RUMORED SPOILERS From The Wall and Riverrun Suggest The Worst For Westeros

Spoilers don’t discriminate between the unsullied and the read, they take and they take and they take.
Do you keep clicking anyway? 
Between the rumors and the truth we can break and we make our mistakes
And if there’s a reason you need to hide
From the info we provide
Then we understand that you’ll wait for it.
You’re willing to wait for it*

For the rest of you, the spoilers are below.

Speaking of waiting for it, there’s something we’ve been waiting to see all season. No, it’s not Jon Snow, if you need to know why at this point, you can click here. (And I assume if you scrolled down this far, you don’t need that link.) It’s something beyond just a mere mortal coming back to life (or that there’s still a reason he’s still alive when so many have died.) No, as Peter Capaldi noted recently, the finales on his show, Doctor Who, are getting bigger and bigger so they can compete with Game of Thrones. Well, he’s not alone. There’s a level where everyone is completing with Game of Thrones. Most of all, Game of Thrones is competing with Game of Thrones. And after last season’s “Hardhome,” it is no longer enough just to have a huge episode-long battle sequence. Because what do the lives and stakes of a few ruling families matter when the whole damn avalanche of Winter is coming over that Wall, and the entire world of Westeros is poised to fall to it?

But as we saw throughout the record breaking length of time it took to film the battle sequence that will most likely encompass episode 9 next season, that Avalanche of Winter, and the massive amounts of CGI that come with it were not on hand. All reports from extras who couldn’t keep it to themselves agreed: no White Walkers were harmed in the making of the Battle of the Bastards.

So were we really going to not see the Night’s King and his army this season? Well, we just heard this weekend that perhaps that army just got held up a bit further north.Though they’d probably argue they’re not running behind—they are lying in wait.

After all, what do the White Walkers have to do before they can head to Winterfell and points further south? Those who remember their Westerosi history will know that Bran the Builder built the Wall for one purpose and one purpose alone, and if this report is correct, that Wall is about to be put to the test.

As for the outcome? Much like “Hardhome” was able to be kept under wraps, due to the site’s natural defenses and how hard it is to get images out of the Quarry, we’re just going to have to wait for that too. But with the best leader the Wall’s had reportedly elsewhere (and his army with him), I’m going to guess that it’s not looking good for those left behind to man Castle Black.

In other spoilers, a friendly reader provided us this picture from the Riverrun set at Corbet-Banbridge, and said rumor has it next week will see yet another battle scene filmed for the siege, a scene that involves 1000 people, although it’s not clear if that’s 1000 extras or if it includes crew members.

We’ll have to keep our eyes peeled, but with filming in this area crossing the six-week mark (which, if not for Saintfield, would have been a major milestone this season), it seems like Game of Thrones‘ plan to top itself with enormous episode-filling battles that don’t include White Walkers is to have two of them, although we can’t be sure about the sequencing. (I would think that having the real war happening at the Wall contrasting with the futility of the power plays down south at Riverrun would make for the more effective distinction.)

Guess we’ll have to be willing to Wait For It.

Next: Dormer wanders through The Forest

(*With deepest apologies to Lin-Manuel Miranda. Next time, don’t write something that won’t leave my head.)