Postcards From Westeros Volume 14
Will the King of the North be able to hold his title, and nab a White Walker, on his trip far, far north?
Ahead of Sunday's episode, "Beyond the Wall," let's review who's winning, losing or biding their time in the quest for the Iron Throne.
1. Jon Snow
After getting little to nowhere to warm Dany to his cold cause, Jon made inroads courtesy of Tyrion's insane plan to convince Cersei that White Walkers are real. Jon, it seemed, had done enough to convince Dany to try this plan, and to let him go. He then rounded up his very own Expendables/Avengers/Magnificent Seven/Suicide Squad to get it done. They may fail, but for now, nothing is getting in Jon's way.
2. Daenerys Targaryen
Dany drops a slot in our rankings because Jon's ideals had such an impressive week. But she's in more or less the same place, with her advisors concerned about her behavior and her military supremacy intact.
3. Sansa Stark
Meanwhile, Arya may be questioning Sansa's motives but there's no denying that her sister is an effective and popular ruler in Winterfell. It's a precarious position, though, because it appears Littlefinger is helping her behind the scenes, and his help comes with strings and occasionally backfires.
4. Cersei Lannister
Cersei still sits firmly on the Iron Throne and has powerful allies behind her. She is not as panicked as Jaime is by Dany's forces, but she's not being stupid, either. This whole pregnancy could mix things up, or it could be a complete fabrication. We lean towards the latter.
5. Tyrion Lannister
He may not have been able to convince Dany not to burn Dickon and Randall Tarly (RIP), but Tyrion did manage to sell his ridiculous plan and get himself in a room with his brother again. But if yet another one of his schemes fails Dany, he could find himself falling very fast down this list -- or worse.
In other news:
-- Jerome Flynn (aka Bronn) is dreaming of a union between his crude but noble warrior character and Daenerys. Read our Q&A with him here.
-- We're (almost) 100% sure Jon Snow is really a Targaryen. Here's why.
-- Notice a lot of references and callbacks this season? You're not alone. We've decoded the major ones so far this season here.
-- Plus see 128 photos from this season here, and read our recap from Episode 5 here.