Game of Thrones season 7 draws ever closer, and it seems that every day brings new information and photos, served up on a silver platter of hype. Not long ago, we learned the runtimes for each of the seven episodes from the upcoming season. Armed with that information (as well as no small number of spoilers), we thought it was time to predict what those episodes will be called.
Before we start, let’s take a look at our track record. For season 5, I looked into the flames and got four of the 10 titles correct. I didn’t do as well for season 6 — I got only one title right: “The Winds of Winter,” the title of the season finale.
Perhaps R’hllor has abandoned me, or maybe I just removed my magic necklace and forgot where I put it. I’ve read the books, but now that HBO has gone far beyond the page, that foreknowledge won’t help me. So join me on a journey of uncertainly as I gaze into the fires and foretell the future.
Also, be aware that I will discuss SPOILERS in this post, although there’s a fair amount of theorizing and wishful thinking as well.
Episode 701
Director: Jeremy Podeswa
Runtime: 59 minutes
If the second episode of season 6 wasn’t already entitled “Home,” I would go with that for the title of Episode 701. But since that’s already been used, we must look elsewhere for inspiration.
Episode 701 should see Daenerys arrive at Dragonstone in Westeros, Jaime and Cersei rule in King’s Landing, and Jon Snow adjust to life as a King…in the North. What we have is three new rulers getting their bearings, and a possible fourth — the Night King — bearing down on them. Everyone is heading toward conflict. With that in mind, my guess for a title is:
Game of Thrones Episode 701: “The Great War”
Next: The Adventures of No One
Episode 702
Director: Mark Mylod
Runtime: 59 minutes
If Episode 701 is going to be about setting up the wars to come, then we might have to wait until episode 702 to see the other pieces on the board move into position. With that in mind, I predict an Arya-heavy episode that follows the girl who was No One directly after murdering Walder Frey and his sons.
Once news of old Walder’s death spreads, chaos is sure to set in at the Twins. And since Arya is sure to have overheard conversations about her uncle Edmure Tully being locked in the Twin’s dungeons, I believe she will free him, and he will return to Riverrun as its rightful lord.
The words of House Tully are “Family, Duty, Honor.” Arya has Tully blood running through her veins, and freeing her uncle would prove it. Consider that the show has used House words as titles before (e.g. “Winter is Coming,” “Fire and Blood,” and “Unbowed, Unbent, Unbroken”). So my guess for a title is:
Game of Thrones Episode 702: “Family, Duty, Honor.”
Episode 703
Director: Mark Mylod
Runtime: 63 minutes
By Episode 703, the characters and storylines should be up and moving. Jon Snow will have received a raven with news of a Targaryen queen and her three dragons landing at Dragonstone. He’s aware that there’s a lot of valuable dragonglass on Dragonstone, and with right-hand man Davos Seaworth at his side, will decide to leave Winterfell to check it out.
Before Jon leaves, I’m hoping that both Arya and Bran will make it back home and the Stark children will be together once again. Ned Stark once told Arya, “When the snows fall and the white winds blow, the lone wolf dies but the pack survives.” It’s a lovely sentiment, and provides the inspiration for my guess at a title:
Game of Thrones Episode 703: “The Pack Survives”
I also think we’ll see Dany’s Unsullied army assault Casterly Rock. Between the reunions and the battle scenes, there’s no wonder this episode clocks in at 63 minutes, the third longest episode of the season.
Episode 704
Director: Matt Shakman
Runtime: 50 minutes
This should be the episode we’ve all been waiting for. Having lost Casterly Rock to Daenerys, I expect the Lannisters to attack and take Highgarden.
Learning of Highgarden’s fall, Dany will mobilize her Dothraki horde and swoop in on Drogon — along with Rhaegal and Viserion — to deal some death and destruction to her enemies. This battle will take place in an open field, and will be reminiscent of when Dany’s ancestor Aegon the Conqueror wiped out 4,000 men in a battle against Houses Lannister and Gardener. That battle was later dubbed the Field of Fire on account of the dragon fire that burned so many soldiers alive.
House Gardener was wiped from the map, giving way for House Tyrell to rise and rule the Reach. House Lannister, meanwhile, bent the knee to Aegon. Time for something of a reenactment. With that in mind, here’s my guess for Episode 704:
Game of Thrones Episode 404: “Field of Fire”
Episode 705
Director: Matt Shakman
Runtime: 59 minutes
Episode 705 will provide the bridge to the final two episodes of the season. Here, I think we’ll see the Greyjoy siblings, along with a contingent of Dornish ships and soldiers, soundly defeated at sea by Euron Greyjoy.
Euron will smash Yara and Theon’s ships, possibly killing a Sand Snake or two in the process, and capturing Yara, Ellaria and Tyene Sand. Theon will escape and return to Dragonstone, once again a beaten man, and Euron will land at King’s Landing to offer his prisoners to the new Queen of Westeros in hopes of making an alliance.
We’ve been waiting for something more from Euron Greyjoy ever since he appeared in season 6. Euron’s ship is called the Silence, named because he tore the tongues out of the mouths of the crew members. According, my guess for a title is:
Game of Thrones Episode 705, “Silence”
Episode 706
Director: Alan Taylor
Runtime: 71 minutes
This will be the penultimate episode of year, and at 71 minutes, will be the second longest episode of the season and the longest episode of the show up to this point. By now, Jon will have met Dany and asked for help in the “Great War.” To gather proof of the kind of threat humanity faces, he will lead an expedition north, beyond the Wall, to capture a wight.
In doing so, Jon and his group will be set upon by the Night King and his army. There will be a battle between the living and the dead, with some beloved characters most likely losing their lives.
I believe Jon and his group will be successful in trapping and retrieving a wight, but won’t be able to do so without the timely intervention of Daenerys and her dragons. If spoilers are to be believed, Dany will suffer a huge loss, and the Army of the Dead will gain some serious leverage.
This will be a White Walker-heavy episode. With that in mind, my guess for an episode title is:
Game of Thrones Episode 706, “The Night King”
Episode 707
Director: Jeremy Podeswa
Runtime: 81 minutes
Coming in at 81 minutes, Episode 707 will be the longest episode in Game of Thrones history. Returning with their proof that the Night King is indeed coming, Jon, Dany, and their followers will meet with Cersei and argue that they need to set aside their differences in order to defeat the White Walker threat.
All parties will meet in the abandoned Dragonpit in King’s Landing, where Jon will show Cersei the wight. Cersei, being Cersei, will either pretend to help but plot a betrayal or refuse to lend her assistance. Either way, it will force Jaime into a tricky position — does her follow his sister, who’s slipping off the deep end, or align himself with his sworn enemies?
Meanwhile, at Winterfell, Littlefinger will be put on trial by Sansa, who learns that it was he who betrayed her father, Ned.
Further north, the Night King will attack the Wall. And because Bran Stark has passed through the Wall, the spells that protect it from his kind will no longer work — recall that the Night King was able to breach the Three-Eyed Raven’s cave after marking Bran in season 6.
As we near the end, we will finally see the Wall crumble and fall. Because of its sheer size, the fall of the Wall will be felt throughout the Seven Kingdoms, and the last scene of the season will be the Night King sitting atop the crumbled Wall as his army pours through the rubble. It’ll be a bleak one.
Game of Thrones Episode 707: “The Wall”
We want to hear from you! How close do you think we came to guessing the Game of Thrones season 7 titles? Let’s discuss.