#also when i hear walker i think of either the walking dead or whitewalkers from GoT so that didn't help

[redwolftrash]

just remembered garfield could be a canon warriors name (gar is a fish in north america + field as in the biome). would it make any sense from a literal viewing? no. metaphorically, though? hmmm...

[greyknighterotica]

So since there are leaks and it’s no longer fun, here is my final GoT predictions thread for season 7 (but also season 8).

I’m not going to go into it much because, again, leaks have made it not fun for me. There’s no way for these predictions to be seen as earnest or from me anymore so, here we go with minimal reasoning, final GoT predictions for quite some time maybe ever depending on how season 7 shakes out and how right/wrong I am.

HERE WE GO SPOILERS

Citadel Under Siege  

The Citadel is either the target of The Night King and his army or it is attacked by a few people from within (much more likely). The citadel will go up in flames and I predict there will be a great deal of undeath/wights. This will columinate when Sam has to go down into the forbidden section of the library between the two columns and face the undeath 

Aftermath -  Grand/Arch/First Female in the citadel Maester Gilly. Head of studies and reading, Sam. Dragonglass as the hidden component of valyrian steel is revealed. The Citadel’s ‘knowledge’ is mostly lost, but Gilly leads enough maesters to survive that they can start over. All her learning to read and survive sieges/PTSD beyond the wall makes her the best leader in earnestness, it’s not fan service. Gilly and Sam survive The Song.

The North Forgot

The North forgot, long ago, what it was supposed to be remembering. That the First men (not many left but Starks, some people in the Vale, some Mormonts) and the children of the forest had a war. A big one. One that changed a single continent into two, Westeros and Essos (West and East, from before when they were one). 

The war itself wasn’t the big deal, wars happen. IT’s what happened in the war. First men died. Their corpses could be resurrected. The war hurt them both. They put their differences aside, pushed back the first Night King (not the same one as now, at least in body). and when they combined forces undeath stood no chance, a wall was build, the Age of Heroes began and lasted until the Andals (think vikings invading England in the 800-1100 years) invaded and the first men had to become less “Barbaric” and embrace the new ways.

Big Reveals - Westeros and Essos were one land. The Children of the forest use weirwoods/Godswoods and greenmagic to communicate with the first men. Some first men, who didn’t interbred with the Andals and later Valyrians have green-blood in them and can “warg” with it, which is a hybrid human/children of the forest power.

I’m not sure where this is going to go, but my theory is there’s a big, green site that The Night King wants to get to, similar to what we saw beyond the wall. Likely under a sept or fort. It’s huge, it’s got vines and Brann can plug into it and amplify his power by a factor of 100. It will allow him to truly become Three Eyed Raven, an entity that no longer sees in place or time, but what all the Three Eyed Ravens have seen and will see, along with the godswoods and their faces. It will allow Brann to see/commune/find the final answer to the NK and his voice.

Magic Never Left

This one took me awhile. I couldn’t figure out dragons. Probably because I spent the first book not believing in them at all. Dire wolves or giants either. 

But they kept saying what magic was. I just wasn’t listening. I understand it’s rules, the basic ones at least. More or less? There are at least three “magical” races walking around, likely more. They are Dragons, The Giants and Dire Wolves.

Giants were made by the Children of the Forrest, likely after White Walkers went wrong (they made those too, but White Walkers got a king and started making their own). Or maybe before. But Giants are literally shock troops made by olden types. Dragons are literally magic made by old Valyrian “fire mages.” That’s what a “Fire mage” was. Someone who made dragons out of magic. I don’t know how. The “Doom” of Valyria is about fire magic going wrong, the same way I imagine it did way back when the first men were using it and exploded the middle area between Essos and Westeros. 

Predictions - First Men made Direwolves, Children made Giants, Valyrians made dragons. All of these things are magical conduits, that are not only made of magic, but react to it, amplify it. There are certain bloodlines that have a lot more power than other, likely because of breeding long before some things did or did not happen.

Whatmore, first men? Because they have the greenblood in them? Are immune to what I’m about to talk about next. The Andals are mostly interbred with the First Men so they are innoculated or there’s a herd immunity thing going on. But Valyrians? Targereans? They...they don’t have green blood. They’re still high on their own magic supply. Which means they hear...

