Game Of Thrones Season 8 is almost here – excruciatingly close, yet still a few days away. Even as the countdown has already begun, the speculations and theories are rife. And while theories such as ‘Bran is Night King’ and ‘Littlefinger is alive’ are discussed with fervor, there is a lesser known theory that just might cut it. It’s about the Temple of the Lord of Light and its role in the Great War that has already reached Westeros. The theory is lesser known because it has its roots in the books. Only the makers know if this theory has any place in the shows. So while we wait to see how things unfold, let us dig into this theory with all its nuances.
What is the Temple of the Lord of Light and who are Fiery Hands?
The Temple of the Lord of Light is the temple of R’hllor in Volantis. In the Remnants of the Dragonlords, an exhaustive work from Archmaester Gramyon, the temple is said to be three times the size of the Great Sept of Baelor. The temple’s High Priest is Benerro, a former slave, a character that hasn’t been introduced in the show. These references are first found in the book Dance With Dragons in Tyrion’s POV. The temple is protected by a special group of a thousand slave soldiers who identify themselves as the Fiery Hands. They have flames tattooed on their cheeks as is the custom of Volantis. And they carry spears with arrowheads shaped like flames.
What’s the significance of the temple of the Lord of Light?
If you are thinking about how the Temple can feature on the show in Season 8 since it never had any significance in the show till now, let’s revisit a scene from Season 7.
In this scene at Dragonstone, Melissandre tells Lord Varys that she is going to Volantis. And when Varys tells her that it’s a good decision since Westeros will be torn in war soon, she says she is coming back to Westeros. One last time. So it’s clear that she isn’t going away to Volantis to find peace or to stay away from the war. She is going there with some purpose and intends to come back. And since the temple of the Lord of Light is in Volantis, and we all know the Red Woman’s devotion to R’hllor, our bet is she is going to the temple.
The flames know…
Whether you believe the old gods or the new, you have to give due credit to the Lord who shows visions in the flames. We know how Melissandre sees Jon Snow in the flames and believes he has an important role to play in the war to come. She literally brings him back from the dead for this exactly.
But in another flame in Essos, High Priest Benerro sees Daenerys as the savior. According to his visions, even death will bend the knee in front of her. (And we know how obsessed Dany is with people bending the knee for her!).
So, with Melissandre believing in Jon, and Benerro believing in Dany, what are the chances that the two of them collaborate to help the world deal with the fight between the living and the dead? We say, quite high!
And let us not forget Kinvara
For those who think it’s too late for the show to introduce an important character like Benerro, let us not forget Kinvara. Kinvara is the High Priestess of the Red Temple (Temple of the Lord of Light) who makes an appearance on the show in Season 6. She comes to Meereen and meets Tyrion and Varys. With flowing red robes and the necklace with a ruby at her throat, Kinvara is every bit as enigmatic as Melissandre. Remember her conversation with Lord Varys as she hints that she knows all his secrets? If you have trouble remembering the scintillating conversation, here’s the video for you.
How does all this add up?
So, in the shows, Kinvara has already been introduced as the High Priestess who believes Daenerys is “reborn from the ashes to remake the world”. This makes Benerro as the High Preist a redundant character. But the Fiery Hands can still be quite relevant. Let’s see how.
The Fiery Hands are literally the soldiers of R’hllor. And there is a strong reason why they can be brought into the last season. As the White Walkers, the Wights, and the Night King himself march across the Wall, the living prepare for the great war against the dead. The wights, reanimated by the white walker or the Night King cannot be killed, no matter how you cut at them. There are only three ways to destroy them – Valyrian steel, dragonglass, and fire.
Now, who better to wield burning spears than the Fiery Hands themselves? It all makes perfect sense. Melissandre goes to Volantis and mobilizes the thousand soldiers of the Fiery Hands. We have watched her intone “For the night is dark and full of terrors” countless times. And now, the dark night is coming. In this fight between light and darkness, it is only fitting that the Lord of Light plays an important part.
