cersei, at least in the show, is the Queen of Westeros, sitting the Iron Throne. Cersei is at the height of her power.

Brienne the Beauty

Brienne is constantly made fun of for being ugly, but she is more beautiful when it comes down to what matters. She is mockingly called a beauty, but Brienne has a beautiful soul, personality. She has a beautiful sense of right and wrong.

I predict she is the younger, more beautiful person in Maggie the Frog’s prophecy.

If Brienne is on the walls of Riverrun with Sansa, it is very possible that Brienne is the only one who can convince Jamie to allow Sansa to keep it and avoid war/a siege. Brienne could steal Jamie from Cersei, convince Jamie, finally, that Cersei is terrible.

With Jamie’s help, though, Cersei could be stopped. If Jamie switched sides, then he could move in close enough to Cersei to capture her (or kill her) and take her back to Casterly Rock.

tin foil time

Domino Prediction (mentioned above in the Hound section): If I’m right that Jamie will turn on Cersei and refuse to attack Sansa and Brienne, then perhaps Cersei will send The Mountain north to handle things instead. If Gregor goes north, then wouldn’t it be appropriate for the BWB to defend the north against him? After all, that was the original reason for forming.

What I’m saying, truly: Looks like Cleganebowl is back on the menu, boys.

I foresee, however, the Mountain destroying the BWB. The Hound would ride north to Jon Snow, and Arya and Mel would ride south.

Either way, I hope they remember to let Edmure out of the dungeons.

Bran, Dolorous Ed, and the Wall

Bran will accidentally the Wall, and Ed will make a bad joke about it.

Sam and Gilly

I think half the purpose of S+G in the final seasons will be data. Sam will learn about the White Walkers and magic and dragonsteel. Sam, I think, will also learn about Dawn and the Sword In The Morning. He will take the Valyrian Steel swords where they will be needed.

Dany, Tyrion, Greyjoys, Dorne, and the Queen of Thorns

They’re all rolled up into one big plot now, aren’t they?

Listen, Euron. Why did they bother introducing you? I guess there’s going to be some tricky sea battle with Euron and Dany, just to slow her up. Ultimately, I just want Theon to escape from it all and go back to the north.

I bet the next season is all stall. Euron and marriage pacts will slow things up, so that Dany won’t attack King’s Landing until the very end of next season or later. Perhaps Euron and Cersei will ally or marry. It’s possible.

Maybe Dany will take Casterly Rock, first. Tyrion would enjoy that. 

Not a prediction, but still… Finally, R + L = J is confirmed.

My final note is just that it happened. What a crazy moment for literature! A Song of Ice and Firewill likely be considered a fantasy classic in the future, such as The Lord of the Rings. So, the fact that we’re living the moment of R + L = J’s reveal is pretty cool. That is a big deal.

That’s it for my predictions/review. Thanks for reading! Overall, I would give season 6 a score of 9/10. I don’t watch any other TV shows, honestly. I don’t even like many movies, but GoT is awesome!
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Also, I wrote more about the books/show....

 Predictions I made after reading the books

 A Song of Ice and Fire Reread Project