With the show caught up to the books and only a couple of plot threads still to be adapted, it’s open season for Game of Thrones speculation…

House Lannister will fall

The game is nearing its end and House Baratheon is already effectively extinct. Nobody is ever safe in Game of Thrones but now that an entire House has been wiped out, we’re down the rabbit hole. And with Cersei’s trial approaching, the Lannisters’ claim to the Iron Throne has never been more precarious.

With Margaery back in Highgarden and her marriage to Tommen in difficulty, the Lannisters can’t produce an heir and their alliance with House Tyrell is looking pretty shaky. Plus, since they’re millions in debt to the Iron Bank and having to send people to negotiate repayment terms, they need the Tyrells’ money.

On top of that, they no longer have Tywin or Tyrion guiding them. Despite their flaws; they held the city together through war, civil unrest, and Joffrey. And of the four Lannisters currently in King’s Landing, only Kevan is in any fit state to lead the House. Unfortunately for Cersei, he can’t stand her. House Lannister has no real unity, is losing assets incredibly quickly, and although Qyburn is loyal and they have complete control over the Mountain, it may not be enough.

But most importantly, if the Faith Militant convict Cersei, and Tommen is legally declared as being born of incest; he will most likely be removed from the Iron Throne, leaving the Lannisters with nothing but Casterly Rock and their empty goldmines. The pieces are in place for the destruction of House Lannister and, unless they can pull something pretty spectacular out of the bag, it looks the Faith will win this one.

The Faith will seize King’s Landing

By rearming the Faith Militant; Cersei Lannister might have not just doomed her own House, but the whole of King’s Landing. Because as she and Margaery both learned when they were arrested, the Faith don’t care who you are. Prince or pauper; if you break the laws of Seven, they will bring the hammer down on you. They have the power and the belief to act with impunity, and they can’t be reasoned with. They only answer to the Gods.

The crown’s influence has been seriously hurt with the (entirely true) accusations of incest over the past few years and now that Cersei is facing trial, the people of King’s Landing don’t have a reason to fear or respect the Lannisters anymore

The High Sparrow often reminds the powerful in King’s Landing that “We are the many”. And as he says in the latest House Lannister teaser “Together, we can overthrow an empire”. We’ve already seen discontent in King’s Landing back in Season 2 and the lawlessness that comes with it. And with the queen and queen mother both about to face trial and a completely ineffective king on the Iron Throne, the city is about to fall into hell. Chaos is a ladder, and the Faith Militant are about to start climbing it.

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