Season 8: Speculation and Spoilers Discussion

[Eyes High]

9 hours ago, nikma said:

only character that will have happy love story is GRRM's avatar. Lol

If Sam/Gilly and Sansa/Tyrion are the only endgame ships, it will be only GRRM's avatars who got the happy love stories. I mean, it's his story, but damn.

Although I was thinking about Walter White, his downfall was a steady and slow erosion of his morals and a downward spiral that was clearly and carefully telegraphed: he started off killing out of self-defence and moved on to increasingly ruthless and less justifiable actions that weren't treated as heroic or justifiable. With Dany, while there were red flags, she pretty much got the hero edit, even when she was doing incredibly ruthless things, until the eleventh hour.

Edited May 8, 2019 by Eyes High

[catrice2]

I just need something triumphant and upbeat I just needed something that made sense and entertained.

[anamika]

1 hour ago, Dame sans merci said:

That would make a lot more sense. Which probably means it's not right...!

The bells thing has genuinely sent sent me over the edge from 'annoyed' to 'vaguely delirious'. I am cackling. 

42 minutes ago, Eyes High said:

If Sam/Gilly and Sansa/Tyrion are the only endgame ships, it will be only GRRM's avatars who got the happy love stories.

I am not sure why you think Tyrion/Sansa is still a ship from any of the leaks we got? Seems like Sansa is just using him to take down Dany in the last episode.

Tyrion will no doubt get his desired ending - dying of old age at 80 with a girl.

And Sam's only part to play in the final season was to tell Jon about his parents? That's it? John Bradley was going on and on in interviews about how Sam was going to have a really rough time and it was going to be hard for the character - I remember us speculating that maybe Gilly was going to die. And all that was just about Sam hearing about the Tarlys. lol.

Edited May 8, 2019 by anamika

[Stallion12]

The new rumor would make a better 5th episode, even if john still kills Danny because she then in the final episode threatens sands or something.

[screamin]

7 hours ago, Nashville said:

Varys may have already done it.  After getting the DL from Tyrion regarding Jon’s true lineage, and deciding Dany might not be the horse Varys wants to hitch up with...?  A well-timed raven from Varys to Cersei might have been all that was necessary for Urine to have his ship-based ballistas waiting in ambush.

That would be weighing the odds in favor of Cersei, probably his least favored candidate on the board. If they'd got both dragons, it would be pretty much game over for Jon's side. Though since they've been writing everyone as having been hit with the Idiot Stick, I  suppose it's possible.

[aprilbabe]

57 minutes ago, Eyes High said:

Although I was thinking about Walter White, his downfall was a steady and slow erosion of his morals and a downward spiral that was clearly and carefully telegraphed: he started off killing out of self-defence and moved on to increasingly ruthless and less justifiable actions that weren't treated as heroic or justifiable. With Dany, while there were red flags, she pretty much got the hero edit, even when she was doing incredibly ruthless things, until the eleventh hour.

1

Your Walter White is a great example is great. What he became is always a part of who he was deep down IMO. But we saw events for fives season that slowly led to that part coming out of him.

If this is the story David and Dan what to tell, they really need the full 10 eps for season 7 and 8 to do so. But it feels like they put in their two weeks notice, and just doing what they have to do to finish out the job. But if the bells set Dany off, then it's a psychotic break, not necessarily her true nature. Someone mentioned Buffy and Angel. I can definitely see something where Jon goes to see her and she reverts back to the girl he was with on the ship, and he kills her anyway. God even with all the leaks I still cannot see Jon killing Dany.

Any Dany definitely has the hero edit, Nutter even called Dany, Tyrion, and Greyworm the heroes in the scene with Cersei. Probably to shock you, when she does something unforgivable.

Edited May 8, 2019 by aprilbabe

[Constantinople]

6 hours ago, rmontro said:

I saw someone say on YouTube that when this season ends, the phrase "jump the shark" will no longer be used, because it will be replaced by how Game of Thrones will have destroyed itself in the end.  I wish I could disagree.

