Liam Cunningham talks Game of Thrones season 7, fan theories and seeing Melisandre again
By Corey Smith
Season 7 of Game of Thrones is setting up to be unique in many ways, and not just because of its shortened length. For the first time in series history, all of the characters we know and love will be on the continent of Westeros (unless Jorah hangs out in Essos looking for a cure for Greyscale). The close proximity of characters previously separated by vast distances is not lost on Liam Cunningham (Davos). Speaking to IGN while promoting HBO’s Game of Thrones Live Concert Experience, the veteran actor revealed his thoughts on the new dynamic.
"The progress of the show with the White Walkers and all that stuff, it’s pretty obvious nobody’s going to be able to take this force on on their own… So when we’ve had all these, for all these seasons, disparate stories come from disparate ends of Westeros, it has been – and it’s been signaled from the end of last season – that there’s a lot of people and situations going to be coming together. It was kind of interesting to meet some people who I normally only meet on a red carpet. Who that is and when that happens remains to be seen. Image via HBO"
We have a fairly good idea about whom Cunningham is speaking. Anyway, he has a valid point about no faction being strong enough to face the White Walkers on their own. Jon might be King in the North now, but the North is likely exhausted from its continuous conflicts over the past six seasons. Likewise, Cersei and whatever allies she still has aren’t in a strong enough position. Daenerys and crew seem to have the numbers, but she’s an outsider.
Cunningham also spoke about the endless barrage of fan theories he’s endured during his time on the show.
"I have to be very delicate with all of this… But with Season 7 largely wrapped, know that plenty more theories have been very, very wrong. To listen to these theories for this season, you just have to try to keep your face straight, and sometimes it’s so ludicrous that I just burst out laughing."
What theories give Cunningham the giggles? Some fans suggest that Davos will settle down with Melisandre for a happy life of farming and raising children (Davos is still married as far as we know). And while Cunningham doesn’t believe Davos and Melisandre will end up sitting in a tree, he also doesn’t believe we have seen the last of the Red Woman.
"I would be very surprised if we don’t see her again. Knowing what that woman’s capable of, as with all the female characters on our show, you don’t take your eyes off them for second, because they’ll either poison you, stab you, burn you or whatever… What I love about the show is in a sense it’s a sort of medieval patriarchal society, but the most dangerous people in our show are the women. They are the chiefs! Look at where Cersei is now, Daenerys, Arya’s got her s–t together. The women are extraordinary, extraordinary, extraordinarily three-dimensional, as they should be."
The women of Game of Thrones certainly left their mark on season 6. The summer debut date of season 7 remains unconfirmed.