Every season of Thrones has ended on a moment of great narrative significance. The first season closed with the introduction Dany’s (Emilia Clarke) dragons while the second unveiled the White Walkers and their army of the dead. Most recently, the fifth season ended with the instantly-infamous death of Jon Snow (Kit Harrington).
As we make our way through Season 6 and beyond the scope of George RR Martin’s published books, you have to wonder what the show has in store to close out Thrones’ last ten-episode season.
Here are some possibilities:
The White Walkers break through The Wall
The Night’s Watch have manned The Wall for thousands of years – but what a better way to signify how much of a big deal the White Walkers will play across the remaining 13 episodes of the series by bringing it down.
This idea gets touched on much more directly in the books than it does in the show through Mance Rayder’s search for the Horn of Joramun. The mythical horn is said to contain a power capable of bringing down the wall and while this subplot concerning the horn appears to have been omitted from the series thus far, there’s no reason the White Walkers might not have the power to accomplish this feat on their own.
Whether the army of the dead breaks through the wall in an attack or brings it crumbling down via mystical means isn’t clear but either sets up the much-hyped “Long Night” in pretty epic fashion, not to mention closes Season 6 with an unforgettable visual every bit as cinematic as the battles at Hardholme and Blackwater.
Dany actually arrives in the Seven Kingdoms
Though the burning of her fleet and her imprisonment by the Dothraki in “The Red Woman” doesn’t make this possibility look too likely at the present, it feels like Season 6 has to be the one where Daenerys Targaryen finally makes it to Westeros.
The War of the Five Kings is over but The Seven Kingdoms have never been in a more fractured and vulnerable state – it’d be a shame if Dany let her best chance at the Iron Throne slip her by. It took Tywin Lannister (Charles Dance) three seasons and countless aliances to sieze control of Westeros, giving Dany the chance to do the same in any less than 13 episodes feels like a road to disappointment.
While Dany is a pretty accomplished leader, having her conquer the kingdoms too quickly risks making her series-long character arc feel like a cheap dues ex machina – so let’s hope Season 6 ends with Dany finally crossing the Narrow Sea to claim her birthright.
Killing off Jon Snow for real
Now that our year-long wait to find out the fate of everybody’s favorite bastard of Winterfell (sorry-not-sorry, Ramsay) is at an end, we have to start thinking about what the future could look like for Jon Snow. With “The Long Night” fast approaching, it’s certain he’ll be needed to fight The White Walkers but its not known for how long.
With fans long-speculating that a resurrection will offer Jon a loophole to escape his vows to the Night’s Watch, it’s possible that his character could make his way south – where he becomes a much more tantalizing target for both the Boltons and Lannisters.
Some might misinterpret the resurrection of Snow as a sign that Game of Thrones is losing its edge when it comes to killing off characters – and what a better way to mess with expectations than to take him away a second time.
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