Now that season seven's ended, season eight of Game of Thrones is the last chance for a whole bunch of fan theories to come true. Of course, some classics have been confirmed by the penultimate series (hi, King Jon), but loads still haven't, which is very exciting.
We've still got a while to wait for season eight, but for now, here's a rundown of our favourites...
1. Dany and Tyrion are related
Forget R + L = J (now confirmed), what fans are really interested in is A + J = T.
Yep, according to fan theorists, Tyrion is the product of an unholy union between the Mad King Aerys and Tywin's wife, Joanna. It explains all those times Tywin told Tyrion 'you're no son of mine', because he literally isn't.
This could still play out in the final season, with Tyrion finding out he's a Targaryen and making his own claim for the Iron Throne.
Though, it would require someone asking Bran to check his mental database for something that hasn't been alluded to for a while, so this one's probably as unlikely as Sam being a Targaryen (which is another genuine fan theory).
2. Sam is writing the series
We've talked about this previously, and even though Sam's left the Citadel, it could still happen – with the whole series being a tale Sam put together to entertain his son. The show has had plenty of Princess Bride-style moments, so it would be fitting if it ended the same way as that movie – with a man reading his relative a story... of ice and fire.
3. Jon is Azor Ahai
Long story short, the Azor Ahai prophecy predicts that a warrior born in salt and smoke will appear when the red star bleeds and the darkness gathers, will wake dragons out of stone, and will reforge a great flaming sword, by plunging the blade into the heart of his/her true love.
We've seen loads of evidence that Jon is Azor Ahai (not least being the fact Melisandre seemed fairly convinced he's Ahai from the moment she met him), with the season seven finale clincher being that they're both called Aegon. Expect this plot line to be a major element of season eight, and it'll definitely, definitely revolve around Jon...
4. Daenerys is Azor Ahai
... unless it revolves around Dany. There's been just as much evidence that Dany's Azor Ahai (we've seen her be reborn in salt and smoke, and wake dragons out of stone), with season seven confirming that the prince that was promised could be a woman. Dany's always felt like the most likely contender. She arguably fits more of the requirements than Jon does....
5. Basically, anyone could be Azor Ahai
... but there's a whole load of contenders – Sam, The Hound... even Davos has been theorised by attentive fans at some point. Whatever the truth is, we imagine George RR Martin has a few surprises up his wizard's sleeve when the truth is finally confirmed.
6. Jon is Lightbringer
Forget Azor Ahai, of the most surprising theories is that Jon is actually a massive sword. Seriously.
Fans have theorised (in admirable detail) that Jon's actually the weapon that will be used by Azor Ahai, and not the character himself. The theory's based on a whole bunch of allusions and metaphors (and sauce – some people think the sword is Jon's penis) in the books.
As ever with this kind of thing, there's a good chance the reveal will be a lot simpler than the complex connections laid out by fans, but it's still fun to read. But even if the chances of Jon actually being revealed as a sword in season eight is unlikely, it's still technically possible.
7. Bran did it
Did what? Well, everything. According to theorists, not only did Bran go back in time to warn the Mad King to fill King's Landing with wildfire (accidentally giving him the wrong idea, making him think that he should burn all of his subjects), Bran was actually also Bran the builder, building the wall to keep the army of the dead out. Oh, and he's also the Night King.
We're fairly sure these can't all be true, but Bran's got to do something in season eight other than sit around looking mopey, so we'll see.
8. The Faceless Men's real god is money
Pretty plausible one, this – which argues that the 'Many-Faced God' is actually money (which generally has lots of faces) and the Faceless Men are actually in cahoots with the Iron Bank (they are conveniently located right next to each other), assassinating targets the Bank assigns them.
Both the Faceless Men and the Iron Bank's plot lines still feel unresolved, so this is definitely a twist that could come in season eight.
Perhaps the Bank will grow tired of Cersei's despotism, and decide to let the Faceless Men hire Arya to kill the Queen while wearing Littlefinger's face? Stranger things have happened.
9. Jaime's going to kill Cersei
One of the oldest / best known fan theories, it's been foreshadowed that Cersei will be killed by her little brother. She thinks it's Tyrion, fans think it's Jaime (they're twins, but she was born first) – but let's see what twist the show delivers in season eight, when this will definitely, definitely be resolved.
10. Cleganebowl
So, we didn't get Cleganebowl in the season seven finale, but that just means we'll get it in season eight (especially as it was practically organised when The Hound promised The Mountain that he's coming for him, shortly before showing his zombie brother a zombie soldier – man, this show is weird sometimes).
This is one fan theory that'll cause an uproar if it doesn't happen, so we expect to see it during those final six episodes, even if we have to shoot it and edit it in ourselves.
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Sam is an entertainment writer with NCTJ accreditation and a twenty-year career as a film journalist.
Starting out as a staff writer at Total Film, moving up to Deputy Online Editor, Sam was responsible for Total Film’s YouTube channel, where he revolutionised the magazine’s approach to video junkets, creating influential formats that spread to other outlets.
He’s interviewed a wide range of film icons, including directors such as David Lynch, Quentin Tarantino, Paul Thomas Anderson, Sofia Coppola, Ridley Scott, Michael Bay and Sam Raimi, as well as actors such as Meryl Streep, Nic Cage, Brad Pitt, George Clooney, Anne Hathaway, Margot Robbie, Natalie Portman, Kermit the Frog, all of the Avengers and many more.
Sam has also interviewed several comic creators, including Stan Lee, Alan Moore, Grant Morrison, and he has a zombie cameo in The Walking Dead comic.
In 2014, Sam went freelance, working directly for film studios including Warner Brothers, 20th Century Fox and Disney, as well as covering red carpet events for film marketing company PMA Productions.
Sam is the co-host, producer and editor of the Arrow Video podcast, which has seen year-on-year growth since its creation in 2017, gaining over half a million listens in that time.
His byline has appeared in outlets such as Yahoo, MTV, Dazed, Esquire, Harper’s Bazaar, Cosmopolitan, Elle, and Good Housekeeping among others.
In 2012, Sam made it to the final of the Leicester Square Theatre New Comedian of the Year competition, and went on to become a filmmaker himself, directing three features that have all played major festivals, and secured distribution – starring in two of them.
Jim Carrey once mistook Sam for Johnny Cash, and John Carpenter told him to ‘Keep up the good work.’ He promises to try his best.
