【Caged Women】

TheGame of Thrones power rankings determines which character is Caged Womenmost likely to sit on the Iron Throne at the end of the series next year: not the power behind it, but actually ruling Westeros. Our judgment is based on information available at the end of each episode. You can read last week's rankingshere.  

It's rare to see the entire arc of a TV show turn on a single line from a minor character played for laughs. But that's exactly what happened in this week's episode, "Eastwatch." Gilly told Sam a little fact about a certain Targaryen that could change everything -- and though Sam ignored it, that little tale has utterly upended this week's power rankings.

SEE ALSO: All hail King Jon Targaryen, first of his name: Why you should support Jon Snow for the Iron Throne

Not only that, this busy scene-shifting episode brought a potential contender for the Iron Throne back into play. Let's get straight to him.

10. Gendry (new entry)

Lest we forgot amidst the rowing jokes, Gendry reminded us he is the one remaining bastard son of former King Robert Baratheon. That potentially gives him a greater claim on the Iron Throne than Queen Cersei, should he insist on his legitimacy with an army to back him up.

SEE ALSO: 'Game of Thrones' brought back someone we've sorely missed, and we're screaming

That appears to be far from Gendry's goal at the moment; nevertheless, he has emerged from the shadows and proudly declared himself to the King in the North. Who's to say Jon won't find it convenient to legitimize Gendry's claim if/when the White Walkers are dealt with, perhaps as a way of removing Cersei from the scene?

There's a reason why Cersei had this kid's half-siblings put to the sword; there would be a nice irony in her worst fear from five seasons ago coming true.

9. Petyr Baelish (+1)

Littlefinger scrapes himself off the bottom of the rankings with a devilish plot to sow discord between the Stark sisters. Who knows how Arya will react now she thinks -- according to the note she found -- that Sansa once wanted their late brother Robb to surrender to the hated King Joffrey?

With Arya out of the picture, Littlefinger would be a step closer to gaining the Throne with Sansa at his side. We're still rating this a big fat "unlikely," however.

8. Euron Greyjoy (unchanged)

The Iron Islands' pirate king is still cooling his heels off the coast of Casterly Rock, so far as we know. Cersei isn't missing him, and news that she's carrying Jaime's child isn't going to help his chances of winning her hand in marriage. Every episode he's not in the show makes it less likely that the showrunners have destined him for greatness.

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7. Jaime Lannister (-4)

Bent, broken and bowed, Jaime spent the episode merely reacting to everyone. He reacted to Dany's victory with shaken resignation where a stronger character might order up more Scorpions to defend King's Landing from dragons. He reacted to Tyrion's secret meeting with confusion and outrage. And he's really not sure how to react to the news that Cersei is carrying his kid. He may pull himself together eventually, but for now it seems unlikely that the one-time Lannister hero is able to rule much of anything.

6. Sansa Stark (unchanged)

Sansa is in the good graces of the Northern lords, who are now declaring they'd be happy to see her as Queen if Jon were out of the picture. On the other hand, this very success is what's driving her lethal assassin sister Arya into potential open conflict with her. Call it a wash for now.

5. Cersei Lannister (-1)

Practically under siege in King's Landing, Cersei allowed her brother and mortal enemy Tyrion to enter and leave the city unharmed. She also believes everyone will just happily accept a child of twincest as heir to the throne, without thinking twice about how Euron Greyjoy and his massive fleet will react to the news.

In short, Cersei is showing signs of losing the plot. Her state of mind doesn't matter just yet, however, given that the enemy poised to destroy the Red Keep with dragons has just offered a truce. When it comes to timing, Cersei has all the luck in this story.

4. Danaerys Targaryen (+3)

On the one hand, Dany hastened her transformation into her father the Mad King, burning the Tarlys (RIP Dickon) when they wouldn't bend the knee. On the other, she has formed a solid alliance with Jon and seems to be coming to her senses where the White Walkers are concerned -- and the ever-trusty Ser Jorah Mormont is finally back in her camp.

What does this add up to? Well, ruling by fear is not necessarily an impediment to the Iron Throne, whereas the White Walkers most certainly are. So while the story may yet punish Dany for her hubris, she ends the episode in a stronger and (more importantly) more stable position than she started.

3. The Night King (-1)

Untold millions of wights are massing North of the Wall -- But they've barely moved any closer to Eastwatch than they were at the start of the season. We get the sense the Night King and his undead army is about to get a hell of a lot scarier, but all we can say about him for now is that he's not going to set any land speed records invading Westeros, even if the Wall were to fall.

2. No One (-1)

That's right -- for the first time in the history of the power rankings, we're rating the odds of an empty Iron Throne at the end of the story belowthe odds of it being occupied. And it all comes down to one crucial piece of information that suggests this story will, in the end, pick a winner.

1. Jon Snow (+4)

Jon still knows nothing about his Targaryen heritage. We, however, now know there's a very good chance that the King in the North is in fact the legitimateheir of Rhaegar Targaryen. Read this if you're not sure why that's a big deal, but here's the TL;DR of this R+L=J update: his claim to the throne is technically the strongest, and with his easygoing charm he could easily use that fact to unite the Seven Kingdoms.

True, Jon did just opt for another piece of tactical stupidity for which the Snow brand is now justly famous. He went north of the Wall with just seven men and barely any equipment, hoping to catch a White Walker to prove to Cersei how dangerous they are. (Good luck doing that without dragonglass and a strong cage.)

But in story structure terms, that just makes him even more of a hero -- with the payoff of his true heritage awaiting in the near future. While George R.R. Martin may not intend Jon to end up on the Iron Throne in the "bittersweet ending" to his books, it's looking more and more like the showrunners' happy endgame.

Oh, and dragons love him. 'Nuff said.

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Topics Game Of Thrones