Game of Thrones season 6 grand finale hit us like a giant’s fist a couple of weeks ago. We might be sad that we now have to wait nine months until the next season; however, season 6 has given us something no other Game of Thrones season has given us before- a clear path (clearer at least) on which the main storylines are going. Unlike the previous 3-4 seasons, the story is now not stuck in the middle of nowhere but rather is going into a direction which foresees the end of the show. Below, I’ll provide a summary (remember this is just my point of view and is not all question of actual facts) of the main characters, what happened to them in season 6 and what will most likely happen to them in the next seasons.

Cersei Lannister

Cersei has finally sat on the Iron Throne. Her own path has been a long and not necessarily an easy or pleasant one but she made it- she got the power. No matter how badass, cruel and treacherous Cersei is, one cannot help but admire her strength, ambition and dedication to her family. Cersei’s downfall started with Joffrey’s death with her not seeing happy days until the very last episode of season 6. She’s lost her father, her daughter, her younger son, she’s been taken prisoner and humiliated by the Sparrows who forced her to go naked on the streets of Kings Landing, hearing the mocking laughter of the crowd. She’s been surrounded by enemies all the way through, so no wonder she’s gone mad. With the death of Tommen, she’s lost every bit of humanity she’s ever had in herself. Many people argue this is when she’s gone mad when Qyburn presented her to King Tommen’s dead body; however, I think the last drop that spilt the glass for her was when Tommen terminated the trial of combat practice in the Seven Kingdoms. This is when Cersei found herself into a trap, betrayed by her own son and unable to escape whatever punishment the Faith has prepared for her. And this is when something clicked into her head and when she was ready to do anything no matter the cost. Even the life of her last child didn’t matter anymore. Blasting the Sept of Baelor with wildfire and killing all her enemies, who were waiting for her inside to tear her into pieces marked the beginning of her reign as the Mad Queen. Next season will be very interesting for her as we are expecting one of her brothers to finish her- Jaime who spoiled his honour once to stop the Mad King from doing what Cersei has done and is doing now; and Tyrion who hates Cersei in the guts and who’s now Hand of Queen Daenerys Targaryen. Tough times upon the Mad Queen, ay.

Daenerys Targaryen 

Season 6 is my favourite in terms of Daenerys’ storyline. So much has happened to her in this one season than in whole 4 previously (not counting season 1, which marks the beginning of her journey and reign). She’s found herself captured by the khalasar of Khal Moro who wants to sell her into slavery, but upon learning that she is a Khaleesi and the widow of Khal Drogo, decided to send her to the Dosh Khaleen where she’s supposed to spend the rest of her days. In this situation again we find Daenerys stuck and very far from her main purpose, namely conquering Westeros with her army and dragons. However, like some of the other main protagonists in Game of Thrones, Daenerys has a powerful magic inside her that helps her defeat every obstacle that comes down her path. In this case, the Mother of Dragons used her ultimate weapon- fire- to get rid of all the mighty khals and join the entire khalasar to her army. For me, this was one of the best scenes in season 6 and a reminder of Danny’s real power. In seasons 4 and 5 she seemed weak and completely lost, pressed against the wall by her enemies. After riding Drogon for the first time though, she’s been able to regain her power. At the end of season 6, we finally witnessed Daenerys collating all her strength and marching to Westeros with her three dragons by her side. Varys has already secured allies for her in the Seven Kingdoms- Dorne and House Tyrell- both enemies to the Lannisters, meaning she already has supporters of her claim on the continent. In the next season, we’ll see Danny invading King’s Landing and securing her relations with other noble houses. Her most interesting meeting though will be with Jon Snow, her brother’s only living son. I do hope this meeting happens in season 7.

Jon Snow

It’s official now! Jon Snow is the son of Lyanna Stark and Rhaegar Targaryen. We’ve always known this, and yet it feels so satisfying when we got the official confirmation in the season finale with this beautiful transition from him as a baby, presented to Ned Stark by his sister in the Tower of Joy, to him as a grown man at the lord’s seat at Winterfell. Jon Snow’s always had very low self-esteem because he believed himself a bastard all his life. A son of a noble lord and yet never accepted part of the family, Jon’s always been reminded (especially by Catelyn) that he’s not worthy of the name Stark. He’s never known a motherly love and grew up to be lonely although he had the love of his half-brothers and half-sister (Sansa has never been close to Jon until their reunion in season 6). Taking the black was Jon’s attempt to find his place in this world and forget he is a bastard for once. He’s gone through a lot, climbing the ladder of success with him becoming the youngest Lord Commander of the Night’s Watch in history. However, not long after, he’s betrayed and killed by his own sworn brothers. This is when Jon Snow’s life as a bastard and a rejected son ends to be reborn (resurrected by Melisandre) as Jon Snow, King in the North and son of Rhaegar Targaryen and Lyanna Stark. In the next seasons, we expect him to have to deal with the treacherous Littlefinger and securing his position as King in the North. We also expect him to learn the truth of his parentage by Bran, who’s on his way back south of the Wall. I think we can also be brave to expect a Stark general reunion with Arya also being in Westeros, relatively close to Winterfell. As mentioned above, it will be extremely interesting for the audience, if Jon meets Daenerys who’s also on her way to Westeros and who happens to be Jon’s kin.

As you can see, a lot of great things ahead for Game of Thrones, which after two dull seasons (in my opinion) is back in the big game. Counting the hours desperately until season 7 airs in 2017.

L.V. K.