Today has been a lot. First, we all threw up our hands in frustration when we learned that Trump's Mar-a-Lago trips are bankrupting the Secret Service. Next, a totally normal natural phenomena swept the nation, and all of your coworkers stopped working for a few minutes to bother each other about borrowing protective glasses to see the eclipse. Hopefully, no one looked directly at the sun (though 45 totally did). If the news of the day is driving you up the wall, we suggest checking out some of our favorite Game of Thrones theories ahead of the season finale this Sunday.
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This theory from Redditor turm0il26 is as confusing as it as terrifying. It wonders if Bran Stark (Isaac Hempstead-Wright) is actually the Night King (Vladimir Fardik), and the implications of it rock the foundation of the entire series.
The theory puts Bran's trip back in time in a whole new context. As fans know, Bran goes back in time to stop the White Walkers — but maybe he was actually the voices that Aerys II Targaryen (aka the Mad King, and Dany's father) heard. You know the whisperings of "Burn it all!" that drove the king, well, mad? The theory suggests that could have been Bran. Maybe Bran goes back further to build the Wall in order to save Westeros — and, maybe, he goes back so far into the past that he accidentally becomes the Night King himself.
Next, a theory suggests that Tyrion (Peter Dinklage) is also a half-Targaryen. This has long been a fan theory from book readers, but the showrunners are definitely playing this up.
Exhibit A: Rhaegal and Viserion (RIP!) let Tyrion pet them as though they were pals at the neighborhood dog run. The books also indicate that Twin Lannister (Charles Dance) repeatedly told Tyrion "You're no son of mine," and that there is a long-rumored affair between Tywin's wife and the Mad King. It has never been confirmed, but there's still another season left of the show and two more books in the series — we still have time.
Is there another Red Wedding coming along? No one is getting married (yet! but we're waiting for Jon Snow (Kit Harington) to bend the knee, proposal-style), but could Cersei (Lena Heady) be plotting a similar ambush? She told Jaime (Nikolaj Coster-Waldau) that she should deal with their enemies "like Father would have" — and we all know that Tywin Lannister brokered the Red Wedding.
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This theory, written by yours truly, wonders what Arya (Maisie Williams) is going to do with her new dagger. We don't want to be in the same room when it happens, but you can bet that it will be meeting someone's throat. Specifically, Littlefinger (Aiden Gillen), and Bran has already forseen it, which is why he gave her the dagger in the first place. That dagger, be the way, also most likely belonged to Rhaegar Targaryen, aka Jon Snow's real father and Dany's brother.
And finally, perhaps the biggest theory of all: the identity of Azor Ahai. This topic has been hotly debated by book readers for years. The Azor Ahai prophecy comes from the followers of the Lord of Light, R'hllor. It states that Azor Ahai will wield the sword Lightbringer to save everyone from the Long Night. The Targaryens also call this prophecy The Prince That Was Promised. There are multiple candidates for Azor Ahai, but Daenerys Targaryen (Emilia Clarke) is looking most likely. The show may not even choose to pursue this lore at all; George R.R. Martin, the author of the book series, has gone on the record as stating that all prophecies needn't be fulfilled.
The only thing left to do? Keep watching GoT, and waiting to see which theories become fact.