Side note because it’s too much fun? There will be a Kraken. A Levithan of some sort. Euron knows it. That’s what he found before he came back. He foudn a way to find it, summon it. It’s his ace in the hole. It turns the two way fight into a three way fight which is why Davos/Reek/Salador go pirate on his flagship to rescue Yara and prolly one other major bloodline, mebbe Gendry as the last Baratheon, because the final bloodrites can go on.

The Corrupting Voice

King’s Landing is a shitty dry-dock built a few hundred years ago. It was built then because the Targereans never gave a shit about anything west until their empire fell. Then one of them, RIGHT AFTER THEIR EMPIRE FELL, had a dream that said to go to dragonstone.To take your dragons to dragonstone.

Where there is dragonglass.

The thing is, this is the one part of the story I can’t figure out. If that was a good guy or a bad guy who told her to do that in a dream. And then I realized, it didn’t matter, because SOMEONE was telling her to do it. And it was either the best or worst thing to happen to everyone in Westeros. Which means...

There is a dark inversion to Brann’s power, which is NOT going back in time. It’s reaching into people’s minds. He cannot alter the past, but he CAN speak into people’s minds from ‘beyond time.’ It’s not beyond time, it’s part of the ancient tree internet. 

The Night King can do this to. And not only can he, he has been, all long. Aegon staring into the flames screaming ‘burn them all’ was talking about the night king and the undead, who filled his head, because the NK was in him whispering paranoid thoughts through the flames. Just as Brann reached Ned with his scream, and young Ned turned, the NK can reach you too. And the less green blood you have you (for our purposes, the more Targerean) the more you can hear him.

The closer he is to you the more he can affect you.

Predictions - The NK has been corrupting Dany since she landed, Aegon and the others because they have no greenblood in them. He’s been trying to get them to waste their dragons because they can hurt him or, worse yet, he wants to get to an undead dragon. The magical power of dragons? He wants them under his control either way. And he’s coming for them. He’s making Cersei more crazy than ever “TOMMEN BETRAYED ME!” and playing both sides because all he wants is...

A Dance With Dragons

The Valyrians were the only thing that kept the Doth’Raki in check. 

The dyntasys of Westeros were the only thing keeping all out civil war in check.

There are more bodies on the field, less magical fire wielders, than ever. Which means that after a dance with dragons? No matter who wins? They loose. Because he can simply raise his hands to the sky and now he has both armies fighting for him.

Predictions - Qyburn is literally is dead before we meet him and has made a ultra-zombie. Who--still thinks he’s not on the NK’s side and why you bother me so much. 

Qyburn will either help a betrayed by Highgarden/Euron/Dorne Cersei raise the dead so she can win, or do it anyway.

Jaime will become The Queenslayer after Cersei revives the dead.

Cersei will either be undead or Jaime has to flee from the rest of undeath consuming King’s Landing (which will likely be burning as undeath consumes it). 

The NK’s armies will finally be complete. He is ready. 

The Long Night

I’m not sure what triggers it. In my mind the NK has to get somewhere of significance, but he could just reach inside a dead or dying dragon and then boom, it’s nighttime now, I wouldn’t hate that. 

But his final army is ready. 

Predictions - The NK’s final army is going to be something, I mean something. Here are just a few of the things you will see in the NK’s army.

- An undead Direwolf/Whitewalker cavalry charge 

- An entire regiment of wights with spears and swords sticking out of them, likely unsullied, like unliving porcupines.

- Heavy, heavy knights in plate that can’t be taken down or hit but shamble on.

- A single commander on the field, with the body of a beautiful man, and the head of a direwolf.

- At least one super massive fucking undead dragon fuck yeah.

The North Remembers

The first men from The Vale who Tyrion rode with in season/book 1 return. So do the Mormonts. The Starks. The Wargers and the seers. The old houses and the new. They all remember why there is a wall. Why there must always be a Stark in Winterfell. Why The Twins was built and who it was really designed to stop. 

The Children of the Forrest who have been hiding in plane sight the entire time are either long dead at this point (Melissendre, Thoros of Mir, etc) or have told everyone the secrets.

The fire isn’t good or bad. The NK doesn’t hate fire. He brings the cold because he eats the fire. The fire in you that keeps you alive, he eats it to make you a wight. The fire in you that makes you have finite life, he eats to make you a white walker. He eats the passion of your ambitions and leaves only the wants and paranoia that come along with them.

