I am a HUGE Tormund Giantsbane guy — always have been (#2 on our list of characters on GoT we’d hate to see die).
Between his wildfire (Thrones puns!) hair, his general ass-kickery, and the fact that he’s Jon Snow’s BFF, Tormund is one of Game Of Thrones’ most likable characters, which is why the whole world collectively held their breath as the massive 700-foot wall Tormund was standing on collapsed at the end of the season 7 finale. Him AND Beric, mind you.
Did he live? Did he die? What happened?
I believe that the fact that we don’t know for certain bodes well for the fate of the Wildling leader, as a character of his status would almost certainly be killed unequivocally.
However, despite this, the actor who plays Tormund says he isn’t so sure of his fate (or he’s just pulling a Kit Harrington pre-season 6 and lying through his teeth):
via The Hollywood Reporter:
“I don’t know either! Pretty scary, right? I honestly don’t know. It doesn’t look good though, does it?”
“Realistically speaking, if you’re on top of an ice wall and it’s many hundreds of meters tall … I was a competitive climber when I was younger, and that fall, I must say, it doesn’t look good, man.It really doesn’t look good. I saw an Instagram post somewhere of a guy shoveling through the snow and screaming, “Tormund! Tormund!”
If this is my way out … well, it’s the huge cliffhanger of the season. So, in that way, that people might have to wait two years to know whether he’s dead or alive? If I was [showrunners David Benioff and Dan Weiss], and I wanted to kill Tormund and Beric off, I wouldn’t end the season with the death. I would end it with the cliffhanger. So, I understand that. But I wish he could have whispered something into one of those crows’ ears before it happened. But, you know, when the Wall is down, they won’t need the Night’s Watch or the Free Folk at the Wall anymore. It’s a hell of an ending.
I personally believe Tormund is doing his best impression of an American politician and lying directly to the public.
Based on the fact that the episode was very clear about the fact that Tormund and Beric were smart enough to run across the Wall instead of down it gives us faith that both our boy Tormund and Beric the unkillable both survived the harrowing Ice Dragon attack.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7LzCo967WiY
