Power is a fickle thing in Westeros. As we’ve seen time and time again, the strongest families fall the hardest, or, in the case of a certain Stark, get their heads chopped off. We’ve seen the fall of the Targaryens, Baratheons and Starks, and season four demonstrated that even the golden Lannisters can find themselves in a vulnerable position. Season four also brought us new characters from previously unseen regions of Westeros, and the kids that we’ve seen grow up over the course of the show have finally realised that they have to play the game if they want to survive.
David Benioff and D B Weiss have promised us new characters in season five that will seriously impact on the (dare I say it) game of thrones. The power shift during season four was not as overt as the previous season, but with the deaths of Joffrey and Tywin Lannister, Oberyn Martell and the majority of the leadership team of The Night’s Watch, a power vacuum has been created all over Westeros that will no doubt pull more victims into its path. Question is, who will that be, and what will the repercussions be for the future of Westeros?
After Oberyn Martell’s death (or, rather, pulverisation), the rest of the ruling family of Dorne aren’t going to take his murder lying down, least of all his paramour, Ellaria Sand. As Oberyn told us last season, he has many, many illegitimate daughters, and this season we’re set to meet three of them – Obara, Tyene and Nymeria Sand. They’re Oberyn and Ellaria’s daughters, and they’re strong warriors with revenge in their sights. Along with them is their Uncle, Doran, who currently rules Dorne, and Areo Hotah, the captain of his guard. What give the Martells an edge is that their ward is Myrcella Baratheon, Cersei’s beloved daughter and now eldest child. She’s engaged to Doran’s son Trystane, and there are no signs of her returning to the capitol, and her parents, any time soon. In Dorne, females are able to rule, so if we’re playing by their rules, Myrcella should be sitting on the Iron Throne, and not her younger brother Tommen. With a royal marriage in the works, I think that the Martells will be making a play for the Iron Throne, with Myrcella as the rightful leader.
What’s most interesting about the last season of Game of Thrones is that the kids that have suffered under the violence of their parents really came into their own and learned how to survive in Westeros. Take Arya Stark, for example: she’s learned not to trust anyone around her, even if they show genuine consideration for her safety, like both Brienne and the Hound did. She’s taking care of herself, learning how to survive, and is on her way to Braavos to cash in her mysterious coin and get away from the country that has betrayed her and her entire family. Her heart has well and truly been hardened, having seen the destruction of her family, and Arya’s still got her kill list going; this makes me think that she’ll head to Braavos to hone her killing skills, only to return to Westeros at a later time, well and truly ready to seek vengeance.
Sansa Stark is the character that intrigues me the most, as she and Arya are the polar opposites of one another but are both coming into their own power; Arya has her distance and physical strength, but Sansa is learning to use her sexuality to ensure her safety. Despite spending most of her marriage to Tyrion in silence and subservience, she’s learned to use Littlefinger’s attraction to her to her advantage. We also found out that Littlefinger may be the most powerful man in the Kingdom – not only did he work his way up from a lowborn boy to the acting Lord of the Vale, but we find out that he was the one who set the events of the show into motion, by getting Lysa Arryn to send a message to her sister, Catelyn, claiming that the Lannisters murdered her husband. Littlefinger manipulated everything from the very beginning, but when he looks at Sansa, and sees the spitting image of his unrequited childhood love, she well and truly has the power over him. I think we’ll see Sansa come into her own in season five, and find herself a viable threat in Westerosi power games.
Jon Snow has unwittingly found himself in charge of the Night’s Watch, and with Stannis Baratheon and his army now at the Wall (at Melisandre’s insistence), it will be interesting to see the power struggle between these two rigid and uncompromising men. Stannis, devoted to Melisandre and the Red God, will struggle to win over Jon, who knows that the real threat to Westeros is something far worse than any golden lion. This is the first time that “A Song of Ice and Fire” has actually put ‘ice’ and ‘fire’ together in the same storyline, and Melisandre’s intense stare at Jon through the fire indicates that she’ll take a keen interest in everyone’s favourite bastard in season five. What of the King Beyond the Wall, Mance Rayder? He’s certainly got a keen mind and a lot of courage, and knows far more that either Jon or Stannis about what’s really going on North of the Wall. With two kings under one roof, sparks are sure to fly and Jon may find himself in the middle of them.
