When Game of Thrones started, there were so many characters with fairly similar names it was difficult to keep track of it all. I remember it took me until around the end of the second season before I knew the majority of the cast, with even the names of major characters integral to the plot escaping me at times. As the hit HBO show came into its seventh (and penultimate) season, it started to move everything into place for an explosive finale, which us fans will have to wait until 2019 to see. This meant thinning out the cast, with characters being killed off or traveling across the world to join forces with others. It makes sense, as it's difficult to conclude a saga when one character is an entire continent away from the rest. This also meant ending arcs and reuniting old friends and family members. We finally saw the Stark sisters Arya and Sansa find each other once again, after years spent suffering various misfortunes on opposite sides of the world. Their conflict was teased but ultimately subverted when they teamed up to finally take down the duplicitous Littlefinger. But this wasn't the only Stark reunion this season, as Jon Snow met with a relative he believed had been long dead. We had already seen Benjen Stark, living beyond the wall, as he stepped in to help out Bran and Meera from being killed by a group of wights. However, the last time Jon had seen him was in the first season, when he was due to go ranging beyond the wall, a trip from which he never returned. So it came as some surprise when he saved Jon during the season seven episode 'Beyond the Wall'. In that episode, the Night King and his army got the upper hand against Jon's loyal band of soldiers, as they were trapped following the failure of their ludicrously risky scheme to kidnap a wight from the icy barrens of the north. Left alone by his group as they made their escape, Jon looks as if he is going to be torn apart. That's when Benjen arrives on the scene, fighting off the hoards of zombies and revealing to his nephew that he was still alive. Soon after their reunion Benjen helps Jon on to his horse and sends him on his way. Given how brief the scene was, many wondered whether he got out alive or finally succumbed to death in that scene. Now, we have an answer. Speaking on the Season 7 DVD commentary, the director of this episode, Alan Taylor, confirmed that he does die after rescuing Jon. “He meets his end here,” Taylor said on the commentary over this scene, putting an end to all debates and fan theories on the subject. Many believed that he could return, given the how he had eluded death before. Benjen had previously described that he had been attacked by White Walkers in the past, one of whom stabbed him with an ice sword and left him for dead. Before it was his time, the Children of the Forest stopped him from becoming a mindless wight by shoving a piece of dragonglass into his chest. However, it seems that he didn't fare well in this episode, and has officially become part of the long list of dead characters on the show.

It's fair to say that Sunday's episode took the show back to what makes it great in the first place.

Oh sure, we all love epic battles with zombie hordes, dragons, magic spells, and brave last stands - but what Game of Thrones does best is character development, plotting, backstabbing, and a few unexpected deaths.

Suffice to say, there was plenty of all of that in episode four, and it looks like there's even more ahead in the penultimate and final episodes of the hit HBO fantasy series.

As the show approaches its end after eight seasons, all bets are off when it comes to the subject of who will survive the coming conflict over the Iron Throne. Sadly, it seems as though the great alliance between Jon and Daenerys might now be in jeopardy; with the revelation that Jon has a claim to the throne that precedes Daenerys' threatening to end their relationship and their union of crowns.

Check out Ghost the direwolf's last ever appearance:

[[jwplayerwidget||https://content.jwplatform.com/videos/xToALzGt-Q0L14jDU.mp4||xToALzGt]]

Because of this, a number of Game of Thrones fans are now convinced that Jon is going to kick the bucket (for the second time no less) in the upcoming episode. This speculation was made all the more rampant, after Jon's actor Kit Harrington mentioned in a recent interview with Entertainment Weekly that the series finale felt very "Shakespearian" to him.

Kit stated: "One of my favourite episodes is four because the characters have seemingly got what they needed. The world is safe now. They’re celebrating and saying goodbye to lost friends. But as an audience you’re going, ‘This is only episode 4, something’s going to happen.’ And that’s the cool thing because I think the characters are aware of this as well. There’s something twisted and uncomfortable about it. It’s so Shakespearian."

