Predictions for GoT’s BOTB

This weekend, Episode Nine of Season Six will finally be out, and I have to say I have been looking forward to this for a long, long time.  Die, Boltons, die.

So here are my predictions, based on the still photos and brief video clips from the episode that we have seen so far.

First off, I want to specify that these predictions are only for the TV show, as the Northern storyline there has definitely lapped the Northern story in the books.  I have no idea what GRRM has planned, for the most part.  I guess we’ll all find out when The Winds of Winter comes out, whenever that happens.

Also, I am very surprised that the Manderly speech has not happened yet.  I honestly thought it would have taken place by now, since the battle is about to happen.  But I have not seen anything (like a merman sigil or standard) in the photos and videos that have been released that would indicate that the Manderlys are even in the Battle of the Bastards.  That makes me a little sad.

So it looks like the entire episode will be in the North, with the battle taking up most of the episode, much like Episode Nine of Season Two and Episode Nine of Season Four.  Not sure what will lead up to the battle, but clearly the two armies will be facing each other on the plain outside of Winterfell, where Stannis Baratheon met his end with his tattered army.

We know that Ramsay is going to burn some people, presumably after he has flayed them.  Not sure who that will be, but a good guess would be Rickon Stark.  Frankly I will be shocked if Rickon does not die in this episode.  It just seems like everything is leading up to that.  Osha is dead, his direwolf Shaggydog is dead, and aside from his brief appearance early in this season, we have not seen him at all.  I think that is telegraphing his death, IMHO.  So long, Rickon.

I expect that the battle will begin with the pro-Stark army being seriously outnumbered.  But it looks like they are going to charge the Bolton army anyway, at least that’s what I am guessing based on what bits and pieces we have seen.  Supposedly Ramsay has 5,000 men, and both the Umbers and the Karstarks will be bringing troops of their own, say at least 1,000 apiece, maybe more.  We know that the Stark forces will have 2,000 wildlings, plus a few hundred men from the Mormonts, Hornwoods, Starks and that other house they mentioned whom I think doesn’t exist in the books.  So that’s probably going to be at least 3 to 1.

I expect that the pro-Stark forces will do okay at first, but then they will find themselves in trouble.  Because otherwise where’s the drama?  They have to be in trouble in order for the Army of the Vale to come in and save the day, which I fully expect to happen.  When that happens, I expect the Bolton forces to be badly beaten, with the survivors retreating into Winterfell.  I expect them to be pursued.  A siege is not an exciting way to end the episode, so I expect that the pursuit will lead the pro-Stark forces into Winterfell and the castle will be taken.  We know Wun Wun can break down a big castle door, so maybe we’ll get to see him do it again.  Then I expect there to be a final battle inside the castle, in which Ramsay will (hopefully) die, preferably when Sansa picks up a knife or a crossbow or something and finishes him off herself.  It would be nice for her to have some closure that way.

Not sure who else will die in this episode.  Not Jon Snow.  Not Sansa Stark.  Probably not Ser Davos Seaworth or Tormund Giantsbane or Petyr Baelish (whom I am certain will be swooping in to save the day after the letter Sansa sent).  Probably not Lyanna Mormont.  I’m not even entirely sure if Ramsay Bolton will die in this episode, to be honest, and I desperately want to see him die.

So aside from those major characters, who, then?  Anyone else is fair game, I would think.  So perhaps Harald Karstark or Littlejon Umber.  No big loss there.  Glad to see them go, especially Umber after his betrayal.  Perhaps, maybe even likely, we will see Wun Wun die, since he is a notable and likable minor character, and we know the Duo of Death loves to kill those sorts of characters.  That would be a little sad.  But I expect we will see him kick a lot of ass before he goes down.  Melisandre may find herself on the Deadly Duo’s list too, since she has fulfilled her most important purpose, now that she has brought back Jon Snow from the dead.  And since they have slightly teased the idea that Ser Davos finds out what happened to Princess Shireen (they have showed that brief clip of him standing next to a pile of wood in the snow a few times), I honestly can’t rule out Ser Davos confronting Melisandre.  If he does, that confrontation might end badly for Melisandre.  Or perhaps when Brienne comes back, she will take on the task herself.  So yeah, I think there’s a good chance that Melisandre might end up dead before this season is over, and almost certainly before the show is over.  We have another Red Priestess, and we don’t need a lot of them.

Also, I don’t recall seeing Ghost in any of the pictures or video.  I will have to check again.  Man, I hope they don’t kill off another direwolf, especially the one that is practically the last one, since we haven’t seen Nymeria since season one.  But since Arya is going to come back to Westeros, I am hoping that we will see Nymeria again eventually.  That would be awesome.  So maybe we will have two left.  Please please please.

That’s all for now.  We’ll know in a couple of days if my guesses were right.

-Geoff