There are just so many aspects of ‘Game of Thrones’ that has made it the pop culture phenom' it is today: the engaging characters, the vast and gritty fantasy setting, and most importantly, the story.

But perhaps the biggest unsung hero in regards to the popularity of ‘Game of Thrones’ is the absolutely enormous amount of theories and predictions that have spawned from it. Since the release of George R.R. Martin’s ‘A Game of Thrones’ in 1996, the first book in his ‘A Song of Ice and Fire’ series, fans have been theorizing how the story will play out, the truth of certain character backgrounds, and their fates.

It’s difficult to think of any show in recent memory that has had a fanbase nearly as passionate about theories and predictions as the fanbase for ‘Game of Thrones’. So without further ado, here is part 1 of my predictions concerning the major plot points and the fates of certain characters for Season 7.

The Lannisters are Finished

Since season 1, the Lannisters have been one of the most prominent houses in the show, along with the Starks and Targaryens of course. After the death of Robert Baratheon and the execution of Ned Stark, the Lannisters have had a firm grip on the Iron Throne, crushing essentially everyone who has attempted to take it from them.

Although the Baratheons have technically been ruling the Seven Kingdoms by name, the Lannisters have proven to be the real authority in King’s Landing. Not to mention both Joffrey and Tommen were products of incest between Queen Cersei Lannister and her twin brother Sir Jamie Lannister. However, now that all of Cersei’s children are dead, she has taken the Iron Throne for herself, essentially discarding the veil of the Baratheon name and ruling Westeros in both name and authority.

Now, this is where things get interesting. With the arrival of Daenerys Targaryen, her massive army, and her three fully grown dragons, Cersei finds herself in an essentially impossible situation. After blowing up the Sept of Baelor and wiping out nearly all of House Tyrell, Cersei has alienated her one and only ally of any real significance.

Because of this, she has essentially surrounded herself, facing enemies in literally every direction. Euron Greyjoy from the West, Ellaria Sand and Olenna Tyrell from the South, Jon Snow (or should I say Targaryen) from the North, and of course Dany from the East.

While it could be possible for Cersei to take on three of these threats separately, there is no practical way for her to really challenge Dany at this point in the story. Even if she was only dealing with Dany’s army and her dragons, there’s simply no way Cersei and the Lannister army could possibly stand a chance against her. Then when you throw in all the other threats previously mentioned into this equation, it adds up to a doomed House Lannister.

How Cersei will die is another matter entirely. There is a prophecy that was told to her when she was young by a fortune teller named “Maggy the Frog” that she would die by the hands of the “valonqar”, which is the High Valyrian word for littler brother. While most people believe this to mean that Tyrion will kill Cersei, the more likely scenario is that Jamie will be the one to kill her. It’s already been foreshadowed when you think about it. The whole reason Jamie became known as the “Kingslayer” is because he murdered Aerys Targaryen, the king he was sworn to protect, due to him planning to burn down all of King’s Landing and everyone in it with caches of wildfire he hid throughout the city.

Cersei has already proven she has no qualms with using these very same caches of wildfire when she used one of them to blow up the Sept of Baelor as previously mentioned. In the very likely scenario of King’s Landing being surrounded on all sides, Cersei has shown that she’s not exactly the type of character to surrender in a docile fashion. In all likelihood she will probably do as the Mad King once tried to do and attempt to burn down all of King’s Landing. However, in that scenario, it seems as though Jamie will be forced to kill his twin sister, and lover, for the sake of everyone else. As for Jamie’s fate, while I’m sure Tyrion will try to reason with Dany to let him live, it’s difficult to imagine her forgiving the man that killed her father despite him being a lunatic.

Although when you account for Dany’s complete trust in Tyrion and his council, it seems more likely that she’ll probably force Jamie into exile instead.

The North

Last time we saw what was going on in the North, it was rather cathartic. House Bolton was finally eviscerated, the Starks regained control of Winterfell and the North. Fan favorite Jon Snow was crowned King in the North, and the longtime theory of Jon being the son of Lyanna Stark and Rhaegar Targaryen (R+L=J) was finally confirmed. However, with the inclusion of Petyr Baelish (Littllefinger) into the current happenings in the North, things can get a bit messy.

