The distant worlds of Westeros will finally collide in next week’s season finale. After six years and 67 episodes, Game of Thrones is having a massive homecoming party at King’s Landing. Though the occasion is less fortuitous than the main characters would like, the fact remains: we’re about to see Jon Snow, Jorah Mormont, Ser Davos Seaworth, all three Lannisters, Podrick, Euron Greyjoy, the Hound, Brienne of Tarth, and almost certainly Daenerys Targaryen in one place. The Mother of Dragons simply cannot be left out of such a momentous occasion. According to the trailer for the season's finale episode, the only major players left out of the reunion are the Stark sisters and their favorite frenemy, Littlefinger.
As we all know, only a cataclysmic event would bring together these belligerent parties. Now that the Night King has his own undead dragon, and the King in the North has a wight signed, sealed, and delivered, peace talks are underway. As for the location? Welcome to the famed Dragonpit of King’s Landing.
Though talk of the coliseum has long pervaded the show, we’ll see it for the first time next Sunday. Nestled high in the hills above King’s Landing, the Dragonpit once housed the many dragons of House Targaryen back when they sat on the Iron Throne. During the Targaryen civil war (known as the Dance of Dragons), a furious mob charged into the pit and killed five of the remaining fire-breathers.
During the melee, one of King Aegon’s most prized dragons, Dreamfyre, tried to escape the crowd but ended up flying into the stone ceiling, collapsing the Dragonpit. Next Sunday, we’ll see the warring kingdoms sit in the coliseum’s ruins (in real life, the Italica ruins in Seville, Spain), which no subsequent ruler ever bothered to repair.
Before Jon and Dany make their way to King’s Landing, they’ll be sending their armies well ahead of their arrival. Grey Worm and The Unsullied army appear to have survived their assault on Casterly Rock. They’ll be returning the favor to Jaime Lannister and Bronn, who look down in shock at the armed masses standing before King’s Landing.
Though the Unsullied are intimidating enough, they get reinforced by the Dothraki Bloodriders, who single-handedly devastated the Lannister army at the Loot Train Battle. With her armies combined, Daenerys Targaryen is making a statement long before she arrives on the back of Drogon. Though Euron Greyjoy’s ironborn armada rests in the Blackwater Bay, his fleet can’t compete against the land forces. By the time the meeting starts in the Dragonpit, one thing will be clear: Cersei Lannister is alive and free only thanks to Dany’s mercy.
As Jon Snow diplomatically declares: “There is only one war that matters, and it is here.” Expect the captive wight to make quite an appearance at the Dragonpit. Jon and his Suicide Squad’s mission beyond The Wall traded Viserion and Thoros of Myr for a skeletal zombie, and to make good on that lopsided bet, the undead creature will need to scare the daylights out of Cersei and convince her to join the fight to the north.
Since Jon just pledged himself to Daenerys on the southbound ship from The Wall, can we expect him to properly bend the knee in the season finale? Cersei and Euron will no doubt scoff at talk of unification, thus putting extra pressure on the King in the North to make a show of his support for the Mother of Dragons. He has already given verbal commitment, and the stage will be set for him to follow through.
Word of Jon’s subservience to Daenerys won’t go over so well at Winterfell, where Sansa and Arya continue to face off. The little assassin’s extended stay in Braavos is finally showing its colors, driving her to threaten her sister’s life and even wax poetical about wearing her face.
Though the sisters had a sweet reunion in the crypt of Winterfell, Littlefinger drove a wedge between them with the help of an old note. Until now, we’ve never seen the Machiavellian meddler be so obvious as he blatantly pits the sisters against each other. He seeks to inspire some sort of coup d'état at House Stark, but with the Stark sisters at the height of their powers, he risks everything should he be caught. However creepy her monologue may have been, it’s also important to note that Arya did give her Valyrian steel dagger to Sansa, suggesting that a modicum of trust between them remains. What will Sansa do with the blade?
As for other loose ends, The Hound will be back at King’s Landing for the first time in a long time. Fans hoping for Cleganebowl may get to see Sandor say a few choice words to The Mountain, though it remains to be seen if zombie Gregor Clegane can even talk.
While Cersei will stand up to Daenerys Targaryen, she’ll also have to be wary about her growing family. With her two brothers back at King’s Landing, a conversation or two will likely be had about the status of her newfound pregnancy. Jaime’s allegiance to his sister is up in the air, and when he hears about the marauding White Walkers headed his way, his corrosive love for Cersei may finally be put in its place.
Then there’s Samwell Tarly, who recently stole books from The Citadel and fled the property. Gilly knows about Rhaegar Targaryen’s marriage annulment, so it seems that word about Jon Snow’s true heritage is about to come out. This means Bran, the fledgling Three-Eyed Raven, won’t have to keep his time-traveling knowledge a secret much longer. Though he has been sidelined throughout almost all of season 7, we can only hope that he’ll have a bigger part to play in the season finale.
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Game of Thrones returns next Sunday on HBO @ 9PM EST.