‘Game of Thrones’ predictions:
How will season 5 end?

Make your selections below, and learn what Globe writer Michael Andor Brodeur thinks of your theories

Another ‘Game of Thrones’ finale is upon us, and it will most likely not conclude with anyone buying the world a Coke and/or living in harmony. Like any ‘GOT’ season kicker, heads will roll – or get impaled on a pike, or be smooshed in through the eye sockets. Something will assuredly happen to people’s heads that is not pleasant.

But not everything ends in death (note: actually, yes, it does). As the early chills of winter begin to creep up on the Seven Kingdoms, this slow-to-start season brought some late heat, with plotlines clashing for dominance as fiercely as the characters. None of us can see into the future (especially since I’m fresh out of king’s blood), but here are some pressing questions.

Who is going to die in the season finale?

  • That would be satisfying, wouldn’t it? Arya’s having trouble sticking to the just A Girl script with what’s-his-face parading his scowly, stubbly, Sansa-beating, Syrio-stabbing self through the brothels of Braavos. She’d finally get to scratch a name off of her pesky kill list, but is that really what A Girl wants?
  • That would be satisfying, wouldn’t it? As little as most of us (ought to) care about some form of redemption for Reek (because, really, screw that guy), it’d be pretty cool if there was some way Sansa could scorch nasty, nasty Ramsay with the steam continually shooting from her ears, or for Stannis to show up and pull the same party trick on him that he did to Shireen, or for (gasp!) Brienne of Tarth to gallop down and get all Oathkeeper on him.
  • That would be weird, wouldn’t it? After all that work he did to regain Mother of Dragons BFF status, it’d just be cruel of the gods to finish him off with a full-body breakout of the grayscale he contracted a few episodes ago. Will he have to talk to his doctor about Milk of the Poppy?

What will be the fate of the North?

  • Jon Snow is a handsome, troubled, handsome dude who keeps his word, and his plan to make upstanding South-of-the-Wall citizens of the historically wild gangs of Wildings (and thus, cut short the feeding frenzy of the wights) certainly sounds rooted in the best intentions. Good intentions are those things that always, always work out for the best on “GOT.”
  • With Stannis weary of waiting around and fresh out of daughters to burn, a siege on Winterfell and the Boltons seems inevitable. We don’t have many pity points saved up for Stannis after last week, so it’d be some kind of justice to see him (or Melisandre?) tucked into their dirtnaps.
  • This would probably be the least bloody of potential outcomes. Or, dead serious, maybe we could just pave over Dorne entirely? I get sleepy just thinking of that place.

Which phrase stands to be most relevant to Arya Stark’s future?

  • “All men must serve.” Faced with the temptation to stray from Jaqen H’ghar’s training regimen in order to scratch a name off her list of intended Needle targets, Arya/A Girl/little orphan Lana could demonstrate what a disciplined pupil she is and let Meryn slither through her fingers. This does not sound like Arya, but A Girl is full of surprises.
  • “All men must die.” Faced with the temptation to fillet the man who killed her father figure, Arya/A Girl/little orphan Lana may be helpless to resist the stabby satisfaction of revenge. (On that note: Yo, Hound, are you dead yet?)
  • Arya/A Girl/little orphan Lana was just starting to make some real headway into the vibrant Braavos food truck scene. Call me crazy, but she’d be a fool to walk away from this artisanally shucked goldmine

Who will rise as Daenerys’s main man?

  • He’s smart, sassy, and seems to have won the trust of Dany as an adviser. And with King’s Landing in its current state of shambles (complete with the locking up of his meanie big sis Cersei), Tyrion may be wise in securing his place at Dany’s side. Maybe even in her lap if that’s not too weird.
  • Watch enough episodes of “The Bachelorette” and you’ll know that there aren’t too many guys out there like Jorah. (Well, unless you mean naturally inclined toward violence and lapses of self-serving dishonesty — there are lots of those guys.) But his fierce loyalty, steady wisdom, and near-foolish levels of bravery make him a fine candidate for Hand of the Mother of Dragons or just “bae.” That grayscale, tho...
  • These two have been getting along well. If the Games hadn’t devolved into a bloodbath last episode, you could totally imagine them blithely sexting via raven in the stands the whole time. Alas, that’s not what happened, and you must wonder just how useful hotty-pants Daario really is when Westeros itself is catching fire.

And looking down the road, who will win the Game of Thrones?

  • With Dany now sporting her tight crew of true homies, regaining control of at least one of her dragons, and Meh-reen signaling its secondary status by falling to pieces in her rear-view, the time seems right for her flight path to head straight for King’s Landing.
  • Cersei may be licking up floorwater in her prison cell, helpless against the spiritual siege of the Sparrows, but like a cat in a caddy, you can bet she’s primed for some serious scratching once she’s set free — and we all know what cats do to birds.
  • Stannis does not have strong managerial or team-building skills, but damned if that guy doesn’t keep his eye on the prize. His distinguished line has slain Targaryens and bedded Lannisters to grab the Iron Throne in the past (and big brother Robert wasn’t exactly a genius, either), and the man’s already offed his daughter (oh, man, Davos is gonna freak), so there’s no telling how far he’ll go. (Though I’m guessing not very far.)

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