42 weeks.
That's how long we'll be waiting before Game of Thrones graces our screens again. Last night's cataclysmic finale to season six was an extraordinary exhibition in television done right, with particular props for the scoring and pacing of the opening sequence which culminated in King Tommen's suicide.
Without spending too much time on a recap: Cersei sits the Iron Throne with Qyburn as her Hand and Jaime back in King's Landing, Dany is leading a force of Tyrells, Martells, Varys, Tyrion, the Unsullied, the Iron fleet, Dothraki and three dragons to Westeros, Jon Snow has been proclaimed the King in the North, Sam has finally reached the Citadel, and Bran is headed south with Meera to rejoin civilisation.
At long last all the various subplots are finally converging into one mega-plot, and this is how we see season seven unfolding.
The struggle for succession
With Robert, Renly, Stannis, Shireen, Joffrey, Myrcella and Tommen all of the House Baratheon now various kinds of dead - there is no longer any clear legitimate heir to the throne.
Cersei Lannister, who has been Queen, Queen Mother and Queen Regent all at different times throughout the show's six seasons now sits the throne, which feels like an extremely loose end - given that she simply has no right to be there.
Furthermore, does her public even know that she's responsible for murdering the High Sparrow, the Queen, Pycelle and her uncle and Hand of the King Kevan Lannister? It's hard to imagine anyone beyond Qyburn and Gregor Clegane keeping faith with Cersei past the first few episodes of the next season. We see her holding the throne for a maximum of two.
Jaime kills Cersei
Maggy the Frog's prophecy is nearing completion. Cersei is finally Queen in her own right, all of her children are now dead, and all that's left is for her to be slain by a younger sibling.
In the earlier seasons, the smart money would have been on Tyrion - but the show seems to be going to great lengths to highlight Jaime's ever-growing sense of honour (allowing Brienne to flee Riverrun, telling off Walder Frey, etc).
Given that Cersei just committed the atrocity that Jaime killed the Mad King for attempting, we can see the Lannister twins' tumultuous relationship taking one final twist.
Bran grows into his third eye
Bran isn't ready to assume his role as the three-eyed raven yet, he's said so himself. Nevertheless, his unique greenseeing abilities will undoubtedly prove crucial in the battle against the White Walkers.
We don't see how he responds to his discovery of Jon's apparent parentage, so we can imagine a Bran-heavy episode one of season seven. A lot of info on the White Walkers is going to come from Bran's greendreams.
Just stop, Littlefinger
At this point, it seems like the show is going to have two more seasons, each made up of just seven episodes each.
With that in mind, we just don't have any time to waste on Littlefinger's games anymore. Aiden Gillen is a phenomenal actor and Lord Baelish was a fantastic character once upon a time - but he'd have to pull something impossibly special out of the hat to fulfil his vision of himself on the Iron Throne at this stage.
Littlefinger has no claim to the Throne, the army he commands is now loyal to Jon Snow, and his closest link to power - Sansa - no longer trusts him since he sold her out to Ramsay Bolton. He has no realistic chance of achieving his goal, so I really hope the show the doesn't devote that much time letting him try.
The same goes for Euron Greyjoy
Euron arrived on the scene by throwing his father from a bridge and seizing control of the Iron Islands before promptly disappearing. As far as the plot goes, Euron simply seemed like the motivator for Yara and Theon to leave Pyke and seek out Dany.
Euron is another who covets the Iron Throne but is
nowhere near strong enough to take
it, so we hope the show doesn't spend many minutes on his already-doomed tilt for the Red Keep.
More Lyanna Mormont
The undisputed breakout star of season six's latter halves. The bitesize badass of Bear Island, Lyanna Mormont has absolutely nailed her three scenes so far - emerging as Jon Snow's staunchest ally.
We're expecting a few more inspiring monologues from Lady Mormont, and at least one more close-up of her giving the famous Mormont mean-mug.
https://twitter.com/1975arya/status/747743211360137217
The return of Nymeria
For the first time since season one, the three remaining Stark children (plus Jon) could soon be reunited. Arya has told us that she's headed home to Winterfell, and it seems like Bran has just become the only living person in Westeros to know Jon's true parentage.
Specifically, though, we're expecting a dramatic reunion between Arya and her direwolf Nymeria - who's been on the lamb since biting Joffrey's hand early in the show. We can see Arya getting into a jam on her way back home and Nymeria, one of the two surviving direwolves to come to her aid at the last minute. You heard it here first.
"I choose violence"
Season six's penultimate episode was heavy on the gore, complete with exposed organs and headless horsemen, and we can see that continuing throughout the remainder of the show.
Not only has Bran had a vision of dragons flying over King's Landing, but the fierce Dothraki are about to land on Western shores for the first time, flanked by armies who are out for revenge against Cersei Lannister. As it stands, it's unclear how Queen Cersei will even mount a defence against the Dragon Alliance (wildfire, probably) - but you can bank on it being a bloodbath.
Let's hope Miguel Sapochnik is on board to direct it all.
Melisandre meets Jorah Mormont
The last time we saw Jorah Mormont, Dany had dismissed him to go find a cure for his greyscale. Melisandre, similarly, has been sent away from her camp by Jon Snow. She's got a bit of a knack for healing, and we feel like these two outcasts will probably cross paths for their mutual benefit.
A song of ice and fire
Conspicuous by their absence in The Winds of Winter, the White Walkers and their army of wights are surely closer than ever to breaching the Wall and wreaking havoc on all of Westeros. They've threatened to do it since the very first scene of the very first episode and now that winter is truly here the Night King can't be far behind.
The Wall is built with some kind of magic that keeps out the dead - so unless the White Walkers have plans to come back to life, the 700ft feat of architecture is going to come crashing down.
Luckily, Westeros has just imported three dragon's worth of fire that will probably come in more than a touch handy against the icy undead army from beyond the wall. We can see the song of ice and fire finally building to a crescendo.
Sam saves the day
Sam's journey to the Citadel over the course of this season had absolutely no bearing on any of the major plotlines, so we can only assume we were reminded of his existence for a very good reason.
The White Walkers were created magically by the Children of the Forest, so you'd assume there'll be some sorcery involved in defeating them. Sam knows that they're on the way, and he's now in the perfect place to learn as much as he can about how to take them down. Expect some serious heroics from the Tarly boy yet.
