14 Major Questions Game of Thrones Needs to Answer in Season 8

Some of us ship it hard, others swear it's a terrible idea. But season seven ends with a definitive answer: Jon and Daenerys have become way more than just allies. To an innocent bystander they might look like two young beautiful people who have seen too many terrible things and just want some happiness with each other. But we all know the real story. Not only are they very very related, but Jon has more of a claim to the Iron Throne than his new queen.

So what happens to the lovebirds when they arrive at Winterfell and hear the news? The season eight trailer has plenty of scenes of the two of them, but nothing that seems to suggest some sort of falling-out. Will Dany take Jon out before he has the chance to threaten her rule? Will Jon decide that he'd rather rule himself and try to unite the Northern houses against Dany? Will they co-rule and create a schedule for who gets to sit on the throne on which day?

We've known for a while that there will be an epic showdown at Winterfell in season eight, with many of our faves coming together to face down the Night King. The trailer shows Jorah, Brienne, and Grey Worm solemnly awaiting the army of the dead while Varys, Gilly, and baby Sam seem to be taking shelter in what could be the Winterfell crypts. We also see Arya in the midst of battle, as well as running from some sort of mysterious threat through the castle halls.

It's already been confirmed that the battle happens midseason, which means its outcome might not necessarily determine how the season ultimately ends. Could our heroes lose this round? Will they be forced to regroup and retreat south, closer to Cersei and the Golden Company? Will we lose one or more of our favourite characters to the Army of the Dead?

Season seven ends with Cersei tricking the good guys into thinking she's sending her armies to help fight the White Walkers, while in fact she plans to wipe her enemies out using the Golden Company mercenaries. Her reason for the betrayal is to protect her family — which, after Jaime's dramatic exit, leaves only her and her unborn child.

Cersei would do just about anything for her children, so why is she drinking in the season eight trailer? Sure, this queen loves her wine, but Cersei refuses to drink with Tyrion in the season seven finale which immediately clues him in to her pregnancy. The trailer also only shows Cersei in a way that keeps her stomach hidden. Will something happen to her baby? Was she lying the whole time about being pregnant?

The saga of Theon Greyjoy is a tragic one. Sure, he started out as a jerk and betrayed the family he'd grown up with, but he's gone through horrific trauma and come out the other side wanting to help the good guys however he can. In season seven he's too frightened by his uncle Euron's attack to save his sister Yara from being kidnapped, but by the season finale he resolves to get her back from his uncle's clutches so she can still take her place as ruler of the Iron Islands.

We're all rooting for him to succeed, but Theon and his followers are facing down a very serious (and very insane) enemy who's out to get what he wants at any cost. The season eight trailer doesn't show either Theon or Euron, so we can only wonder. Will Theon be victorious? Will he and Yara restore the Greyjoy house to glory?

When it comes to aces in the hole, not much is better than dragons. They ensured the victory of Daenerys's ancestor Aegon the Conqueror when he invaded Westeros, and they ensure a victory for Dany pretty much every time — you mess with Khaleesi, you get burned. But then the Night King ruins everything (as usual) in season seven and kills Viserion right in front of his mother and siblings. As if that wasn't bad enough, Viserion is turned into a zombie ice dragon and freezer burns a huge hole in the wall. Not cool.

Now that Dany has vowed to help Jon destroy the Night King it's only a matter of time before she faces him again, which means it's only a matter of time before she finds out one of her babies is now an ice-breathing creature of evil. We've seen the damage zombie Viserion can do, so the best tactical move would be to take him out ASAP. Will Dany be forced to make Rhaegal and Drogon kill their brother? Will she have to watch Viserion die a second time?

Much like the Starks, life hasn't exactly been kind to their direwolves. There are only two of the family's wolves out there at this point — Ghost and Nymeria, and it's looking like everyone's favourite Northern family could use all the help they can get this season. Will Ghost be beside his best pal Jon Snow during the Battle of Winterfell? Maybe Nymeria will sense Arya is in danger and return with a pack of wolves in tow? We can only hope . . .

This is it, the last chance for the two Clegane brothers (lifelong enemies) to go head-to-head. Now that they're squarely on opposite sides, it seems like only a matter of time. The only one who can hope to stand up to The Mountain in hand-to-hand combat is The Hound, and the latter has been ready to take down his brother for years. Will he be the one to finally defeat Cersei's terrifying zombie protector? Will he feel like he's finally made up for all the bad stuff he's done in his life? Alternatively, will they fight side-by-side?

Cersei Lannister has known her dismal future since she was a child, all thanks to a prophecy from Maggy the Frog. In season five's premiere we see this in a flashback, and lil' Cersei is told she won't marry the prince, but the king instead. That king turns out to be Robert Baratheon. Maggy also correctly predicts that Cersei that she'll have three children, but they will all die. The final part of the prophecy made in the show is that Cersei will be replaced as queen by a younger more beautiful queen, and Cersei clearly believes this means Daenerys.

However, there's one part of this prophecy that didn't make it into the show. Maggy the Frog tells Cersei that after all her suffering, she will be strangled to death by the valonqar, which in Valyrian translates to "little brother." Cersei has hated Tyrion from the day he was born, so it's no surprise that she assumes the prophecy refers to him. The hatred is mutual — Tyrion confesses in season seven that he's thought about killing Cersei more times than he can count.

But Tyrion isn't Cersei's only younger brother. And after season seven, he isn't the only brother whose relationship with Cersei has completely deteriorated. Many fans are convinced that in the end, Jaime Lannister will be the one to kill his sister and lover, fulfiling the prophecy in a way Cersei never could have seen coming. Will he storm into King's Landing after Cersei has descended into true madness and repeat history by slaying a ruler bent on destroying her own people?

As Cersei says, in this game "you win or you die" . . . there's no in between. With the all-consuming final stand that awaits in season eight, the ultimate victor will be the one who survives. There are characters fighting with taking (or keeping) the throne in mind (Cersei, Euron, and Daenerys) and there are characters who simply want to defeat evil, but might be the one who survives to take the mantle of royalty (Jon, Sansa, or even Tyrion).

That's not to say that the ultimate winner won't be someone no one predicts. Samwell Tarly would be a pretty fair and wise king, right? Who wouldn't want to see Lyanna Mormont whip the Seven Kingdoms into shape?