Fan Argues Game of Thrones's Final Battle Won't Be Against Cersei

Every previous Game of Thrones battle was forgotten after fans watched the highly anticipated Battle of Winterfell in the most recent episode, “The Long Night.” The epic battle had audiences on the edge of their seats, half-expecting it to prove disastrous for most of their favorite characters. But thanks to Arya Stark, we can now take a breather—at least until next week. The players must now deal with a threat more dangerous than the Night King: Cersei Lannister. The next battle will be much different than the last, now that Daenerys Targaryen is fighting for the Iron Throne.

The fight against Cersei might not be the only thing the characters need to worry about. The teaser for the next episode leads fans to believe she’s the last villain, but some Redditors are not as convinced. Yes, they believe that there will be a fight to dethrone Cersei, but some viewers think the final battle—and the biggest one—might actually be between Jon Snow and Daenerys.

Redditor PrimeTime89 suggests that there have been plenty of hints that Daenerys would be a terrible ruler, including her rash decisions, the killing of the Tarlys, Sansa’s dislike of her, and her reaction to finding out about Jon’s parentage. She might not be the ruler the Seven Kingdoms need. And although Jon doesn’t want the title, he is the true heir to the throne.

A conflict between the pair would likely split the other characters into two sides. Arya, Tormund, Sansa, Brienne, and Davos would follow Jon, while Tyrion, Yara, Grey Worm, and Varys would be behind Daenerys. So while they all fought together in the battle for Winterfell, the last battle for the throne could pit them against each other.

The Redditor predicts the rest of the season will go as follows:

“Jon and Daenerys go to kill Cersei and her army (with bonus Cleganebowl). Daenerys does things in the battle against Cersei that make Jon further realize she would be a terrible ruler. Daenerys even possibly kills Sansa to punish Sansa's non-compliance to her rule. Jon splits from Daenerys, backed by Arya, Tormund, Brienne, Davos, the North, and the Wildlings. Daenerys leads an army backed by Tyrion, Yara, [Grey Worm], Varys, the Unsullied, and Greyjoys. Jon's side defeats them at great emotional cost, killing former allies like [Grey Worm]. Jon kills Daenerys to become the most suited ruler of the Seven Kingdoms, giving the show its bittersweet ending of him sacrificing his love for doing what's right (this is a stretch here, but bonus slight parallel to Azor Ahai killing his wife?).”

Fans have been speculating for a while now that Daenerys might be the true villain of the final season, and this theory would match actress Emilia Clarke’s admission that her character’s last moments on screen “f**ked” her up.” If Cersei can be defeated, the Mother of Dragons still has someone in her way to the throne. We’ll see if the show reveals the answer in its final three episodes.