Image via HBO
Published Jul 9, 2026, 5:52 PM EDT
Born with Autism (formerly classified as Asperger syndrome), Tyler B. Searle has been obsessed with storytelling since he was old enough to speak. He gravitated towards fairy tales, mythology, the fantasy genre, and animated movies and shows aimed at family audiences. When not writing, Tyler enjoys watching more cartoons and reading fantasy books in his home in Ontario, Canada.
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Few television shows had such a lock on popular culture as Game of Thrones. Based on the A Song of Ice and Fire books by George R. R. Martin, the show is set primarily in Westeros, a pseudo-medieval fantasy continent composed of seven kingdoms united under the Iron Throne. As noble houses scheme against one another to obtain power, an exiled princess in the east rallies an army and raises dragons to reclaim her birthright, while far to the north, an army of the dead prepares to overwhelm the lands of the living.
Despite the show's phenomenal early seasons, it famously took a massive dive in quality as the writers ran out of material from the books, before finishing with one of the most hated episodes of television ever made. Among the numerous unsatisfactory conclusions to character arcs, there were many questions that were left unanswered, and are likely to remain unanswered, as HBO is more concerned with spin-off shows. Plus, it seems highly unlikely that fans will ever receive the next book in the series, The Winds of Winter.
Who Is the New Prince of Dorne?
Image via HBOFor generations, House Martell has ruled over Dorne, the only kingdom that was able to resist the conquest of King Aegon I Targaryen. However, Season 6 began with Prince Doran Martell (Alexander Siddig) and his son, Prince Trystane (Toby Sebastian), being murdered by Elaria Sand (Indira Varma) and the Sand Snakes, because apparently the best way to honor the memory of Doran's deceased brother, Oberyn (Pedro Pascal), is to murder his remaining family members. Elaria and the Sand Snakes would meet their end after joining forces with Daenerys Targaryen (Emilia Clarke), and, after Daenerys' own death, some new guy played by Toby Osmond has shown up to represent Dorne.
The presence of this new Prince of Dorne raises so many questions, such as why the noble houses of Dorne accepted Elaria Sand as their leader in the first place when this guy was around. Most likely he is some distant cousin to the main Martell branch, but he could also be another noble house who seized power with the Martells dead, like House Dolt, Blackmont, or Manwoody. Since his only role in the council is to say yes to the election of King Brandon Stark (Isaac Hempstead Wright), we're unlikely to ever learn who he is or where he came from, which makes him the cherry on top of the show's abysmal handling of the Dornish storyline.
Who Is Quaithe?
Image via HBOWhile Daenerys and her followers stay in the ancient city of Qarth, her protector, Ser Jorah Mormont (Iaon Glen), meets Quaithe (Laura Pradelska), a mysterious masked woman. She speaks cryptically of how people will come to covet Daenerys' dragons, and is somehow aware of details in Jorah's past. Elements of her mask also have similarities to the attire of the red priestess Melisandre (Carice van Houten), hinting that she may also be from the mysterious shadow city of Asshai.
Alas, despite having a larger role in the fifth book, A Dance With Dragons, Quaithe is dropped from the show and never mentioned by Jorah again. This is especially frustrating because she is blessed with clairvoyance and magical talent, which she uses to try and aid Daenerys against growing threats. Her absence in the later seasons is a casualty of the showrunners' decision to downplay the magic from the books, and as such, who she is and why she was interested in Jorah and Daenerys remains a mystery for the ages.
Where Did Drogon Fly Off To?
Image via HBOOf the three dragons Daenerys hatched, the only one to survive to the end was Drogon, the black and red dragon that she bonded with. He was always the most wild and free-spirited of the dragons, at times leaving Daenerys to wander the world before she finally tamed him. After Jon Snow (Kit Harrington) stabbed Daenerys, Drogon's fires melted the Iron Throne into slag before taking Daenerys' body and flying off.
Durnig Bran's first small council meeting, it's revealed that he was last seen heading east towards Volantis. The city does serve as the seat of power for the priests of R'hllor, so maybe Drogon was heading there to try and bring Daenerys back? Then again, he could also be flying to the ruins of Old Valyria, or a million other places, since Essos is so vast.
