In just two weeks, everyone’s favorite show is back.
Game of Thrones returns to the air for Season 7 after more than a year, and fans everywhere can’t wait for the season to begin on July 16. Even sportsbooks have gotten into the hype, offering lines on who will be the ruler of Westeros at the end of this season. Let’s take a look at some of the odds being offered.
Who Will Sit on the Iron Throne at the end of Season 7?
Daenerys Targaryen +218
Cersei Lannister +307
Jon Snow +449
Sansa Stark +485
Tyrion Lannister +720
Jamie Lannister +932
Arya Stark +1038
Gendry +1254
Petyr Baelish +1694
Bran Stark +1694
Field +2012
(Odds courtesy BookMaker.eu)
Daenerys is the Favorite
It’s no surprise that Daenerys is the favorite here. The most powerful woman in the world finally has it all. She has the armies of the Dothraki and The Unsullied, three fully-grown dragons and a fleet of ships ready to take her across the Narrow Sea and into King’s Landing.
Daenerys has allies ready to assist her once she lands too. Varys has been scurrying about Westeros rallying support for the Targaryen that he has surreptitiously supported since Season 1. In the last episode of Season 6, we saw him meeting with the rulers of Dorne and it looked like they had come to an agreement about defeating a common enemy.
The main reason not to bet on Daenerys is that there will be one more season after this one. It seems clear that she is going to eventually sit on the Iron Throne, but there is a LOT of story between now and then. The writers for Game of Thrones clearly don’t mind building up a storyline for a long time and it wouldn’t be a surprise to see someone other than Daenerys on the throne at the end of the season.
Cersei Has it Coming
Cersei will eventually die, that we all know. The current Queen of the Iron Throne took control of Westeros after destroying the Sept of Baelor with wildfire, a move which saw her son Tommen commit suicide afterwards.
She has enemies all around her as well. Most of the other contenders to the throne want to see Cersei dead, and she has a very tenuous grip on her position.
Although it’s possible that the show’s creators decide to keep her on for the last season, it’s unlikely considering the current story arc. Season 7 feels like it will end with Cersei dying in the second-to-last or last episode of the season after a long buildup and that Season 8 will feature the long-awaited battle with the White Walkers.
We know that those are the two biggest developments left, but it doesn’t make much sense to have the White Walkers eliminated before Cersei. Whether or not Cersei falls by Daenerys’ hand or someone else’s though is to be determined.
Will Ayra Stark be the one to Kill Cersei?
Arya Stark won’t sit on the Iron Throne, but it’s very plausible to see her as the one to assassinate Cersei before Daenerys gets the chance to defeat her. Arya has whispered Cersei’s name to herself every night since Season 2, and has made it clear that she intends to kill her.
We saw Arya kill Walter Frey and his sons at the end of last season and after her training under Jaqen H’ghar and the Faceless Men so she has the skills to get it done. Arya has the asset of hiding in plain sight thanks to her ability to change faces, and that could help her get into the Red Keep easier than anyone else. If Arya was the one to kill Cersei that would leave viewers feeling very satiated after the events of the earlier seasons.
How About Jamie Lannister?
For that reason, betting on Jamie Lannister to sit on the Iron Throne is a solid option at this price of 9/1. It seems too easy to just assume that Daenerys will defeat Cersei and then ascend the throne and the one thing we know about this show is that it’s never that easy.
It’s not far-fetched to imagine that Cersei dies before Jamie does and if she does, he is the most logical successor to the Iron Throne. Having Jamie as the King of Westeros would also lead to some interesting interactions between he and Tyrion, and it would make for an intriguing storyline next season.
