One of the reasons Game of Thronesis so captivating is because there is never a straightforward answer for anything. Between the books and the television series, there’s always a different interpretation for every plot line. This usually leaves the book readers a little ahead of the game while they were watching the series, because they already knew the gist of what was going to happen. However, with showrunners D.B. Weiss and David Benioff now officially steering away from the books, this leaves even the readers uncertain about the futures of certain characters and plots.
With characters that are already dead or completely different from their novel counterparts, Game of Thrones has conjured up more questions than answers in its five seasons. Whether they’re a continuity issue or just a plain mystery, these ten questions have been brought up and dissected like an ant with a magnifying glass. With the sixth season arriving this Sunday, it’s more imperative than ever that some of these Qs get As.
Here are 10 Unanswered Questions in Game of Thrones.
If you haven’t watched the series, or you aren’t caught
10. Why Didn’t Tyrion Confront Littlefinger after the trial in The Vale?
Go back to the early days of the show and remember the Sky cell in the mountains above the Eyrie. When Catelyn Stark is told by Littlefinger that Tyrion ordered an assassination on Bran, she goes out to bring him to The Vale for trial.
After a successful trial by combat, why doesn’t Tyrion try to confront Littlefinger about the accusation? Surely, Varys (or anyone else, really) would have told him what Littlefinger was up to. While Tyrion may have thought of Littlefinger as untouchable in the books, Tyrion’s personality is much less timid in the show. He would more likely approach Littlefinger about being wrongfully confused and almost executed. Seeing how this was a pretty serious matter, it’s hard to believe that Tyrion would let something like that go so quickly.
9. Why Did Shae Betray Tyrion?
In the books, Shae is merely a prostitute who doesn’t have much of a presence, but the writers decided to give her more of a personality in the show. Tyrion first meets her in a battle camp after he asks Bronn to find him someone to lay with. She’s mysterious and doesn’t reveal her true origins, but Tyrion becomes infatuated with her and brings her to King’s Landing. Even when Varys bribed her with jewels to leave, she refused because she was in love with Tyrion and wanted to be close to him.
But later, she testifies against Tyrion at the trial for Joffrey’s murder and falsely accused him of kidnapping her. Obviously, Cersei’s agents had got to her first, but did they threaten her to do so or was she heavily compensated? It’s even more puzzling when Tyrion finds her naked in his father’s bed, obviously having slept with him. After saying how in love she was with Tyrion, it seemed a little out of nowhere to have her turn a complete 180 and betray him like that.
8. What are Varys and Illyrio Mopatis up to?
What makes Varys such a compelling character is that we know very little about him. Unlike everyone else, we don’t know much about his political affiliations or where his interests lie. He’s called “The Spider” because he knows everybody’s secrets and seems to use them when it benefits him the most. But what exactly is he gaining from it? This question is even murkier when we see him collaborating with Illyrio Mopatis, a merchant who looks out for Daenerys.
In season 1, we see them discuss the true father of Cersei’s children and about Robert’s bastard son, Gendry—proving that they know about Cersei’s infidelity. And the fact that Jorah Mormont is a spy for Varys suggests that he is very interested in how Danaerys is running things. So it’s obvious that Varys and Illyrio both want a Targaryen restoration, but how they’re going to make that happen is the mystery. Varys knows how to pull strings and blackmail and since Tyrion seems to be Daenerys’ new right hand man, he could use Tyrion’s status and money to get her there. And if that means Tyrion has to show his face in King’s Landing, at least he’ll have some dragons to help him out.
7. What’s been happening in The Riverlands?
The last time we were in the Riverlands, a very unfortunate wedding had happened. At the hands of the Freys and Boltons, Robb and Catelyn Stark were brutally murdered. The world mourned the loss of two main characters, cursing George R.R. Martin under their breath. As horrifying as it was, that was three seasons ago and we haven’t heard anything about Riverrun since.
Catelyn’s brother, Edmure Tully (a.k.a The Blackfish), was taken hostage by the Freys and has been held prisoner ever since. Walder Frey even sarcastically remarked how he spent his wedding night in a cell. The Game of Thrones tradition is that if we didn’t see them die on-screen, then they have a good chance of being alive. Even though the actor, Tobias Menzies, has been busy co-starring in another fantasy show called Outlander, we should at least hear a status update. With Sansa on the run from the Boltons, it would be a good opportunity for them to run into him somehow—either as an escapee or a hostage.
6. Is Gendry still rowing out there?
As soon as Cersei heard about the multiple Baratheon bastard children that exist throughout Westeros, she made sure that they were all executed with no questions asked. However, she missed a certain blacksmith named Gendry. He’s had quite the adventure, from being a slave in Harrenhal to becoming one a part of the Brotherhood without Banners. When he’s sold to Melisandre, she turns the tables on him and ties him up to leech his blood for a ritual. Davos helps him escape and sends him to King’s Landing in a row-boat as a way to be free of Melisandre’s religious sacrifices.