What Happened to Illyrio Mopatis?
Image via HBOAfter Robert Baratheon (Mark Addy) became king of the Seven Kingdoms, Daenerys and her older brother, Viserys (Harry Lloyd) fled to the East and were eventually sheltered by a Magister of Pentos named Illyrio Mopatis (Roger Allam). He not only gave them a safe place to live, but also helped arrange the marriage between Daenerys and Khal Drogo (Jason Momoa) of the Dothraki. Months later, Arya Stark (Maisie Williams) spots him in the Red Keep talking to the Master of Whispers, Varys (Conleth Hill), about Westerosi politics, hinting that the two of them are involved in a much grander conspiracy.
Come Season 5, Varys and Tyrion Lannister (Peter Dinklage) stay at Illyrio's house before heading east to find Daenerys, but the man doesn't even appear on-screen. In fact, this is the last time Illyrio is mentioned, and he doesn't even seem to offer any help to Daenerys when her rule of Mereen is threatened, despite Varys hinting that the two of them have been trying to bring the Targaryens back to power. Even if this were true—and Varys' actions in the earlier seasons cast doubt upon this—why does Illyrio care about who sits on the Iron Throne in the first place?
Collider Exclusive · Game of Thrones Personality Quiz Which Game of Thrones House Do You Belong To? Stark · Lannister · Targaryen · Baratheon · Tyrell
Five great houses. Five completely different answers to the same question: how do you hold power in a world that will take it from you the moment you stop paying attention? Eight questions will determine where your loyalties — and your nature — truly lie.
🐺Stark
🦁Lannister
🐉Targaryen
🦌Baratheon
🌹Tyrell
FIND YOUR HOUSE →
01
Someone powerful is acting dishonourably and everyone knows it. What do you do? In Westeros, the answer to this question has ended more than one great house.
ACall it out, openly and on the record. If honour means anything, it has to mean something when it's costly. BUse it. Information about someone else's dishonour is leverage — and leverage is power. CAct decisively to correct it — with or without the approval of those around me. DChallenge them directly. Strength settles disputes more honestly than courtroom manoeuvring. ENavigate carefully — build alliances, apply quiet pressure, and create a situation where the right outcome becomes inevitable.
NEXT QUESTION →
02
What is the source of your power? Every house endures because of something. What is it for yours?
AThe loyalty of people who trust me — earned over generations, not bought with gold. BWealth, intelligence, and the willingness to use both without sentiment. CA legacy so fearsome and a vision so total that opposition becomes unthinkable. DPhysical strength, military force, and the respect that comes from being the kind of person nobody wants to fight. ECharm, connection, and the ability to make powerful people feel that my success is also theirs.
NEXT QUESTION →
03
Who do you truly fight for? Strip away the banners and the words. The honest answer tells you everything.
AMy family and my people — those who depend on me and have kept faith with me through everything. BMy family — the ones who share my blood, even when they exhaust me, even when they disappoint me. CMy cause — a vision larger than any single person, including me. DMyself, and those few who've proven themselves worth fighting beside. EMy house — its name, its future, the position I intend to leave it in when I'm gone.
NEXT QUESTION →
04
How do you deal with your enemies? A house's method reveals its character as clearly as its words ever could.
AHonestly — I face them directly, and I give quarter when it's warranted. BThoroughly — I don't leave loose ends, and I don't make the same enemy twice. CDecisively — fire answers questions that diplomacy only delays. DHead-on — I'd rather meet a threat on the battlefield than behind closed doors. EElegantly — I prefer to make former enemies into allies, or at least into people who owe me something.
NEXT QUESTION →
05
What kind of ruler do you believe in? Westeros is full of answers to this question. Most of them end badly.
AA just one — someone who serves the realm rather than using it, who leads by example rather than fear. BA capable one — someone smart enough to navigate the game, ruthless enough to win it, and realistic about what winning costs. CA transformative one — someone who doesn't just rule what exists but reshapes what's possible. DA strong one — someone whose authority is beyond question because the alternative is obviously worse. EA wise one — someone who understands that the realm is fed by more than armies, and that a full stomach keeps more peace than a sharp sword.
