Although there was a requisite amount of dark moments and character deaths (R.I.P. Hodor), Game of Thrones (opens in new tab)’ sixth season was arguably its happiest; Jon and Sansa reunited, killed Ramsay Bolton, and reclaimed the North; Arya got her sight (and name) back; and Daenerys is finally on her way to Westeros with dragons in tow. According to Thrones star Kit Harington however, we shouldn’t expect many more cheer-worthy moments as the series accelerates towards its conclusion in its final two seasons:
“It’s important to stress at this point that I haven’t had any scripts, so this is all guess work for me”, Harington told The Hollywood Reporter (opens in new tab). “I think it’s going to get very bleak before if there is a happy ending. If there’s any sort of win or heroic moment for Jon and everyone else. I think it’s going to get very dark before it gets better. I think what we might see this season is those White Walkers and that Army of the Dead really come into force. So that’s going to be exciting to see. I don’t know what it means. I think with the whole “winter is finally here” business, it means everyone is going to have a really bad time”.
While Harington is keen to state that he’s just guessing at this point, it’s relatively clear that the White Walkers are going to become a big problem for pretty much everyone in the final seasons. Exactly how that will play out is information that’s probably only known to George R.R. Martin and the Game of Thrones showrunners at this point, and we still have the better part of a year to wait for some answers.
Given the show’s tendency to off fan-favourite characters though, I wouldn’t be surprised if the series doesn’t end on a happy note when all is said and done.
Season 7 of Game of Thrones will debut in summer 2017.
Images: HBO