5. Theon Dies While Rescuing Yara
The Greyjoy storyline is an odd beast because I really have no idea what direction it’s going to take or even what the writers are trying to do with Theon at this point. This is a character whose redemption arc really should have been settled a couple seasons ago, as the gap between his torture and mutilation at the hands of Ramsay Bolton is just too far in the past to be weighing on many viewers’ minds anymore. Still, this is more a product of Season 7’s smaller episode count resulting in less time for certain characters and storylines, as the Greyjoy family feud is still interesting independent of everything else that’s going on.
Yara, who hasn’t been seen since the third episode of Season 7, still needs to be rescued from her uncle Euron by Theon and his ragtag group, and while I think that he will be successful in this endeavor, I have a bad feeling it will end with Theon’s death. Granted, he will die a hero’s death so that his sister can live on, thus bringing things full circle for this man who started out a petulant, selfish jerk until castration and constant torture made him see the error of his ways. And really, that’s all anyone of us can hope for in life, right?
HBO
4. Bran Will Be Used More Effectively
With his godlike magical abilities allowing him to see into the past and present, Bran Stark is one of the most important (and most powerful) Game of Thrones characters around. Unfortunately, ever since he became the Three-Eyed Raven, the show has used him for massive info-dumps more than anything, which has proven to be invaluable in certain cases (R+L=J) but also has the effect of making Bran a very tedious character. Having Bran lose his former identity and become more of a detached, emotionless husk who weirds everyone out was an interesting development this past season, but I feel like it could have been explored even further.
Thankfully, Bran’s powers practically guarantee that he will play a significant role in the final season — there’s speculation that he will warg into Viserion to wrest control of the dragon from the Night King, but I don’t think this is how things will go down — but what that role will be remains to be seen. Regardless, Season 8 will be Bran’s chance to really shine after multiple seasons of playing more of a supporting role.
HBO