HBOIt's the final countdown, Game of Thrones fans.
Now that season seven has come to a close with that epic, game-changing 80-minute finale that saw Jon Snow and Daenerys Targaryen give in to carnal desire just as the show confirmed they're, you know, aunt and nephew, Petyr "Littlefinger" Baelish finally get what was coming to him (his throat slit) courtesy of the Stark sisters, and the Night King freaking decimate the Wall thanks to his new blue flame-breathing pet Viserion, we're officially walking the long and dreadful road to the HBO hit's farewell season.
And with just six episodes left to wrap up this sprawling saga, it's beginning to feel like a "so much to do, so little time to do it" situation. Will co-creators D.B. Weiss and David Benioff be able to wrap everything up with a neat bow? Probably not. But there's a handful of things we need them to include in season eight. Call us Arya, because we've got a list...
The King of the North bedding Daenerys Targaryen in the season seven finale as Bran and Sam explicitly confirm that she's his aunt and he's the true heir to the Iron Throne was the height of "You know nothing, Jon Snow." So, we need someone to send him a raven pretty damn quick and clear things up. Of course, that opens a whole list of questions: Will Jon & Dany back away from their love in light of the truth? Will they turn on each other? Or will they throw caution (and propriety) to the wind and lean in hard to the "Incest is Best" mantra that Cersei and Jaime have been whispering to one another all along?
Why is the Night King doing what he's doing? Unlike the undead he commands in his army, he seems to have motivations for his actions, and we'd like to learn more about them. For instance, why did he take out Viserion rather than Drogon when he had a clear shot at both (and Drogon's death would've lead to the death of many of the humans Drogon lead to safety)? Is this all the ultimate revenge mission after the Children of the Forest forced him into his icy immortal state? Or is there something more to it? If the Great War is to be the one of the final season's greatest focuses, we need to understand more about this side of the fight (aside from the fact that they're death incarnate).
The whole "song of fire and ice" thing has been teasing the inevitable showdown between Daenerys' beloved children Drogon and Viserion, right? Can the blue flame-breathing zombie dragon best his brother? We need to find out.
There are still quite a few names on the little killer's list, including Cersei and her undead bodyguard The Mountain. While we'd love to see Cersei get taken down by someone else in the her life (more on that below), we're hoping that Arya gets all the revenge she's ever wanted in season eight. She's earned it, right?
Mighty little Lyanna Mormont is one of the fiercest characters we've met on Game of Thrones, and we'd love to see her rise to a position of true power when all is said and done. Either that, of give her one of those proposed spin-offs because we want more.
We've been waiting to see the Clegane brothers face off against one another, and their brief encounter during the Dragonpit meeting of the minds in the season seven finale only fanned our flames of desire. And despite The Hound having a place of Arya's list of names alongside his brother, we'd love to see The Mountain taken down by a team up of the tiny killer and her former foe, finally leaving Queen Cersei vulnerable to an assassination of her own.
Theon Greyjoy finally stepped up the plate in the season seven finale, taking on the leader of his men in a brutal battle for supremacy—and winning. It's time for the man formerly known as Reek to atone for his sins and rescue his sister Yara from their nasty uncle Euron's clutches, slaying the eyeliner-loving despot in the process.
We'll admit, things look pretty grim for ol' Tormund. But should he proved to have managed to survive the Night King's complete and utter decimation of the wall in the season seven finale, we're hoping he gets the chance to give in to his fascination with Brienne and make a move. (Whether we want her to return the affection or not is another question we're entirely unsure of the answer to, however.)
How is Melisandre old as dirt? Why was that important to learn? We want to learn more about the Red Woman before the show signs off for good.
The Mad Queen must be taken down before she gets everyone in King's Landing killed by her refusal to fight alongside Daenerys Targaryen and Jon Snow's combined forces in the North to keep the Night King at bay. And while it might be satisfying to see her felled by a great number of characters in Westeros, her death would feel most poetic if it came at the hand of the brother-lover she so cruelly cast out in the season seven finale.
What are you hoping to see before Game of Thrones signs off for good? Sound off in the comments below!
Game of Thrones will return for its final season in 2019.