Kit Harington back in Iceland for mais Game of Thrones season seven filming 

Reynisfjara, the Black Sand Beach, in Vík, Iceland

is deep into its midwinter Icelandic shoot, yet precious little has leaked from this sparsely populated island in the middle of the ocean… perhaps because it’s a sparsely populated island in the middle of the ocean, and the HBO production is filming in the least habitable locations around. Nevertheless, sometimes leaks are inevitable: Kit Harington has been sighted, coinciding with some very important filming.

We have been able to garner some precious information from the show’s stay in Iceland: The show filmed for a day at Svínafellsjökull, later followed by another at Reynisfjara. These two days of filming may appear to be too few, considering

has been on Iceland for two weeks now, and that’s probably because they are too few. Realistically, such a schedule makes little sense, so we should consider most filming may have gone unnoticed, for reasons described above (Big ocean, small place, few people.)

Today, we bring another piece of information to help you piece this puzzle together: Last Friday night, on the 20th, Kit Harington was spotted back in Iceland.

Remember the other night I was excited about how the Universe works in your favor well here it is! Came to Iceland for several reasons (on bucket list) but now that I’m hooked on #GameOfThrones thought it was time to visit before the start of new season. Came looking for winter and I found it! Look at my face, jajaja. Turns out I met #JonSnow (Kit Harington) and best part we’re staying in the same hotel. #winterishere

Harington had already traveled to the country for Svínafellsjökull, but left soon after. We didn’t know if he would return, and it wasn’t clear whether he was involved in the shoot near Vík. Now it’s clear the actor was in the country when this filming took place.

His presence neatly fits with our theory about the Reynisfjara scene. However, as it’s based on season seven spoilers, please beware: There are major spoilers ahead!

This scene involved two boats arriving on shore… Two boats that shared a remarkable resemblance to the ones in which Jon Snow and his crew departed Dragonstone. Considering the actors sighted in Iceland around that day of filming, we are increasingly sure the scene involved Jon Snow and his crew arriving at Eastwatch-by-the-Sea. In this dangerous quest beyond the Wall, they will face the White Walkers and their dead army. The look of the location, pictured at the top of the article, supports this speculation too: The Black Sand Beach and the cliff near which the shoot took place seem perfect for the Night’s Watch outpost at the Shivering Sea and the eastern edge of the Wall.

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In the comments of the Insta post, the poster says that they checked out yesterday from their hotel. They might have left Iceland by now?

We’ll see if the crew films anything else, but I wouldn’t hold my breath.

Iceland is a small country but there is only a small area where people live. The majority of the country is not much traveled and could be used as part of a shoot no one outside of the production would know about.

Exactly. A stay of two weeks for two days of filming is completely out of proportion. They probably shot quite a lot without anyone noticing.

The Brotherhood is part of the group that travels beyond the Wall, but they don’t arrive there with Jon & co from Dragonstone. They get to the Wall on their own. So they wouldn’t be involved in this arrival scene, if that’s what it is.

…we should consider most filming may have gone unnoticed, for reasons described above (Big ocean, small place, few people.)

Similar in a way to a small band of people traveling around the northern North and beyond the wall, except it’s a lot of land and hardly any people. 🙂

These beaching shots are weird to me IF this is arriving at Eastwatch. I realize a lot of cgi is involved in showing the castle and end of the Wall, but I’d expect them to use some sort of docks or structures. Eastwatch-by-the-Sea is by the sea of course and it is suppose to keep the small fleet of ships of the Night’s Watch that they use for patrols and trading. Why would they beach on the sands of the shore when Eastwatch should have docks, a pier, something? It seems like it would be more realistic if this was a landing north of the Wall, but I guess we don’t have all the correct people to assume that…?

I hope this is not a spoiler post but I am assume this plot is loosely coming from the outline provided by GRRM, in which case could Lady Stoneheart ultimately play into this within Winds or Dream or Spring or does she have an alternative fate do we feel?

While initially sceptical of this plot I am growing more excited and looking forward to it playing out in the summer.

Has anyone spotted a director so we have some idea which episode(s) this shoot is for?

Has anyone spotted a director so we have some idea whic episode(s) this shoot is for?

Podeswa and Taylor had an exchange on Facebook about how nice must it be to film in Spain because it’s rainy in NI and Podeswa replies “and you still have got Iceland to do” or something like that. There was s screenshot of that somewhere.

And still no sign of Emilia .. I swear to God that girl is brilliant at keeping a low profile. This bugs me though. I was hoping we’d get to see her outfit for episode 6. I expect nothing short of badass dragon riding warrior armor !

OT: I see Sue is doing an AMA on reddit tomorrow. I am looking forward to it! I am sure it will be interesting.

wow, I actually got to post on an article before it was overrun with people commenting only for the sake of hearing themselves speak….is it even possible to have a conversation in these comments sections?

Every time I see that black sand, I want to visit even more. What a hoot it would be to film there! ‘Other’worldly! (Hahahahaha….no? Ok.)

This comment probably doesn’t help, don’t you think? 😉

If I was to run into Nathalie Emmanuel and hold her like that she’d be well within her rights to press charges.

Now, why was that the first thing to cross my mind while looking at that photo?

I never cared that much about Eastwatch-by-the-Sea. but now I can’t wait to see that place in S7.

