Small Council: What do we expect/want/predict from Game of Thrones season 7?

With Game of Thrones season 7 mere days away, we’re here to discuss our hopes and dreams for it. What do we want? What do we think will happen? What are our irrational fears and desires? Let’s sound off!

DAN: I want season 7 to surprise me. That’s all I ever really want from this show. The months between seasons 6 and 7 have been marked by an unusually high level of spoiler-related discussion, and I feel like I know a lot about what’s coming. Still, I want to be shocked, and awed, and bowled over, and I think I will be. I’m a firm believer in the idea that a show isn’t about what it’s about, but rather how it’s about it. That is to say, it doesn’t matter if you know about a certain plot twist ahead of time, because the impact comes from how it’s executed and situated within the greater story. I expect there will be a lot of moments in season 7 I’ll remember for a long time, and I can’t wait.

Having said that, let’s talk specific predictions. While I don’t think it’s likely, I’d love it if Cersei died this year. And I don’t say that because I don’t like her. I do. Cersei has slowly and surely become one of the most reliably entertaining characters on the show, and as such, I think she deserves to go down in a blaze of glory, like a human Hindenburg disaster. I want her making mad proclamations from the Iron Throne, defiant to the end, as tongs of wildfire tear the flesh from her bones. Or railing against her cruel lot in life as Jaime, his eyes sparkling with tears, drives a sword into her breast. I can envision scenarios where Arya or Tyrion kill her, too. She has a lot of enemies, this woman, and a lot of opportunities for barn-burning death scenes. I want to see one.

Or, hell, Game of Thrones, just film them all and put out a supercut. I’d watch it.

So I guess my tastes tend towards the morbid. But there’s room for a little morbidity in a show as multi-textured as this. What do you guys want from season 7, imaginary or otherwise? What are you final thoughts before we finally, at long last, take the plunge together?

RAZOR: I’m with Dan. Give me a surprise that makes my jaw drop and my hands clap with excitement. I want to be so happy with what I’m seeing that I jump up from the couch, throw my iPad to the ground (because I’m live-tweeting from the WiC account), and give a mighty roar!

We have to take into account that Dany and her armada are crossing the Narrow Sea, and that anything could happen during the crossing. A storm could separate the fleet, and the Greyjoys could be met by the Storm himself, Euron Greyjoy. A massive sea battle in the first episode would set the season on fire from the jump, and I would absolutely love that.

Of course, I would also love to see Arya doing murderous things, Jon attempting to be a King while Sansa and Littlefinger plot behind his back…or at least that’s how it will appear. I want Cersei walking like a badass into the throne room and taking the Iron Throne like the boss she is. Finally, I want to see Dany’s dragons flying together, and perhaps landing on Dragonstone next to actual stone dragons and roaring. That would make for an amazing first episode.

COREY: Perhaps it’s the giant Redbull I just chugged, or perhaps it’s because the season is almost here, but I want season 7 to make my heart beat faster. I want to feel like I did watching “Hardhome” for the first time for all seven episodes. I want to crouch on the edge of my couch because I’m too excited to sit down. I want season 7 to blow my face off. I don’t expect to be surprised that often — that’s the nature of writing for WiC — but that doesn’t mean seeing the spoilers brought to life can’t excite me.

From what we know about season 7, it seems as if my dream will come true. I do think many are fixated on the number of episodes in season 7, but the overall run time is fairly similar to past seasons. It will be interesting to see how that plays out — longer episode run times but fewer episodes. Hopefully it will mean a completely different kind of pacing for the season. I enjoyed some of the slower paced seasons, but variety is the spice of life, and all that.

I’m sure we will have some quiet moments, of course, but I would love for season 7 to be the downward plunge of the roller coaster. If the rumors about season 8 not airing until 2019 are true, season 7 needs to leave a lasting impression, and I don’t think that will happen with seven episodes filled with Small Council meetings. Give me sweeping changes, decisive battles, and dire consequences for heroes and villains alike. Basically, I want to watch every episode with this look on my face.

SARAH: It’s fitting that I follow Corey because what I want from season 7 is the exact opposite of what he’s looking for. I’m under no illusions about what Game of Thrones can do in terms of sheer, heart-pounding action at this point — the show always delivers, and in terms of spectacle, the quality increases with each passing year. They’ll probably outdo themselves again, and for that I give major kudos in advance.

Remember the first season of the show? Remember all of those moments that focused primarily on character, and didn’t need to rely on blood, sex or special effects to make us feel something? Moments like Robert and Cersei’s conversation about the might of the Dothraki or Jaime and Ser Barristan’s chat about their years in the Kingsguard spring to mind. Game of Thrones is great at those moments, and we get at least a couple every year. I want a lot more of those.

I want a scene between Sansa and Arya where they come to comprehend that their time apart and the trials they have suffered has made them more alike than they are different, and that they are far stronger united than they ever could be divided. I want Olenna Tyrell to take Jaime Lannister to task on his incomprehensible love for Cersei, and hit him with a few hard truths that shake him to his foundation. I want to see Brienne and the Hound discuss their shared passion for protecting the Stark girls. I want a scene where Bran Stark, having finally come home after years spent running on adrenaline and focused on a singular purpose while friend after friend threw themselves in his path to keep him alive, gets a moment to breathe and has to learn how to deal with his grief.

What we know from the buzz surrounding this season is that the diluted number of characters means more dialogues and more screentime for those who are left, which — to me — indicates more potential for character-driven scenes such as this. If that’s the case, I’m ready. More character. More heart. I’ll gobble it up.

Alternatively, I’d like to see more indications that Daenerys is beginning a slow decline towards full Mad Queen villainy, which I persist in believing will be A Thing, especially when she learns that Jon Snow (probably) has more right than she does to her father’s throne. A full-scale parallel to Aerys/Tywin/Rhaegar involving Dany, Tyrion and Jon would be a delicious way to end an often dubious white-savior arc, so I’ll be eagerly watching for any further hints that our platinum heroine is anything but.

RICHARD: I’m expecting things to get positively Shakespearean, with soaring highs and brutal lows. The last thing Benioff and Weiss want is for things to get too predictable, but they’re also bound to complete the major story arcs that have been set up for the last six seasons. It helps them that fans no longer have the books as blueprints, but they still have to satisfy.

I think Jon, Daenerys, Sansa and Tyrion are absolutely safe this season. The actors hint that every character is in peril, but yeah, they’re safe. However, second tier characters such as Ser Davos, Melisandre, Grey Worm, Littlefinger, Varys, Ser Beric and Yara Greyoy should watch out, because the producers are going to want to toss in a few murderous surprises here and there.

What would I like to see? Action-wise, I’m primed for a massive sea battle between the Greyjoy fleets and a sprawling land battle between the Targaryen forces and the Lannisters. The Lannsters will be obliterated, with Jaime killing Cersei and then dying himself in a heartwrenching final duel with Brienne of Tarth. The human war has to be sorted out by the end of this season because season 8 will be about the battered survivors scrambling to face the southward-descending White Walkers.

I’d also like to see Arya use her Faceless Men skills to kill White Walkers, and in the romantic department, I’d like to see Missandei and Grey Worm get it on (trailers already confirmed that). And also Bran and Meera should get it on. Tormund and Brienne need to get it on, too. Call me a romantic, but a show this violent and cold needs hanky-panky sparks in the shadows, because in the end the human spirit is the light in the darkness that gives all of us hope.

What are you guys hoping to see this Sunday? Let us know in the comments!

• Published on 07/14/2017 at 6:00 PM CDT
• Last updated on 07/14/2017 at 6:20 PM CDT