With Jon now the head of House Stark, it’s obvious that he’ll try to unite what’s left of the North, the Wildlings, and the Vale, with Littlefinger’s blessing, in order to fight the real threat, the White Walkers.

While it seems obvious that the Wildlings and the North will follow Jon, the Vale is a different story. The Vale is ruled by Robin Arryn who listens to everything Littlerfinger says, basically making Lord Baelish the true Lord of the Vale. Now at this point you might be wondering why Littlefinger is such a big deal in this equation. Well the answer is simple, not only is he the biggest schemer in the show who essentially caused the War of the Five Kings, killed Joffrey, and Gave Sansa to the Boltons, but last time we checked, he was already beginning to plant seeds of doubt in Sansa's head at the end of last season.

Littlefinger is the closest thing the show has had to a main antagonist, excluding the aforementioned White Walkers of course.

He has also proven to be among the top three most cunning characters in the show along with Varys and Tyrion, and has arguably been the best player in the “Great Game”. Varys has already said before that he believes that Littlefinger is the most dangerous man in Westeros, and for good reason. Lord Baelish has found himself in a position where he can potentially become Lord of the Vale as well as the King in the North. Last season, it seemed pretty clear that the conversation between Sansa and Littlefinger had gotten to her to some degree. When Jon was crowned King in the North, the look between Sansa and Lord Baelish seemed to suggest that Sansa wasn't entirely agreeable with Jon getting to rule the North over her considering the fact that she is the daughter of Ned Stark and he is a bastard (supposedly).

There’s no doubt that Littlefinger will use this growing sense of mistrust and try to alienate Sansa from Jon even further. It wouldn’t be the least bit surprising to see Littlefinger try to marry Sansa and then arrange for Jon’s death so that two of them can rule the North and the Vale together. However, the most important piece to this grand scheme is Sansa. While it’s obvious that Jon and Sansa are very close, it’s also clear that Lord Baelish has played a pretty significant role in her upbringing. If it really comes down to who Sansa feels more devoted to, Jon or Littlefinger, than it seems pretty clear that we might finally see the end of Lord Baelish’s story this season.

As for Jon, based on the trailer and leaked set photos, it looks like he’ll have his hands pretty full this season.

His top priority, as mentioned before, is to unite as many houses as possible against the White Walkers. With the biggest army in the show, as well as their invulnerability to conventional weapons, the White Walkers pose the greatest threat and may very well end up wiping out much more than just a few major houses by the end of the show. As of now, Jon, his inner circle, the Brotherhood without Banners, and the Night’s Watch are the only ones aware of the White Walkers and the threat they pose. Even if Jon manages to get all of the major houses to unite, it still might not be enough.

However, this is where two major characters step in, Dany and Brandon Stark. Based on the trailer, Jon, along with several of his best men, will be adventuring north of the Wall for a certain mission.

While nothing is confirmed as of now, it seems pretty obvious that this mission will be to rescue his brother Bran and Meera Reed. Bran is already trying to master his warging powers and as seen from last season, he is already capable of messing with the very fabric of time itself. If Jon can rescue him and keep him in a secured location where he can continue mastering his powers in safety, there’s no telling what he’ll be capable of by the end of season 7.

Based on leaked set photos, it looks like Jon will be meeting with Dany at some point in order to get her to join his cause against the White Walkers. With the potential presence of Tyrion at this anticipated meeting, there’s no doubt that he’ll advise her that Jon is a very trustworthy person.

This will prove to be huge for Jon in his war against the White Walkers because if he can indeed get Dany to join him, her dragons could very well be the advantage that Jon, and the rest of humanity, so desperately need seeing as fire is one of the only three weaknesses the White Walkers have, the other two being dragonglass (obsidian) and Valyrian Steel. It should also be noted that Dragonstone, the castle of House Targaryen and the place Dany is seen landing at in the trailer, is filled with dragonglass.

Part 2 Coming Soon

Yes I know, I didn’t address every single major character and plot point in this article. But don’t worry, part 2 of my predictions will hopefully manage to address everything that hasn't been mentioned yet.
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