Fan images from set of 'Game of Thrones' Season 8 possibly reveal devastating spoiler
This post contains potential spoilers for the upcoming Game of Thrones Season 8
Game of Thrones fans made a gut-wrenching discovery on set this week — and we're shook to the core by what it could mean for Season 8.
Several images surfaced Tuesday showing Winterfell engulfed in flames. And the severity of the fires leaves little hope for it surviving to be more than a pile of rubble. You feel that?
It's the sting of a cold, icy stab through the heart.
(We're not linking to the pictures, but imagine they look like this artistic rendering Mashable drew up.)
Like us, you all might be screaming, "LEAVE WINTERFELL ALONE!" while wiping away mascara-streaked tears. And we feel you. The castle, the Starks, and the North have been through enough.
The images are reminiscent a soul-crushing detail added to the opening title sequence for a couple seasons. After the Starks were pushed out of their ancestral home back in Season 3, it showed Winterfell -- Westeros' most noble and ancient castle -- crumbling under black smoke .
The scars of Theon's betrayal, followed by the hostile takeover by the Boltons, are still much too fresh for us to handle. I mean, Sansa and Jon only just got the castle back under Stark rule in Season 5! And what does this mean for their mortality in the upcoming final season?
The ashes started falling on Winterfell long ago, but total cremation is a fresh new horror for both the show and the books.
The great castles of Westeros are the society's symbols of stability and security, housing all their history, nobility, and governing bodies. Watching all of that go up in flames would certainly fit the "bittersweet" ending George R. R. Martin promised us.
The revelation also sparked wild speculation about the likeliest causes of the fire. Some see it as evidence for the theory that Tyrion betrayed Daenerys (which, to be honest, is a bit of a stretch.)
Others point to the final terrifying shots of Season 7, when the Night King rode an undead Viserion to lay waste to the Wall -- allowing his army of the dead to finally begin their march on Westeros. And that's a fair guess for many reasons.
For one, this kind of mass fiery destruction could only be the work of a dragon. And Winterfell would be the first major stronghold the Night King encountered on his march south of the Wall. But those yellow flames don't look anything like the unnatural blue fires of the ice dragon from last season. There is always the possibility that they'll add the effects needed to achieve that look in post-production.
But the most ominous possibility is that one of Danaerys living dragons blasts Winterfell into a fiery grave. The fan outlet Winter is Coming noticed evidence of members of her Unsullied army with spears in some of the images, which is in line with earlier reports of Unsullied activity around the same sets.
If the fires originate from Daenerys, then that probably means Winterfell's destruction is either brought on by accidental friendly fire during a battle with the white walkers -- or, worse still, a deliberate attack from the Mother of Dragons. Are these flames showing us a vision of Daenerys final turn to the dark side?
You'll remember that last season's finale set up a bombshell for Jon and Dany's uncomfortable union, which will soon be rocked by the revelation that Jon is actually Rhaegar Targaryen's legitimate son. That means Jon is the rightful heir to the throne, rather than Daenerys. Knowing our queen, that won't make her happy. But will it be enough to make her turn on Jon and burn down his family home in order to eliminate him as a threat to her claim?
The horrifying possibilities for what this all means are endless. Who knows? It might be a fake out from HBO. It might just be a big dream sequence.
One can only hope when the night is so dark and full of terrors.
Topics Game Of Thrones
Jess is an LA-based culture critic who covers intimacy in the digital age, from sex and relationship to weed and all media (tv, games, film, the web). Previously associate editor at Kill Screen, you can also find her words on Vice, The Atlantic, Rolling Stone, Vox, and others. She is a Brazilian-Swiss American immigrant with a love for all things weird and magical.