Same. It’s fun getting a few new locations, despite being so late in the game.

Eastwatch, Casterly Rock, Highgarden, the Dragonpit in King’s Landing… It’s all very exciting, especially with the budget they have now. These vistas look much better in the last few seasons; now that they can afford full 3D models instead of matte paintings, the camera can move more freely.

Eastwatch, Oldtown and some of the other new locations recreated in the opening credits?

Clob: Eastwatch-by-the-Sea is by the sea of course and it is suppose to keep the small fleet of ships of the Night’s Watch that they use for patrols and trading.

Speaking of a fleet of ships, do we know why two rowboats are rowing from Dragonstone to Eastwatch-by-the-sea instead of a ship from Dany’s armada?

For those who enjoy studying time lapses between events, how long does it take to row in open ocean from Dragonstone to Eastwatch? Seems Vikingesque.

Obviously they aren’t taking these rowboats all the way. Just to and from their ship (which is CGI.) They always have, in the show. And often in real life.

I expect Oldtown, as it’s the only one of these that is a recurring location. I hope for Casterly Rock and Highgarden, because they’re important in the plot, even though they’ll only appear briefly. Eastwatch… I doubt it. When the camera pans to the Wall, it doesn’t even say “Castle Black”, even though the camera focuses on the castle specifically; it says “The Wall”. So I don’t think they’ll add Eastwatch. But I would love to be surprised!

I eagerly await to see the lion sigil over KL. We definitely have to get that one.

Based on some artwork ive seen of Eastwatch online, i can almost imagine how they are going to alter that ridge into the Wall and place a castle there. Also might be interesting to see how the Nights Watch at Eastwatch react to Jon Snow, a former lord commander, showing up to gain passage through the wall.

There are a lot of scenes and interaction im looking forward to this year but with such limited time, and so much action i fear we might not see half of them. I really enjoy the prolonged meetings and interaction of the characters. This season is obviously ripe for that.

good point, maybe they will sail past Eastwatch and we will at least see it from a distance and then they will land north of the wall.

Are we seeing any Essos locations this year? If not I wonder how that will impact the opening.

What i really wanna know: where the heck is melisandre???

The trip around the known world will be much shorter if the camera doesn’t have to cross the Narrow Sea (and it won’t.) So I guess they’ll spend more time in each animation. Unless they really add each little new location.

Assuming that we don’t return to Essos, I think we’ll likely see a total of 8 locations in the title sequence across the season alone. King’s Landing, Winterfell, Dragonstone, and The Wall are obviously definites.

The Twins and Pyke as well based on spoilers; and then Oldtown and Highgarden as new locations hopefully.

The trip around the known world will be much shorter if the camera doesn’t have to cross the Narrow Sea (and it won’t.)So I guess they’ll spend more time in each animation. Unless they really add each little new location.

I’m hopeful they will at least add Oldtown to the starting credits; it is a pretty important location, and it would be good to have a second city in the credits.

Dragonstone will return in the opening credits. It will be Dany’s base of operations, after all.

ETA: Am I going crazy or did you change it from 7 to 8? I could’ve sworn you didn’t have DS in your initial list?

With potentially more time to do animations we might see some one episode animations. The camera is easier to more around and such. I still want to see Storm’s End.

No, I originally had forgotten DS haha. I meant to add that S1 only had 7 locations and S2 only 8 in title sequence so S7 will be pretty close to if not the same number.

I’m thinking they might do something like this intro for season 2

But from 1:15 onwards they switch from KL to Oldtown or Dorne or even Highgarden and Casterly Rock? Either way, I’m excited. I want the Lannister sigil over KL and a pile of smoke and ashes to represent the Sept!!!

Wow, that would be amazing to see possibly all new locations in the theme song map, I am going to miss it going over the sea though and showing up Essos since everyone has left there.

It’s very possible her filming was all done inside the filming studio in Belfast since most of her scenes usually are inside ones in the past. If so it makes sense that we haven’t really seen the actress since people can be filming there for weeks and if they are subtle sometimes we don’t even know if they filmed or not.

Alba Stark: I’m hopeful they will at least add Oldtown to the starting credits; it is a pretty important location, and it would be good to have a second city in the credits.

Yeah, I’m hoping very hard that we don’t get the Cliff’s Notes version of the goings-on at Oldtown. I really want to know so much more about

Marwyn’s agenda and his research into world magic, what perilous secrets are contained in the book at the Citadel that the Faceless are after, the Maesters’ Conspiracy (if there really is one), Sarella Sand’s disguising herself as a boy to get an education

I could see Oldtown being last like they did with Dorne. As for Highgarden and Casterly Rock, I wonder if they would just put those after it flies over KL and Dragonstone, putting them in the middle of the sequence similar to when they show Riverrun, The Twins, and Pyke. Yeah that Lannister sigil will definitely be cool, besides the ashes of the Sept, it’d be cool if we finally see the Dragonpit there as well, but who knows.

HunterMac87: might be interesting to see how the Nights Watch at Eastwatch react to Jon Snow, a former lord commander, showing up to gain passage through the wall.

