When I hear rumors that the series finale of Game of Thrones could be delayed until 2019, I almost feel relived because that means we get another year to be excited about a new Game of Thrones Season.
Because once Game of Thrones is officially over, it will leave a void in me that will take a lot to fill. No sequels, prequels, or spin-offs can capture the same magic that the original show has.
Based off of George R.R. Martin's long running (and incomplete) novel series A Song of Ice and Fire, HBO's Game of Throneshas been the greatest story ever been told to me, and these last two "half" seasons should be the epic payoff we have waited years for.
Throughout the series there have been a fair share of shocking deaths and sweet revenge, but those moments should pale in comparison for the closure that is to come.
Whether it is a character reaching his or her destiny, someone claiming the power they have yearned for since the very first episode, or an epic battle imagined only in our heads for all these years, Game of Thronespromises to have a culmination that is unprecedented in the history of television.
Without further digression, the following are seven moments every Game of Thronesfan is anticipating to witness in it's seventh season.
The length they have been waiting for each moment could vary from the end of the very last episode to early in the first season. All, however, are extremely compelling nevertheless.
*WARNING: THERE ARE GAME OF THRONES SPOILERS*
*DO NOT READ THIS UNLESS YOU HAVE WATCHED EVERY SINGLE GAME OF THRONES EPISODE*
*IF YOU HAVE NOT WATCHED IT AND DON'T CARE ABOUT THE SHOW, STILL DON'T READ IT AND GO WATCH THE SHOW NOW FOR THE NEXT 60 HOURS, IT WILL BE WORTH IT*
7. The Return of Gendry
Three seasons have passed by since we last seen Gendry, the bastard son of Robert Baratheon, escaping from his uncle Stannis Baratheon on the boat.
We have not seen him since and he's been barely mentioned.
Yet unless if the show's creators David Benioff and D.B. Weiss have forgotten about him, Gendry should make his triumphant return this season.
The only question now is what has he been doing and what will he do?
Reunite with Arya and join the Starks?
Gather his own army and fight for the Iron Throne as the true heir to Robert Baratheon?
Join Daenerys's army?
The mystery of Gendry's absence is one of the few remaining mysteries fans have been dying to figure out.
6. The Hound Reunites with Arya, Battles The Mountain
When The Hound made his stunning return after being severely wounded at the end of Season 5 by Brienne of Tarth and left to die by Arya, the fans were excited to see that his character arc was going to continue after all.
The Hound reuniting with Arya as she continues her journey to off-people on her list may be the key into bringing her back to sanity and helping her family.
Oh and of course there is the potential Cleagane Bowl! The Hound vs. The Mountain (albeit silent and zombiefied) can clash one-on-one in a climatic duel during the invasion of King’s Landing.
Fans have been anticipating the Clegane Bowl for years and have already made tee shirts for it. They even jumped the gun by declaring it happen in 2015 and 2016, and it might not even happen in 2017.
5. Jaime Betrays Cersei
The vivid image of the season 6 finale was Cersei Lannister being crowned as the new Queen in a crowded but silent hall. When Jaime returns to see the ruins that his sister/lover caused in killing hundreds that led to the suicide of their last living child, he no doubt has to be concerned with the safety of Westeros and his surviving family.
Fans anticipate this because Cersei is becoming eerily similar to the Mad King Aerys Targaryen who Jaime, a member of the King's Guard, betrayed and killed during the Sack of King's Landing.
Jaime's complex relationship with his twin sister has been both disturbing and interesting throughout the series but he's always remained loyal to her cause.
Now that all of their inbred children are gone and parts of King's Landing lays in reckoning because of her, will Jaime choose the safety of the kingdom again or remain loyal to his queen?
It is fascinating to see Jaime's character evolve from being the first one we hated when he pushed Bran out of the Winterfell tower at the end of the pilot episode.