He’s a fire eater. Just like everyone else who wants dragons, who wants crowns. he’s no different. Just playing a longer game. He was, I think, an old Valyrian. I think the misdirect of the first Night King and his sacrifices with his play stranger is a reference more to Melissendre and Stannis. How a good man with good station and claim can be lead astray. To do the right things for the wrong reasons. 

Melissendre has been corrupted entirely, or was working for him all laong, but that seems like a horrible disdirect even her shock and character development the last two seasons. No, she’s from the East, like Dany. She saw what she did in the flames, like him. But unlike The Hound, she has no greenblood, and she has no doubt. So when the NK gave her visions, answers, she took them, even though she was mostly wrong. 

Or, worse yet, since MElissendre saved the Wall? The good guys just wanted her to do all that to save the wall. Didn’t care who else died. Not that they’d be wrong. Which means that all this final prediction thread is missing is.

The Hero

Storytelling has come a long way since Tolkien. There is no “principle hero” here. If you’re looking for the person who does the most good and right? Probably Sam. Once he teaches everyone how to defend against the dead and defeat them, he’ll also teach everyone how to grow wheat. At least according to the books.

But the hero that needs to be revealed and hasn’t? He’s not Jon Snow. If he is I’ll just die. If Jon Snow is the dude holdin gthe flaming sword of light to fight back the Night King? It’s just so on the nose. I’m fine with Dany going “mad” and burning him via dragon and having him not burn, fine. A-OK. But he’s not the holder of the flaming sword.

That’s The Hound.

The Hound has been the one who has trouble seeing his good, and all of his evil as self brought. A character in season 4 or 5 says to Hodor “If I were as big as you I’d rule the seven kingdoms...” and nobody says that to The Hound.

Even though The Hound is more ethical, moral and frankly good than just about anyone on the show. A “hungry dog” as the Arch Maester calls mankind, not good or bad, just being a dog.

Beric will die. Thoros too. There will be no more flaming swords. 

The Hound will either have to pick up Beric’s or Thoros’ final blessed, flaming sword.The last one by the last hidden magi.

And it’s going to be fucking awesome. 

[obsidianarchives]

Game of Thrones Recap: S7E4 - "The Spoils of War"

So. SO.

Game of Thrones was lit this week. Pun intended. Pacing problems aside, the writers gave us exactly what we’ve been waiting for for seven years: Stark reunions and Fire and Blood. The closer we move to the end of the series, the more stark contrasts we get between the show’s primary theme: Ice and Fire. We see it in the characters Jon and Dany, and in this particular episode we see the contrast between Winterfell and the snows of the North and the second Field of Fire. This episode was everything, so much so that I watched it twice on Sunday, just because I needed to revel in it’s glory again.

Highgarden/King’s Landing

We start the episode off with a short scene near Highgarden, where the Lannister host is transporting Tyrell gold and provisions to King’s Landing. It seems like things are going well for the Lannisters at this point. They’re on track to pay their debts (both big and small), and have now solidified two more of the seven kingdoms under their dominion. Bronn is fed up as usual, and probably regretting his volunteering to be Tyrion’s champion all those years ago. He’s been fighting for the Lannisters for the occasional bag of gold, some titles, and the promise of a castle and a lady for a long time now, and he’s clearly tired of fighting for them without reaping his full reward.

The Iron Bank is happy that they’re getting paid back and are willing to loan Cersei more money to help in her endeavors, which doesn’t make sense to me but also I don’t understand money so that’s not the show’s fault. Cersei mentions something about Qyburn reaching out to the Golden Company - a squad of sellswords like Daario’s Second Sons only more badass - so we’ll see if that comes to fruition soon. Either way, we see Cersei feeling more triumphant than she has in a while, a feeling that won’t last long because DRAGONS.

Winterfell

Up in the North, Littlefinger is still useless. When he’s not staring down at various Starks from balconies with a smirk on his face, he’s trying to manipulate one Stark or another for some reason still unknown and unnecessary given that they’re all preparing for winter and the impending invasion from the whitewalkers. This time, he goes to Bran, the newest Stark back in Winterfell. He gives Bran the Knife That Started It All, proclaims his love for Catelyn, and swears to protect him and Sansa. It’s cute that he thinks this will work, and Bran clearly thinks so, as he quotes something Littlefinger said seasons ago and which Bran shouldn’t know given that this is the first time they’ve met. Littlefinger is clearly shook, which is wonderful. Right now Bran holds a lot of information about Littlefinger, and I can’t wait for him to reveal some stuff - especially the fact that it was Littlefinger who doublecrossed Ned for Cersei and Joffrey. It would be great if that was revealed so that we can get him out of here. Right now it isn’t clear why he’s still around - again his goal seems really insignificant in comparison to the larger things going on.