I was writing something earlier but didn’t post it as it ended up wordy and rather pointless. 😛 Your comment kind of ties in though so…

To start, I still see show-Jon as (also) the Lord Commander, just ‘ranging’ south of the Wall rather than north, while Edd is serving as acting LC. He may have said he’s no longer LC but the men weren’t very accepting of that decision. Edd and those at Castle Black may not even send out any word along the Wall regarding the situation, especially if they think he will return. Jon is after all still doing things that the LC needs to do, gather, unite and lead the living against the NK. Sure, enemies will say he abandoned but I don’t think those on his side consider it as such.

If we/they still consider Jon as LC and/or accept him as KitN that could answer any issues they may have regarding his arrival and plans at Eastwatch. Although, I’m curious if it will not be his second time there though (on the show), at least through dialogue. The show doesn’t care much about which place makes sense on a map to fast travel to. Meaning, while going from Winterfell to sail out of White Harbor makes more sense geographically, perhaps they say he sailed out of Eastwatch. It would be a much more private location.

There is another thing I’m curious about that could be answered by that scenario: Tormund Ramblings about book and show spoilers/leaks regarding Eastwatch…

Where we’re at in the books Jon has decided he’s going to garrison wildlings at abandoned castles along the Wall. This is prior to him being stabbed of course and hasn’t been brought up on the show. The ‘leaks’ supposedly place Tormund at Eastwatch in some manner of command and able to throw people in cells. Show-Tormund and Jon are in much different circumstances and location than they are last in the books. I wonder how Tormund ends up at Eastwatch on the show. The simple answer could be that Jon just orders him to go there and be put in command, which would be using his power as both LC & KitN. If Jon were to depart for Dragonstone from Eastwatch then Tormund could have traveled there with him and Jon could have personally placed him in command to make sure there weren’t any issues with the Crows residing there. Just thoughts.

You must know none of those people have been cast 😉

I’m eager for that storyline in TWOW, but it just ain’t happening in the show.

Firannion: Yeah, I’m hoping very hard that we don’t get the Cliff’s Notes version of the goings-on at Oldtown.I really want to know so much more about

Yeah, I want to know all of that book-related stuff myself. Sam’s arc in TWOW is going to be pretty cool – I love the chapters where he just learns masses of cool and obscure stuff. With only thirteen episodes left, I doubt we will have time for something as extensive as what we will get in the books ( sadly they really cut down on Sam’s screen time in season six) but am hopeful that we will get to see more of the Citadel than we did in 610 – that library was simply to die for – and possibly the wider city. After all, it has repeatedly been emphasized that the Citadel does not permit the entry of women; this means Sam will have to set Gilly and little Sam up with some sort of accommodation elsewhere in Oldtown.

Luka Nieto, For a friend that has the maiden name of Walgrave I was hoping they’d cast Broadbent for the part of nutty Archmaester Walgrave. Unfortunately it doesn’t sound like it. Maybe they’ll at least mention the name or have some extra fill it though. hope

The Citadel is a perfect place for fun book references, especially if Cogman’s writing. I hope we get some of that.

J’m with you on that. However, I fear that the likely rush to wind things up before the S8 focus on the WW and the Battle for the Dawn will inevitably reduce meaty background material like the workings of the Citadel. D&D will surely place an emphasis on what Sam discovers. They have to cover the cure for Grayscale, how to make or find dragonglass and Valyrian steel, and how Sam handled Gilly before leaving her and Sammy at Horn Hill and going to WF. Presumably, they’ll also show them hearing about Jon as KITN and the BoTB, and maybe they’ll discover something important about Jon’s story. I do think a Jaqen showing could be useful as further payoff for the Braavos story line and maybe even an explanation of why they seemed to recruit and advance Arya. Personally, I’d like to see Alleras, who could also become the new ruler of Dorne if Euron-Cersei snuff out the other Sands.

Presumably, they’ll also show them hearing about Jon as KITN and the BoTB, and maybe they’ll discover something important about Jon’s story.

I do think that the conversation Sam had with the receptionist maester in 610 set up Sam finding out about what happened to Jon in 610 before he finds out what happened to him in 510. They made a big deal over the fact that information isn’t making it south from Castle Black, and it was clear that their record-keeping on who is in charge where is pretty extensive. If this is the case, it will be interesting to see how Sam reacts to the news that Jon is KiTN.

Speaking of OldTown, are there any sightings of Jim Broadbent ( pardon me if I had missed some posts),

No. He probably filmed all of his scenes indoors, at Titanic Studios.

I’m currently at Iceland, what a coincidence. Actually today (January 23rd) I have visited both places named at the text, Svínafellsjökull and Reynisfjara. According to the comments they may stay more time filming in Iceland.

How could I get any information in order to visit some filming places? Even from a far situation like the photo of the beach… I guess it is top secret information but as a big fan it would be awesome to see the filming from the distance.

By the way, today we had a really awfull weather in the south of Iceland. Winter lives here!!!

Yeah, I would expect any news Sam hears to be rather confusing if it’s not a letter directly to him from Jon (or through Maester Wolkan whom appears to be remaining as maester at Winterfell). Official letters sent out proclaiming Jon as KitN most likely won’t include exact details on how it came about.