He went from that, to becoming more sympathetic and moral as he struggled to return to King's Landing from his imprisonment of the Starks.
Now his ultimate test will come in the final season of Game of Thrones: Continue his incestuous love that spawned the likes of Joffrey? Or fully redeem his character and restore order to the turbulent kingdom?
4. Jon Finds Out The Truth of His Origins
Last year the truth about Jon Snow's true parentage was finally revealed. It confirmed a theory that had been tossed around by fans as the likely origin of his mysterious past. (Lets be fair too, this was a tricky theory thought about by fans of the show for five years and fans of the books for twenty years, as the first novel was published in 1996).
Jon Snow is the son of Lyanna Stark, Ned Stark's sister, and was fathered by Rhaegar Targaryen, the oldest brother of Daenerys Targaryen.
Despite Bran finding out the truth, Jon remains in the dark, meaning that the only way he will know is if he reunites with Bran and is told what really happened the day he was born.
So if Jon does find out the truth, what will that mean if he meets Daenerys and they form an alliance?
Will Daenery's believe that the young man from Winterfell and in dark hair is her own nephew? (a nephew who is slightly older than her.)
Does being the last surviving grandson of the Mad King Targaryen make Jon Snow the true heir to the Iron Throne and would Daenery's agree to it?
Would Jon want that responsibility in the first place?
This whole mess of family relations and line of succession should come to fruition within the next two years.
3. The White Walkers Invade Beyond The Wall
Do you remember the very first scene of Game of Thrones?
It wasn't in King's Landing
It wasn't in Winterfell
It was beyond The Wall where three members of The Night's Watch were attacked and killed by White Walkers.
Because there has been so much going on between the humans we tend to forget about their looming presence.
What will this lead to? Would the Starks, Lannisters and Targaryens be forced to form an alliance and fight the White Walkers?
Will the White Walkers make King's Landing as freezing and unbearable as beyond The Wall?
Will it truly be a bleak ending to this already bleak show and have the White Walkers slay the entire human race and rule forever?
2. The Stark Family Reunion
Think about this: The last time the surviving Starks were all together in Winterfell was Season 1, Episode 2, when Eddard took Sansa and Arya to King’s Landing and Jon left for the Night’s Watch.
That means for the majority of Season 1 and the following five seasons the surviving Stark children have not been in the same place at the same time. And as Game of Thrones fans know, a season of the show (which usually spans to about a year) feels like a decade because so many awful things and major events consistently occur.
So basically the Starks have not been together for what has felt like a lifetime, and seeing them all together at last will bring a type of tearful joy no series of books or television has ever created before.
Not even the ending of Harry Potter pulled off something like that because Harry, Ron and Hermione were together almost the whole time during their seven year adventure.
Ayra, Bran, Jon and Sansa reunited is the ultimate emotional payoff to seven seasons of misery, torture and devastating losses.
1. The Invasion of Westeros
Ever since the end of Season 1, when Daenerys’s dragons unhatched, fans were hyped for her inevitable invasion of Westeros and claim the Iron Throne.
The only problem with that is that her journey had to take a while because she had to do things like:
Raising the baby dragons to become adults.
Raising an entire army.
Liberating enslaved cities.
Herself growing up into adulthood.
Understanding the decisions and compromises it takes to be a ruler.
Gaining insight and advice from the likes of Jorah Mormont and Tyrion Lannister.
Find a way to tame her dragons so she could use them.
And actually traveling all the way to Westeros because she started out on the other side of the world. (Even though she has dragons they can't fly as fast as jets).
So now, finally, she is going to invade King’s Landing and it is going to be GLORIOUS!
With all that said, even if we get see all of those spectacular moments happen, I am still going to be crushed knowing that this show is ending.
So my words of advice to David Benioff and D.B. Weiss is to please take your time and don't rush these final episodes. George R.R. Martin is listening to me because his two decade-old book series that you adapted into this epic show STILL isn't finished!