The Fiery Hands will be the helping hands to the dragons!
If the Fiery Hands from the temple of the Lord of Light are brought into the picture by Melissandre and Kinvara, that would be awesome! And knowing Game of Thrones, the makers have all the creative liberties in the world. So, how about the soldiers having some special power related to fire? We have seen Beric Dondarrion (he who is resurrected by the Lord of Light again and again and again) being able to light up his sword with a swipe of a hand. How about the soldiers of R’hllor having a similar power? Game of Thrones fan theories suggest that Jon Snow aka Aegon Targaryen will be saved by these servants of Fire in the nick of the time.
All we can do is wait to see how the war unfolds and whether we will see the Temple of the Lord of Light or the Fiery Hands. But, we sure wish we do. Wouldn’t it be cool to have a thousand people who fight for the R’hllor and destroy the undead? And just imagine how intense the fighting scenes could be! Let’s wait and watch.
In the meantime, we have just launched a Game of Thrones Death Pool so that fans of the show have an interesting activity to participate in during the season. You can vote every week before the episode airs and predict whether a character lives or dies. Get the maximum number of correct predictions by the end of Season 8 to win the Death Pool.
“You will shut many eyes forever – brown eyes, blue eyes, green eyes.” So said Melisandre of Asshai when she met Arya Stark for the first time. This prophecy has played out since then, with both ‘brown eyes’ (Walder Frey) and ‘blue eyes’ (Night King) succumbing to Arya’s blade. Fans have long predicted the green eyes to signify Queen Cersei. But the equation changed with Game of Thrones Season 8 Episode 5 ‘The Bells’ when another pair of green eyes became very important – Queen Daenerys Targaryen.
In an unfathomably shocking act of madness, Daenerys Targaryen torched thousands of innocent King’s Landing civilians in Game of Thrones’ penultimate episode, and as such established herself as the most devastating villain of the series ever.
Before Dany’s Mad Queen twist, Cersei was being regarded as the ‘Mad Queen’, mainly for blowing the Sept of Baelor with Wildfire in Season 6, but also for her general ruthlessness and murderous ways. The Lannister Lioness’ green eyes are quite famous and have been referenced multiple times in the books and the show.
Now, Cersei has been on Arya’s kill list since Season 2 and she even came to King’s Landing with the purpose of killing her. Melisandre’s prophecy in Season 3 also included green eyes, so many fans thought Arya will fulfil this target next. That expectation was strengthened when Arya left Winterfell on ‘unfinished business’ in episode 4.
But Sandor Clegane turned Arya back from that path and she went on to survive the burning of the city by just an inch. With Cersei now dead and Arya witnessing Daenerys’ carnage first-hand, it is all too possible that the significance of ‘green eyes’ has changed for Arya.
Interestingly, Daenerys’ eyes were not even supposed to be green. In the books, they are purple, and in keeping with the unusual physiological traits of Valyrian Dragonlords from whom Daenerys is descended. But Emilia Clarke, the actor who plays Daenerys in the show, has green eyes. Although she wore purple contacts in the unaired pilot of Game of Thrones, that idea was discarded in the main show and Clarke stuck to her natural eye colour.
If the show follows the books in terms of major plot points (and Daenerys’ death should be a major plot point) then the Arya-killing-Daenerys-because-of-prophecy scenario is unlikely, because book Daenerys does not even have green eyes. But the show has introduced many plot twists – so this is not totally implausible either.
What do you think of this theory? Will Arya fulfil the ‘green eyes’ prophecy by killing Daenerys or some completely different end awaits the ‘Queen of Ashes’? Tell us in the comments!
Game of Thrones Season 8 episode 5 “The Bells” had a lot going for it. So many happenings and so many deaths in just one episode, but it ended with a scene that baffled quite a lot of users. We saw Arya make her way through the destruction in King’s Landing, and find a white horse, whom she rides out of the city. Here’s what it could mean for the show, and the series finale.