NEXT QUESTION →
06
You suffer a devastating loss. How does your house respond? How a house handles defeat tells you more about it than how it handles victory.
AWe grieve, properly and together — and then we endure, because endurance is what we do. BWe adapt. We reassess. And we ensure that whoever caused this loss comes to regret it completely. CWe burn hotter. Setbacks don't soften us — they clarify what needs to happen next. DWe hit back. Grief and revenge are the same motion in our house. EWe regroup quietly, rebuild our position, and return when we're ready — on our terms, not theirs.
NEXT QUESTION →
07
Which of these truths about Westeros do you most believe? Every house has a philosophy. This is yours.
AThe lone wolf dies, but the pack survives. Nothing matters more than the people you protect. BA Lannister always pays their debts — in gold or in kind. Reputation is built on consistency. CI am the blood of the dragon. Some destinies are written before the person who carries them is born. DOurs is the fury. When we move, we move completely — and we don't stop until it's done. EGrowing strong means knowing when to bloom and when to wait. Patience is its own kind of power.
NEXT QUESTION →
08
The Iron Throne is within reach. What do you do? The answer reveals not just your ambition — but your character.
AClaim it only if the realm needs me to — and rule in a way that makes it worth having. BEnsure someone who owes us sits in it. The power behind the throne is safer than the throne itself. CTake it. It was always meant to be mine — I feel that in my bones and in my blood. DSeize it — with both hands, without hesitation. Opportunity in Westeros does not wait to be asked. EPosition my house to be indispensable to whoever sits there — influence outlasts any single reign.
REVEAL MY HOUSE →
The Maester Has Spoken Your House Is…
Your answers point to the great house whose words, values, and way of surviving in Westeros match your own. Bend the knee — or don't. That's very much up to you.
🐺 House Stark
Winter is Coming — and you have always known it. You prepare not out of fear but out of duty, because the people who depend on you deserve someone who takes the long view.
- You lead with honour even when it costs you, because you understand that a reputation built on integrity is the only one worth having.
- Your loyalty to family and people runs deep — not as sentiment but as a code that doesn't bend when things get difficult.
- The North endures because Starks endure — not by being the cleverest players in the game, but by being the kind of people others are willing to follow into the cold.
- You are that kind of person. The pack survives. The lone wolf dies. You already know which one you are.
🦁 House Lannister
You understand the game — its rules, its exceptions, and exactly when the rules become the exception. You play it without illusions and without apology.
- You are sharper than most people realise, and you have learned to use that gap to your advantage.
- A Lannister always pays their debts — and you always keep your word, because your word is an instrument of power, and instruments must be kept in working order.
- You love your family with a ferocity that sometimes blinds you, and you know it, and you do it anyway.
- The lion doesn't concern itself with the opinion of sheep. Neither, in the end, do you.
🐉 House Targaryen
You carry a sense of destiny that is difficult to explain and impossible to ignore — the feeling that you are not simply participating in the world but meant to reshape it.
- You are capable of extraordinary things, and you know it, and that knowledge is both your greatest strength and your most dangerous quality.
- Fire and blood are not just words to you — they are a philosophy about what change requires and what it costs.
- The Targaryens at their best were transformative rulers who broke chains and defied the limits of what anyone thought possible.
- At your best, so are you. The dragon has three heads. You are one of them.
🦌 House Baratheon
You are a force — direct, powerful, and difficult to ignore when you enter a room or a conflict. You do not negotiate with challenges. You meet them.
- Ours is the fury — and yours is a kind of intensity that commands attention, respect, and occasionally fear from those who underestimate what's behind it.
- You value strength and straight dealing. You'd rather know where you stand in a fight than navigate a web of courtly whispers.
- The Baratheons built their house on the back of one of the greatest military victories in Westerosi history — and then struggled with what came after.
- The lesson of your house is that winning is not the end of the story. Governing is. You are learning that too.
🌹 House Tyrell
You understand that power does not always announce itself — that sometimes it arrives with flowers, good wine, and a smile that doesn't quite reach the eyes.
