Game of Thrones season 7 finale: 7 huge twists explained, from Jon Snow's heritage to the Wall crumbling

Plus, some book references you may have missed

Game of Thrones’ seventh season has very quickly come to an end, leaving us with a few fewer of the main players still alive in Westeros.

**Spoilers for ‘The Dragon and the Wolf ‘below**

As with every good season finale, there were numerous resolutions, but also a lot of game-changing moments that will no doubt lead to a turbulent eighth season.

Here we attempt to explain what happened, and what it all means for the final six episodes of Game of Thrones.

Jon Snow, heir to the Iron Throne

Jon Snow in Game of Thrones (HBO)

As Bran and Sam now know, Jon Snow’s real name is Aegon Targaryen, the character being the son of Rhaegar Targaryen and Lyanna Stark.

Of course, we already knew about Jon’s real parents. What we didn’t know (although it was teased earlier this season by Gilly) was that his Targaryen father and Stark mother were legally bonded.

With Jon no longer being a bastard, that makes him heir to the Iron Throne. Why? Because Rhaegar was son of Aerys Targaryen — better known as the Mad King.

When Aerys died, the crown should have fallen to Rhaegar, who himself died in battle against Robert Baratheon. The next monarch should have been Rhaegar’s other son, Aegon (not Jon Snow, the other son named Aegon [yes, Rhaegar has two sons called Aegon and we’ll explain why later]).

Due to no one in Westeros knowing Rhaegar had a legitimate other son, the crown fell to Viserys — Daenerys and Rhaegar’s brother who we met during the first season — who died, leaving Dany believing herself to be the next Queen. Now Jon Snow stands in her way.

How that will play out next season is anyone’s guess, but no doubt discovering they’re related will put a dampener on their honeymoon.

Robert’s Rebellion was built on a lie

Thanks to Rhaegar Targaryen and Lyanna Stark being legitimately married, we now know Robert’s Rebellion was built upon a lie.

Robert started the war against the Targaryens because he believed Rhaegar had captured Lyanna, the Stark being betrothed to Robert.

However, the opposite has now been proven to be true. The pair were really in love but couldn’t reveal as much to the world as Rhaegar was married to a Martell and Lyanna intended to marry a Baratheon. Learning as much will do little to affect the story going forwards, but that’s one huge detail that’s finally been confirmed.

Aegon Targaryen

We’re talking about Jon Snow here, not his half-brother. For many, the name reveal would have come as a massive shock. To realise the name's significance, it's worth reading the below passage from A Clash of Kings, in which Daenerys has a vision featuring someone who we suspect to be Rhaegar, Elia Martell (Rhaegar’s former wife), and the first baby Aegon.

Viserys, was her first thought the next time she paused, but a second glance told her otherwise. The man had her brother's hair, but he was taller, and his eyes were a dark indigo rather than lilac. "Aegon," he said to a woman nursing a newborn babe in a great wooden bed. "What better name for a king?”

"Will you make a song for him?" the woman asked.

"He has a song," the man replied. "He is the prince that was promised, and his is the song of ice and fire." He looked up when he said it and his eyes met Dany's, and it seemed as if he saw her standing there beyond the door.

"There must be one more," he said, though whether he was speaking to her or the woman in the bed she could not say. "The dragon has three heads." He went to the window seat, picked up a harp, and ran his fingers lightly over its silvery strings.

Now, Rhaegar — who shares Dany’s brother’s hair in the show — was obsessed with prophecies, believing Aegon to be the Prince that was Promised. What if his faith was in the wrong Aegon and Jon Snow is Azor Ahai? And the three headed dragon would then be Jon, Dany, and The Night King/Bran (or perhaps Tyrion)? Theories upon theories upon theories, but we’re getting closer than ever.

A deathly love triangle

Jon Snow and Dany finally got together and it led to some cringing from viewers who knew the truth about their relationship.

However, there was also something else remarkably weird about the scene; a lurking Tyrion. Was the Lannister worried about the effects their relationship would have on Dany’s desire to rule Westeros or is he actually in love with the Mother of Dragons.

