Why I Think Euron Greyjoy Might (Try to) Kill Daenerys Targaryen

Now that Game of Thrones has returned, we should be very, very worried. Why, you ask? Well, if we've learned anything over the course of the past six seasons, it's that nothing is fair in Westeros. Oftentimes, the bad guys win, the good guys lose, and everything else goes up in smoke. This means we've been forced to witness a lot of horrifying moments in the past, and we can only dread what the future might hold. In the wake of the season seven premiere, we've already started to make a few guesses about how things could play out. Namely, we're worried about the fate of Daenerys Targaryen.

There are quite a few reasons to believe that Daenerys will die in season seven. She's one of the biggest players in the battle for the Iron Throne, which makes her a major target. Plus, we would never expect it. Dany looks like the most formidable foe on the Westerosi battle landscape. But it's always the heroes we're rooting for most who seem to die. Ned Stark. Robb Stark. Hodor. Ygritte. Oberyn Martell. Even Jon Snow (though, luckily, we got him back). The list goes on and on. With so much going for Dany, history tells us that Game of Thrones will wrench her away from us. And I think Euron Greyjoy could be the one to do it.

Euron struts into the season seven premiere, looking like some kind of Pirates of the Caribbean extra and asking for Cersei Lannister's hand in marriage. He has a thousand new ships, he says, and he thinks they'd make the perfect diabolical team. But Cersei's not convinced. She wants Euron to prove that he's trustworthy before they commit to each other. Euron promises to bring her the perfect gift to woo her. Naturally, we came up with a few gift ideas right out the gate. Euron could show up bearing a dragon horn or perhaps a prisoner (Gendry, Ellaria Sand, and Daario Naharis would all be excellent candidates). The more I think about it, the more I think he'll aim higher.

I think Euron might attempt to assassinate Daenerys Targaryen. Think about it: it's the quickest way to completely up-end the battle for the Iron Throne. I'm not suggesting Euron will take on Daenerys and her entire Unsullied army and the dragons and the Iron Fleet. I think he will attempt to kill Dany stealthily, like the sneaky traitor he is. After all, he's already killed his brother Balon Greyjoy the former king of the Iron Islands. And whether or not you believe he'll succeed, you can't deny that he'd be the one to try it. He's ruthless, cocky, and determined to get what he wants.

If Euron does succeed (and hey, he might), it would cause a major fallout. In the books, he gains possession of a Dragonbinder, which is a horn that can control dragons. If Daenerys were out of the picture, Euron wouldn't even have to worry about whether or not the object would overpower her own control over the dragons. Without Daenerys, the Unsullied would also lose their commander, meaning Cersei could potentially take the reins. With all that turmoil, Euron would surely gain the upper hand over his niece and nephew, Yara and Theon Greyjoy. He'd double the size of his own naval army. Daenerys is the one small piece that could topple the whole thing. Finally, as an added bonus, Euron would be able to turn over Cersei's traitorous brother Tyrion so that she could properly deal with him. Plus, the episode two pictures show that Ellaria Sand is also with Daenerys; after killing Cersei's daughter Myrcella, she's another one of Cersei's sworn enemies. That's, like, a whole treasure trove of gifts.

Rest assured, there are a few flaws here. For one, there's a pretty convincing theory about Daenerys's death, and it has nothing to do with Euron or Cersei. In season two, the strong implication is that Daenerys will abandon the fight for the Iron Throne and will instead die fighting the White Walker army. Which, frankly, is a much more epic way to see her go. There's also the fact that Daenerys is so well protected. I'm having a hard time imagining how Euron would pull it off. But hey, crazier things have happened. The Freys seem pretty inconsequential until they wipe out, like, half of the Stark family. For that reason, I'm still worried, and I'm still giving Euron serious side-eye. Don't take my queen away, you brute.