As we head into the series finale of Game of Thrones, fans of the iconic HBO fantasy drama have but one question on their mind: who is going to ultimately survive to the brief yet destructive reign of the Mad Queen?
WARNING: MAJOR SPOILERS FOR ‘GAME OF THRONES’ SEASON 8 WILL FOLLOW AFTER THE GIFs.
Probably (Hopefully) Safe
It’s tough to imagine a scenario where these characters die.
Podrick Payne: Please, please, please let the last time we ever see Tripod Pod be when he was pulling a threesome after the Battle of Winterfell. That is *the* ending the character deserves, and throwing him back into the fray for the finale helps no one, neither the plot nor fans.
Davos Seaworth – If David Benioff and D.B. Weiss kill off the Onion Knight — who has survived every major battle thus far despite having literally zero combat skills — then they really are the monsters we’ve made them out to be this season. Davos must live.
Sansa Stark – With Sansa still safe in Winterfell, the only way we could see her dying is if Dany decides to ride Drogon up to Winterfell to execute some payback for her spreading Jon’s parentage secret.
That said, of all the major characters that are still breathing heading into the finale, Sansa and her newly-discovered genius seem the most likely to make it out alive.
Bran Stark – Given that he’s barely alive, it’s kind of tough for him to die. After all, what is dead may never die.
But in all seriousness, whether you like it or not, the artist formerly known as Bran Stark appears to be the lynchpin to this whole story, and that would require him making it through the finale in one piece.
Plus, he’s also now the odds-on favorite in Las Vegas to sit on the Iron Throne.
50/50
A total toss up. The people in this category have as good of a chance at living as they do dying.
Bronn – While many fans think we’ve seen the last of everyone’s favorite sellsword-turned-Ser, I’ve argued that the Lannister Crossbow he’s been obnoxiously toting around this season is a Chekhov’s Gun-like weapon that is bound to play one final role in the series before it’s all said & done.
Otherwise — if Bronn and that crossbow are never seen or heard from again — then why the hell did Game of Thrones waste time giving him those two very distinct scenes, especially considering the obvious pacing issues they’ve had this season?
Arya Stark – While I’m relatively confident that Arya Stark, Westeros’ preeminent assassin, makes it through the finale alive, the penultimate episode seemed to foreshadow her exacting revenge on Daenerys, which is an inherently life-threatening mission.
Jon Snow – On one hand, Jon Snow is now clearly the archetypal hero of this story and appears to be the one destined to bring Daenerys’ reign to an end.
On the other hand, this *is* Game of Thrones after all, so everyone’s favorite savior being Dracarys’d in the episode’s final hour would come as a shock to no one.
While Jon (or Aegon) is now clearly the hero of this story, he’s also now Dany’s direct challenger to the Throne, which makes the price on his head just a littttleee higher than usual, ya know, given that Daenerys is essentially a terrorist now.
In Big Trouble
These are the characters whose survival I’m *severely* concerned about heading into the series finale.
Tyrion Lannister – There’s no other way to put it: Tyrion done messed up BIG TIME by letting his brother Jaime escape, and if Dany gets wind of what he’s done, there’s a negative percent chance that she allows him to live.
Grey Worm – Similar to his Queen, Grey Worm also devolved into the worst version of himself in “The Bells”, killing Lannister soldiers — who had already surrendered — indiscriminately. Given that his Queen is now Public Enemy #1, it’s easy to imagine a scenario where Grey Worm gives his life protecting her.
Daenerys Targaryen – While the events of the upcoming series finale are a total mystery to everyone outside of the production of Game of Thrones (and the psychos who subject themselves to leaks), fans of the iconic HBO series seem to agree that one guarantee will be Daenerys Targaryen paying the Iron Price following her descent into Mad Queendom.