White Horses have been used as a symbol in storytelling for a long time now, for both good and bad things. However, fans are speculating that this particular bit might be pointing towards a Bible verse that talks about the four horsemen of the apocalypse. The passage says:
“And I looked, and behold a pale horse: and his name that sat on him was Death, and Hell followed with him.”
Arya and death have danced for a long time in the show, and it seems like the show is hinting that Arya will have a final battle with death in the series finale. We saw who brought death in “The Bells” — Daenerys Targaryen, and it feels like could be the second bit of foreshadowing that Arya could be responsible for Daenerys’ death, after the ‘green eyes’ clue.
It also connects to both Arya and Daenerys, as Ned Stark used to ride a white horse, and so did Daenerys, at the beginning of the show. Maybe it’s things coming together for Arya and Daenerys, both of whose fathers were murdered in King’s Landing.
Either that, our we will get our expectations subverted again. What do you guys think? Talk to us in the comments, down below!
We have launched the Wiki Of Thrones app, which allows Game Of Thrones fans to read news, chat with other fans and also scroll through memes in a single place, with more features that will be released in the coming days. It’s still in beta and is currently live only on Android as we are waiting for Apple to approve it. Please support us by installing the app and do share it with your friends.
Fans have been waiting for the Clegane brothers to clash for so many seasons now that it would be heartbreaking if they passed that up completely. But fret not fandom. There are several hints that Cleganebowl is well and truly coming, and might actually happen Game of Thrones Season 8 episode 5. Read on!
The last time we have seen Gregor ‘The Mountain’ Clegane and Sandor ‘The Hound’ Clegane come face to face was the Season 7 finale. Hound did not miss the opportunity to remind Mountain that the fight is still on. The Mountain didn’t respond except glowering menacingly but then he hasn’t been very talkative for some time, has he? But that scene was the first time the makers openly acknowledged and gave credence to what up till then have just been theories.
Hints galore in episode 4
The first three episodes of Season 8 had been preoccupied with the Dead. But Sandor Clegane is right back on track with episode 4. He says “there is only one thing that will make me happy” when Sansa talks to him, which is a clear indication to facing his brother. The next time we see the Hound he is striking out alone on a horse. Arya catches up with him and they share some good old warm and fuzzy insults.
Arya and Sandor leave together for King’s Landing
Sandor then again says, “I have unfinished business in King’s Landing.” He is not interested in the war; he would have left with Jon Snow’s army then. So why is he going to King’s Landing? Obviously, to face his no. 1 nemesis and elder brother Gregor.
It’s even by supported narrative logic. The Mountain protects Cersei, and it would be necessary to eliminate him before anyone gets to her. Now Arya is obviously going to King’s Landing, and both Cersei and Mountain are on her List. It makes sense for Arya and Hound to team up again to execute their revenge.
What is Cleganebowl theory?
The Cleganebowl theory goes back beyond the show, it started with the book series fans. Sandor and Gregor’s enmity begun back into their childhood, Gregor would bully his little brother endlessly and once pressed his face onto a hot brazier over a small fight about a toy.
Sandor and Gregor Clegane fight in Game of Thrones Season 1
The fire burned away one whole side of Sandor’s face, made him a complete cynic, and gave him a deep-seated fear of fire that made him defect from the Battle of Blackwater and would have done the same in Battle of Winterfell except for Arya and Beric. Hound has repeatedly said that he considers killing the Mountain to be his destiny. It was the one thing that kept him standing through all injuries and hardships. He is not the cold-hearted cynic he once was, but the hate still burns.
Right from Season 1, we are told that Sandor has vowed to kill his brother one day and by Season 7 it has almost become a destiny. Even the actors Rory McCann (Hound) and Hafþór Júlíus Björnsson (Mountain) have been hyping about it off-screen. As Game of Thrones completes its journey in just two more episodes, Cleganebowl seems imminent.