Check out the trailer for episode five of Game of Thrones below: 

[[jwplayerwidget||https://content.jwplatform.com/videos/f3ptuUtt-Q0L14jDU.mp4||f3ptuUtt]]

Needless to say, fans have erupted on Twitter following the comments:

[[twitterwidget||https://twitter.com/Oluwadunnii/status/1125675141298565120]]

[[twitterwidget||https://twitter.com/Godplexity/status/1125643284041424896]]

[[twitterwidget||https://twitter.com/RegularRafe/status/1125699658611748869]]

[[twitterwidget||https://twitter.com/ShivanshuTi/status/1125697300939005952]]

Sounds ominous. But that's not all! Fans of the show have also pointed to the fact that Jon also sent his direwolf Ghost north with Tormund, which seems to be symbolically foreshadowing that Jon himself will 'disappear' in the near future. Watch the scene again (above), and see if you agree with these fanatics:

[[twitterwidget||https://twitter.com/iruags/status/1125699900157628416]]

[[twitterwidget||https://twitter.com/lucybowlby/status/1125718510796251136]]

But this isn't the only new fan theory to emerge in the last few days. In fact, some people are now totally convinced that Danerys is going to get a brand new dragon in the next episode.

Well folks, the wall-to-wall coverage of Game of Thrones monomania will be suspended until 2019. But before then, I've got one last nail to hammer. So, the season finale just aired last night, and massive spoilers are incoming. (MASSIVE SPOILERS) There were so many memorable moments. Littlefinger collapsing into speechless sobs, only to fail to spit out his final words from his bleeding neck, was a picture-perfect revenge on the man who orchestrated literally the entire series back in Season One, when he worked the Lannisters against the Starks with the same dagger that Arya Stark put through his throat. Cersei and Tyrion's long conversation in the Red Keep was a much-needed return to the stellar writing of the earlier seasons, and watching Theon get his groove back, the long-awaited and much-rumored boat sex, and a Clegane staredown was all fantastic. And yet, the last scene of the finale, the destruction of the entire Wall at the hands of the Night King, opens up a serious problem with the entire structure of this season. Last episode, the one where Jon and his squad fought an entire army and a raven flew across the world in a few days, continues to leave a mark of bad writing and anti-realism on the series. The entire 'capture a wight' plan was horrible from start to finish. After all, there was no way for the plan to work without major Deus ex Machina. Without our heroes getting rescued like a cheesy shonen anime, the plan was foolish from start to finish, the kind of seven-men-against-an-army plan that would have been laughed out of earlier seasons' writing rooms. And it was the 'capture a wight' plan that led Daenerys north, where the Night King was able to take one of her dragons. And here is exactly where the show is falling apart at its foundations. I'll put it succinctly: If the Night King needed a dragon to break the wall, then how were the White Walkers ever a threat? Without Daenerys, they never could have marched South at all. By coming to Westeros with her dragons, she gave the Night King the ability to invade Westeros. So Jon and Dany, in the final analysis, are the morons responsible for the entire forthcoming White Walker invasion. There are a few ways to write themselves out of this, but none of them are good. One: The Night King is magic and dragons are magic, so a magical reunion of ice and fire is what enabled the Night King to invade Westeros. But this still excuses the idiotic decisions of Jon and Dany to go north of the wall, all to call for a truce with an enemy who obviously would never agree to a truce anyway, as this episode proved. Two: The Night King can see the future, so he planned to take one of Dany's dragons. Still, this excuses the idiotic decisions of Dany and Jon for going north of the wall, and Dany for bringing her dragons to Westeros. They are still responsible for all of this. Three: The Night King could always get past the wall one way or another, and this ice dragon plan just happened to work out. This, of course, would just be stupid and unsatisfying, as relying on the dragon prosecutes Dany and Jon's terrible decisions in a way the writers did not intend. What do you think? It's kind of bizarre that the ultimate threat to Westeros never had a way into Westeros until Dany showed up. How can she make the world a better place again? Looks like we'll have to wait a long while