Meera decides to go back home to The Neck to be with her family when winter comes. All of the sudden, Bran is bad at social skills and barely says thank you to Meera after all she and Jojen have done for him. Meera is rightfully upset, but Bran tells her that he’s not really Bran anymore. While he remembers his life, he also remembers so much more. While I like this explanation and do like it as character development for him, it still feels abrupt when we didn’t see the beginnings of these changes after Bran and Meera left the cave - including all that time they were with Benjen. I also think that it would’ve been nice to see Bran struggling with this - he seems too fine with losing his identity, with seemingly living hundreds of thousands of lives at once, and I would have loved to see some internal struggle to further his character development within the larger plot.

This abrupt development feels like a symptom of this season’s pacing issues and the forcing of these characters into plot but I’m over it for now because ARYA ARRIVES AT WINTERFELL! There’s a scene similar to one in season 1 when the guards wouldn’t let her back into the Red Keep because they thought she was some common person from Flea Bottom. This time, guards who have no institutional memory (which, to be fair, isn’t their fault) don’t believe her, but luckily she’s able to sneak past them to the crypts. Sansa meets her there and we get a better moment than Bran gave us last episode. What’s really interesting about their interaction is that we see how opposite they still are - while they have both been through a lot of horrible things, at this moment they are at the peak of who they always wanted to be - Sansa a lady and Arya a fighter. It’s great to see them bond, but we do see where things could potentially get complicated, for example when Arya mentions her list, and Sansa laughs in disbelief.

We then get more STARK PARTY when Sansa and Arya go to see Bran in the godswood. Sansa has warned Arya that he’s different now, and Arya sees it firsthand when he tells her that he saw her “at the crossroads,” deciding whether to come home or to go to King’s Landing to kill Cersei. Bran’s mention of the List is Sansa’s hint that it’s not a joke, and when she asks Arya who is on the list, Arya tells her that most of the people are dead. Bran then gives Arya the blade given to him by Littlefinger, which means that Arya now has Valyrian steel and can fight whitewalkers! We then get to see some of Arya’s skills when she trains with Brienne. By this point, I was already ridiculously giddy about this episode, and seeing Arya’s skills made it even better. This is the moment that solidifies for Sansa that in a way she’s lost both Bran and Arya. They are no longer the children she saw in her mind. She still hasn’t heard Arya’s story - about her traveling with the Hound, her time in Braavos, her murdering of the Freys - but at this point she doesn’t even really need to hear it. While Sansa seems slightly unsettled, Littlefinger looks downright shooketh at the fact that he now has to deal with two powerful and unpredictable Starks. All his strategizing and weird ass soliloquies will be for naught if Bran and Arya decide he needs to go.

Dragonstone

Over on Dragonstone, Dany finds out about #MissanGrey as she and Missandei go to meet Jon and Davos to see the dragonglass. Even though Jon shows her under the pretense of wanting her to see the paintings deeper in the cave, there were very clearly some romantic undertones to this scene. The two of them are clearly intrigued by each other (even Davos notices), and at this point the main thing holding them back is their stubbornness. Jon shows Dany the paintings made by the Children of the Forest, mainly of symbols (ones we’ve seen before north of the Wall), but one in particular of the Children and the First Men fighting the walkers. It serves to convince Dany that the whitewalkers are real, but it doesn’t convince her to give up her claim of the North. She tells Jon that she will fight the walkers when Jon bends the knee - which COME ON FAM THERE ARE CLEARLY MORE IMPORTANT THINGS YOU CAN’T RULE OVER THE NORTH IF THEY’RE ALL ZOMBIES. Jon declines again and Dany asks whether the North’s survival is more important than his pride, but honestly that applies to her too. As I’ve said before, Jon and Dany are at a moot and I’m surprised (mainly because of the pacing of this season) that the subject of marriage hasn’t been brought up yet. Dany knew she would have to marry a Westerosi lord in order to shore up her claim to the Iron Throne and even if she and Jon weren’t making subtle eyes at each other, that alliance seems like it would be stronger through marriage rather than another King Who Knelt.