After Sam left Castle Black I doubt there are many ravens being sent out from there and Edd doesn’t seem like the correspondence type anyway. Who else knows what truly happened there that would even consider informing the Citadel? They’re probably not too keen on spreading word of a mutiny either – or mutinies. We haven’t seen a replacement for Yoren’s job but if there is one I suppose word could spread that way. It seems likely that anything from CB would spread slowly and not be very accurate by the time it would reach Sam.

And the filming in Wolf Hill Quarry continues… and continues… and continues.

I’m not trying to shamelessly self-promote, but I think you guys would enjoy this video I made. I stitched together all the locations shown in the credits sequence, and overlaid footage from different episodes to eliminate all credits possible to make the ideal full-length title sequence featuring every location ever visited.

As a big fan of the title sequence (I made a huge spreadsheet with the locations of each episode to help make the video), I can’t wait to see the new places they create for season 7. I’m sure they’ll show Oldtown in addition to changing the King’s Landing sigil from a Baratheon stag to a Lannister lion.

I would also love to see both Casterly Rock and Highgarden, but I doubt we’ll get both. I would love to be surprised, though!

I love the changes in the title sequence! I hope it doesn’t fall through the production cracks.

I am also most interested in the Marwyn/magic story line in the books. Too bad it looks like we’ll have to wait for the books to get the rest of the story. But I’m really looking forward to seeing that library again!

Yeah, I would expect any news Sam hears to be rather confusing if it’s not a letter directly to him from Jon (or through Maester Wolkan whom appears to be remaining as maester at Winterfell).Official letters sent out proclaiming Jon as KitN most likely won’t include exact details on how it came about.

include a graphic description of the events surrounding Jon’s murder and resurrection, I doubt many would believe them. Sam – and anyone else who has encountered Melisandre or seen what Thoros is capable of with Beric – has a better chance of believing it than most. Perhaps this is somewhere the anti-magic attitude of the maesters (hinted at with Luwin in his discussions with Bran at Winterfell in seasons one and two) could come into play? If Wolkan doesn’t believe in what happened, even if he is told about it, is he likely to put it in his reports to the Citadel? The hints we got from 610 suggest that the maesters are supposed to report back to the Citadel regularly. Or, Jon may not want it widely known – he doesn’t exactly have a history of being able to open up emotionally (remember 409 when Sam asked him about Ygritte and all Jon would tell him was the color of her hair?). I am looking forward generally, though, to seeing how various characters react to the news that Jon is KiTN, particularly people like Sam and Cersei/Jaime.

After Sam left Castle Black I doubt there are many ravens being sent out from there and Edd doesn’t seem like the correspondence type anyway.Who else knows what truly happened there that would even consider informing the Citadel?They’re probably not too keen on spreading word of a mutiny either – or mutinies.We haven’t seen a replacement for Yoren’s job but if there is one I suppose word could spread that way.It seems likely that anything from CB would spread slowly and not be very accurate by the time it would reach Sam.

The Citadel certainly don’t seem to have heard from Castle Black since prior to Commander Mormont’s death (which was in season three) so I would guess that since then ravens have only been sent to various lords asking for aid, as Jon did in season five. Edd is, I think, relying on Jon rallying support to get aid for the Watch rather than sending ravens to those in the south; the Stark in Winterfell has, after all, always been the best source of support for the NW. As for rumors of mutiny – Tyrion told Jorah in season five that he had “heard” his father had been killed by his own men, suggesting that it had been rumored that was the case. I doubt Edd or the remaining Night’s Watch guys would want it widely known that two successive Commanders were killed in this fashion as it is hardly going to help recruitment. They do still seem to be getting recruits, as Jon and Grenn work with some of them in season four, so perhaps either we simply haven’t seen Yoren’s replacement on screen or – as is the case in book canon – there is more than one person assigned to this task.

It could be lot of things .last year around this late they filmed balon and euron scene on the rope bridge ..

So I was watching Filmbuff’s reaction to red wedding and went back to watch episode again ..

Queenscrown .,jorah GW and Daario’s different fighting styles.. And ofcourse red wedding itself ..

The scene I must have watched or listened to is Greywind and Robb’s army marching towards the crossing ..I don’t know why but I guess its due to transition from Cat’s voice over and that brilliant sound track by Ramin..

For me dany’s tracks always be the best of show in any season but Robb’s and theon’s and Robert arriving at winterfell and rains of castamere ( especially when tywin saying the battle is over and we have won and tyrion’s I demand trial by combat to tywin )

Kit is known to be very friendly with the fans but the way some of the ladies cozy up to him I have wondered if he’s totally cool with it, or secretly feeling just a wee bit violated lol.

She was banished, never to go north again or King Jon would see her hang ‘member? 🙂

But we all know they’ll meet again… I do have a feeling she will not be in this season much though. Hope I’m wrong, she’s an interesting character.

There was something on Reddit from a respectable contributor that says there will be a teaser trailer next month with a line of dialogue. This is being used to verify now some of the leaks – I think it’s a line which is spoken by Sam.

Ps nobody has disclosed anymore than that as far as I know.

I don’t have it, I read about it on westeros.org spoiler thread.

Unfortunately i don’t follow that terrible site so can you give a more specific source ?

There was something on Reddit from a respectable contributor that says there will be a teaser trailer next month with a line of dialogue. This is being used to verify now some of the leaks – I think it’s a line which is spoken by Sam.

Not exactly. He said very soon, not next month. But yes, next month is very likely.

