In a story as dense as the one Game of Thrones has woven over seven years, there are bound to be a few loose threads. These are questions I have regarding unresolved plot points the show either has completely forgotten about, never cared to answer, or is saving to resolve at the last minute.
The people demand answers!
What was the deal with Cersei’s first child?
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Way back in the second episode of Season 1, Cersei told Catelyn Stark about losing her first child, a “little black-haired beauty” fathered by Robert. She brings it up again later in episode five, in a private conversation with the husband she’d soon have killed:
CERSEI: I felt something for you once, you know.
ROBERT: I know.
CERSEI: Even after we lost our first boy, for quite a while actually. Was it ever possible for us? Was there ever a time, ever a moment?
ROBERT: No. Does that make you feel better, or worse?
CERSEI: It doesn’t make me feel anything.
This confirms the boy isn’t something Cersei made up to garner sympathy with Catelyn. He really existed, and she really “lost” him; according to what she tells Cat, the boy dies of a fever shortly after birth. Some people think that through some wild, convoluted turn of events, this kid is still alive and (surprise!) named Gendry. I’d just like to know why Cersei ever placed any stock in Maggy’s prophecy if she’d already borne and buried three children (the black-haired baby, Joffrey, and Myrcella) by the time Margaery married Tommen and became queen. Is she just a pessimist, stretching the prophecy to fit her reality? Does she believe in it even now, pregnant with her fourth child? Or did the prophecy just straight-up ignore the lil’ brunette and refer only to Cersei’s blond children? What is the truth?!
Remember these guys?
- Quaith: This masked woman appeared exactly twice in the show, both times to deliver valuable information to Jorah that helped keep Daenerys safe in Qarth. She seemed to know all about Jorah’s past, including his betrayal, and acted out of a bizarrely uncomplicated desire to help. She knew Pyat Pree would steal Dany’s dragons and warned Jorah; she even knew exactly when Pyat Pree was closing in on Dany. And then... she disappeared. In the books, Quaith delivers prophecies whose shelf lives have since expired on the show, so it’s unlikely we’ll see her again. Still, who was she? How did she know so much? Why did she help Daenerys?
- Illyn Payne: The mute executioner who lopped off Ned Stark’s head hasn’t been seen since Season 4, though he was (and for all we know, still is) on Arya’s kill list.
- Illyrio Mopatis: This Magister of Pentos sheltered Dany and her brother Viserys when they were in exile, and brokered the deal with the Dothraki that resulted in Dany marrying Khal Drogo. Like Varys, Illyrio has always schemed for the Targaryens to return to power. (Varys and Tyrion make a pit stop at Illyrio’s place after leaving King’s Landing in Season 5.) He’s also the guy who gave Dany her dragon eggs. Where did he get them? Does he know where to find more? Where the hell is he?
What! Did! Pod! Do! To! Those! Women!
Mild-mannered Pod, sex god of Westeros, once pleasured three prostitutes so out-of-this-world amazingly that they wouldn’t accept his money. I don’t know why anyone ever talks about anything else. Someone pry the goods from him!
How the hell did Arya survive the Waif’s attack?
A guy roughly four times Arya’s size once died of an infection on this show. Arya got stabbed in the gut multiple times, fell into open water, and was fine with only some bed rest and homemade soup. What did Lady Crane put in that soup???
Are we ever finding out what the Faceless Men’s deal is?
There are several elaborate theories about Syrio Forel and his fellow Bravoosi Jaqen H’ghar being the same person, positing that Arya’s “dancing master” survived his one-on-one with Meryn Trant in Season 1 and changed faces to guide Arya on her journey. There’s no way that’s true. But I’d still like to know what the hell the Faceless Men are after. How did Jaqen, a warrior so deadly yet lithe he was able to kill three men in secret at Harrenhal, end up captured in a cage before Arya met him? What role will the Faceless Men play in the war against the Night King? Is their entire order really as simple as serving death?
What’s up with Jon’s real name?
We learn in Season 7 that his name is “Aegon Targaryen,” just like five Targaryens before him—including the eldest brother he never met, Rhaegar’s firstborn son. Giving your newborn son the same first name as your other kid seems... weird? I gotta assume someone will bring this up.
Are there baby White Walkers out there?
There is a scene in Season 6 where Bran sees Craster’s last son being taken to what looks like White Walker Mordor and placed on an ice table in what looks like White Walker Stonehenge. The Night King himself lifts the little boy up and touches his cheek, turning him into a wight. I have only a thousand questions about this. Is that wight staying a baby forever? Or do wights grow and age, somehow? Will we see a wave of undead Craster infants crawling toward the heroes at Winterfell? Who makes the White Walkers’ furniture? For that matter, where did the chains they used to drag Viserion out of the lake come from? We need answers!
Is Howland Reed going to be important or not?
Bran dismissed Meera Reed last season after her years of loyal service to him without so much as a fruit basket, let alone condolences for the brother who died saving him. It was incredibly rude. Meera and Jojen’s father, Howland, meanwhile, has never even appeared in the present day on the show. It’s a major omission since Howland is the one person who was with Ned Stark the day he found Lyanna in the Tower of Joy and brought Jon Snow home. He’s the only person apart from Bran and Sam who knows Jon is a Targaryen.
And yet! He’s sat out every conflict in the North so far. Is he biding his time? And if so, for what? He sent his children to help Bran become the Three-Eyed Raven, which indicates he has some understanding of the bigger picture here. With Meera returning home to break the news to him about the White Walkers and Jojen’s death, the time for Howland to redeem himself is now.
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