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GAME OF THRONES’ New Filming Location Means Big Things for Daenerys Targaryen

Editor’s Note: hey, there! Guess what? This is a post about the upcoming season 7 of Game of Thrones. There’s a heavy dose of speculation and minor spoilers ahead. So don’t say we didn’t warn you (because that’s what this is)!

Since the last episode of Game of Thrones‘ sixth season, we’ve known that Dany’s touchdown in Westeros was imminent. Would she head to Dorne? The Stepstones? Maybe even Oldtown? And then, of course, there’s the biggest question of all: would Dany actually end up in King’s Landing this season? Or would we be forced to go seven episodes without her arrival at Cersei’s doorstep? Well, by the sound of this latest location scout report from Watchers on the Wall, the answer may be a resounding—albeit surprising!—”yes.”

According to a report from WotW, sources inside production have confirmed to the site that the ancient dragonpit ruins, located atop a hill in King’s Landing, will make its on-screen debut in season seven. (You can see the location they expect it will be here.) And while that says heaps about Dany’s story, it may also give us hints into someone else’s trajectory in a surprising and exciting way.

First thing’s first: the dragonpit. Situated atop Rhaenys’ Hill in the southern part of the city, the mighty domed structure—now caved in due to war—was at one point the home for the dragons of House Targaryen, but it wasn’t always. Prior to being home to a giant domed structure in which the Targys kept their pet firebreathers, Rhaenys’ Hill was home to the Sept of Remembrance, built in the era of Aegon I. The Sept was the main one in town, but quickly fell into the hands of the Faith Militant after Maegor the Cruel burned that MFer to a crisp with his dragon Balerion the Black Dread. Sound familiar? Well it’s about to get even more so.

In the infamous “Dance with Dragons” (the only other time Westeros saw a queen upon the Iron Throne), a one-handed Shepherd—called deranged by some—amassed a small army of smallfolk to storm the dragonpit and kill the dragons held within it.

You putting together where we’re going with this?

Warning: here comes the really speculatory potentially spoiler-y stuff!

Given George R.R. Martin’s love of mirroring and history repeating, this tale of a one-handed shepherd could be a mythic foil for Jaime Lannister, another one-handed fella who’s had quite the evolution over the course of the series’ six seasons. Now that the Faith Militant’s uprising forced Cersei to go full-on Maegor on Baelor’s Sept (burning it and everyone else inside of it), Jaime’s essentially back to the beginning again: watching a mad ruler burn thousands. If Jaime decides to kill his sister for doing what he essentially killed Aerys II to try and avoid, it could drive him mad—or at least crazy enough to lead a charge to kill Dany and her dragons if she’s ending up at the dragonpit. And, frankly, setting up Jaime to be a sort of mad martyr and/or adversary for Dany and her dragons.

Besides: the Shepherd actually ended up ruling in King’s Landing for a spell. Um: Jaime Lannister, crazed, atop the Iron Throne? Oh hell yes: a Dany/Jaime stand-off at the end of season 7 (our money is on a confrontation of this magnitude coming between two people) would certainly be one way to move the story forward. Of course there’s always the chance they hold this footage for the last few episodes in season 8—fingers crossed they don’t though.

Here are our thoughts about what else might happen in season 7:

What do you think about Dany’s arrival in King’s Landing next season? Let us know in the comments below.

Image: HBO


Alicia Lutes is the Managing Editor of Nerdist, creator and co-host of Fangirling, and the resident Game of Thrones expert here. Find her on Twitter (if you’re into that sort of thing)!

 

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