In just under a week, the final season of Game of Thrones will premiere, neatly tying up all those loose ends and giving us the closure we’ve been waiting for (we hope). For a lot of folks, there is no better way to spend the next week than reading through heaps and heaps (and heaps) of fan predictions and theories.

For the rest of you, I’ve combed through subreddits and pored through wiki pages, and emerged victorious. Here are the best of the predictions and theories about how the story will end for Daenerys Stormborn of the House Targaryen, First of Her Name, the Unburnt, Queen of the Andals and the First Men, Khaleesi of the Great Grass Sea, Breaker of Chains, and Mother of Dragons.



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Daenerys is part of the Azor Ahai prophecy.

Strap yourselves in, folks, because this one is a journey. Azor Ahai is the warrior who ended the Long Night, a terrible, generation-long winter. He’s the one the followers of the Lord of Light are jazzed about; they believe he will return and save the world from darkness, and his reincarnation is sometimes called The Prince That Was Promised.

How will he be able to carry out this task? Well, he’s gonna need a pretty kick-ass sword. The first Azor Ahai made his weapon, Lightbringer, by stabbing his beloved wife, Nissa Nissa. You know what they say—you can’t have a great sword without a sacrifice! Many fans think Jon Snow is the reincarnation of Azor Ahai, which could make Daenerys, his current lover, the reincarnation of Nissa Nissa.

There's a twist, though. According to a separate theory, Daenerys is The Prince That Was Promised (the original word for "prince" is not gender-specific). Reddit user ChayaFeige believes that Jon will kill her to reforge Lightbringer, and she will become The Night Queen. This is my favorite theory—I am so here for Night Queen Dany.

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Daenerys Targaryen will become the bad guy.

Look, this is a bummer, I get that. After all she’s been through, after the sheer distance she’s traveled, after raising three dragons, Dany gets to King’s Landing and turns into a bad guy?

Reddit user nanoelite makes a good argument for it, though. Cersei and the Night King are too comically and outrageously evil, and thus too easy to root against. This show is all about moral grey areas, about how power corrupts and how terrible everyone would have smelled. Who is a better example of the corruption of power than the woman who we rooted for at the outset? Abused by everyone who came into contact with her, who now has dragons and a whole mercenary army? nanoelite sums it up nicely: “Daenerys is just more of the same, believing her way is the only way, refusing to compromise, and slaughtering dissidents, only she has dragons and a moral banner to rally armies behind.”

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Daenerys is an...actual dragon?

After Night Queen Dany, this is my favorite theory. It is exactly what it sounds like: Dany will become an actual, living, fire-breathing dragon. In an interview last year, Emilia Clarke alluded to her character's final scenes: “It fucked me up...knowing that is going to be a lasting flavor in someone’s mouth of what Daenerys is.” Redditor khknola thinks this is a big ol’ hint: “WHAT SHE IS, not WHO she is. I think she's a dragon trapped in human form.”

Plus, let’s cast our minds back all the way to season 1, when Daenerys' son Rhaego was born with leathery, scaly skin, and wings. Whomst can beget a dragon, if not another dragon? You have to admit, Dany turning into a dragon (perhaps becoming the prophesied "Stallion that Mounts the World"?) would make a satisfying end for the Mother of Dragons.

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Daenerys dies during childbirth.

UGH. This theory bums me out so much. It’s also super plausible. UGHHHH. As this Reddit post by lays out, there were plenty of references to Dany not being able to get pregnant throughout season 7. Why would they talk about it so much if it wasn't important somehow? Given that she’s struggled with fertility, it’s not a wild leap that if she did get pregnant, there might be challenges along the way—even fatal ones.

If you want to tie this theory to the Azor Ahai, theory, there is room for that too. Imagine that Daenerys is slowly, painfully dying after giving birth; Jon stabs her to put an end to her misery and forge his sword. (You could probably still make the jump to Dany as Night Queen here, though I’m forced to wonder what the custody battle would look like if her child lives.) Personally, I am not into the idea that after all she’s been through over the years, this is how she dies, but it does make some sense.

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Daenerys will become the Mad Queen.

Any speculation about the final GoT season wouldn’t be complete without a discussion of the Targaryen family legacy of madness. Which leads us to this theory—is Dany going to become a Mad Queen? This Reddit post points to some of the more dubiously aggressive choices she’s made (particularly using Drogon to torch the Lannister forces), as well as the fact that simply having actual dragons has got to inflate the ego. Add to that the noted Targaryen history of madness (likely caused by all that incest), and it’s easy to see how Daenerys could end up mad. The worst of it is, she might defeat the Night King and end up on the throne, only to become everything she tried to avoid, proving that everyone who mistrusts the Targaryen name was right.

The only thing that sticks in my craw on this one: Have you seen what Cersei's been up to? How many Mad Queens does one kingdom need?

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Varys betrays Daenerys when he discovers Jon's true parentage.

Early in season 7, Varys says that he serves the best interest of the people, and that as it stands, the people have no better choice than Daenerys. What will happen if he learns of Jon Snow’s parentage? Will he still think Dany is the best choice for the realm? Reddit user John-on-gliding doesn’t think so, noting that Jon is a leader, a peacekeeper, and perhaps most crucially, “free of Dany Targaryen’s fiery temper, her foreign army, and her two destructive dragons.” Varys could definitely pull off such a betrayal—he’s got the guts (or shifting morals, whatever works for you) and the know-how. (Given he knows everything, though, it’s possible he already knows Jon’s true parentage and is still sticking with his girl.)

When you think about it, no one has watched Daenerys grow up and step into her power like Varys. In any other world, that would make this theory of his murderous betrayal tug at the heartstrings, but this is Game of Thrones! We’ve no time for heartstrings. Again, this one ends with Dany dying, so you can assume I’m off booing in the corner.

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Sansa vs. Daenerys: There will be a huge reckoning.

The teaser released in January showed a glimpse of Sansa and Dany meeting for the first time, and prompt some serious thinking about what will happen between the two. Tempting as it might be to think they’ll bond over their various traumas and being powerful female survivors in this political nightmare, it’s pretty likely they’ll end up hating one another. Don't forget, the Targaryens did a lot of damage to the North, killing Sansa’s grandfather and uncle—not to mention kidnapping Lyanna Stark, effectively kicking off the last war. Sansa is not giving off big “live and let live” vibes right now, which, fair—she's seen some things. And you can ask Littlefinger how Stark justice works out. (Kidding—he’s dead.)

Clarke herself told Entertainment Weekly that the two women would have a frosty beginning: “I like to think that it’s like Meet the Parents,” Clarke said. “It’s like: ‘I hope they like me. This dude’s wicked. It’s a real good thing we got going on. He’s the final piece. We’re destined for greatness and world domination is a breath away.’ And so I need to be like: ‘Can I braid your hair, Sansa? Little Arya, come over here, let’s play some cricket.’ So there’s that. And then, very, very quickly, it’s like: ‘Wait, is it just me, or do they hate me?'”

Christina Tucker Christina Tucker is one half of the Unfriendly Black Hotties, a podcast about the intersection of race, gender, and sexuality in higher education, pop culture, and politics.

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