After eight thousand years of standing between the Seven Kingdoms of Westeros and the lands beyond, the inevitable has finally happened - the Wall has been breached: Mounted on the reanimated corpse of Daenerys Targaryen's dragon Viserion, the Night King has blasted through the ancient fortification and all but obliterated the castle of Eastwatch-by-the-Sea. The army of the dead, now numbering over 100,000 wights as well as the White Walkers, is heading straight towards the North, bringing a winter that will become another Long Night, one which may last forever.
Unfortunately, the political and military strife within the Seven Kingdoms is not yet over. Though the War of the Five Kings is long ended, control of the Iron Throne is still being contested. In King's Landing, despite having proven herself a less than ideal ruler, Queen Cersei Lannister is determined to stay on the Iron Throne at any cost. Allying herself with Euron Greyjoy and Randyll Tarly, Cersei's armies won several victories against the invading forces of Daenerys Targaryen, and have sacked the Tyrell stronghold of Highgarden in order to pay off the crown's debts to the Iron Bank of Braavos. Despite the larger threat to the realm, Cersei is content with allowing the army of the dead to devastate the North in order to rid her of her enemies before focusing on the threat herself. Tyrion Lannister tried once again to convince his sister to put aside her enmities and unite with Daenerys against the army of the dead, but his pleas fell on deaf ears. Although she promised a military alliance with the Dragon Queen, Cersei instead brokered a backroom deal: with Euron's help and the financial backing of the Iron Bank, she has hired the Golden Company, the most powerful mercenary army in Essos, in order to destroy all of her enemies at once and solidify Lannister rule over Westeros. For Jaime Lannister however, this is the last straw; disgusted at Cersei's willingness to allow the realm to perish if it means that she can retain her crown, he has finally abandoned her and is now heading north to honor the pledge he made to fight against the enemy facing them all.
From her base at Dragonstone, Daenerys and her Westerosi allies - armies from Dorne, the Iron Islands and the Reach - attempted to retake the Iron Throne and restore her family dynasty. Unfortunately, all her plans went disastrously wrong: one of her allies, Olenna Tyrell, is dead, having been given the mercy of a peaceful death after the Lannisters sacked Highgarden. Ellaria Sand, along with Obara Sand, Nymeria Sand, and Tyene Sand, have been defeated and punished for the choices they made in response to the Lannister-backed death of Prince Oberyn Martell. Meanwhile, Yara Greyjoy remains in her uncle Euron's custody. Yara's younger brother, Theon, has rallied the few remaining ironborn loyalists in an attempt to rescue her, after winning them over in a fight with Harrag, Yara's last captain.
Frustrated by her losses, Daenerys impulsively ambushed the combined Lannister and Tarly forces with her Dothraki horde and one of her dragons. Although she suceeded in forcing their surrender, she recklessly burned the wagons of grain en route to the capital, which she needed to feed her own forces, and executed Lord Randyll Tarly and his son Dickon by having them roasted by her dragon when they refused to bend the knee. This has alarmed Tyrion and Varys in light of the atrocities committed by her father, the Mad King, before he was overthrown.
In the North, Jon Snow, chosen as King in the North by his compatriots, sought out an alliance with Daenerys, not to help her seize the Iron Throne, but to aid him in the coming war against the army of the dead: the Great War. Through the combined efforts of Daenerys's remaining allies - as well as the Brotherhood Without Banners - Jon captured a wight and presented it before Cersei (who up until then thought they and the White Walkers were just stories) in order to prove their existence and return, though Daenerys lost Viserion in the process. During their alliance, Jon and Daenerys have developed a budding attraction and consummated their relationship, which may put their future operations in jeopardy, especially in light of their biological connection of which they are still unaware.
At Winterfell, the North has seen the return of Arya Stark, who killed the remaining men of House Frey in revenge for the Red Wedding, and Bran Stark, who has now become the Three-eyed Raven (both siblings were believed dead). Despite the schemes of Petyr Baelish to drive the Starks apart and seize power in his own bid to take the Iron Throne, Baelish was exposed as the true architect of the deaths of Jon Arryn, Lysa Arryn, and the War of the Five Kings, which saw the deaths of countless innocent people for a false cause. He was executed for his crimes on the order of Sansa Stark, bringing down the last of House Stark's enemies. Through his power of Greensight, Bran had previously discovered that his believed half-brother Jon Snow was, in fact, the son of Rhaegar Targaryen and Lyanna Stark, but even this revelation was only part of the truth. When Samwell Tarly - who abandoned his studies at the Citadel in Oldtown to return to Jon's service - arrives at Winterfell, he tells Bran his own discovery that Rhaegar had his marriage to Elia Martell annulled by the High Septon in order to marry Lyanna. This means that Jon, whose real name is Aegon Targaryen, is not only legitimate, but the true heir to the Targaryen dynasty, ahead of Daenerys herself, a situation which (along with her execution of Sam's father and brother) could potentially derail their alliance.
And thus, the song of ice and fire begins its final verse...
Production
For a time in January 2017, Season 8 renewal was put on indefinite hold, due to a disagreement between HBO and the showrunners over the number of episodes it would contain. While originally Benioff and Weiss stated they intended 7 episodes for Season 7 and 6 for Season 8, apparently there was some internal pushback that they should make more than six episodes (whether for story reasons or purely business/budget reasons is unclear).[5] At their SXSW panel on March 12, 2017, Benioff and Weiss announced that Season 8 will consist of the originally planned six episodes. No new writers will be introduced: Dave Hill will write the first episode, Bryan Cogman the second episode, then Benioff and Weiss will divide up the remaining four. George R.R. Martin will not be returning to script another episode. The final season could contain multiple episodes of up to two hours long in length and could be the longest season to date, even though the season only contains 6 episodes.
On September 26, 2017, the directors for Season 8 were confirmed: the first five episodes will be divided up between returning directors David Nutter and Miguel Sapochnik (one or the other will direct three out of five, though which ones haven't been specified yet). David Benioff & D.B. Weiss will themselves direct the series finale, as they have worked as directors on several episodes in prior TV seasons.[6]
Cast
Note: All cast members whose characters survive the events of Season 7 are expected to return for Season 8. The major exception is Indira Varma (Ellaria Sand), who confirmed her role has ended even if Ellaria's exact fate is somewhat ambiguous