So we all think Tommen Baratheon is going to die in the Game of Thrones Season 6 finale, right? The young Lannister has tied himself to too many masts as he tries to unite the cynical schemers inside the Red Keep with the ideological monsters of the Faith Militant. It seems likely to rip him apart.
So who the hell gets the Iron Throne if Tommen eats it in episode 10, “The Winds of Winter”?
Naturally, the throne would pass to a Baratheon. But there’s a problem: all the Baratheons will be dead. Of course, there’s always Robert Baratheon’s bastard son Gendry, who we last saw in Season 3, rowing away from Dragonstone.
So is Gendry a likely king for Season 7 of Game of Thrones ? Exactly what rights a bastard has is a little vague in Westeros, but from Ramsay Bolton’s precedent we can safely say that it’s possible to legitimate bastard sons. Should an army coalesce around Gendry, there’d be no reason why a post hoc legitimization couldn’t be foisted off on the ladies and lords of King’s Landing.
Still, it’s a bit hard to believe that a character we haven’t seen in years is going to spring back with even a fraction of the men and political backing he’d need to take the throne.
Of course, there are plenty of non-Baratheon claimants, Daenerys Targaryen being the most prominent. But all their claims would come down to military conquest, rather than any sense of dynastic succession. Sure, Daenerys, Ellaria Sand, Sansa Stark, even lesser warlords like Barristan Selmy, could possibly (if not plausibly) take the Iron Throne by force. Since that wouldn’t happen until well into Season 7 or 8, King’s Landing would be under someone’s control in the meantime.
But who?
Best guess: Cersei or Kevan Lannister. Sure, they don’t have a blood claim to the Iron Throne, but why not Regent or Steward? As Hand to the dead king Kevan Lannister would be a natural pick to administer the Seven Kingdoms. But knowing Cersei and Qyburn, Kevan wouldn’t last too long.
There are numerous other possibilities. The High Sparrow could claim The Seven rule Westeros through him (though this seems a little vain even for him). According to close reads of the Lannister family tree, Jaime Lannister could have sufficient Baratheon relations to warrant a claim.
Still, my money would be on Cersei Lannister, who would connive and fight and scrabble for power, earning it just in time to have it ripped from her Daenerys and her dragon flame.
