Game of Thrones season 8 spoilers: Recycling is never a bad idea

Not everything filmed makes it into Game of Thrones, and it seems like season 8 might just use some older footage, but for what purpose?

Warning: Another day, another set of Game of Thrones season 8 spoilers — or at the very least, some juicy new rumors about what’s going to appear in the season.

Game of Thrones season 7 did do some things that the previous six seasons had never done before. It showed places we’d only heard of up to that point, like Casterly Rock and Highgarden. It’s the latter that concerns us today, because both Cordopolis and Los Siete Reinos have it that Highgarden’s back in season 8 — without the crew actually filming there, but instead using footage shot previously.

While LSR suggests that it could be seen at the start of the season acting as a command center for the Lannister faction, it also points out that we could see it being attacked. The perhaps least likely outcome would be a flashback of some sorts to season 7. Game of Thrones doesn’t really do flashbacks all that often, although Bran’s visions might take us there for some reason. Since it’s hard to discern what might make the most sense, though, it seems wisest to set this aside for now.

Honestly, it’s the attack theory that might be most interesting. Let’s dive into it further. If the undead reach Highgarden, that suggests that they move quickly enough — or are simply massive enough — to attack multiple points at once. Could it be possible for the Night King to advance all the way to Dorne? It might seem like it’d be just too hot for ice zombies, but they’re also magical ice zombies, so a little desert heat might be nothing to them.

HBO even has a map showing where Highgarden is, and of the major locations, it’s perhaps the furthest south aside from Sunspear, and it’s a fair distance away from King’s Landing. What else could it be useful for showing other than just how strong the dead are? Could attacking Highgarden be a way to distract the armies of the living away from a true target like King’s Landing?

Next: More season 8 spoilers: Through the fire

While the attack theory might seem the most likely, it’s also the one that makes the most sense.