and 7 Key Callbacks that Clue Us Into the Future of Westeros
We're talking about some potentially huge SPOILERS so be careful. It's really all speculation though.
Follow @SUPERflixMovies1- The Assassin's Valerian Steel Dagger
Follow the knife. It was used to try to kill Bran in Season One. The knife made its way across Westeros as Catelyn Stark presented it in King's Landing to try to get some answers. It has since been lost. Where has it been? Still, we don't know the original owner. The reveal of the owner is an incredibly interesting thread to watch as well as its final destination.
Callback: "Do you know who this belonged to?" -Bran to Littlefinger
Bran asks Littlefinger the question we all want to know, and as Littlefinger waxes on about how the dagger started the war and made Bran who he is today...Bran reveals who he is when he stops to Littlefinger mid thought..."There is much chaos in the world." "Chaos is a ladder." He tells Littlefinger, I know you and have seen you. I also know where the dagger is from.
2- Bran Through Time
Brandon clearly knows much more than he has let on at the show so far. What is his endgame? He is at opposition with the White Walkers, but that connection has yet to be fully explored. We have only touched on it, like the Night's King reached out and touched Bran's arm.
Chaos is a ladder afterall, the ladder Bran climbed despite not having the use of legs. Does he know Littlefinger's plan? He knew what Littlefinger said in Season One speaking to Varys in King's Landing. Would he even care? He seems very distant and unconcerned with the individual people of Westeros, even his family. Yet, he gave the dagger to Arya with a purpose.
Callback: "You died in that cave." - Meera Reed
Who is Bran now? Bran is the Three Eyed Raven. Could he possibly be the same three-eyed raven we met North of the Wall? Is he Brandon the builder?
How much history will Bran be able to reveal, like perhaps the war between the Night's King and the first men and the children of the forest?
As the stage shifts from the war for King's Landing to the war for Westeros, Bran will undoubtedly play a central role in revealing much of the landscape. Watch Bran very closely. He does much with purpose now.
3- The Last Targaryen
Dany is not alone in the world any longer. Jon is growing closer. Once they know he is a Targaryen, What kind of impact will his parentage have? It won't just be a throw away line in the script. The culmination of one of the biggest threads in Game of Thrones will have a powerful impact. What drama will accompany the reveal to our heroes?
Callback: "Isn't their survival more important than your pride?" - Daenerys Targaryen
Jon Snow said the same thing to Mance Rayder before he failed to bend the knee. Will Dany's quest for the crown ultimately doom Jon Snow? With the reveal of Jon's parentage yet to make it to Dragonstone, it's pretty clear the show is leaving them on equal footing for the time being. It's doubtful that they will openly oppose one another but the foreshadowing in this comment is there.
4- Who is the Night's King?
The focus on this central villain is sharpening as the series enters its final conflict. The war between men and the white walkers may be headlined by the three eyed raven vs. the Night's King. There is a lot we may learn about the king of the White-walkers as the stage shifts from King's Landing to the real war. Again, Bran may play a big role in these reveals.
Callback: The cave paintings, the geometrical symbols, and the inclusion of the Night's King.
Since the beginning of the show, there have been many symbols highlighted throughout Westeros. North of the wall, dead things were often found in interesting arrangement.
The cave paintings showed us more of the geometrical symbology in the series. It also clues us further into how ancient and important these communications are in the world. The same can be said of the Night's King. So much is being done with hidden purpose on Game of Thrones that the reveal of the Night's King in the cave with the symmetrical symbology may be more complex than we initially thought.
Follow @SUPERflixMovies5- Hidden Agendas
Varys and Littlefinger are clearly scheming in the same way they did in Season One when they guided the shows major characters from the shadows into war. It isn't only Littlefinger who remains a little bit of a mystery. Varys has had his moments in the spotlight this season.
Callback: "If you betray me, I will burn you alive." - Daenerys Targaryen to Varys
By itself, the threat seems unarmed as Varys had just sworn to have chosen her over all the poor rulers of the past. Yet, Melisandre and Varys have an interesting conversation on the top of Dragonstone.
"Oh, I will return here Spider. One last time...I have to die in this strange country - just like you."
Will Varys remain loyal? Will he turn on Dany and be burned alive as she promised or will Melisandre return to play some part in his demise? What is she going to Volantis for only to return to Westeros? A certain king's bastard may be making another appearance in the Game of Thrones...but to what end?
Both Littlefinger and Vary's secrets will play a big part in their final station. They will either die because of them or use their venom in passing to shift the landscape one last time...like Lady Olenna. This season has showed us that what we the characters have been is what they will continue to be. Remember Theon jumping ship. Varys and Littlefinger will be who they have been.
The look on their faces in these two key moments says it all.
6- Queen Cersei
Cersei has a singular focus this season, revenge. She got her revenge on Ellaria Sand for killing her daughter. She got revenge on Olenna Tyrell for taking her son Joffrey from her, though she may not know it. Now she is turning her sights North.
Callback: "I too would like them to recover some things that belong to me." - Queen Cersei Lannister
...as she stares intently at the northern part of her giant map. She has lost Casterly Rock, the Frays have been unseated, and the Vale is still beyond her reach. But, little is done on Game of Thrones without purpose and the fact that this conversation about the Gold Company takes place in the map room with her intently looking on the north is telling. She lost Sansa, whom she has had an maniacal love of torturing since Season One. She believes Sansa played a role in her sons death, and she is all about revenge.
Beware the way she has enacted her revenge, always the same way they took something from her. She tortured Unella in a dungeon in the same manner she tortured Cersei. She poisoned Olenna, though she had other ideas according to Jaime. She used "the Long Farewell" on Ellaria Sand's daughter. Sansa had better steer clear of any pies.
7- No One
Arya finally returned to Winterfell and reunited with her sister Sansa and brother Bran. each of these characters are miles away from who they were the last time they saw each other. The episode before went out of its way to tell us that her direwolf Summer isn't a kept dire-wolf anymore in a major callback to what Arya told her father. "That's not you." It's surprising that understanding didn't lead her to be who Arya is now, a fierce assassin, an accomplished fighter, a master of disguise....essentially no one.
Callback: "Who taught you to do that?" -Brienne "No one." - Arya
In going to Winterfell, was Arya really being the "no one" she has become or is she returning to be the "wolf" she once was? What can Winterfell to help her along her path...to kill the Queen?
It may be that Winterfell is where she will either become the wolf she was destined to be or take her last step toward "no one." Cersei and the the Mountain await her in King's Landing.
Was it foreshadowing from her training with Brienne because she "beat the Hound"? Her fighting style has evolved to be awfully reminiscent of a certain man from Dorne. Could it be that she needs a valerian steel blade to win against Qyburn's creation?
The Hound may not be on her list but The Mountain is.
We hope you enjoyed our discussion and are loving Season 7. Keep an eye out for some of these threads and check back on our social channels for more debate and discussion.
Tell us what thread you are most interested in heading into the last half of the season.