Rang the bells?

Edited May 8, 2019 by Constantinople

[Constantinople]

Episode 5 preview: Dany's childhood trauma arising from Viserys's love of 70s disco is revealed
You can ring my bell-l-l, ring my bell

Who among us hasn't wished to rain down Fire & Blood after hearing a song they hate one more time?

[Eyes High]

48 minutes ago, anamika said:

I am not sure why you think Tyrion/Sansa is still a ship from any of the leaks we got?

I've said why. We'll have to see.

Now that we've seen glimpses of 8x05, and we know that Peter Dinklage's BTS interviews with the dirt/burn makeup and the striped tunic on what looks like the KL set are from 8x05 or 8x06 (probably 8x05), it seems all but confirmed that Tyrion's Lannister outfit from the EW shoot is from the epilogue. 

28 minutes ago, aprilbabe said:

Your Walter White is a great example is great. What he became is always a part of who he was deep down IMO. But we saw events for fives season that slowly led to that part coming out of him.

Yes, it was a slow, carefully choreographed character arc, which is...not what D&D are doing here.

Quote

If this is the story David and Dan what to tell, they really need the full 10 eps for season 7 and 8 to do so.

It's almost as if GRRM only told them the ending while they were writing 8x04. They've had multiple seasons to start showing the cracks, and while I guess there's sort of an argument to be made that they kind of did that--her treatment of Hizdahr, her desire to burn her enemies' cities to the ground in 6x09 until Tyrion talked her out of it, her burning the Tarlys--they really could have done a better job of it.

I guess the problem was that Dany needed to be heroic enough for Tyrion to believe in her wholeheartedly and for Jon to fall deeply in love with her while also being ruthless and dangerous enough to telegraph her eventual turn to the dark side, and there's really no way to thread that particular needle.

Edited May 8, 2019 by Eyes High

[galaxygirl76]

19 minutes ago, Eyes High said:

Yes, it was a slow, carefully choreographed character arc, which is...not what D&D are doing here.

The two D's are nowhere near the writing genius that is Vince Gilligan and that includes his X-Files episodes as well. 

Did anyone catch in that last leak spec that Eurons new hostage wears a black cap/hood or something and they think it may be Daario? 

[SeanC]

The bells thing sounds so dumb I can’t believe it’s true.  What does that have to do with anything that previously happened on the show?

[Chaser]

I think “going mad” is the wrong phrase for Dany. They don’t need bells ringing (that’s so stupid), they’ve already established her methods. She’ll take KL by force (which I mean of course this is war), the citizens will be rightfully terrified after the Red Keep is destroyed (regardless of Cersei using the innocents as shield Dany still chooses to kill them), Dany will make some big speech about how tyranny is over and then she will start the mass public executions. This is the kingdom she’s going to call home and the one she’s fighting for, this is a time for mercy and proving she isn’t Cersei. She wont though, for all of Dany’s good intentions, she’s been taught to use fear as control.

[Eyes High]

6 minutes ago, Chaser said:

Dany will make some big speech about how tyranny is over and then she will start the mass public executions. 

Oh shit, I just remembered that Emilia said in an interview that she had to give a big speech in a lot of languages in S8. Is it a pre-battle hype speech or something else?

Emilia also made what seemed like an offhand comment that she would be doing "all this weird shit" in S8. I haven't seen anything all that weird through 8x04.

17 minutes ago, galaxygirl76 said:

The two D's are nowhere near the writing genius that is Vince Gilligan and that includes his X-Files episodes as well. 

Yeah, Vince Gilligan worked in TV for years before Breaking Bad, including as a showrunner towards the end of his run on The X-Files, while GOT is really D&D's first TV rodeo (and it shows).

When GRRM made his comment about coming up with a villain as good as Walter White for ASOIAF, a lot of fans assumed he was talking about Tyrion. It now seems like he was talking about Dany.