- Growing strong is your house's motto, and you live it: patiently, strategically, always investing in the relationships and resources that will matter most when it counts.
- You are charming by choice and calculating by nature — a combination that makes you one of the most effective players in any room you enter.
- The Tyrells fed King's Landing and shaped its politics without ever sitting on the Iron Throne — and they were arguably more powerful for it.
- You know that the person who controls the food controls the kingdom. And you always know where the food is.
↻ RETAKE THE QUIZ
What Happened to the Dothraki?
Image via HBOIn Essos, the Dothraki are one of the most feared cultures, living as a nomadic people who travel the vast Dothraki Sea between raiding settlements or accepting bribes from cities to make them go away. Daenerys manages to unite them into a single hoard which she brings to Westeros, where their cavalry tactics manage to win some victories against the Lannisters. However, they are practically wiped out by the army of the dead, and those who miraculously survive and make it to the end of the war remain under the command of Grey Worm (Jacob Anderson) and his Unsullied before they sail for Naath.
Since there is no mention of the Dothraki sailing off with the Unsullied, it makes you wonder what happened to the survivors. Given that their culture is all about raiding, pillaging, killing, and they consider living in cities to be a sign of weakness, they seem completely incompatible with the people of Westeros, and would likely either be killed off or forced back to Essos. And this is only when talking about the Dothraki men, because the women are all but forgotten about when Daenerys arrives in Westeros.
What Was the Voice Varys Heard in the Fire?
Image via HBOOne of Varys' strongest characteristics is his hatred for magic and those who practice it. In Season 4, he explains to Tyrion that this stems from his youth when he was castrated by a sorcerer who used his parts as part of a magic ritual. When they were burned in a brasier, the flames turned blue, and the voice of something answered the sorcerer's call.
Given the mysterious nature of magic, there's all manner of possibilities as to what that voice could be. One possibility is that it is the voice of the Great Other, the god of darkness who opposes R'hllor, since High Priestess Kinvara (Ania Bukstein) implied that she knew the identity of the speaker when she spoke to Varys in Season 6. Unfortunately, there's not enough evidence to confirm this, so the voice could have also been another sorcerer or some kind of spirit.
What Was the Point of the Prince That Was Promised?
Image via HBOEver since her introduction in Season 2, the red priestess Melisandre preached about a legendary figure called the Prince That Was Promised, born amidst salt and smoke, who will save the world from the coming darkness. She initially thought that it was Stannis Baratheon (Stephen Dilane), but was proven wrong when his army was wiped out by House Bolton, and so attached herself instead to Jon Snow. Since the original translation used gender-neutral pronouns, many others, including High Priestess Kinvara, believed Daenerys was the Prince That Was Promised.
Come the final season, when the White Walkers lead their army of the dead against the living, the audience were still left confused when it came to the prophecy. Neither Jon nor Daenerys do much of anything in the Battle of Winterfell despite having two dragons, and ultimately it's Arya who saves the day by killing the Night King (Richard Brake and Vladimir Furdik) despite not meeting any of the requirements for the prophecy. It's made even more infuriating when the next episode has Tyrion practically telling the audience not to dwell on it, meaning that years of buildup and speculation goes unanswered in the least satisfactory of ways.
Why Was Jon Snow Resurrected?
Jon Snow's run as Lord Commander of the Night's Watch sees him try to forge an alliance between the watch and the Wildlings. Unfortunately, many of his sworn brothers believe that his actions spell doom for the watch, so Ser Alliser Thorne (Owen Teale) leads a mutiny that sees Jon dead and bleeding in the snow. Melisandre manages to perform a successful resurrection ritual on him, and speculates that this means that R'hllor has a greater purpose for him to fulfill.
However, when one sees how Jon's story plays out over the next two seasons, you're left to wonder exactly what that greater purpose is. Aside from killing Daenerys, Jon is eclipsed in his own storyline time and time again. Maybe R'hllor really did want Daenerys dead, but the lack of a clear answer makes Jon's resurrection feel more arbitrary, especially since his personality and memories don't seem to be altered at all by the process.
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