Game of Thrones‘ eighth and final season won’t premiere until 2019, but fans have been on the lookout for potential plotlines as the show films its final episodes. Caution — spoilers ahead!
(Seriously, stop reading if you don’t want to know.)
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In now-viral fan-shot footage from the show’s Winterfell set in Moneyglass, Northern Ireland, the set appears to be on fire, which fans are thinking means only one thing — Winterfell will fall.
A clip making the rounds on social media shows a towering inferno engulfing what appears to be the Winterfell set, and fans have already begun speculating on what could have caused such a blaze.
OMG WINTERFELL 😱😱 THIS IS HUGE pic.twitter.com/nmCTtoz3ot
— 💫 ℝίτα 💫 (@JonxDanyy) January 31, 2018
Belfast Live reports that the footage, which was taken Wednesday night, was part of a battle sequence that featured 400 to 500 extras. That would put the scene on par with other major battles in the series, which is obviously a big deal, seeing as Winterfell is the Stark family’s home and fortress.
As for what causes the blaze, many fans are speculating that it will be the work of Viserion and the Night King and that the flames will be turned blue in post-production. Others are wondering whether it could have been caused by Daenerys and her two remaining dragons, or whether Cersei somehow made it to Winterfell and burned the whole place down.
The Starks only just retained control of the castle, and to see it all burn is quite the blow. There’s no telling when in the season the fire will take place or what it could mean for Winterfell’s inhabitants and the North in general, but as is often the case with Game of Thrones, it’s likely not a good thing.
Watchers on the Wall previously reported that new construction at the Winterfell set, including new walls and battlements, a trench or moat around the castle and a trebuchet, all seem to indicate that Winterfell will, indeed, be under attack during Season 8. And with this week’s footage, it seems the new defenses were for naught.
Photo Credit: HBO