Edited May 8, 2019 by Eyes High

[bijoux]

Now that you mention speeches, what is everyone guessing is the speech in which she talk in multiple languages? At first it seemed obvious that it was addressing the troops before battle, now I'm not so sure. It's still a possibility, but maybe it's a part of her breakdown. 

Just now, Eyes High said:

Oh shit, I just remembered that Emilia said in an interview that she had to give a big speech in a lot of languages in S8. Is it a pre-battle hype speech or something else?

Heh. Just wondering the same thing. 

[anamika]

6 minutes ago, SeanC said:

The bells thing sounds so dumb I can’t believe it’s true.  

At this point, we should be saying - "The bells thing sounds so dumb I can believe it's true"

Edited May 8, 2019 by anamika

[Chaser]

I still think it’s a pre battle speech. Something along the lines of “lay waste to their armies and burn their homes. Take my throne for me!” A combination of her previous ones. 

[Eyes High]

8 minutes ago, bijoux said:

Now that you mention speeches, what is everyone guessing is the speech in which she talk in multiple languages? At first it seemed obvious that it was addressing the troops before battle, now I'm not so sure. It's still a possibility, but maybe it's a part of her breakdown. 

Heh. Just wondering the same thing. 

Great minds, my friend!

5 minutes ago, Chaser said:

I still think it’s a pre battle speech. Something along the lines of “lay waste to their armies and burn their homes. Take my throne for me!” A combination of her previous ones. 

That would normally be my guess, but like @bijoux, I'm not so sure.

There is a shot in the 8x05 promo of Jon, Davos and Tyrion standing with the army. I see Unsullied and Dothraki among the forces massed below. So does the Northern army join up with them? I see what look like Northern soldiers standing behind Jon.

Edited May 8, 2019 by Eyes High

[aprilbabe]

11 minutes ago, Chaser said:

I think “going mad” is the wrong phrase for Dany. They don’t need bells ringing (that’s so stupid), they’ve already established her methods. She’ll take KL by force (which I mean of course this is war), the citizens will be rightfully terrified after the Red Keep is destroyed (regardless of Cersei using the innocents as shield Dany still chooses to kill them), Dany will make some big speech about how tyranny is over and then she will start the mass public executions. This is the kingdom she’s going to call home and the one she’s fighting for, this is a time for mercy and proving she isn’t Cersei. She wont though, for all of Dany’s good intentions, she’s been taught to use fear as control.

I guess. It sucks though, that she is the one that is made the example of. Robert was murdering babies and women. And Ned was still his BFF so much so he named his first son after him.

[galaxygirl76]

3 minutes ago, aprilbabe said:

I guess. It sucks though, that she is the one that is made the example of. Robert was murdering babies and women. And Ned was still his BFF so much so he named his first son after him.

Not so much that he told him about the Targaryen baby living in his house though 😂

[stagmania]

9 hours ago, GraceK said:

I have no idea if they are true 🤷🏻‍♀️ But then again, so much is leaking they have as much of a chance as anything else.

I don't think these new leaks are any worse or less plausible than the others. Frankly, Cersei trying to make everyone believe Dany burned the whole city and people getting the mistaken impression that she's the mad queen makes more sense than Dany suddenly snapping. Are people mocking it just because it ends on a nice note (presumably only until the next ep) for Jon and Dany? 

8 hours ago, MrsR said:

It's a crappy translation and I suspect it came from the music editing department in some country.

On another site, someone is suspecting it's Cersei who was triggered by the bells. SHAME SHAME

This would make a lot more sense and getting the two confused is an easy mistake to make in translation.

2 hours ago, Eyes High said:

Although I was thinking about Walter White, his downfall was a steady and slow erosion of his morals and a downward spiral that was clearly and carefully telegraphed: he started off killing out of self-defence and moved on to increasingly ruthless and less justifiable actions that weren't treated as heroic or justifiable. With Dany, while there were red flags, she pretty much got the hero edit, even when she was doing incredibly ruthless things, until the eleventh hour.

