We’re more than halfway through 2018. You know what that means? We’re closer to the final season of Game of Thrones. While there are still no solid teasers from the season 8 set, the what-to-expect news are certainly piling up.
If you can’t contain your excitement much longer, here’s what we know so far.
Only six episodes
We reported before that season 8 will only have six episodes but each episode will allegedly be longer. It’s fewer than the last seven seasons, but if it’s like watching a feature-length film every week, we’re not really complaining.
Release date
The premiere date is reportedly being pushed back a few times. HBO told Huffington Post that there’s no official date yet. However, president of programming Casey Bloys said it’s going to be in the first half of 2019. There were rumors that the show will return in April but visual effects supervisor Joe Bauer said it might premiere in May. Either way, at least we have an initial idea as to how long we have to wait. (Unless they delay it again. Please don’t.)
New characters
In the past, only the identity of Golden Company mercenary Harry Strickland (to be played by Marc Rissmann) was revealed. Fan theories also suggested that he’s Daenerys Targaryen’s former lover, which might shake things up in the series. Other cast members include Daniella Galligan as Sarra Frey, who’s presumably the granddaughter of Lord of the Crossing Walder Frey; and Alice Nokes as Willa, an unknown character (for now).
Meanwhile, Winteriscoming.net listed down casting calls for child actors. One has been confirmed to be Bronte Carmichael, who plays Madeline in Christopher Robin, as a “Northern girl brought up in a family of soldiers.” So it’ll be interesting to see this sweet-looking girl in this gritty series.
The reunion we’ve all been waiting for
Game of Thrones hasn’t released an official teaser yet but HBO’s latest highlight reel showed a split-second scene from season 8. In the video, majority of the GOT clips were from season 7, except for the one where Jon Snow was hugging his half-sister Sansa Stark. So that may mean that he’s finally back in Winterfell and possibly brought along Daenerys and her army with him. Possibly.
A big battle scene up ahead
It’s not Game of Thrones without a pivotal battle, and since this is the finale, we’re expecting something big. A short Facebook video showed the Winterfell set (located outside Toomebridge in Northern Ireland) on fire. Did the dragons do this or was a torch toppled over? Metro also reported that 200 extras were involved in the scene. Aaaah, we can’t wait anymore!
Other theories
Count on fans to come up with some of the best theories, and some of them turn out to be right too. (Fun fact: The whole Rhaegar Targaryen and Lyanna Stark baby scene in the S7 finale started out as a mere theory since George R.R. Martin hadn’t revealed it yet in the books.) The most popular ones so far include Daenerys. First being that she’s pregnant with Jon’s child, which is basically incestuous since they’re blood relatives. The second is that her undead dragon Viserion will side with her again because of their “maternal connection.”
Other theories include Arya Stark killing Cersei Lannister, Tyrion Lannister betraying the Targaryen army because he’s that smart and cunning (honestly wouldn’t be surprised by that, and that the dead Stark family members will rise from the dead via White Walker magic. Knowing Game of Thrones, anything is possible at this point.
Art by Marian Hukom
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