‘Game of Thrones’ Theories Ranked: Which Are Still in Play?

All of the events at King's Landing have consumed a lot of attention. Fans should be focused not on the Iron Throne but on Winterfell and those troublesome Starks left behind. If Dany is in a murderous but calculated rage, does she next go after Tyrion, who is within striking distance, Jon, who is also in striking distance, or does she head north to kill Sansa, who is likely the source of all her rage? Do Jon and Arya head off to stop her? Does Dany succeed? Does Arya get close enough Drogon to kill him with a dagger to the eye, which according to the books is a surefire way to kill a dragon? We've already seen another girl kill something big with a poke in the eye. We've heard about the "one who is promised." But that "one" – man or woman – must kill someone who is beloved in order to fulfill the prophesy and end the long winter. The winter has not ended. And likely we are to find out if it is possible to end the winter. Will Dany stab Jon in the heart with the dragon stone dagger currently in Sansa's possession in godswood at the Weirwood tree and, horrifically and unintentionally, turn Jon into the new Night King. Will Jon raise a new army of the dead made up of White Walker Starks on horses. (What was that off-the-wall reference to the saddle Tyrion made for Bran all about?) If Jon kills Dany (and their baby?) does winter come to an end? I am mesmerized by the final image in "Aftermath." The ending appears to be in plain sight.

The writing and plotting this season have been so profoundly lazy and horrible that I can barely care anymore. It's not that people died or Dany went nuts, it's the endless out of character actions, loads of deus ex machina, ignoring 7 seasons of character development, terrible pacing, strategic errors that would never have been made - the list is long. Everything that show did right for 7 seasons was thrown out the window at the end in favor of visual spectacle. I almost wish this season never happened. I'd rather not know the ending than have what they did do the show stuck in my head.

Love the show and love the Daenerys character but don't think she'll sit on the Iron Throne, or at least not for long. While most theories have her meet her end at Arya's hands, I'd like to see her sacrifice herself because she can't live without the love of Jon or the people of Westeros. I'm imagining something Wagnerian resembling Brunnhilde's Immolation Scene at the end of Gotterdammerung (Twilight of the Gods) where she takes the Ring and rides her horse (perhaps the White Horse) into a large funeral pyre to remove the curse from the Ring. Of course, the big flaw with this is that she can survive fire. Who knows, maybe she can't survive a direct blast of dragon fire and she directs Drogon to torch her, perhaps while she is sitting on the Iron Throne so it can be destroyed as well. I think the predictions from Icefaerie below are a likely outcome and fit with what we've seen so far. Looking forward to the Finale!

I go into Sunday night’s finale now expecting no less spectacular a train wreck than in The Greatest Show on Earth. I predict more bad news for women characters. In the last episode the least unkind thing to be said about Dany is that she’s totally down with bedding her nephew (and Jon’s demur clinches for him the Mary Sue award.) Cersei turned into a whimpering mess; who among us weren’t disappointed by the lack of one last trick up her, and Qyburn’s, sleeve? And Arya - literally steps from Cersei - gets woke by Sandor. While we hold hope for fulfillment of the “closing green eyes” prophecy, what fate now for the series’ best warrior? High tea with Gendry and baby making? How will Sansa get discounted? Though I do think she and Tyrion end up on (whatever’s left of) The Iron Throne. At this point I’m most interested in how they deal with the problematic Drogon (who for the uninitiated must seem like he was named by the same clever baseball person who came up with Metropolitans and Philadelphians) since it is a weapon that so unbalances the scales, no less how to vanquish Dany and her army. (But perhaps there’s help coming from whomever Varys was writing to?) We hoped for a finale like Breaking Bad, would now settle for Sopranos but are most likely to get a Dexter. I fear Episode 3 will be to this series what ALIENS was to that film series - the place where we wish things had ended.

Love the show, the cast, the writing, the cinematic scope...it's entertainment! Is it too much to wish for that if even half the energy channeled into speculation could be spent on helping the poor and disenfranchised among us, we actually could change the world

For everyone knocking the writers, perhaps your dissatisfaction is misplaced anger. This show has had a great run and has literally been a game changer- elevating the medium to an unprecedented level. I know its sad, but please, give credit where it’s due....It had to end someday and odds are there is always someone who isn’t happy. Enjoy the ride for what it was: a great show that was the perfect ending to the weekend and provided endless water cooler and cocktail discussions for 8 years!