Okay, everyone. Deep breath. Let's take a second to drink in that last episode of Game of Thrones, which I think was by far the best of this season so far. Forgetting the utter madness of Jon Snow and his doomed mission to bring back a White Walker, let's appreciate the gloriously bleak majesty of Beyond the Wall. Not only did we get to see the Westeros version of the Magnificent Seven in action, we also got to see the escalation of tensions between sisters Stark Arya and Sansa, the budding relationship between Daenarys and Jon Snow, the surprise return of Uncle Ben, not to mention the death of Viserion, and the wider, bone-chilling consequences of his demise. Let's process that episode in the only way I really know how to express my emotions: memes. What'cha got, Twitter?

1. We all know GoT isn't above a good incest plot...

[[twitterwidget||https://twitter.com/MrLawesome/status/899459022952308736]]

2. To be honest, that was a hell of a throw

[[twitterwidget||https://twitter.com/xxMellyGerrard/status/899452568274948096]]

3. After the Red Wedding, I thought I was prepared for anything on this show. I wasn't

[[twitterwidget||https://twitter.com/lookingforlids/status/899501249552187393]]

4. The Daenarys-Jon Snow shipping shows no signs of abating

[[twitterwidget||https://twitter.com/HayesBrown/status/899471443049709568]]

5. Blue-Eyes Wight Dragon 

[[twitterwidget||https://twitter.com/culturemag_/status/899509090254114816]]

6. What a terrifying baby that would be 

[[twitterwidget||https://twitter.com/enidjcoleslaw/status/899458345190469632]]

7. People are really into this Jon Snow and Daenarys relationship, aren't they?

[[twitterwidget||https://twitter.com/ThronesYall/status/899457526705434625]]

8. Like, seriously

[[twitterwidget||https://twitter.com/MicasHoneymoon/status/899453387309281280]]

9. It's happening all over again!

[[twitterwidget||https://twitter.com/nia_sosa/status/899451291100889088]]

10. The timelines have been really rushed this season

[[twitterwidget||https://twitter.com/thebee110/status/899448505772781568]]

11. Why did you have to go and throw that rock, Hound?

[[twitterwidget||https://twitter.com/Lx_Girl/status/899447294738677761]]

12. Hilarious... and also kind of creepy 

[[twitterwidget||https://twitter.com/OfficialUmairS/status/899444379357659138]]

13. Seriously, all this guy has done this season is quietly smirk for like five weeks in a row

[[twitterwidget||https://twitter.com/trina__senpai/status/899443993594822660]]

14. It's going to be so sad!!!

[[twitterwidget||https://twitter.com/housetargcryen/status/899458431635116032]]

15. I see what you did there

[[twitterwidget||https://twitter.com/cassymstone/status/899455829476356101]]

16. The more I think about it, the more set in dragonstone this relationship appears

[[twitterwidget||https://twitter.com/Purely_Ant/status/899454865973272576]]

17. Was I the only one that thought Arya might turn on her sister there?

[[twitterwidget||https://twitter.com/annabellebrou_1/status/899455030956261377]]

18. That was a pretty cool coat, I have to say 

[[twitterwidget||https://twitter.com/Sir88keyz/status/899453107435823108]]

19. Not going to lie, I was one of these people

[[twitterwidget||https://twitter.com/SgtPilcher88/status/899450250917695488]]

20. It's not 2017 without the obligatory political tweet

[[twitterwidget||https://twitter.com/acharlowmedia/status/899447411965407232]]

21. Damn right

[[twitterwidget||https://twitter.com/candypie22/status/899445540701716480]]

22. Poor choice of words there, Dany

[[twitterwidget||https://twitter.com/DoubleMinorityy/status/899441594889158656]]

23. You're not wrong

[[twitterwidget||https://twitter.com/Holly_Drogon/status/899443967670050816]]

24. It's been a rough few years

[[twitterwidget||https://twitter.com/Daenerys/status/899600638329466880]]

25. Pretty much

[[twitterwidget||https://twitter.com/yeahclarke/status/899586222984749056]]

