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What Are These New GAME OF THRONES Photos Hiding From Us?

Editor’s Note: this post contains potential spoilers for the past 7 seasons of Game of Thrones! You’ve been warned.

We see you, Game of Thrones. We know what you’re doing here, what with your increasingly sparse explanations and sluglines, your teaser images, and all the rest: you’re basically trolling us like Matt Weiner from Mad Men did. Which is to say, you’re keeping the really major teases just out of view, and it’s making us all crazy. With the series’ penultimate, shortened season now more than halfway done, and a ton of major plot already plowed through, Thrones is basically asking—nay, begging!—for us to speculate and wonder about that which is just beyond the image.

And so we will oblige them! Because we’re nothing if not nutters for the Seven Kingdoms. Put on your tinfoil hats, everyone!

First up? Dragonstone! Where…Theon’s coming to do, what, exactly? Fail spectacularly at trying to take over a castle since the last time he did that worked out so well for him?

With the Ironborn in tow, we cannot imagine this to be a friendly visit—especially once Jon Snow gets ahold of him (since Jon Snow thinks Theon killed Bran, still—and, y’know, the whole takeover of Winterfell thing he did way back when).

With any luck, this is a shot of Jon Snow giving this literal worm of a man THE BUSINESS:

SORRY BRUH, you can’t just slither your way through life and hope to get away with it. Unless you’re Littlefinger. Oh god, is Theon a future Littlefinger? Ugh they both suck.

Speaking of Littlefinger—what do we think this little chin-patched weirdo is looking at below?

But back to Dragonstone, where Dany’s Island of Misfit Toys are clearly starting a band (and side-eyeing Theon like the true miscreant he is):

And, if we were the betting type, how Jon Snow handles the arrival of Theon/Reek/the world’s worst eunuch (which is really saying something ’round these parts) will likely change how Dany sees him. Just look at this moment of low key girl talk between Missandei and Dany as Jonny Snowboy leaves (with, we’re assuming, bunch of dragonglass):

The fact that we get not one, but two, images from this seemingly tiny moment leads us to believe that something either romantic or enlightening is happening here — could Missandei have figured out Jon Snow is a secret Targ?! LOOK AT DANY’S FACE!

But also, if you look at Missandei’s face—and consider how Cloud 9-y she likely is now that she and Grey Worm are hittin’ it—our money is on the love tip. After all: a queen’s gonna need a king in Westeros and who better to sit at her side and unite the Seven Kingdoms than the King in the North?

Now, we have to jump back to Winterfell real quick to shout-out this image of Sansa, because she looks just as concerned—but for different reasons—as Dany did in the last image. Sansa, girl: what’s going on?

If she’s hanging out by the Weirwood tree in Winterfell’s Godswood, this HAS to be a scene with either Bran showing off his true powers OR Arya returning home. Our money is on the former because—as we saw in the trailer—Littlefinger has his dagger and looks out for blood in a flashing moment. Since Bran’s arrival essentially ruins (in his mind) Sansa’s claim to the North, we wouldn’t be surprised if Lord Baelish is contemplating killing the young Stark lad.

Because he’s the worst. Here’s hoping these two save the day:

And speaking of The Worst, how about some photos of the Lannisters, shall we? Here’s one of Cersei showing off her map to Tycho, the head of the Iron Bank of Braavos. Also please note his expression because, like, how mad do you think he is Cersei spent so much money painting a big-ass map instead of paying them back?

But the biggest question, in our mind, revolves around this image—WHAT IN THE LITERAL EFF HAS THESE TWO SO WORRIED RIGHT HERE?

To us, there is no more intriguing photo than this one. Last we saw Jaime and Bronn, they’d just handily taken Highgarden and taken down our beloved Queen of Thorns. What could have Jaime Lannister so freaked out, and Bronn so confused?

Could it be Arya Stark, laying waste to a bunch of his men with a spooky face? (Probably not.) Perhaps Nymeria is there, clawing her way through the crowd of Lannister allies? Or are they even at Highgarden at all?

Could it be one of Dany’s dragons flying over either Highgarden OR King’s Landing because she’s pissed they outsmarted her and now she’s taking it all back? Our money is on this one—the two watching in horror as Drogon melts a palace, and a bunch of people, to the ground. We need a bit of insane Dany now that she’s been so steadied these past two episodes, don’tcha think? And it’s time for Dany and Cersei’s wraths to meet.

Heck, maybe Drogon found the ol’ Dragonpit and he’s making it his own.

But what do you think? Are we totally off base or are you just as confused as us? Let us know in the comments below.

Images and GIFs: HBO

Alicia Lutes is the managing editor of Nerdist, host of Fangirling!, and Archmaester of Thrones for House Nerdist. Find her on Twitter!

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