I’m relatively new to GoT, basically binge watching over a short period of time, so I don’t have years vested and thus, may not be as emotionally tied to certain characters. Who knows what they’ll do, so many loose ends that need to be tied up! What I would like to see is a powerful ending that nobody anticipated.... something like all of Westeros is destroyed as a result of the race to the throne. The most negative and extreme example of power corrupts and absolute power corrupts absolutely. Lack of mercy/empathy destroys an entire civilization. It’s dark, but certainly would be provocative.

The Dothraki are far from home. The Unsullied are far from home. Dany admits the people of Westeros don't love her. A "happy" ending would be returning to Essos with her retainers, where she's "Mhysa" and beloved, ending her tale with her consort Daario Naharis. Westeros to be ruled by Jon and friends. I don't think this is the most likely outcome, but it's the one I hope to see.

Here's what want: Dany kills Jon, Arya kills Dany, Sansa and Tyrion-still married remember-rule what's left of the Seven Kingdoms from Winterfell. and the Wheel is broken with wise rulers. Of course if Jon is immune to dragonfire all bets are off.

My theory is that they are making this up as they go along, and that there is plenty of mumbo jumbo out there for dupes among us to tell the rest of us that it is plausible. We are being played along for saps because we are victims to the fallacy of sunken costs. And they pull off such stunts as making the winterfell battle so dark so you couldn't see a thing -- making the entire episode pointless. This was justified on the grounds that battles are genuinely dark and confusing in real life. By that same brilliant piece of logic, when Homer wrote the Odyssey, he should have left out 50% of the words, and jumbled the remaining ones in random order. The entire series has devolved into a piece of junk.

I can predict one thing. At least half the fans (probably more) will be irritated with how the show ends. This whole season makes me think that Matthew Weiner had the right idea. As long as we don't have to listen to Journey on the way out... Thank you Jennifer Vineyard. You've done a yeoman's job that is a long, long way from Ginia Bellfante's original NYT review. Here's to your continued presence on these pages, TV section or otherwise (but preferably TV, if that's your choice).

I don’t mind what happens - I’m just loving the journey I’m going to miss you, GoT!

My predictions: 1. Daenerys accuses Tyrion of treason. When Drogon hits Tyrion with dragonfire it is revealed in fact that Tyrion is part Targaryan and Joanna his mother was impregnated by Aerys II. Over the seasons Tywin Lannister has repeatedly said, "You are not my son". Bran confirms this through 3 eyed raven memories. 2. Arya kills Daenerys with her Valeryan steel dagger- same one used to kill the Night King- through the heart. Drogon tries to revive her with dragonfire and the Night Queen is born. Remember the Night King wasnt killed by Dragonfire. 3. Arya is pardoned and sent to Castle Black as the new Commander. Arya killed the Night King. Who else is better? Plus women battled the army of the dead. The vows for the Nights Watch will be changed to include women. 4. Sansa becomes the "ruler" of the North. 5. Jon returns to the Wildlings and Ghost. 6. The Iron Throne is destroyed. 7. Tyrion turns Westeros into a Republic. Welcome to the United states of Westeros.

When young Bram is injured, Cersei went to visit Catelyn Stark. She tells her that she had a little boy once. A dark haired little boy—who looked like Robert. He died and she was inconsolable. Then she had three more kids—Jeoffrey, the girl whose name I can't remember and the boy whose name escapes me. How quickly we all forget….

I don’t have a strong theory about where this ends at this point. It’s been a great ride despite the problems with this season. One thing that occurs to me is that if Tyrion were a Targaryen and if it were relevant to the show, it seems likely that Bran may have revealed this as he did Jon’s parentage. I imagine he must have some role in the finale, tying together loose ends? otherwise his entire story line seems like a huge oversell. And profoundly pointless other than giving little finger’s dagger to Arya. I would love to see more dragons. But more than that, dire wolves. The show’s treatment of them has been a huge disappointment. Maybe Arya is the prince who was promised. The iron throne? Maybe Jon? Tyrion? Sansa? Dany? Gendry? Bran. Theories exist for all. That is part of what makes the show what it is. It’s mentally engaging even when we are criticizing many of the plot holes and writing. I am guilty of this myself but have to remember it is both fantasy and fiction. It’s hard to remain logical when criticizing the relative strength of a dragon’s fire breathing power from one week to the next.

With one episode left in the series, does any of this really matter? The GOT writers have taken a beating from fans this season, but give credit where credit is due: none of us knows how the final episode will play out. The end game has been reduced to whether Daenerys will live or whether she will die, and either scenario appears equally plausible. If she lives, she will rule in sullen, bitter isolation. If she dies, the ruling families of the Seven Kingdoms have been shattered, and the survivors will have to pick up the pieces, with no one sitting on the Iron Throne (which may no longer even exist).