Been searching for a link from time to time, but I’m at work, so don’t really have much time right now. So far I haven’t found anything, but I’m sure it will show up sooner or later. Always does.

Someone posted a pic on IG with Emilia Clarke in Belfast, saw no other cast. I wonder if she just got there or has been there the entire time.

Does anybody have a link to the reddit guy who mentioned the teaser trailer?

Emilia in Belfast 10h ago. Finally the Queen has emerged ! I was beginning to worry !

Kit with a fan in Iceland yesterday, January 24th I thought they left two days ago!

Either Emilia is in Belfast alone or Kit’s photo is from two days ago and they all went back to Belfast !

Either Emilia is in Belfast alone or Kit’s photo is from two days ago and they all went back to Belfast !

The Kit photo is from a few days ago, the girl who took the photo says.

Sue, could you please verify through your sources if Ben Hawkey is part of Season 7?

I confess I’m biased in favor of Arya and think Maisie Williams is terrific, so what I’m looking forward to seeing is Arya discovering that Jon Snow is King: perhaps she stops at an inn somewhere for a snack, casually mentions “I’m Arya. Arya Stark”, and she’s shocked when everyone drops to one knee and calls her “my Princess!” (Then she can playfully push them down like she did with Gendry, and demand, “Do NOT call me ‘My Princess’!”)

In all seriousness, I doubt we’ll get an emotional Arya-Jon reunion so soon on the heels of the mid-Season 6 Jon-Sansa reunion, but Arya’s discovery of Jon’s coronation would be a nice consolation prize for now.

I confess I’m biased in favor of Arya and think Maisie Williams is terrific, so what I’m looking forward to seeing is Arya discovering that Jon Snow is King: perhaps she stops at an inn somewhere for a snack, casually mentions “I’m Arya. Arya Stark”, and she’s shocked when everyone drops to one knee and calls her “my Princess!” (Then she can playfully push them down like she did with Gendry, and demand, “Do NOT call me ‘My Princess’!”)

In all seriousness, I doubt we’ll get an emotional Arya-Jon reunion so soon on the heels of the mid-Season 6 Jon-Sansa reunion, but Arya’s discovery of Jon’s coronation would be a nice consolation prize for now.

Have to admit, Arya is my favorite. I can’t wait to see her find out Jon is KiTN, mostly because it will be confirmation for her that he is alive and that Winterfell is under Stark rule again. I hope that will be enough for her to turn north rather than south when she leaves the Twins. When she spoke to the Waif in 603 (I think it was 603 anyway) about her family, she said that for all she knew, her family could all be dead. Thankfully, that is not the case – and I am really excited to see Arya discover that. If, as LF said to Sansa in 610, news of the BotB spreads quickly through Westeros then we should see reactions to the outcome of it and Jon’s coronation in 701.

He’s also rocking his trademark look. Zoolander had “Blue Steel,” what should we call this one?

If there’s going to be a “bittersweet” ending for Arya, my prediction is that after all of her declarations (eg to Ned in S1, “I don’t want to be a lady”; in S4E8, when Sandor reminds her “family, honor”… all that horse–t you Lords and Ladies ever talk about”, and Arya retorts “I’m not a lady”; her scene with Gendry in which she acknowledges her mother is a lady, her sister is a lady, but [somehow] she’s not; and her reply to Ned, “No. That’s not me” when he described her future ruling a castle for a High Lord and having sons who’ll be princes, etc), and her daydreams [related to Lady Crane] about sailing off to see what’s west of Westeros…. In the end, family, duty, and honor will compel Arya to live out her days in Winterfell as Princess/Lady of Winterfell.

P.S. My apologies to all those on Team Sansa. My prognostication – part foreshadowing, part “tin foil hat theory”, is that she owes a huge karmic debt that she will eventually repay with a heroic self-sacrifice (and in the process, become the “Nissa Nissa” figure in an embellished version of one of Bran’s projected-into-the-past slideshows). For me, the conspicuously premature tattoos Sophie T and Maisie W got before S8 scripts have even been written, confirmed that Sansa’s a goner. (Or else, commemorative tattoos of the date they were both cast wouldn’t be appropriate until right before or after S8.) Oh, and as others have suggested, Bran Stark’s destiny is probably to merge with a tree somewhere, leaving Arya Stark as the only Stark in Winterfell.

I can’t think of a more “bittersweet” ending for Arya than to be stuck in a castle being addressed as “M’Lady” the rest of her life, wistfully looking over the battlements and thinking of all the adventures she’d dreamed about that she will never get to pursue.

I can think of one more bittersweet. She lives a second life in Nymeria, and Jon in Ghost, they only get to reunite in Direwolf form, and It will be the last scene in the show, and in the book(if it ever comes out) and it will be a Ghost POV.

With the proviso that I have not read the books and have avoided the “leaks”; and on the assumption that one or two “info-dumps” might be coincidence but more than is deliberate foreshadowing (or as Wimsey instructs, “hanging” Chechov’s Gun)…,

I think Sam’s big role in the “end game” will be to figure out how to weaponize Dragonglass into a napalm-like equivalent of dragon fire.