Walter White's carefully plotted arc is a great example of how this would have needed to work if they wanted to audience to buy Dany ending like this.

[anamika]

14 minutes ago, aprilbabe said:

Robert was murdering babies and women.

Not Robert, but Tywin's goons.

Tywin sacked KL during Robert Rebellion and everyone was fine and dandy with it. But Dany is not allowed to do that these days cause if she does she's mad and not ruthless and smart like Tywin.

There was a great post on ASoIaF reddit about how the show was suddenly trying to judge Dany on 21st century morals through pacifist Tyrion when both the books and show has allowed even our good guys to do the same and be okay with it in the past.

That's why the audience will be scratching our heads going - but why is Dany mad?  Because of the bells? Wat?

Edited May 8, 2019 by anamika

[Indi]

I am so angry that D&D decided to pair up Brienne and Jaime in the last episode! All I wanted was a happy ending for her, the actual best human in this show, but they thought, "Nah! Let's throw this trash sister-fucker at her and make her cry for him!" I just knew he'd leave her to go back to Cersei, ugh! I read the spoilers after the episode and the speculation that he might try to kill her, even if he ends up dead too. Nope. I don't believe it. He's going back to be with her, that's what he always does.

I hope Brienne doesn't end up too heartbroken or for too long. She deserved better.

These spoilers make me sad, even if a few of them are so preposterous they are funny. What can I say? I hope the remaining Starks survive. The rest, I'll be more or less sad, but I'm prepared to lose them.

However, the biggest spoiler: Jon killing Dani? No. I can't deal with that. That's beyond revolting. I'd rather she offed him. Now that would be a good use of a mad queen.

[Stallion12]

29 minutes ago, stagmania said:

don't think these new leaks are any worse or less plausible than the others. Frankly, Cersei trying to make everyone believe Dany burned the whole city and people getting the mistaken impression that she's the mad queen makes more sense than Dany suddenly snapping. Are people mocking it just because it ends on a nice note (presumably only until the next ep) for Jon and Dany? 

That's how I feel, they could still have the confrontation, but at least it's a good battle.

[blixie]

Quote

Over on FF a poster points out how Dany gets murdered by her lover while Cersei gets to die lovingly embraced by hers. Fucking D&D.

I have raged about their PoV/obsession with Cersei (and the Lannisters generally) as the tragic heroes of ASoIaF for 8 years now, at least they road that rail to the very end. I guess?

[anamika]

In the DVD commentary for the finale of season 7,  D&D talked about how there was going to be an interesting scene between Jon and Cersei in season 8. I wonder when that is going to happen now that Jon is busy killing Dany and Cersei is dying with Jaime.

We also have that extra talking about Arya, Hound and Jaime trying to get into KL - could be Jaime meets up with those two and then splits.

If Unsullied are indeed going on a rampage, I think Arya will also be in the thick of it. I think Maisie filmed with several extras playing KL folk - women and children. She may be trying to get them to safety.

I wonder if those tunnels in KL play a role. Why did Arya even go to KL? To kill Cersei? Or to kill Dany because she's 'not one of them'?

Edited May 8, 2019 by anamika

[Eyes High]

19 minutes ago, blixie said:

I have raged about their PoV/obsession with Cersei (and the Lannisters generally) as the tragic heroes of ASoIaF for 8 years now, at least they road that rail to the very end. I guess?

Each of the individual Lannister siblings is far more interesting, nuanced and compelling than Jon, Dany and the Stark siblings combined. The Lannisters are also played by much better actors. It's no surprise that D&D are obsessed with them and that they've eaten the show. The show is nothing without them.

And really, if D&D knew from very early on that Dany would go mad and that Jon would never end up on the throne, I'm not surprised that they subconsciously favoured the Lannisters' great familial tragedy.

