Game Of Thrones will air its series finale on Sunday, so we still don't know how the show will end. But throughout eight seasons, the HBO series has included subtle and not-so-subtle hints of what's to come. You'd be forgiven if you've forgotten most of these prophecies and predictions, some of which were included in the George R.R. Martin books that served as source material until Season 6.
But it's worth taking stock now: Which promises were fulfilled, which definitely won't be, and which could still come to fruition?
- Maggy the Frog
This comes from a Season 5 flashback scene, in which a witch (Maggy the Frog) tells young Cersei her future. After having a taste of Cersei's blood, Maggy predicts "you'll never wed the prince" but "you'll wed the king."
"You'll be queen, for a time. And comes another, younger, more beautiful to cast you down and take all you hold dear," Maggy continued. "The king will have 20 children. And you'll have three ... Gold will be their crowns. Gold, their shrouds."
By Sunday's episode, most of that had already come true. Cersei didn't marry Prince Rhaegar Targaryen, but instead King Robert Baratheon, who did have a boatload of kids. Cersei had three children of her own, who all died before her. Now we know that Cersei will never give birth to her fourth child. And while she was queen "for a time," another, "younger, more beautiful" -Daenerys - did cast her down and take all she held dear.
- Jaime and the Valonqar
This relates to the above fortune told by Maggy. While the HBO series leaves this out, Maggy tells Cersei a little more in the books: "And when your tears have drowned you, the valonqar shall wrap his hands about your pale white throat and choke the life from you."
Valonqar is High Valyrian for "little brother," and for much of her life, Cersei regards her younger brother Tyrion with ever-increasing spite and suspicion. Fans have also posited that the valonqar could also actually be Jaime, born seconds after her.
While the valonqar prophecy wasn't in the show, it somewhat came true, albeit with a twist. Cersei's final moments were spent with Jaime, who lovingly held her head, face and neck in his hands as they both got crushed to death. And in another indirect way, Tyrion did have something to do with Cersei's death; he was on Team Daenerys after all, even though he tried to orchestrate a survival plan for both Cersei and Jaime.
Lena Headey as Cersei Lannister (Courtesy Helen Sloan, HBO)
The HBO series also foreshadowed Jaime's death. In Season 5, Bronn asks Jaime how he want to die. Without hesitation, Jaime replies, "In the arms of the woman I love." You got your wish, pal! (Sidebar: Bronn said he wants a boring death with his kids bickering over his fortune. That could still happen so, hey, here's to dreaming.)
- Azor Ahai/Prince or Princess Who Was Promised
We're lumping these two titles together. While the "Azor Ahai" term is more explicit in the George R.R. Martin's books, the HBO series includes Lord of Light devotees who talk big about "the Prince who was promised" - the one who will bring an end to the long night.
On the show, Melisandre provides most of the details: They're waiting for a hero who was born "amidst salt and smoke" and under a bleeding star. Melisandre originally believes the prophecy refers to Stannis Baratheon, but she comes to recognize her folly.
By Season 7, she meets Daenerys and tells the dragon queen in High Valayrian: "The Long Night is coming. Only the prince who was promised can bring the dawn." Missandei (RIP) points out that the noun is actually gender neutral, so really it could be the prince or princess.
"And you believe this prophecy refers to me?" Daenerys asks the Red Priestess.
"Prophecies are dangerous things," she responds. "I believe you have a role to play. As does another: the King in the North, Jon Snow."
Given their lineage and birth stories, Daenerys and Jon Snow both seemed like very likely candidates for the prophesied prince/princess. But then Arya killed the Night King and ended the Long Night (which lasted about the length of a regular night). The young Stark doesn't seem to meet the requirements of this prophecy, but as Melisandre notes, "prophecies are dangerous things."
- The deaths of Melisandre and Varys
Our girl didn't get everything right, but she predicted well with this: As Melisandre told Varys in Season 7, "I have to die in this strange country, just like you." Yes, and yes.
- Green Eyes
Back in Season 3, Melisandre grabs Arya's face and proclaims: "I see a darkness in you, and in that darkness, eyes staring back at me. Brown eyes, blue eyes, green eyes. Eyes you'll shut forever. We will meet again."
They did meet again, at the battle at Winterfell, and Melisandre reminded Arya of that prediction about eyes. By Sunday's episode, Arya had made several high-profile kills, including the brown-eyed Walder Frey and the blue-eyed Night King. Cersei had green eyes and was on Arya's kill list, but she died by a collapsing building.
Daenerys appears to have green eyes, so the prediction could still come to be. Or maybe not. This prophecy (if you can call it that) doesn't appear in the source material, and neither do Daenerys's green eyes; she has violet ones in the Martin books. Still, this is a big one to watch.
- "It's not how it ends for you, brother"
This one is less an outright prophecy and more of a threat (slash promise). In Season 7, the Hound straight-up tells his zombie brother that his weird health condition isn't what will kill him: "What'd they do to you? It doesn't matter. It's not how it ends for you, brother. You know who's coming for you. You've always known."
While the Hound doesn't reveal exactly who is coming for the Mountain, this was all a pretty obvious setup for Cleganebowl, which finally happened on Sunday's episode.
- Dragon shadow over King's Landing
In Season 4, Bran has a vision that includes a flying dragon's shadow cast over King's Landing. We saw that same shadow in Sunday's episode, which was followed by the dragon lighting the city up.
- Red Keep visions
Images of a dusty, cold, barren and perhaps snowy Iron Throne room in the Red Keep have popped up a few times. Bran sees it in his vision from Season 4, but more importantly, so does Daenerys in Season 2 during a vision she had in the House of the Undying.
In her vision, Daenerys walks through the Red Keep, with its roof in tatters. She approaches the Iron Throne, which seems to be covered in snow, but stops short and pulls away when she hears what sounds like her baby dragons. She walks through a passageway into the north of the Wall, and through the snowstorm enters a bright and warm tent containing her boo Khal Drogo and their baby.
Dany indulges in the domestic bliss for a moment but then repeats what the witch told her about when Drogo would return to his old self: "Until the sun rises in the west and sets in the east, until the rivers run dry, and the mountains blow in the wind like leaves." Then she bounced and went to find her dragons.
Why the snow? Back then, viewers could have surmised it symbolized the long winter and the threat from beyond the wall, none of which are a concern any more. Maybe the snow references Jon Snow taking the throne, which could still happen.
Some fans also suggest that those Red Keep scenes depict a throne room covered in ash rather than snow, which would sync up with the fiery destruction of King's Landing. Was that really the original intention? It looks pretty wintry in there.
(c) 2019, The Washington Post
(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)