Jon and Dany’s romantic cave walk turned demand for fealty turns sour when Tyrion and Varys arrive to tell them of their loss of the Reach. Dany is angry and no longer wants to listen to Tyrion’s council, which admittedly hasn’t gone so well lately. Dany wants very badly to fly to King’s Landing and burn the city and the Red Keep, and when Tyrion disagrees she calls his loyalty into question. She then turns to Jon, who also advises against it, telling her essentially what Tyrion has been telling her: if she melts castles and burns cities to the ground, she’s just the same as everyone else. She’s supposed to be a Queen of the people. As Missandei says later, it’s how she won the loyalty of the people who came with her from Essos (problematic writing and tropes aside). While she should take the fighting to Cersei, burning all of King’s Landing wouldn’t help her cause.

Later, Theon arrives at Dragonstone to ask for Dany’s help to save Yara from Euron. After not punching him in the face, Jon tells Theon that Dany left. Theon asks where she went and then, AND THEN...

The Reach/The Crownlands

DRAGONNSSSSSSSSSSSSSS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

But actually let me backtrack a bit since this is technically supposed to be a proper recap and not four pages of me typing “DRAGONS” over and over again. So we see the Lannister army on its way back to King’s Landing. Randyll Tarly makes a report to Jaime letting him - and us - know that the gold has made it safely to King’s Landing, but that they are spread too thin and need to hurry to get the rest of the provisions through the city gates ASAP. Then, showing us that he’s better at being the worst than show-Euron, he suggests flogging the stragglers. Jaime tells him to chill, but agrees that they need to hurry.

Jaime and Bronn then go to poke some fun at Dickon Tarly because they are twelve and we hear a bit about Dickon’s personal struggles with having to fight other men of the Reach. But then Bronn’s spidey-senses start tingling and at this point I’m honestly just trying to maintain coherency for the rest of this recap because HOLY CRAP.

The dothraki come charging at them from the horizon and the Lannisters are clearly outnumbered. Bronn tells Jaime to leave for King’s Landing but Jaime disagrees, saying that they can hold them off until DANY AND DROGON COME FLYING ABOVE ALL OMGOMGOMGFIREANDBLOODDDOMGOMGOMGOMGOMGDRACARYSD;KDJGHRIAJSLK;AHGJDGJEIJSS

I’m really trying y’all but as I told you I watched this twice in three hours (with an Insecure break in the middle) and just thinking about it makes me really happy and I may go watch it again as soon as I finish this recap. This show excels at battle scenes and I love how they’re able to make them feel new and different and exciting every single time. From the battle of Blackwater Bay to the Field of Fire Part 2, the only real difference is the budget. I have yet to be disappointed by a Big Battle Episode - I was stressed and worried and surprised, and this time it wasn’t just because of the dragon but because there were characters we know and love on both sides of the fighting. There’s a moment when Tyrion appears, overlooking the battlefield, and it seems like he’s there solely to be all of us, rooting for Daenerys to win but also for Jaime and Bronn to survive.

At least until Bronn started shooting the Scorpion at Drogon. Then I needed him to go. After Dany and Drogon burn up all of the provisions - meaning it’s going to be a harsh winter for the southern lords - he gets two shots out, the first one narrowly missing, and the second wounding Drogon. Luckily, Drogon destroys the Scorpion soon after (and hopefully it was the only one in Cersei’s possession). Drogon and Dany land and Dany tries to take the bolt out of Drogon’s shoulder. Of course, Jaime chooses this time to try and charge them, but Drogon sees him and Bronn saves him from being barbecued just in time. We end the episode with Jaime, and probably Bronn, sinking in the river.

Again, this episode was amazing and I only had one small, selfish gripe with the end scene - where were Viserion and Rhaegal? Obviously that would have probably done more damage than the writers were looking for, and we don’t have riders for the two of them yet, but I think that would’ve been the only thing to make my brain truly explode. As I’ve mentioned earlier in this review and the one before, I do think the pacing is a problem and I wish this season was a full 10 episodes - I think it really would have benefited from it - but at the same time this particular episode is already in my top 10 so it’s not an irredeemable fault. I can’t wait for the next episode and am sad that we only have three more weeks of this. We are hurtling so quickly towards the end and I am not ready.