In 8x05, are we finally going to see the dragon shadow over KL that Bran has been seeing in his visions? Because I'm thinking 8x05 is the last time that could happen.

Edited May 8, 2019 by Eyes High

[QuinnM]

7 minutes ago, anamika said:

I wonder if those tunnels in KL play a role. Why did Arya even go to KL? To kill Cersei? Or to kill Dany because she's 'not one of them'?

Yes.  She was in the tunnels practicing chasing cats for her sword lessons, called dancing lessons, when she overheard Varys plotting for her father to die.  She made it out of the tunnels through an entrance like a sewer.  So she knows the tunnels.

[Morrigan2575]

4 minutes ago, Eyes High said:

Each of the individual Lannister siblings is far more interesting, nuanced and compelling than Jon, Dany and the Stark siblings combined. The Lannisters are also played by much better actors. It's no surprise that D&D are obsessed with them and that they've eaten the show. The show is nothing without them.

And really, if D&D knew from very early on that Dany would go mad and that Jon would never end up on the throne, I'm not surprised that they subconsciously favoured the Lannisters' great familial tragedy

QFT

[BitterApple]

20 minutes ago, Indi said:

I am so angry that D&D decided to pair up Brienne and Jaime in the last episode! All I wanted was a happy ending for her, the actual best human in this show, but they thought, "Nah! Let's throw this trash sister-fucker at her and make her cry for him!" I just knew he'd leave her to go back to Cersei, ugh! I read the spoilers after the episode and the speculation that he might try to kill her, even if he ends up dead too. Nope. I don't believe it. He's going back to be with her, that's what he always 

I think I feel the worst for Brienne in all of this. Imagine the man you love tossing you a pity fuck and then dumping you to go back to his abusive ex (who also happens to be his sister). Talk about a self-esteem crusher.

[Bannon]

The last half hour of the last episode was such utter garbage, without any effort being put in over the previous many dozens of episodes to arrive at where we are now, that it is nearly pointless to speculate what will happen next. If a little green creature with an odd way of constructing sentences were to show up and lop off the heads of a couple major characters, with a cutting weapon even better than valaryian steel, and it was announced Monday morning that Disney had bought HBO from AT&T, I'd just shrug my shoulders.

[Minneapple]

12 hours ago, nikma said:

So how will these things happen in the books?.

Oh my sweet summer winter child.

[blixie]

Quote

OP thinks they overcame that they're related.

Oh man this part made me laugh out loud. This for sure seems like shipper leak, but fuck it at least here none of the characters are destroyed to fit some misery porn you get what you NEED not what  you want assholes ending.

[clack]

The only way to break the wheel is to destroy the Iron Throne and end the quest for absolute power that goes with it.

Daenerys has to renounce the throne (not likely), or die. This is the end towards which GOT has always been heading. I thought that the show had made that clear, but going by the reactions of some folks, I guess not.

[nikma]

Yeah. She will break the wheel at the end.

[Bannon]

10 minutes ago, clack said:

The only way to break the wheel is to destroy the Iron Throne and end the quest for absolute power that goes with it.

Daenerys has to renounce the throne (not likely), or die. This is the end towards which GOT has always been heading. I thought that the show had made that clear, but going by the reactions of some folks, I guess not.

I agree with you. I just wish we had arrived where we are now via a better written path.

[MissLucas]

I'm also in the 'break the wheel' camp and never expected Daenerys to make it out alive. That said it feels as if D&D were swept away by their own hero-writing and all the Khaleesi fervor it generated. For every hint they dropped they also wrote several awesome 'dracarys' moments and their attempts to keep the character somewhere in the grey got lost in dragonfire and smoke.  

[Indi]

10 minutes ago, clack said:

The only way to break the wheel is to destroy the Iron Throne and end the quest for absolute power that goes with it.

Daenerys has to renounce the throne (not likely), or die. This is the end towards which GOT has always been heading. I thought that the show had made that clear, but going by the reactions of some folks, I guess not.

