Speculation: What do the recent spoilers mean for Daenerys in Season 7?

Game of Thrones Season 7 filming is underway, and spoilers are leaking out the sides of the production. A couple of big ones about shooting at Spanish locations broke yesterday. As always, we have you covered with both the facts and what we think they imply. Be warned: heavy SPOILERS follow, so flee now if you wish to remain Unsullied.

Our favorite Spanish-language news site Los Siete Reinos unveiled these tidbits. Here are the highlights:

The production will film for a month on a private estate in an area called Las Breñas. That’s the same amount of time the production spent on the Battle of the Bastards.

In this area, a supply train, including wagons, will be ambushed by as-yet unidentified troops.

Filming will involve 500 extras and 100 horses.

The production will also shoot material in a waterfront area called the Barrueco de Arriba.

In this location, a main character will fall in the water and need to be rescued.

The scene will involve a dragon.

At least one Lannister will be part of these scenes.

So what does all this mean? First, let’s examine where production will be filming. Take a look at Las Breñas:

Las Breñas. Image: Los Siete Reinos.

It looks pretty arid right now, but when the production shoots here from mid-November through mid-December, it will reportedly be more lush and green. So don’t go thinking this is some desert in Dorne. It could be anywhere, but our guess is that it’s near King’s Landing. Through her alliance, Daenerys controls both the Reach and Dorne, so there would be little reason to spend much time in either location.

According to the spoilers, an army loaded up with supplies from a nearby castle (inserted into the background with CGI) will be ambushed. But what parties are we talking about here? The need for horses points toward the Dothraki, while the casting calls for extras in this area suggest that Unsullied soldiers will be present. So Daenerys’ band is likely part of this?

But are they raiding or being raided? The Dothraki are certainly known for raiding, and it’s easy to imagine them ambushing some Lannister troops en route to King’s Landing. Perhaps the CGI castle inserted in the background is actually the city skyline?

Ambushing Lannister supply lines would make a lot of sense for Dany’s forces as they march on King’s Landing. Meanwhile, there’s the matter of “at least one Lannister” being on the scene. As Dany’s new Hand of the Queen, Tyrion is the most likely candidate, but we shouldn’t rule out the idea that Jaime, for whatever reason, is at the head of the supply chain. When Jaime talked to Bronn about his little brother in Season 5, he said he’d kill Tyrion if he ever saw him again. That’s pretty much business as usual for this family, but it could still make for an intense encounter.

Let’s move on to the juiciest bit of info: the main character falling into the water and needing to be rescued. With a dragon involved in the scene, we think the character will fall from dragonback. Sure, it’s possible someone could fall off a ship, but that’s not as dramatic, is it?

But what could make someone fall off a dragon? None of the answers are good. One option: the dragon comes under attack, and is either startled enough to buck its rider or is killed in midair, in which case the rider is out of luck. If the producers want a big moment for Season 7, the death of a dragon would definitely qualify. But we imagine whoever takes the plunge will be quickly rescued. Death by drowning seems rather mundane for Game of Thrones.

The next question is: who is thrown in the water? Many are assuming that Daenerys will take the plunge, which makes sense. After all, she’s the only dragonrider we’ve seen up to this point. But it may not always be that way?

Dany rides Drogon. That’s established. But there’s a long-running fan theory that suggests she needs to find two other people to ride Rhaegal and Viserion. As her closest advisor, Tyrion could be one of those people. After all, the other two dragons took a bit of a liking to Tyrion in Season 6 when he unchained them. Is it a stretch to think that Tyrion might be the one knocked from dragonback?

Regardless of who the rider and dragon are, it looks like Dany’s invasion hits at least one hitch en route to King’s Landing. But if the Lannister supply lines are being ravaged elsewhere, who’s harassing Dany on the waterfront? Perhaps Euron Greyjoy added a thousand ballistas to those thousands ships he was building? It would require some major firepower to take down a dragon, but Euron may well have a trick up his sleeve.

(Either that, or the scene at the Barrueco de Arriba is a funny moment where Tyrion is trying to learn to ride a dragon and falls off. Good times are had by all.)

So what say you? Do we have it backwards? Are those Dany’s forces being ambushed? What of the mysterious main character who takes a plunge? Let us know what you think!