All men must die, as the High Valyrian saying goes, and similarly, all television seasons must die, too. Game Of Thrones wraps up its seventh and penultimate season this weekend, with the season finale airing on Sunday in the US and Monday in the UK – and word comes to us via raven (sorry, 'HBO press release') that the episode will the show's longest yet.
At 79 minutes and 43 seconds, the finale will be almost feature length, perhaps partially making up for the fact that this season is slightly more truncated than usual (seven episodes instead of the usual 10).
HBO also revealed that the episode will be titled 'The Dragon And The Wolf', referring to House Targaryen and House Stark, and immediately sparking intense speculation about what that actually means. Does this set up a renewed epic collaboration between Jon Snow and Daenerys Targaryen? An somewhat incestuous romance? Further flashbacks to Rhaegar Targaryen and Lyanna Stark, and the true parentage of Jon Snow? A wolf riding a dragon? Something else entirely?
We'll find out this weekend – and then have an agonising wait for Season 8, which currently has no release date fixed, but is expected to arrive at some point in 2018. Filming on the final run of episodes, – only six this time – is due to begin in October this year.
Read Empire's recap review for each episode of Game Of Thrones Season 7: episode 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, and 6.