My re-watch of Samwell Tarly’s scenes (with Jon and Stannis in particular) convince me that Sam is one of only a handful of people who knows of the lethal [to White Walkers] properties of Dragonglass, and with Stannis now dead, the only one who knows of the Dragonglass deposits on Dragonstone. (Stannis imparted that information to Sam during their conversation at Castle Black.) Recall that Meera, Bran & Co. were unaware of the lethal properties Dragonglass until Sam related his discovery of the cache at the Fist of the First Men and his later encounter with the WW (and accidental discovery that a DG dagger could kill a WW); as revealed in S5E8 “Hardhome”, even the Wildlings had no idea that DG could kill WW when Jon offered the Wildling chieftans the bag of DG; Jon told them a NW brother he trusts (Sam) had told him he killed a WW with a DG dagger. And of course, most of the population doesn’t even believe WWs exist.

Sam is the one who found the DG cache, spent the time trying to research its history, has taken to heart Stannis’s recognition that it’s essential to figure out how to defeat the WWs when the time comes , and heeded Stannis’s advice

(“Keep reading, Samwell Tarly”). One of the inducements for Jon granting Sam’s request to go to the Citadel was to find some historical data that might help in the imminent war vs. the WWs.

I suspect Sam’s research at the Citadel will reveal that the Dragonglass deposits on Dragonstone were created by the Targaryeans’ dragons; and that there’s a kernel of truth behind the common folk’s description of Dragonglass as “frozen fire.” [Forgot where I read that; might have been in a History & Lore video…]

During the last discussion between Sam and Jon before Sam’s departure from Castle Black, they talked about the effectiveness of Valaryean steel (eg Longclaw) in killing WWs, but also realized there aren’t enough VS weapons left in the Seven Kingdoms to make a difference.

Since the show made a point about the unsuccessful attempt to retrieve the bag of Dragonglass left in the meeting hut at Hardhome (with the Army of the Dead bearing down on them, Jon wanted to make another attempt to recover the DG, but in the immortal words of Doloures Edd: “F-ck the glass!!!”), Sam’s knowledge of the Dragonstone Dragonglass deposits could be crucial.

And I suspect Sam’s research will disclose that DG is infused with dragon fire. (Real obsidian is created by volcanic lava, after all. And in the real world, many metals in pulverized, powdered or finely fragmented form are highly flammable; just light a match and toss it on a pad of extra fine steel wool if you’re curious.) In the pseudo-science/magic of the fictional G of T universe, Dragonglass (like hot-burning magnesium in some fireworks) may be infused with the energy of actual dragon fire.

Which brings me to the “tin foil theory” part of all of this: With Samwell Tarly’s assistance, including his unique knowledge of the value the deposits of Dragonglass on Dragonstone, Jon Snow will fulfill the prophecy of “waking dragons from stone.” [But again, I suspect that this “prophecy”, like many others, is a garbled, embellished, or misunderstood transmission of one of Bran’s slide show transmissions of present events into the distant past, received by a few people whose brains were fried (poor Wyllis), or didn’t know what to make of the disjointed images and muted sounds in the “waking nightmares” they were having.

Of course, I recognize that the birth of actual dragons from Dany’s three petrified dragon eggs is the obvious realization of the “wake dragons from stone” prophecy. But I suspect George Martin likes to throw in an obvious solution to camouflage the actual solution – which turns out to be the more logical one when all is said and done.

Excellent analysis! I like this idea a lot. I hope we’ll see something in the vein of what you’ve described unfold on the show (and in the books, eventually).

I agree: Reuniting with Jon in direwolf form would be bittersweet. If so, it would’ve been nice if they’d given Nymeria and Ghost more screen time to foreshadow that outcome. (Like many others, I felt that even a cameo by Ghost during Lord Manderly’s proclamation in S6E10, “He is the White Wolf! The King in the North!” would have been appropriate.

While I’m on the subject, I understand that CGI budget constraints forced the producers to eliminate some planned direwolf appearances. But I’d bet that there are so

many direwolf lovers out there who would eagerly donate to a “crowdfunding” campaign to finance direwolf scenes.) 😄

Intriguing hypothesis! It would be bittersweet indeed if, by unlocking the secrets of how to make dragonglass volatile, perhaps even explosive, our heroes would bequeath to Westeros the technological equivalent of gunpowder. It might help defeat the Others, but it would also make mass killing of humans easier and future wars far more destructive – just like in the real world. 😩

GRRM has said that the last POV will be Brans.

Bearing in mind they already have wildfire, so if anything I’m guessing this could be used against the WWs.

Very poetic, symbolic, but also very very sad! I love direwolves, but I’d like Jon and Arya to meet in human form and enjoy some happiness as humans.

I love your analysis and I think it might be the real revelation.

Ten Bears: I can’t think of a more “bittersweet” ending for Arya than to be stuck in a castle being addressed as “M’Lady” the rest of her life

It’s a possibility, but in my understanding that is not “bitterSWEET”, just very very bitter. What’s the sweet part IYO?

Also, I don’t really see why Arya would owe a debt. She killed a few people that wronged her and her family, yes, and today we consider self-administered justice (is that the right term?) wrong, but in the context of ASoIaF, I don’t see how she went so horribly wrong that her deeds would call for a punishment on a cosmic level…

You could be right about using wildfire against the WW. That was my hypothesis – until I saw that WW stroll through the flames in the burning hut in “Hardhome” to gut the Thenn and nearly kill Jon Snow. I’m not challenging your observation. I was just under the impression that wildfire (in the show universe) is a scientific creation, whereas Dragonglass has some kind of unique magical properties to which WWs are vulnerable.

