Game of Thrones power rankings: Ice fights fire and the Night King triumphs

The Night King: guaranteeing that the storytellers don't take any shortcuts. The Night King: guaranteeing that the storytellers don't take any shortcuts. Image 1 of / 44 Caption Close Game of Thrones power rankings: Ice fights fire and the Night King triumphs 1 / 44 Back to Gallery

Before getting into the coming week, here's a recap of last Sunday's "Game of Thrones."

So here we are about to wrap up season 7, which feels like it just started yesterday. Fans will complain long and loud about the show's approach, but they're not going to change anything. As I typed about here, the show has sacrificed storytelling nuance for a more frenzied pace as the narrative spun from the outer edge of the funnel over four or five seasons toward the spout.

HBO this week finally revealed "The Dragon and the Wolf" as the title of Sunday's season finale. Thoughts went straight to Daenerys Targaryen and Jon Snow and their seemingly inevitable roll under the fur blankets. But others stepped back a minute and considered that the title may have a more complicated meaning since Jon Snow is technically a Targaryen heir. The title could reference his Targaryen/Stark duality. More likely it refers to the union of his actual parents Rhaegar Targaryen and Lyanna Stark. Which means this episode could lean heavily on Bran Stark, who knows Jon's real story, and Sam Tarly/Gilly, who don't, but nevertheless have some pertinent information about that story.

Speaking of Bran . . . the Bran = Night King theories are in full froth. And they don't seem too batty.

With all that in mind, here are your next to last power rankings, which will be adjusted after Sunday's finale. As for how that finale will unfold, I have no idea. Last season's finale was truly explosive, taking with it a queen, a sinister holy man and a whole bunch of other semi-important people. It was such a ghastly moment, it prompted our king to kill himself.