9 Burning Questions That Must Be Resolved During Season 7 of Game of Thrones

Recently Thrones showrunners David Bennioff and Dan Weiss announced that our deepest, darkest fears are coming true: depending on how you divide the kingdom, there is only one season left, and even worse, it’s likely to be split across two years. Seven episodes are planned for 2017, with six more finishing off the battle for the future of Westeros in 2018. So much has happened over the first 60 or so hours of the series, and it seems impossible that only 13 more can possibly tie up this story. But I have a job to do, and that job is to baselessly hypothesize about how it can be done! Here are some burning (insert wildfire or dragon pun here!) questions about season 7. I’m about to talk about all of these characters as if they are real, because this is the internet and I’m insane.
Warning: spoilers for the first six seasons of the show (not to mention the first five books). If you aren’t up to date on Game of Thrones, back out of this article now, quit your job, and start watching/reading.
Is Daenerys going straight for King’s Landing?
Dany has been counseled numerous times about needing plenty of allies in Westeros before she can attack the capital, but at this point, isn’t she all set? She has the Dothraki horde, the Unsullied, three dragons, an impressive fleet of ships courtesy of Yara and Theon, and the backing of the houses of Martell and Tyrell. My guess is she gets delayed somehow, because if there is one thing I know about Dany, it is the fact that her storyline moves slower than Wun Wun after being stuck with a thousand arrows. Sorry for twisting the knife there, readers. Twisting the knife like when Robb Stark was stabbed at…okay, I’ll stop now.
Who is on team Cersei?
I just rattled off a pretty impressive list of the Mother of Dragons’ allies, but who does the current Protector of the Realm have in her camp? Qyburn is good to have around for a creepy plot or a creepy staring contest or…well, anything creepy, really. But what role can he really play in a battle of this scope? The same for The Mountain, who is probably the best individual soldier in any army at this point—but there is only one of him. Jamie seems on the fence about her regime, and there was rarely any love for her in King’s Landing. It seems obvious it can’t be a cake walk for Dany (because how interesting is a cake walk? Mmmm…cake…), but seeing as her army can attack by ground, sea, and air—how is this going to be a fair fight? Which leads me to…

Is Euron Greyjoy going to be a game changer?
Seeing as Dany isn’t interested in his proposal of marriage or his big…fleet, is it possible that he might in turn offer his services to Cersei for a chance to co-rule the Seven Kingdoms? Euron hasn’t been given a bunch of screen time, so viewers who have not read the books might not realize the potential extent of his importance. In the books, Euron is said to possess a dragon horn that he found on one of his wacky vacations, a horn with the supposed power to control and/or harm dragons.
Everyone said that #Cleganebowl is dead, console me Ben!
Well, this isn’t really a question, but I will take a crack at it anyway. For those of you do not know, Cleganebowl is the fan theory that eventually Sandor Clegane and Gregor Clegane will settle their sibling rivalry in a Trial by Combat scenario. After Tommen outlawed trial by combat in episode eight, it seemed to kill the popular theory (for me, it’s less of a theory and more of a religion) but I don’t know if we can call it dead yet. Cersei seems to enjoy a bloody spectacle just as much as anyone, so it seems likely that she would bring the TbC back. Furthermore, the Hound is an enemy of the crown, so it stands to reason he could still be captured by the Queen’s forces and request a (say it with me!) Trial by Combat! It’s a long shot, but if I give up hope, I will probably just stop showering and shaving and lose my job, so I don’t really have a choice but to hold on.
What about Lady Stoneheart?
If the showrunners really have been keeping this one in their back pocket this long, it would really take me by surprise. Now that Arya is back in Westeros and has murdered Walder Frey, what would be the point of bringing in a zombie Catelyn Stark? Sorry everyone, the dream is dead.

What else is Bran going to screw up?
After we found out that Bran’s reckless impatience cost Hodor his life (and his lifelong sanity), what is his “sight” going to screw up next? Will we find out his whispers drove the Mad King insane? Has the magic that kept the White Walkers from passing through the Wall dissolved, much like the magic that kept them out of the Children’s tree fort? Is he going to almost accidentally stop his parents from falling in love a la Back to the Future? Okay, probably not that last one.
Will there be an Arya/Nymeria reunion?
We need some good Direwolf news, for goodness sake.
What is Melisandre up to now?
After being dismissed from the Snow camp, the Red Woman rode south. Will she be coming across the Brotherhood Without Banners, or perhaps finally have that follow-up meeting with Arya Stark promised way back in season 3? There also seems to be a slight chance she will join up with Daenerys’ army, seeing as there are several other Red Priestesses on her bandwagon.
How will news of Jon Snow’s lineage affect Westeros?
At this point, the only character who knows that Snow is half-Targaryen is Bran, and if he informs anyone, it could affect both Winterfell and King’s Landing. At this point Bran would technically be Ned’s heir in the North. At King’s Landing, would Jon’s claim to the throne be more solid than Daenerys’ given Westerosi customs? We know Jon isn’t looking to rule the Seven Kingdoms, but he wasn’t looking to be the Lord Commander of the Night’s Watch or the King in the North either.
Please feel free to speculate on these questions, or create your own, in the comments section!