I know it’s Holy Week, and you don’t want to think about Monday. But there’s a silver lining to that day: The much-awaited second episode of Game of Thrones season eight. The premiere was… well, we found it somewhat lacking. But it did provide us with some insights on how the rest of the season will progress. While there are already a bunch of GOT theories out there, new ones have sprung up based on the latest episode.
The Weirwood Tree symbol
One of the most shocking scenes in the last episode was Ned Umber’s gruesome death. Certainly, the Night King intended it to be a clear message to his enemies, what with the spiral symbol where Ned’s body was incorporated. Known as the Weirwood Tree symbol, if you’ve been paying attention, then you may have noticed it actually keeps appearing throughout the series. It’s already the season finale, and we still don’t know what it means.
But Reddit user zyuko22 thinks he may have cracked the case. He theorizes the symbol could actually be the key to defeating the Night King. He wrote, “At first thought, I figured they will need to burn the Weirwood Tree to which the Night King was bound as the Children of the Forest created him. But after looking through that scene in [season six, episode five], ‘The Door,’ I noticed in the background that one mountain shaped like an arrow head. This would place that location north of the wall and contradict the other symbol that has been known to, The Gods Eye.” He then explains that The Gods Eye is a geographic area located slightly northwest of King’s Landing, said to be of great importance as it relates to the Children of the Forest and the Weirwood Trees. “I speculate that this mysterious plot of lake/island combo houses the source of power that fuels Weirwood network. What I envision is some kinda tree of life, one I’ve been referring to as the ‘Grand Weirwood.’ The Children of the Forest draw their power from the Weirwoods, and since the children created the Night King, it would infer the White Walkers are powered by the same source.”
He concludes that if you connect these, ou could say the wight that Beric Dondarrion killed is a representation of the Night King’s power. And so, in order to kill the Night King, he posits someone (Jon Snow) will need to burn down the ‘Grand Weirwood’ with a flaming sword.
It’s certainly a possibility. Especially because, as Glamour notes, “Jon Snow using a flaming sword to kill the Night King would be the ultimate battle of fire and ice.”
However, zyuko22 suggests that it’s not as simple as that. Because the ‘Grand Weirwood’ is supposedly a “network,” he thinks burning it means all things that get their power from it would die as well. “I also think the Lord of Light is synonymous with the ‘Grand Weirwood,’ and uses these Weirwoods as a beacon to communicate with the physical world. In other words, I think even though these are two separately practiced religions, the god at the center of both is the same entity.” If that’s true, then Jon Snow and Beric would have to sacrifice their lives to save everyone.
Cersei’s death
After the premiere, everyone was talking about Cersei Lannister and her obsession with elephants. But some fans noticed something else. In the flashback from Season 5 shown prior to the episode, it was revealed that when she was young, Cersei visited a witch named Maggy the Frog, who predicted that she would marry the king and have three children, who would all die. With the death of Tommen, we assumed the full prophecy has already been realized. But as Time pointed out, the series left out a crucial detail. In the A Song of Ice and Fire books, where it was based upon, the witch also prophecized Cersei’s death, saying “the valonqar shall wrap his hands about your pale white throat and choke the life from you.” Now, since “valonqar” means “little brother” in High Valyrian, many fans believe either Jaime or Tyrion will kill Cersei. But a new theory says that’s not necessarily the case.
Redditor Namez_Are_Hard points out that the “valonqar” the witch was referring to may actually be Cersei’s unborn child, and that she will die in childbirth. He stressed, “Nowhere in Mags prophecy does it say HER valonqar, just THE valonqar.”
Of course, if another popular theory–one that says Cersei isn’t really pregnant—is true, then this doesn’t hold. If you remember, Cersei she was visibly sipping wine in the premiere—something a pregnant person would normally avoid. Then again, Cersei has never been a “regular” mom. Furthermore, HelloGiggles noted, “ Maggy the Frog’s prophecy only mentioned three children for Cersei, which would be Tommen, Myrcella, and Joffrey. (Then again, she’s also mentioned having a miscarriage before Joffrey was born, and it’s not clear how that figures into Maggy’s final count.)” Also, since it’s “THE valonqar,” it could apply to so many other characters, like Sandor Clegane, the Mountain’s younger brother, or even Bran Stark, another “little brother.”
Bran Stark isn’t talking about Jaime Lannister
Bran Stark was another character that got the most attention from fans after this week’s episode. His “creepiness” became the subject of memes. Not surprising, really. That intense moment between him and Jaime Lannister left us all hanging. Before Bran locked eyes with the man who pushed him out the window from the very first episode of the series, causing his disability, he told Sam Tarly that he was “waiting for an old friend.” Naturally, many fans concluded he was referring to Jaime.
However, some say he may have been misinterpreted. They believe that Bran is actually talking about Theon Greyjoy. It was, after all, revealed in the episode that he is on his way back to Winterfell to fight the White Walkers alongside the Starks. Of course, Bran calling him his “friend” is still a stretch. Last they saw each other, Theon decided to betray the Starks and capture Winterfell. Luckily, Bran and his late younger brother Rickon escaped.
Independent stresses, “This theory is seemingly corroborated by a line spoken by Bran in the trailer for season eight’s second episode: ‘Everything you did brought you to where you are now. Where you belong. Home.’”
Photo courtesy of Game of Thrones’ Instagram account
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