Entertainment

What Will Happen To 'GoT's Ladies This Year?

by Jennifer Still

Game of Thrones is no longer all about the men — if it ever was to begin with. The HBO series' female stars have declared Season 5 to be "the year of the women", and it actually does look like things might shape up that way. Daenerys is in limbo between acting as queen of Mereen and still hoping to claim her rightful place upon the iron throne, Arya is about to embark upon a new life in Braavos, Margaery is set to rule the Seven Kingdoms, Sansa is free from King's Landing and under Littlefinger's care with an uncertain future... you get my drift. A lot is up in the air, and what's actually going to happen to our GoT ladies has yet to be seen.

However, it's former Master of Whispers Lord Varys that has offered us the biggest tease of what's to come, hinting in Season 5's premiere episode that while the Seven Kingdoms needs to be saved from itself and appoint a new leader that is both tough and moral at the same time, there's no indication that it needs to be a man. While we have no idea of who will eventually manage to take the crown from the recently appointed Tommen, there's no reason we can't speculate on what fates might behold the tough women of GoT, right? Right.

Daenerys Targaryen

Though she's currently seated upon the throne of the former slave state of Mereen, Dany has not yet given up on her original mission: to travel across the Narrow Sea and take her place on the Iron Throne — the place which was stolen from her late father, who was betrayed and murdered for his crown. Will Season 5 see her finally make the long journey, and will she have Tyrion at her side? Considering he and Varys are on their way to see her, chances are, they might give her just the push she needs to get what's hers. While it's probably a dream to imagine that she might have conquered King's Landing (not to mention Stannis Baratheon, who's still after the throne, as well), I can dream... and I'm gonna do just that.

Arya Stark

At the end of Season 4, we saw Arya use the coin given to her by Jaqen H'ghar — which was inscribed with "valar morghulis", whatever that means — to gain passage on a ship bound for Braavos. Given that she had nothing left to live for back in Westeros, her travel to Essos symbolizes a new and important turning point in Arya's life. If you've read any of the books, the future that awaits Arya in Braavos won't be too much of a surprise. I won't spoil you, but my hope is that Arya hones in on those warrior skills I know she has and potentially rises to become the leader she was born to be.

Margaery Tyrell

It seemed momentarily like all was lost for Margaery's hopes of ascending to the title of Queen after Joffrey's death, but the situation was quickly put right when Cersei offered her his younger brother Tommen's hand, though the motivation for that is still unclear. As queen, Margaery will likely attempt to destroy the Lannisters from within, given her continued alliance to the dead Renly — which may be easier than before, considering many of the Lannisters are already dead. Given Tommen's youth and inexperience, her influence will feature quite heavily in any rulings he makes, which could be advantageous for potential usurpers...

Sansa Stark

Sansa may have escaped from King's Landing, but she's now under Baelish's thumb. He's taking her to the Fingers, where he has a small keep, but given that they're along the shoreline and Baelish promised to take Sansa somewhere far away where even Cersei couldn't reach her, we might assume that she, too, could embark on a journey across the Narrow Sea and end up in Essos, where she could finally be reunited with Arya. Together, the girls could form a formidable pair, what with Arya's physical strength and fighting skills and Sansa's new-found cunning. They just need to get rid of Baelish — there's something not right about that guy.

Cersei Lannister

Cersei's in a bit of a pickle, it seems. Her father's dead by her brother's hand, Tyrion is in Essos, Joffrey's dead, her daughter is going to prove difficult to bring back to King's Landing, and she can only spend so long sleeping with her twin before something's gotta give. At this rate, her only hope is keeping Tommen on the throne, because if he's conquered by Stannis, Daenerys or anyone else, Cersei's fate would likely be sealed and her head would be on a spike. Doubtless all her energy will go into preserving what's left of the Lannister family in Season 5, and given that she's used to getting what she wants, her enemies had better watch out.

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