August 22nd, 2:21am August 22nd, 2:21am Abhinav Pathak22, Game of Thrones geek, Passionate Fiction Writer and the author of ‘Gopalkant’s Wife’.
The last season of Game of Thrones ended with two big game changers – the Night King breaching the Wall and the revelation of Jon Snow’s parentage and the real name – Aegon Targaryen. The author George RR Martin, who penned down the entire book series revealed three big twists in the series to the producers David and Dan back in 2014. Both the books and the TV series will have these three shocks – two of which have already happened on the show. Read on.
Game of Thrones is a TV series which has been setting up strange ironies and twists in the story since the very first season. Well, when we first watched the show, many of us (except the book readers) had thought that the series is a medieval-setting political drama based on a continent called Westeros. Also, the showrunners fantastically portrayed Ned Stark as the ultimate protagonist of the story, until his gory execution in the penultimate episode of the first season.
We had undergone this big shocking moment in the show and had thought Ned’s son Rob Stark will avenge him and bring justice. But, who knew that he too would be executed by the Freys at the ‘Red Wedding’ along with Catelyn Stark, Talisa, his unborn child, and the poor direwolf – Greywind. But, these were nothing compared to the three biggest shocks and game changers that George himself had revealed to the showrunners – David Benioff and Dan Weiss. Two of these have already happened in the show and one more is still to come. These include:
#1 Shireen Baratheon being sacrificed to R’hllor
It can’t be denied that we had grown too fond of this innocent daughter of Stannis Baratheon when she debuted in the episode ‘Kissed by Fire’ of Season 3. The little girl had no regrets in her life, although half of her face was nearly consumed by greyscale once. She was kept locked away in an isolated tower of the castle of Dragonstone. The only person with whom she was friendly was ‘the Onion Knight’ – Davos Seaworth (along with Patchface in the books). She often mentored him and had taught him to read along with Gilly, during her stay at Castle Black. But, she was burnt at the stake by Melisandre, who had convinced her father that it was the only way to win the battle of Winterfell. This moment not only shocked the fans but also broke down Davos when he found the truth.
#2 Hodor’s big revelation and death
Hodor was the great-grandson of Old Nan, whose stories first introduced us to the threat of White Walkers. He is first introduced to us in the first season as a simple-minded stable boy of Winterfell, who only utters a single word ‘Hodor’, and becomes Brandon Stark’s aide, carrying him around, given his disability to walk. He then follows Bran north of the Wall after the attack on Winterfell by Theon Greyjoy, along with other companions like Osha, Jojen Reed, Meera Reed, and the direwolf – Summer. If it weren’t for Hodor, Bran wouldn’t have ever made it to the Three-eyed Raven’s cave. After being discovered by the Night King, Bran had to warg into Hodor in his vision, in order to escape but he somehow warged into young Hodor (Wyllis) too in his vision. Poetically enough, Hodor sacrificed himself for Bran, holding the door as his name suggests. This was the second shocking moment in the show that broke our hearts.
# What will be the third huge shock?
We haven’t got to know the third huge shock in the show yet. It is expected to pay-off in the final season of Game of Thrones, confirmed to be aired in the first half of 2019, as teased by David Benioff, “… is from the very end…” While we have enough time for the new season to air, here are a few speculations on what it might be:
# Something about the Night King’s past:
George has already proven in his story so far that nothing is purely evil or good. The same can be said about the Night King, whom the show has portrayed to be purely evil so far and of whom we know only a little. Who is he? Why did he return after thousands of years? What is his true motivation? The show will surely spill the beans in the final season and will tie the loose ends together.
# Some more unexpected revelations:
There are queries that the show left us with since the first season, starting from the identity of Jon Snow’s mother. Some of these were answered right away but some still need to be answered. Many fans and theorists every day come up with a new prediction for the final season. For instance, the much-hyped question is ‘What did Varys hear in the flames, that he is too terrified for?’ (Not that he is a merman!) The final season may give us a bittersweet ending but it will only be satisfactory for us if all the dots are properly connected.
# The death of our favorite characters:
We all know that the final season of Game of Thrones is going to be epic with the insane amount of budget being spent on each episode. Many of our favorite characters will possibly die, making it even harder to digest. If two popular theories that suggest that Bran is the Night King and that the probable Azor Ahai will sacrifice his love – are to be believed, the final season will surely shock us for the third time. Many cast members including Sophie Turner have already teased an unpredictable final season.
So, what do think will be the third shocking moment in the series after the gruesome deaths of Hodor and Shireen? Tell us in the comments section.
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