Breaking the wheel by killing her off is so lazy! I know she's dangerously obsessed with the throne, but I would love it if she chooses to destroy it in such a way, that she ends that system for good. Agency, that's what I want for her in the final moments of the show.

[Brn2bwild]

Just now, MissLucas said:

I'm also in the 'break the wheel' camp and never expected Daenerys to make it out alive. That said it feels as if D&D were swept away by their own hero-writing and all the Khaleesi fervor it generated. For every hint they dropped they also wrote several awesome 'dracarys' moments and their attempts to keep the character somewhere in the grey got lost in dragonfire and smoke.  

One problem is that they've shown Dany multiple times taking advice to calm it down from everyone, not just Jorah.  Jorah wasn't even around for several episodes in Season 7, and somehow Dany managed to avoid charging into Kings Landing with dragons blazing.  

We also saw her trying to rule Meereen and adapt to their culture somewhat (even more so in the books), so it's not like she just storms in, wrecks the place, and leaves.  Had she not been attacked by the displaced masters, flown off on Drogon, and spent most of Season Six a captive of the Dothraki, she probably would have continued to hone her skills as a ruler in Meereen. 

Aside from the Tarlys, who had just finished betraying their liege lords, none of Dany's "rash" actions have been portrayed badly.  The masters crucified children... she crucified them.  The masters ruined Tyrion's "peace," and she responded with force that toppled them.  She freed thousands of slaves.  She saved Jon and company from their stupid wight hunt.  

And now we're supposed to think she's crazy and evil because Varys decides after meeting her for one minute that he doesn't like her? 

[Couver]

These latest spoilers are so jumbled. Do they say Drogon gets blown up in KL? 😫 🤬

GD show why? Give me something please. Drogon flying off into the sunset is all I ask.

Edited May 8, 2019 by Couver

[aprilbabe]

39 minutes ago, clack said:

The only way to break the wheel is to destroy the Iron Throne and end the quest for absolute power that goes with it.

Daenerys has to renounce the throne (not likely), or die. This is the end towards which GOT has always been heading. I thought that the show had made that clear, but going by the reactions of some folks, I guess not.

I think the issue is how they get there. The journey absolutely matters.

[absnow54]

Is Sansa going to outbid Cersei for the Golden Company or something? Is that why they become a complete non-factor and/or change sides? All the fleaks mostly leave them out, and there's the (f)leak about Sansa meeting with the Iron Bank. Although, I have to wonder, whose money would she use? We know Cersei stole all of hers from Highgarden. 

[Meredith Quill]

Mod Note:

TONE please. Posts have been removed. No further mod notes on this will follow; instead warnings/suspensions will be issued.

[Bannon]

10 minutes ago, aprilbabe said:

I think the issue is how they get there. The journey absolutely matters.

To write this correctly, I think you need to sink the Jon and Dany ship. There is nothing inherently dumb about the wight hunt; raiding parties to capture prisoners has a long military history, and proving the existence of an existential threat, to build an alliance, has a lot of precedent as well.

It would have been so much better if Dany had remained a very firm skeptic of the NK's threat (forget about the cave drawings at Dragonstone), but had allowed the obsidian mining merely at Tyrion's suggestion; as a cost free way to build an alliance with The North. Allow a drama filled wight hunt to succeed without a dragon rescue, and only upon seeing the wight, at Dragonstone, does Dany begin to see Jon's argument with less skepticism. Let their relationship grow more slowly, into one of mutual respect, but still wary of each other.