Then again, you may be 100% right – but as Bronn forewarned before the Battle of the Blackwater, wildfire is so volatile that in the fog of war, those who try to use wildfire are just as likely to blow themselves up.

Sorry if I was not clear. I intended to convey my belief that Sansa (not Arya) owes a “karmic debt.”

I’m not referring to the usual criticisms about failing to tell the truth about Joffrey vs. the Butcher’s Boy or seeming to take the Lannisters’ side to preserve her misguided dream of becoming Joffrey’s future queen.

I was alluding to her witnessing LF cruelly kill Ser Dontos; allowing LF to continue creating havoc even after assassinating Joffrey and leaving Sansa holding the bag (i.e. allowing Sansa and Tyrion to be falsely framed), killing Lysa (and if I recall correctly, hearing Lysa confess that she “killed” for LF); and in general, allowing LF anywhere near her family, especially since she knows his ultimate objectives. Sansa may also regret her lack of candor to Jon Snow.

Justifiable or not, I suspect Sansa will be confronted with a choice between self-preservation and self-sacrifice – and choose the latter

I share much of your interpretation. I too think (hope) that Arya ends up as the lady Lord of Winterfell. Though she’d necessarily have to curtail her adventurousness, she would pioneer her own unconventional way to rule. She would listen to small folk as well as highborn, she would ensure justice, she would promote practicality, responsibility, respect, and fairness. Ned himself did those things, but with her FM abilities, Arya might also go incognito among the Northerners to learn the actual state of things, and she would surely use her abilities to sift lies from truth for good. If she marries, she probably won’t just let her husband rule for her, but would likely bring up her children minimising gender stereotypes and teach them to love the people. I have little patience with Sansa, but while she doesn’t have her sister’s open, generous, and empathetic character, she usually means well. You’re probably right that she owes a karmic debt after consciously allying herself with the devil figure, but she had been through a comfortable but hellish few years and wanted control for safety. It would be reasonable for her to end up marrying Robin Arryn and shaping him into a finer young man, all the while having him wrapped around her little finger [Accidental pun, but it stays as it’s so appropriate]. Where Bran would be in all this post-endgame scenario, I don’t know. But if he’s at WF and had refused the title, I hope he will still be active guiding the North, Westeros, and humankind. Presumably, Jon would be king or dead, alas.

I don’t want to see any character used for sacrifice (except maybe Melisandre, who practices sacrifice herself and believes in it religiously) or subsumed in an animal. Human sacrifice is universally abhorrent; the show would completely discredit itself if they used it. And if Jon and Arya don’t have a terrific reunion, the Internet, critics, and readers will howl with disappointment and anger. As it is, since an S7 reunion doesn’t seem indicated, many fans are already frustrated and/or apprehensive.

I don’t think Sansa will be “sacrificed” a la the Shireen barbecue. ☹️. There’s been a lot of what I’d call “negative Chekhov’s Gun” foreshadowing [Wimsey probably knows the correct term] indicating Sansa won’t be around at the end, and I think playing “anagrams” with the letters in “Sansa” is close enough to “Nissa” to presage her self-sacrifice for the greater good: not an involuntary death, but a conscious decision to give her own life in a situation to protect others from death.

(I sketched this out a while back, with show-only supporting references. I’ll have to try to condense it to make it sound coherent.)

Once again, I humbly ask anyone who contends “the leaks” disprove my suppositions to refrain from bashing me. I don’t know or want to know what “the leaks” are.

P.S. I mentioned this in a prior comment about inadvertently stumbling upon an extra’s “leaks” of Battle of the Bastards. Not only were his “leaks” incomplete and not entirely accurate, but (for me) the best part of that episode took me completely by surprise: the opening 20 minutes of Dany’s three dragons vs. the Masters’ armada in Mereen.

I’d like to see that. I thought Hot Pie’s character development was so well-done: from arrogant, boastful bully threatening Arya, to kind-hearted, humble, and loyal friend.

I loved their farewell scene when Hot Pie presents her with (his first attempt at baking) a cake or bread in the shape of a wolf, and as she departs she turns around after taking a bite to call out: “Hey Hot Pie! It’s really good!”

(When Brienne encountered Arya in S4E10, my first thought was “hey! Where’s the better wolf bread Hot Pie baked and gave you to give to Arya if you found her?”)

More like “nothing” ;-). The “respectable contributor” on reddit obviously was a fraud, and there’s nothing more about that supposed trailer…

You were clear that she would voluntarily sacrifice herself. Though that would be very noble/heroic of her, I still find it disappointing, especially for a major character whose trials and tribulations we’ve lived with for six years. And especially for a Stark. I love the anagram idea–I”d thought of her name as referring to the French word for “without” (“sans”), but the near-anagram is quite interesting. Does losing Lady by siding with the enemy count as a negative Chekhov’s gun? I don’t know the technical literary word, but the direwolves are analogues or symbols of the Stark kids, reflecting their personal characteristics. Only Arya carefully chose a real historical person, perhaps to reflect her aspirations or maybe her destiny. I agree about the foreshadowing, though there’s plenty of ominous foreshadowing for lots of characters (most notably the Valonqar prophecy) , much of which D&D have omitted from the show, so who knows if they’ll use any of it? Anyway, I admire how you’ve thought all this through.