Back in Kings Landing, the Lannisters will surely deal with the fallout from Tywin’s death and Tyrion and Varys’ hasty departure from the capital. Jamie and Cersei were far more careless with their relationship during season four, all but confirming it to several members of nobility, including Brienne of Tarth and Ser Loras Tyrell. She confirmed it to Tywin before his Elvis-style death, and slowly seems to be losing her inhibitions and discreetness as she feels more comfortable in her power. The one person who always managed to rain Cersei in was Tywin, and without him there she is like a ticking time bomb of disaster, just threatening to explode. What’s most interesting about Tywin’s death scene in season four is that the Rains of Castamere played over the top of the scene – and the last time we heard that little tune, House Stark was all but obliterated in the Red Wedding. Game of Thrones has cast Jonathan Pryce as the High Sparrow, a ‘game-changing’ and ‘influential’ character based in Kings Landing[i]. There’s every chance that he could be on the Lannisters’ side, but those Rains of Castamere undertones leads me to think that the Lannisters will suffer a downfall to rival that of House Stark.
Speaking of Lannisters, Tyrion was spirited away by Varys at the end of last season, and it looks as though he’s headed over the Narrow Sea to Essos, and to everyone’s favourite Khaleesi. The prospect of these two characters meeting is perhaps the most exciting thing about the upcoming season. With Tyrion’s inside knowledge, could Daenerys finally make her way to Westeros? Varys, who has always secretly been a supporter of Daenerys (if you recall way back to season one, when he and Illyrio were plotting behind the scenes), and I’ve always maintained that he is the most powerful man in the seven kingdoms. They say that knowledge is power, and if that’s the case, everyone better watch out for Lord Varys, because he’s got more knowledge than any king or queen of Westeros combined.
I’ve always had the theory that unless we actually see someone die on screen, they’re not actually dead. Case in point: Bran and Rickon Stark – there was a brief period where the boys were thought to be dead, but it turned out that Theon was a total liar. Using that theory, is The Hound really dead? When Arya left him in the Vale, he was on his last legs, but still well and truly alive. I’m standing by my theory, and we may not see him this season, but until his dead body is shown on-screen I will continue to believe that Sandor Clegane is still alive and kicking. As for his brother, the Mountain, he was last seen on death’s door too – poisoned from Oberyn Martell’s laced spear – but the disgraced Major Qyburn assured Cersei that he’d ensure that the Mountain lives, although he’d definitely be changed. Will he recover, only to become an even bigger monster?
There are many hidden players that could come out of the woodwork – Gendry, for example, who was last seen floating away from Dragonstone – and switch everything up, but the main threat to all of these characters is that, as George RR Martin has proven time and time again, everyone is dispensable. Martin, who helps with scriptwriting on the show, has stated that characters will die in season five that haven’t yet died in the books[ii]. So whose head is likely to be on the chopping block? I wouldn’t think it would be anyone overly major, but I’d wager that fan favourites like Bronn, Ser Jorah Mormont, Greyworm, Missandei and Pod could find themselves in hot water.
The immense changes towards the end of last season make for a fascinating season to come. Game of Thrones, amongst all of the sex, violence, and fantasy, is really a show about politics – very extreme politics, but politics none the less. The whole premise of the show is ensuring that the rightful king – or queen – is sitting on the iron throne; the white walkers, dragons, and incest come after that. I’d wager that this is the reason that Game of Thrones has been so popular: the constant fighting, usurping and behind-the-scenes machinations are all something that we see in daily life – although without quite so many beheadings.
[i] http://www.smh.com.au/entertainment/tv-and-radio/game-of-thrones-season-5-meet-gamechanging-character-high-sparrow-20150303-13tz0w.html
[ii] http://www.msn.com/en-au/tv/news/game-of-thrones-season-five-grrm-teases-more-shock-deaths/ar-BBhDoka
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