In George RR Martin’s original outline for the A Song of Ice and Fire series, the author detailed a love triangle between Arya, Jon Snow, and Tyrion.

“Exiled, Tyrion will change sides, making common cause with the surviving Starks to bring his brother down, and falling helplessly in love with Arya Stark while he’s at it.

“His passion is, alas, unreciprocated, but no less intense for that, and it will lead to a deadly rivalry between Tyrion and Jon Snow.”

Could the “deadly rivalry” between Tyrion and Jon happen over Dany rather than Arya? Seeing as nearly all the other plot threads from the letter have come true, why would this not?

Tyrion’s love for Dany has been hinted at before, clues being placed throughout the series. Just look to last season, when the Hand tells Dany to leave Daario behind in Mereen: “He wasn’t the first to love you, and he won’t be the last.” Was he referring to himself?

Last episode, before Dany flew off to save Jon, Tyrion attempts to stop her going (probably a wise move seeing as there’s now an ice dragon), calling her “the most important person in the world”. Sounds like something one lover would say to another.

Whether Tyrion loves Dany or not (apparently every man does), come next season, when Bran or Sam reveals Jon’s true name and heritage, chances are Tyrion will be able to drive Dany and her nephew apart.

Cersei’s new army/Jaime switches side

Another surprise twist came when Cersei revealed to Jaime she had absolutely no intention of sending troops North to help with the battle against the undead.

Instead, the Mad Queen plans to use her huge amount of wealth gathered from the Iron Bank in order to employ an army of mercenaries, the Golden Company. Euron Greyjoy, it transpires, isn’t heading back home, but instead to take out a huge load on behalf of the Queen.

Upon revealing her plan to Jaime, the Lannister brother has a somewhat existential crisis; to stay and protect only Cersei, or leave and protect the realm from a greater threat than man. Jaime, having gone through some major character development throughout the series, finally leaves Cersei behind.

There are a few major questions this raises. First, has Jaime truly swapped sides? It certainly seems so, especially when you consider how she threatened to kill him.

Second, will the Iron Bank back Cersei’s claim to the Iron Throne? They no longer have any investment in the Lannisters, so they could easily refuse to lend money and instead support Dany against the White Walkers. Who’s to say at this stage, but we don’t think anything will be simple, especially when you consider Euron Greyjoy has a huge role to play here.

Littlefinger’s death

Finally, the master manipulator met his inevitable fate. And what a shame; Petyr Baelish was a truly great villain who kickstarted the entire War of the Five Kings.

How did Littlefinger do so? First, Baelish persuaded Lyssa Arryn (Catelyn Stark’s sister) to poison her own husband, Jon. The pair then blamed the murder on the Lannisters, portraying them as plotting the North’s downfall.

What also helped was Littlefinger sending an assassin to kill Bran, saying the dagger — which was seen numerous times throughout this season — belonged to the Lannisters when it was his.

Finally, the cunning character betrayed Ned Stark, allowing the honourable father to claim Joffrey had no right to the Throne to Cersei without proper backup.

Now that the truth has caught up with Littlefinger, the character has finally died. However, could we be seeing him again soon? After all, Arya needs a few more faces and Littlefinger’s connections could help her get close to Cersei.

The Wall falls

The final shot of the season was not focussed on any man or woman, but the Wall crumbling down thanks to the Night King’s Ice Dragon.

Some fans previously believed the Narrow Sea would freeze over, allowing the White Walkers to walk past the magical Wall, but instead the White Walkers just used their own magic to tear it down.

Dragon flame has been known to have magical qualities, justifying why the Wall was destroyed. However, the bigger question remains whether the Night King knew a dragon was required to do so, therefore explaining why the villain used Jon and Jorah as bait to bring Dany North of the Wall.

Whether you agree that’s the case, or whether it was just coincidental, who’s to say just yet. Hopefully, when season eight finished, there won’t be too many questions left to answer.