Game of Thrones Season 6 Episode 10 will air this Sunday at 9pm EST.
With the Battle of the Bastards over, we’re moving on to Cersei’s trial. Will she be innocent or guilty or something else altogether? What happened to the Martells? Will Arya be coming home, or better yet Daenerys? Will HBO fulfill its nudity quota?
Here are a few predictions for the upcoming episode.
1. The Martells will pledge allegiance to Daenerys.
We haven’t heard from the Martell’s all season since Ellaria and the Sand Snakes mounted their successful coup. So what have they been doing this whole time?
Odds are they are conspiring to join Daenerys’ army upon her arrival. Despite their harsh words there is no way they could fight the Lannisters and the Tyrells single-handedly, so they need an ally.
Daenerys is the obvious choice. The whole reason for the Martell’s grievances against the crown was for the rape and murder of Elia Martell by The Mountain. Elia was married to none other than Rhaegar Targaryen, Daenerys’ deceased older brother. The Martells have long been allies to the Targaryens so this move should not come as a big surprise.
2. King’s Landing is about to get BTFO. But which parts?
With no Trial By Combat, Cersei seems to have only one option, a normal trial. But the odds of its fairness are approaching nil considering the bad blood she has with the High Sparrow. Not to mention she totally did the crime she is accused of.
So with no other option, Cersei must do something crazy to get out of her predicament. Odds are she’ll ignite some of the wildfire caches hidden underneath the city and kill a whole lot of people. If there’s no court, judge and executioner, its pretty hard to have a trial.
But what will be the extent of the damage? We know that almost the entirety of King’s Landing was set to explode by the Mad King at the end of Robert’s Rebellion before Jaime stopped him. Anywhere is fair game.
Obviously the Sept of Baelor, the seat of the High Sparrow and location of the trial, has to go. That’s non negotiable. But is Cersei feeling extra vindictive? She knows all her children are going to die anyway so she may just include the Red Keep as part of the blast. The surrounding slums are screwed too. But hell, maybe she’s a completionist and will just do away with the entire city. We’ll just have to wait and find out.
3. A few Tyrells are going to die.
Hence Cersei’s explosion, it is likely a few Tyrells will be caught in the blast. The first tier of death probability are Loras and Mace. Loras is a broken man and not much fun going forward in the series so it would probably be better for him and the viewers if he’s given a quick exit. The dopey Tyrell patriarch, Mace, will probably die too. There will most likely be a huge shakeup in the power structure of King’s Landing by the end of the season. Taking out Mace, a member of the small council and head of a major house, would have enormous geopolitical ramifications for Westeros.
Margaery seems less likely. Or at least she has a character arc that many viewers would want to see developed further. If she retreats back to Highgarden, she and her grandmother Olenna could rule as a pretty badass lady lord duo. If the men of the house die, the Tyrells would ironically be even stronger.
4. The small council will be obliterated.
After the Tyrells, odds are Kevan Lannister, the King’s Hand, and Grand Maester Pycell are next on the chopping block.
Spoiler: in the books, Varys came through the walls and offed them both by entering their rooms through the secret passages behind the walls of the Red Keep, but it probably won’t play out like that. Although Varys began his journey to Westeros a few episodes back, it is unlikely he could arrive in time.
My guess would be that Qyburn, Cersei’s trusty creep, would do the deed. He has essentially occupied Varys’ role in King’s Landing and has access to all the secret passageways and child labor spies. Cersei may be plotting a revenge that leaves only her to take up control of the Kingdom after the dust settles from the carnage.
5. Melisandre will be put on trial.
Cersei may not be the only one on trial next episode.
Before the Battle of the Bastards we saw Davos find Shireen’s sacrificial pyre. The toy stag Davos gave to her was clear evidence of the identity of the pyre’s victim.
Next episode we will see Davos tell Jon of Melisandre’s crimes. But what will he do? On the one hand Jon does owe her his life. But on the other, she straight up murdered a child. So by the law of the land she definitely deserves to die.
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