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It’s official: Winter is here. The final season of Game of Thrones premiered on HBO on Sunday, April 14, and there are already a ton of Game of Thrones season 8 episode 1 theories to obsess over. How did Jon Snow know how to ride a dragon? Will Arya Stark kill the Night King? And what’s with the White Walker spiral symbol? Those questions and more were answered by fans after last night’s premiere.
Game of Thrones theories, clues and Easter eggs are never-ending. It seems like anything, from a casual glance to a cryptic line, can be decoded into a clue these days, and the first episode of season 8 was no different. After last night’s premiere, we have five more episodes of Game of Thrones, which means that the writers are wasting no time to tell the rest of the story. Every second counts, so there really is no scene that doesn’t have information about the series’ end. As much as we don’t want Game of Thrones to end, we are excited to find out who will take the Iron Throne at the end of the series and how our heroes (if at all) will defeat the Night King. Check out the Game of Thrones season 8 episode 1 theories fans can’t stop talking about ahead.
Jon Can Ride a Dragon Because He’s a Targaryen
Episode 1 saw Jon ride a dragon for the first time after he and Daenerys visit Drogon and Rhaegal to find out why they’re not eating. After Daenerys mounts Drogon, she asks Jon if he wants to fly with her. After some hesitation, with Jon telling Dany that he doesn’t know how to ride a dragon, he hops on and is pretty much a natural (so much so that even the Mother of Dragons was impressed!), aside from a few bumps here and there. As Jon learns later in the episode, he is half-Targaryen and the son of Daenerys’s brother, Rhaegar Targaryen. As we learn in season 3, when Kraznys mo Nakloz is incinerated when he tries to handle Drogon, not everyone can control a dragon. Jon’s ease with riding Rhaegal is a clear call to his Targaryen roots. But that’s not the only clue. The dragon Jon rides, Rhaegal is named after his father, Rhaeger, which is why the dragon nuzzles him before Jon mounts him. It’s a hint that the two have special connection that Jon doesn’t even know about yet.
HBO.
HBO.
Arya Will Kill the Night King
As wild as it would be for the Night King to take the Iron Throne in the end, it’s almost inevitable that he will die—but how? Though fans have thought that Jon would be the one to kill the Night King, episode 1 hinted that Arya will be the slayer. In episode 1, Arya visits Gendry and give him a sketch of a weapon she would like him to make for her. The weapon was some sort of spear with a detachable tip made of Dragonglass. On the other end of the spear is a blade, which fans believe is made of Valeryian steel because of the material’s mention earlier in the episode. As fans know, Dragonglass and Valeryian steel are the only two materials known to kill White Walkers, so many are theorizing that Arya will use the weapon to kill the Night King and the ice dragon he resurrected from Daenerys.
HBO.
HBO.
Jaime and Tyrion’s Hair Color Mean They Will Betray Cersei
The season 8 premiere saw Jaime and Tyrion with much darker hair. Tyrion’s hair looked like a light, dirty brown, while Jaime’s hair looked full-on brunette. Why is this important? Well, there’s a Reddit theory that blonde hair is a symbol of Lannister blood and how loyal the members are to the family. (This is how fans first learned that Joffrey, Tommen and Myrcella were not Robert Baratheon’s children, but Jaime’s.) The series started with the three Lannisters with bright blonde, but as the series as continued, their hair has become progressively darker, with Cersei’s hair, a strawberry blonde, the blondest and closest to her original hair color. Because of Jaime and Tyrion’s darker hair color, fans think this is a clue that Cersei’s brothers will betray her and the Lannister name. We have a couple hints of this: A season 8 promotional shot shows Jaime in Northern army uniform, while Tyrion and Sansa have a serious talk about his relationship with Cersei and how Sansa doesn’t understand how Tyrion can trust her. (Could it all be part of a plan?)
HBO.
HBO.
HBO.
The White Walker Symbol Is the Targaryen Emblem
Episode 1 ended with Tormund and his crew exploring a castle hall where they find Lord Umber dead and nailed to a wall. Around Lord Umber were human limbs arranged in a spiral. When Lord Umber comes back to life as a White Walker, Tormund lights him and the entire spiral on fire. As fans know, the spiral is the symbol of the White Walkers and has appeared several times in the series. In season 1, the symbol is formed with corpses. In season 3, it’s formed with dead horses. And season 6, it’s formed with stones. But what is the importance of the spiral? No one knows, but fans have theorized that it’s how the White Walkers communicate and it could be the key to defeating them. Fans have also pointed out that the symbol looks a lot like the Targaryen emblem, especially when it’s set on fire like in Sunday night’s episode. We don’t know what the significance of that is, but it’s something to think about.
HBO.
HBO.
Drogon Gave Jon *That* Look Because of Khal Drogo
Episode 1 continued the incestuous relationship between Jon and Daenerys. In the episode, the two ride Daenerys’s dragons to a snowy waterfall, where they have an intimate moment and kiss. Mid-kiss, Jon looks over at the dragons and notices that Drogon, in particular, is giving him an intimidating look. It was a comedic break from the show’s usual dark scenes, but there is also a theory behind it. According to fans, Drogon, in particular, gave Jon that look because he is named after Daenerys’s late lover, Khal Drogo. Because of Khal Drogo and Daenerys’s romantic past, her dragon named after him wouldn’t be too approving of her new beau.
HBO.
HBO.
Cersei Will Pass Off Her Baby as Euron’s
In the season 7 finale, we learn that Cersei is pregnant with Jaime’s baby. Fast forward to season 8 episode 1 and Cersei, after much hesitation, sleeps with Euron Greyjoy. Afterward, Euron tells Cersei that wants to “put a prince in [her] belly”, not knowing that she’s already pregnant. Even after Euron and Cersei sleep together, Cersei still doesn’t seem to care very much for his company. So why did she sleep with him? Fans theorize that it’s part of her plan to pass off her baby as Euron’s and claim that she has a half-Lannister, half-Greyjoy child. What advantages that holds? We don’t know. But we’re sure Cersei has thought it through.
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The Scorpion Will Be Used to Take Down Daenerys’s Dragon
Game of Thrones season 8 introduced a new opening credits filled with clues for the current season. One such clue that was that the Scorpion will be used to take down Daenerys’s dragons. As the YouTube channel Emergency Awesome explains, the Scorpion appears in the credits when the camera pans to the weapon, which is pointed right at three dragon head statues. As fans remember, the Scorpion is a huge crossbow used by Cersei in season 7 to fight Daenerys’s dragons. Since then, fans have wondered if it will make a return, and the opening credits may be a hint that Cersei will use it again—this time, to her success.
HBO.
HBO.
HBO.