It’s a bit hard for me to articulate, but what I was getting at with the term “negative Chekhov’s Gun” – to follow the metaphor – is a conspicuous empty space on the wall where you’d expect a gun to be. For example, after Brienne saved Sansa and they were sitting around talking about Brienne’s encounter with Arya, I found it odd – and likely deliberate – that Brienne said Arya was with “a man”, and did not mention Sandor/The Hound by name. (From Pod, Brienne knew exactly who Sandor was and that Sansa surely knew him.) So I assume from that omission that Sansa will not have any further interaction with The Hound. I think the omission was deliberate, to preclude Sansa (or the audience) from reminiscing about Sansa’s history with Sandor. (With apologies to all the “San-San” folks out there.) By contrast, I’ve counted a ridiculous number of callbacks and references to The Hound in Arya’s story and vica versa, portending that they both have unresolved emotions for each other that will be addressed when they meet again. (Or maybe that’s my inner fanboy and wishful thinking leading me astray…)

Ten Bears: By contrast, I’ve counted a ridiculous number of callbacks and references to The Hound in Arya’s story and vica versa, portending that they both have unresolved emotions for each other that will be addressed when they meet again.

They could be establishing a level of trust. The Hound knows things.

Love the analysis, even though it would be heartbreaking and most,

I made a very similar comment, about all of them finishing out their lives in their direwolves, on a different post! Glad I’m not alone in thinking that might pass. 🙂

I’ve always wondered about that omission; it seemed so odd. As a book reader I

a SanSan shipper, although I’m not entirely pleased with where Sansa is right now. I love the Hound’s relationships with both the Stark sisters (in very different ways, obviously), and do hope that he and Arya have some sort of satisfactory closure. She has had to be so guarded for so long (with the notable exceptions of Gendry and Hot Pie); I would love to see her acknowledge to the Hound that the realization that she didn’t truly want him dead–the root of her ultimate (albeit unconscious) decision to refuse mercy–was an integral part of her maturation.

Great analysis. This ties in with some of my ideas about dragonglass and its uses against the WW, specifically that archers with dragonglass arrowheads will be critical.

I found more evidence when I recently finished watching all of the history and lore segments. I found it interesting that Randyll Tarly narrated the segment about The Reach and the illustrations highlighted that the Tarly sigil is an archer: Sam and other archers (including the Dothraki) will be very important.

Also, the segment on Oldtown specifically noted the fused black rock at the base of the hightower and the narrator asked why the island is called Battle Isle. I hope Sam finds that all of the sites described as dragonglass or fused black stone or similar materials (including Harrenhal) can be used as strongholds (or ammunition!) against the WW.

I did note that during Sam’s conversation with Stannis in the Castle Black library (?), Sam mentioned that he’d searched through all of the old manuscripts and (I think) he said all he could find were accounts that the Children of the Forest hunted with Dragonglass. (Though I wondered how the COTF would find a volcanic or dragon-flame produced substance…)

Another “twist” that’s been set up for possible later developments is the embedding of DG shards into a human’s chest: One of Bran’s “vision quests” into the distant past showed how the COTF created a White Walker by embedding a piece of DG into that freaked-out man tied to a tree. On the other hand, Uncle Benjen related to Meera and Bran how the COTF used that same process to turn him into an undead but still sentient “Good Zombie” before the WWs could turn him into a mindless wight. So there are a bunch of different ways they can go with the DG-in-the-chest procedure.

I HOPE one of our heroes doesn’t find himself forced to plunge a DG shard into his own chest (and become a human-wight hybrid) to be able to fight the undead army like Benjen had been doing. I also wonder if Sam or somebody else discovers a way to reverse the process, by extracting the DG or something. (But that’s probably too far-fetched; I assume that removing the “animating” power source just means that an undead corpse will become a truly dead corpse. I’m sure they’d resist the temptation to throw in a Monty Pythonesque scene of a corpse with a ripped open chest after primitive open-heart surgery to remove the DG shard, meekly raise his head and insist “I’m not dead yet…”)

Which reminds me of another unanswered question: Did we ever learn how the COTF make those anti-wight exploding fireballs? Or the Holy Hand Grenade of Antioch that Leaf used to blow up herself and the swarming wights to buy time for Bran, Meera and Hodor to escape from the 3ER cave? I guess those incendiary devices aren’t effective against WW, but they sure did a good job incinerating wights.

Anyway, I’m intrigued by what kind of offensive and defensive weaponry the good guys will have to come up with, considering that the Army of the Dead is pretty huge already, and every human battlefield casualty left unburned increases its size.

Addendum (Wishful Thinking): I do NOT want to know any details about the “leaks”, but I hope the frozen north filming locations (Iceland and that quarry in N. Ireland) means we will see Karsi again, even if in blue-eyed undead form.

I think someone might actually find themselves in that situation though, having to choose between turning into a WW or having DG thrust in their chest and becoming half dead like Benjen. A question I have about that is though can anyone change someone with DG or does it need to be someone who has magic like the children of the forest?

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