Our watch has almost ended – the final season of Game Of Thrones is looming, and now that season seven's done, we've got a good idea about what season eight's going to involve.
George RR Martin is such an expert at foreshadowing (thanks to his predilection for visions and prophecies), we're pretty sure we've already been tipped off as to the final season's biggest moments.
Here's everything that's left to pay off – but, be warned, potential spoilers follow.
1. The Prince That Was Promised will be revealed
Azor Ahai was kept in the mix in season seven, thanks to the fairly major reveal that the Prince that was promised could be a man or a woman. You can bet the reveal will be a massive part of season eight – and our money's on Jon.
In the books, Dany has a vision of Jon's dad Rhaegar, nursing a baby and saying the following. "Aegon... What better name for a king... He is the prince that was promised, and his is the song of ice and fire."
So... that pretty much confirms Jon... sorry, Aegon, is Azor Ahai, right? But what does that mean for the show?
Thoros explained it best: "According to prophecy, our champion will be reborn to wake dragons from stone and reforge the great sword lightbringer that defeated the darkness those thousands of years ago."
So, we should expect all of the above in GoT's final season, because we haven't seen any of it yet. Or they might just drop it. They're only making six episodes.
2. Jon will find out about his heritage
One of the biggest moments of the season 7 finale came when Bran narrated a Jon and Dany sex scene by explaining in detail how they're actually related.
Season 8 will almost certainly see Jon find out this information – including his real name (we really are going to have to get used to calling him Aegon) – and the fallout will be major.
Dany hasn't come this far to allow an usurper to take her claim to the throne, and Jon is too honourable to break his allegiance to the Dragon Queen. So, let's just say neither of them are going to be especially pleased to receive the news (even before you take the fact that they just bumped uglies into account).
Expect this big reveal to happen early on in the season, as it'll be a driving force of the final six episodes.
3. The valonqar prophecy will be fulfilled
Shout out to Maggy the witch, who, as of season seven, has seen all of her prophecies come true – well, all except one.
She was right about Cersei marrying the King, right about a young and beautiful queen coming along to cause trouble (oh, hi Dany!) and right about Cersei outliving her three golden-haired children.
So, what's left? Nothing that's been mentioned in the TV series, but in the books there was one more prediction: "When your tears have drowned you, the valonqar shall wrap his hands about your pale white throat and choke the life from you."
Interestingly, Maggy predicted that Cersei would only have three children, so if she really is pregnant, there's every chance that the "valonqar" (high Valyrian for "little brother") will get in there before she's had a chance to give birth. Assuming that the show follows the apparent trajectory of the books on this pretty major plot point.
Cersei thinks Tyrion's going to do it, fans thinks Jaime's going to do it, we think Euron could be the one (he is the youngest brother in his family, after all). But whoever does it, Cersei's days are numbered.
4. The Khal Drogo prophecy will be fulfilled
Everyone seems to have forgotten about this one, but it could have extreme significance in season 8 – especially if Dany does end up becoming pregnant by Jon, as many fans are predicting.
Season 7 made a big deal about how Dany can't have a baby, which, knowing how GoT works, means she's definitely going to fall pregnant soon. When she does, the prophecy from season 1's evil witch will come into play.
Mirri Maz Duur – the vengeful crone who killed Daenerys' baby in the womb – said that Dany's husband Khal Drogo would return to consciousness "when the sun rises in the west and sets in the east. When the seas go dry and mountains blow in the wind like leaves. When your womb quickens again, and you bear a living child. Then he will return, and not before."
But how will he return? A ghost? A vision? Or, will the Night King get his cold hands on every dead person in the world, and Dany will have to fight the wight version of her former husband?
5. We'll see the Iron Throne covered in snow
Remember Dany's vision scene from season 2? If you don't, you can refresh your memory above.
Now we're heading into season 8, it's looking increasingly likely that it was a vision of the future – it's currently snowing in King's Landing and we're pretty sure the Night King's ice dragon would be capable of caving in the Red Keep.
So, expect the White Walkers to make it to King's Landing in season 8, which will probably wipe the smile off Cersei's face. (The vision could be metaphorical, of course – with Jon Snow covering the throne when he sits on it as King, but we'd say the literal translation is more likely.)
6. The 'dragon has three heads' mystery will be revealed
In the books, one of Dany's visions involves a pretty major talking point for fans. It goes as follows:
A man who looked like her deceased brother Viserys, but taller and with darker eyes, who says to a woman nursing a baby, "Aegon... What better name for a king... He is the prince that was promised, and his is the song of ice and fire." When the man's eyes meet Dany's, he says either to her or the woman with the baby, "There must be one more... The dragon has three heads." He then picks up a silver harp and begins to play.
Some fans feel that "the dragon has three heads" means that three people will ride Dany's dragons, but that theory has been killed by the arrival of the ice dragon. (Unless the Night King counts as one of the three? Possibly, we did see him ride it in the finale.)
Some fans think that it means there are three living Targaryens, and that's where things get more interesting. Now we know that Jon's actually Aegon, that means there are two 'dragons' knocking about. But who's the third?
Fans think it could potentially be Tyrion. Whatever happens, we'd still expect one more twist involving the Targaryen family in season 8, even if it is just as simple as Jon riding a dragon alongside Dany during a massive sky-fight with the Night King (which would be awesome).
7. Jaime will die in the arms of someone he loves
In season 5, Jaime told Bronn that he wants to die in the arms of the woman he loves, which could be Cersei – unless he's already strangled her by then – or it could be Brienne, who we all know is the person he really loves, right?
But one thing's for sure – this line's going to pay off in season 8. Sorry Jaime fans, your boy is doomed. Our money's on him killing himself and Cersei at the same time.
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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.