26. Jon's idea really didn't go to plan

[[twitterwidget||https://twitter.com/play_with_ind/status/899550087746961408]]

27. It's Super Bowl 51 all over again

[[twitterwidget||https://twitter.com/CoffeeSneeze/status/899513485394038785]]

28. What am I going to do with my life in two weeks' time?!

[[twitterwidget||https://twitter.com/54hIL/status/899533561039962121]] Whether you managed to have a peek at the leaked episode earlier this week or you're tuning in at the regular time, there's no doubt that this last episode has wider-reaching consequences on the rest of the season, the show as a whole, as well as my already pretty fragile emotional health. One more episode to go, everyone! In the meantime, let's enjoy these hilarious memes.        

 

   

It's been a couple of days since it aired so we've had a bit of time to get used to the controversial series finale of Game of Thrones.

Those of us who were up in arms about the outcome of the show - most notably the fact that Bran Stark was named King of the Seven Six Kingdoms of Westeros - should hopefully have chilled out a little now.

But even once you've gotten to a place where you're able to accept the fate of the characters, you might just find yourself getting irked at another aspect of the last-ever episode of Game of Thrones.

I mean, when you get to the final episode of a show as, erm, eventful as GoT, you expect it to tie up every remaining loose end, but viewers are finding that there are still a number of questions that the finale failed to answer.

Here are 12 of them:

1. Who was on the council?

Some viewers believe that one of the members of the council was Howland Reed (the mysterious figure seen between Edmure and Samwell Tarly), however, it is never made clear to the viewers that this is the case.

Seated on the left-hand and right-hand side of Yara Greyjoy, are two unidentified council members. Who are they? I guess we'll never know...

2. Why wasn't Ser Bronn of the Blackwater on the council?

Bronn ends up being one of Westeros' wealthiest landowners yet he wasn't on the council. Why is that?

3. Why did Jon admit to killing Daenerys?

Why would Jon admit to killing Dany when he could just as easily have blamed it on Drogon? I mean, the melted throne would have been evidence enough.

This is the moment Jon kills Daenerys in the series finale:

[[jwplayerwidget||https://content.jwplatform.com/videos/fRSTBhoI-dkXnENEs.mp4||fRSTBhoI]]

4. Where was Drogon headed to?

It appears he was headed towards the East so was potentially heading back to Essos, where he was born. So now the cities that Dany worked hard to free have a big angry dragon on the loose.

If Jon had been so angered by King's Landing being set ablaze, then why would he unleash an angry, motherless dragon out there?

5. Did Jon lie about taking the Black?

Jon agrees to take the Black as punishment for killing Daenerys... but then doesn't. He walks through the front door of Castle Black and the goes straight out the back.

6. Who knows about Jon's parentage?

Tyrion, Sansa, Bran, Arya, Sam, and Howland Reed all know, but who else does?

7. Why are the Unsullied going to Naath?

It may be where Missandei is from, but she's dead now so why did Grey Worm go there, taking the Unsullied with him?

8. Where did those Dothraki come from?

We thought they'd all been killed but then a few of them turned up in episode five.

9. Why did Sansa demand independence for the North?

If her brother Bran is now King of the Six Kingdoms, then why would she say the Northmen no longer wanted to be under the rule of King's Landing?

Check out the moment Sansa is crowned Queen in the North:

[[jwplayerwidget||https://content.jwplatform.com/videos/ezMycOGt-Q0L14jDU.mp4||ezMycOGt]]

10. Does the Iron Bank's debt still exist?

Cersei was allowed (another) loan to hire the Golden Company, but presumably, the debt is still outstanding after she dies.

11. Was Cersei even pregnant?

She said she was, but was she really?

12. Will Tormund and Brienne ever get together?

Jaime is dead so will Tormund and Brienne finally get together?

Okay, so it's a little infuriating that there are still so many questions we don't know the answers to, even after watching one of the most highly anticipated finales to any series in recent years. We can only hope that at least some of our questions will be answered in the upcoming spin-offs.