That was in season 3 and we haven’t heard anything about him since. However, since Shireen and Stannis have both died, that leaves the Baratheon house completely extinct except for Gendry. If Tommen were ever to die (and let’s face it, he’s pretty close), the only thing keeping Cersei’s claws away from the throne is him. Season 6 would be the best time for him to reappear, especially with the system being so broken right now.
5. Will Jaime get revenge for Myrcella’s death?
If you’ve been following the show, then you know about Jaime and Cersei’s disturbing and incestuous relationship. All of her children are actually Jaime’s, rather than the late King Robert Baratheon (something that Stannis was desperately trying to prove). When Tyrion married off Myrcella Baratheon to the Martells’ son, Jaime volunteered to sneak her back to King’s Landing. Unfortunately, the rescue mission came to a tragic conclusion when Myrcella died from Ellaria’s poison.
With only one child left, there’s no way that this subject will be dropped right away. Jaime might not go back to Dorne, but he’s not the type of person to move on so easily. Most likely with the help of Cersei, it’s probable that the Martells will not be met with kindness. If anything, this could start another war.
4. Where is Benjen Stark?
Since season 1, the mysterious disappearance of Jon Snow’s uncle, Benjen Stark, has plagued our minds. After pledging to the Night’s Watch, Jon is informed that his uncle never came back after going to look for another ranger in The Haunted Forest. Up until the last season, we hadn’t heard anything since. Certain theories have thought that he either went rogue, or even became a White Walker himself. In the last episode of season 5, Mother’s Mercy, the writers sneakily put a mention of him in the recap, insinuating that we would finally hear about him again. It turns out that it was simply Olly luring him into a trap by saying that a wildling had talked to him recently, at which point Jon is stabbed multiple times.
This may have been only a mention, but it’s interesting that the name would be brought up after an intense battle between the wildlings and The White Walkers. Since multiple theories have revolved around Benjen and the White Walkers, it could possibly point to them being connected—or he’s just been dead for six years.
3. Will The Hound and The Mountain fight again?
We last saw Sandor Clegane severely wounded at the end of season 4. At the end of a duel with Brienne of Tarth, Arya left him to die in the woods. With no sign of him last year, fans have wondered if he’s gone for good. After he won a duel with Beric Dondarrion, Beric noted that the Lord of Light has some purpose for him. Does this mean that he’s possibly immortal?
A popular fan theory going around is about a certain gravedigger. (POTENTIAL SPOILERS AHEAD) In the fourth book, A Feast for Crows, Brienne ends up at a monastery on an island called The Quiet Isles. While talking with the Elder Monk, she notices a crippled man bigger than her who was digging up graves. Because Brienne is so broad, there seems to be a good case that this man is The Hound. If the writers go in this direction, it would be interesting for him to face his brother, Gregor Clegane, who is currently a zombie-like creature under the name Robert Strong. Things were left really sour in season 1 when Sandor fought Gregor in the King’s Landing tournament. Since the fight got interrupted by Robert Baratheon, we never got a real conclusion. And since Sandor beat Beric Dondarrion in a duel, perhaps his life expectancy has dramatically changed.
2. What are the White Walkers’ motives?
Besides the very first scene in the pilot, the White Walkers were unknown to most of the characters. Mostly everyone believed that they were long dead or never existed in the first place. However, evidence had been piling up in favor of their existence—including several rangers that came back to life after being presumed dead. But still, the only people who have ever encountered them were the Night’s Watch.
But every time they’re seen, it becomes more puzzling why they’re doing what they’re doing. Craster was sacrificing his infant children to them and last season, Jon Snow lead both the wildlings and the Night’s Watch into an intense battle against them. Besides them just being territorial, there has been no indication on what their motivation is. Why have they woken up after being asleep for thousands of years? We have some clues on what kills them, such as fire and Valyrian steel, but besides that, nothing else. After Hardhome, it looks like the White Walkers will become a big antagonist in the North, but will anyone believe what the brothers in black have had to go through?
1. Is Jon Snow alive?
At the end of season 5, Weiss and Benioff decided to pull a cruel move and end the season with Jon Snow being brutally stabbed by his own “brothers.” We all know that no one is safe in this series (and that definitely has been true), but we always thought that Jon would have the ultimate plot armor. The series is called A Song of Ice and Fire after all. This heart wrenching ending devastated fans and has prompted every sort of analysis from certain characters’ locations to the fact that Kit Harington hasn’t cut his hair yet.
But some fans aren’t convinced that he would be killed off in that fashion. For Weiss and Benioff, it seems a little tame to have Jon die via stabbings and in a cliffhanger of all places. Since Melisandre is currently in the North, theories are that she will bring him back to life— similar to Beric Dondarrion. If that happens, does this mean that Jon owes some sort of debt to her?
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Are there any other questions you with the showrunners of Game of Thrones would answer? Let us know in the comments!
