Game of Thrones begins....

[KRonn]

Great episode in the Finale. I was wondering how/if they could top the previous week but they did or at least it was just as interesting and amazing.

I kind of expected to see Arya show up the way she did, given that she does have those new fearsome abilities, but still awesome. It was so cool seeing her remove the mask and take down old man Frey. I've been wanting to see the Freys go down ever since reading the books. 

Cersei once again gained the power, pulled off quite the coup in taking out the religious group and other opponents, an "explosive" plot line.    Making enemies of the Tyrells, but they were already on very shaky ground.   

Daenerys will dock in Dorne, as we saw Varys meeting  with the Dornes and elder Tyrell. Now they'll be allies vs Lanisters and their followers. I'm strongly assuming that The Northerners will also be allies with Daenerys, Dorne, Tyrels. Or could there be a three way war for the Iron Throne?

Jon is the new King in the North and likely that's all he wants, but will he have a desire or right to the Throne of Westeros? Little Finger showed what wasn't too much a surprise in wanting the Iron Throne. That'll setup his downfall as Daenerys will be the one most likely, opening up another interesting battle of wills. Little Finger is so devious but he has no idea what's coming with Daenerys and her army, dragons and allies.   

[Habbaku]

Jon Starkgaryen has no interest in the throne, and nor should he.  His fight is against the real enemy.  His only goal going forward will be bringing as many people together as possible to face off against the White Walkers.

[viper37]

And this goes in line with the reputation of the Faceless Men anyway. They are, in fact, supposed to be just that good. Wasn't the joke in the books something like if you find out they are after you, you might as well just go lie down and die and avoid the trouble?

Usually, a Faceless man will hit one or two targets and leave.  Just like assassins in real life.  Targets aren't usually linked, outside of mafia/organized crime hits that target a specific faction.  But then, people tend to notice and try to take steps to avoid being killed.  Or they decide to play the men of honor game and die.

Also, she isn't 100% "Faceless man", and she does not have an entire network at her disposal.  She is alone, and she picks targets that hurt her & her family.  If the body count starts climbing, someone will notice a trend and protect themselves accordingly.
In any case, it's not like there are a ton of people still alive on her list.  One could say she her revenge on the Hound, so that pretty much leaves Cersei still alive.

Arya's list:
- Ser Amory Lorch - dead
- Chiswyck - not in the series.
- Dunsen - don't think he's in the series either.
- Ser Gregor Clegane - half dead.
- King Joffrey Baratheon - dead
- Ser Meryn Trant - dead
- Polliver - dead
- Raff the Sweetling - dead
- Sandor Clegane (as The Hound) - Maybe she considers she has had her revenge by letting him in the state he was.
- The Tickler - dead.
- Weese - not in the series

That leaves:  Ser Ilyn Payne and Cersei being fully alive.
Killing Payne would not be too hard, but approching Cersei would be really hard.  She would need to take the face of one of Cersei's servant (can Faceless men look like someone from the opposite sex?) with all the risks that it carries.

My guess is, she will move further north to Winterfell, possibly to kill the Boltons, but she'll learn along the way they are both dead, so she'll rejoin her sister.

[Zanza]

Has Ilyn Payne been in the series after the first season?

[Habbaku]

Has Ilyn Payne been in the series after the first season?

Nope.  The actor had some unfortunate health issues. 

[viper37]

From a claim standpoint, he is still a bastard though, right? If a bastard has a claim, one would think Gendry would be a viable heir at this point....what in the hell every happened to him anyway?

a bastard has a claim so long as other recognizes his claim.
Gendry could be a threat to Cersei, that is why she tried to kill all of Robert's bastards.