Then, think of a less stupid way for Dorne  and Highgarden to be defeated (I have some ideas). Wait for the NK to kill two dragons at Winterfell, or better yet, allow Dany to grasp the value of aerial recon, but, not unreasonably, not be aware of the NK's supernatural  icespear chucking abilities, and she loses one further investigating the NK's AotD, while it is still north of the wall. Then, another one could be lost at Winterfell. Have fewer surviving soldiers after Winterfell, giving Cersei a better chance, and Dany fewer options, without burning KL completely. Just can the whole Missandei taken prisoner subplot if you can't think of a credible way to write it. Frankly, a sudden storm, with a shipwreck resulting in her capture, isn't that incredible. Hell, the Spanish Armada was defeated largely by bad weather. It happens.

It really wouldn't have been that hard to write a much better story. Too bad our writers are lazier than 14 year olds, on the first day of summer vacation.

[MadameKillerB]

1 hour ago, QuinnM said:

Yes.  She was in the tunnels practicing chasing cats for her sword lessons, called dancing lessons, when she overheard Varys plotting for her father to die.  She made it out of the tunnels through an entrance like a sewer.  So she knows the tunnels.

and don't we see the dragon skull from the tunnels in the new season 8 opening sequence? That has made me think we'll def see something happening in the KL tunnels.

[Meredith Quill]

If true, the ludicrousness of Jon going back to the Night's Watch though. For what? Saw this answer elsewhere and it made me LOL so thought I'd share:

Literally, 'Watching The Night'.

Quote

They’re going to build observatories and develop Westerosi astronomy.

“Night falls, and now my watch begins”

“It will not end until my publication of our paper describing stellar evolution in solar-mass neutron stars”

Another gem re the spoiler fustercluck:

Quote

If this is true, the good news is now everytime I walk by a dumpster fire I can say "hey look, bittersweet".

^THIS. 🤣

[SeanC]

1 hour ago, clack said:

The only way to break the wheel is to destroy the Iron Throne and end the quest for absolute power that goes with it.

But there still is a king at the end.  The physical throne reportedly being destroyed doesn’t alter the institution of the crown itself.

[Bannon]

6 minutes ago, SeanC said:

But there still is a king at the end.  The physical throne reportedly being destroyed doesn’t alter the institution of the crown itself.

I think the idea is ending the institution of an absolute monarchy. That would have been the seed of an interesting conflict: part of the anti Cersei leadership taking her break the wheel rhetoric to it's logical conclusion, and her slamming the breaks on, figuratively shouting "That's not what I meant!".

[Eyes High]

22 minutes ago, MadameKillerB said:

and don't we see the dragon skull from the tunnels in the new season 8 opening sequence? That has made me think we'll def see something happening in the KL tunnels.

I agree. That spiral staircase in KL is also important, since it's featured in the opening credits and we haven't seen it used yet.

6 minutes ago, SeanC said:

But there still is a king at the end.  The physical throne reportedly being destroyed doesn’t alter the institution of the crown itself.

Yes. Destroying the Iron Throne means nothing if there's still a central monarch with absolute power.

[Dame sans merci]

3 minutes ago, Eyes High said:

I agree. That spiral staircase in KL is also important, since it's featured in the opening credits and we haven't seen it used yet.

Yes. Destroying the Iron Throne means nothing if there's still a central monarch with absolute power.

Didn't Lena say that her final scene involved a staircase?

[Constantinople]

When Daenerys said she would "break the wheel", she meant he upper classes, particularly the 1% of the 1%, would stop oppressing the masses

Quote

Daenerys: Lannister, Targaryen, Baratheon, Stark, Tyrell. They’re all just spokes on a wheel. This one's on top, then that ones on top and on and on it spins, crushing the people on the ground.
Tyrion: It’s a beautiful dream. Stopping the wheel. You’re not the first person to have dreamt it.
Daenerys: I’m not going to stop the wheel. I’m going to break the wheel. Hardhome, S5 E8

She never said there wouldn't be a king, and it's hard to see bringing the nobility to heel without a monarch more powerful than the nobility.

That said, I too think it likely that there will be no Iron Throne at the end.  But that also isn't necessarily synonymous with breaking the wheel.  Particularly if the spoilers are true about Bron sitting on some ruling council as Lord of Highgarden