[Zanza]

I agree with Berkut's assessment re Sansa

Otherwise - the way the season ended it is hard to see how they are going to make the Targ Reconquista interesting.  She has the dragons, dothraki hordes, unsullied, two of the strongest and richest Houses, the "yara" fleet, Varys and his bag of tricks.  Cersei has her own house (minus poor Kevan), an alliance with the now leaderless and unmartial Freys, and . . . that's about all folks, unless a few stormlander lords stay loyal.  How is this not going to be a cakewalk?

Yes, Dany's alliance seems a bit too broad. I hope there are some hickups for her on the way to King's Landing. Some duplicity? But all of her allies must hate Cersei more than her.

[Habbaku]

I suspect you'll start seeing some fraying at the edges of Dany's coalition, but they won't break apart until King's Landing is sacked/burning to the ground.  At that point, with Daenarys newly-crowned, it's either unify against the White Walkers or shatter and go in different directions.  Possibly both at the same time, if Littlefinger has anything to say about it...

[viper37]

In the books Euron claims to have the magic horn to control dragons, I wonder if they'll pull that off next season...

My guess is, he will be all confident, "march" his fleet to face Daenerys and her dragons, sound the horn... and then die in a horrible fire.  Or the Wall will fall as he sounds the horn...

[viper37]

I guess the tree where bran was dropped off is the one just north of the wall where Jon said his vows.
Don't think getting to winterfell will be an issue. 

Though   coldhands really should have hung around until they were safely through.  Pfff .

yes, he should have.
However, if they want to show the scene at the wood + the Wall, they add some time, they had the Wall (CGI) + some characters.  The result is they go overbudget and overtime.  And waiting next year to do it with Brenjen means they have to bring back an actor just for one scene of the season, which adds some more costs, more so thant waiving him goodbye in the season finale.

I wonder how they'll deal with bran, the legal heir, showing up. I doubt they will cover it much and will just shrug it off for more important things

He's a cripple and the 3-eyed raven.  I don't think he even wants to rule Winterfell.  His mission is to find a way to defeat the White Walkers, and he'll likely die in the process.  Or he'll marry the Reed girl, move to the Crag, have children and live happily ever after.  That would be something new for this show. 

[The Minsky Moment]

Jon Starkgaryen has no interest in the throne, and nor should he.  His fight is against the real enemy.  His only goal going forward will be bringing as many people together as possible to face off against the White Walkers.

True, but Dany is barren and it would appear that Jon (or Jon's progeny) would be her only heir.

[grumbler]

So we have the long anticipated reveal that Jon is the son of Rhaegar and Lyanna. So that is good....but...

How is it going to be revealed to anyone other than Bran? Assuming Bran even gets to Winterfell, why would anyone believe him?

The only person who was there who is still alive is Howland Reed, and even he doesn't seem like a very convincing eyewitness to anyone not inclined to backing Jon anyway...

Curious to see how this comes out...

From a claim standpoint, he is still a bastard though, right? If a bastard has a claim, one would think Gendry would be a viable heir at this point....what in the hell every happened to him anyway?

Pretty much the definition of bastard is the inability to inherit.  A bastard can be legitimized, but has no claim if not legitimized.

I suspect that the proof of Jon's heritage will come from something to do with a flaming sword.

[Berkut]

Nobody has mentioned Tommen!

That was a great scene, it completely surprised me I have to admit, although the moment afterwards it made perfect sense. THAT is good writing, IMO. If you can both surprise me and make me think it made absolute sense, and be a powerful moment.

[Habbaku]

I mentioned Tommen in my predictions. 

But I didn't know he was going to kill himself until the moment the camera lingered on the open window when he went to put away his crown.  That sort of camera angle is never good for a character's longevity.

[The Larch]

I mentioned Tommen in my predictions. 

But I didn't know he was going to kill himself until the moment the camera lingered on the open window when he went to put away his crown.  That sort of camera angle is never good for a character's longevity.

Yeah, when he left the frame and the camera kept focused on the open window you knew it couldn't end well for him.

Tbh, when he was about to leave and Cleganestein prevented him from leaving I was already in "shit is coming down" mode.