Our Predictions for the Final Season of ‘Game of Thrones’

The wait is finally over; after eight years, seven seasons, and scores of grisly deaths, Game of Thrones will kick off its eighth and final season this weekend. George R.R. Martin has famously said that the ending of A Song of Ice and Fire will be bittersweet, so while we expect the series to come to a hopeful conclusion overall, we’re braced for some hard losses and painful deaths along the way. Just as we did last season, we’ve decided to post all of our various theories and predictions in advance of the premiere, mostly so that we’ll have bragging rights later if we’re correct about anything.

As always, please note that none of us have been keeping up with any possible spoiler leaks online, and while two of us have read the books, the show is well beyond what George R.R. Martin has written at this point. There will be some light book spoilers down below, but at this point, they’re mostly things we’ve all assumed by now anyway. However, if we’re right about some of these, they could turn out to be major show spoilers, so proceed with caution.

If any of the below turn out to be true, it is pure happenstance. We have no advance knowledge of the show, and made these predictions entirely on our own.

The Iron Throne

The Iron Throne. Photo credit: HBO

Let’s go ahead and get the dragon-sized elephant in the room out of the way: we believe that when all the dust and ash have settled, Jon Snow will be the one seated on the Iron Throne. After all, the series is titled A Song of Ice and Fire, and we’re pretty certain that has always meant Jon, who is half-Stark (ice) and half-Targaryen (fire).

While we know Daenerys has been gunning for the throne this entire time and seems like the strongest current contender, this is precisely why we feel like she can’t possibly succeed. Since when has this show allowed characters to actually get what they want? Although we’re certain that Dany will still spend the majority of season eight working to achieve her goal (as she has for the entirety of the series), we believe that she’ll ultimately be thwarted — either by a change of heart, a noble sacrifice, or an untimely demise. We find the second option most likely, and won’t be surprised if Dany goes down in a literal blaze of glory, having finally found something (or someone) she cares about more than power.

As for the other contenders for the throne, none seem very likely to win it. There’s no way Cersei makes it out of season eight alive, and while Jaime may have ever-so-slightly better odds of survival, we don’t see kingship in his future. And although we kind of love the idea of Queen Sansa, we think she’s far more likely to remain the Lady of Winterfell than permanently relocate to King’s Landing.

Our dark horse candidate for the throne, though, is… no one. King’s Landing is burned to cinders, and the throne along with it. Westeros is split up into independent city-states, ushering in a new, monarch-less age. For this to happen, there would have to be a total bloodbath, with Jon, Dany, and the vast majority of the Starks and Lannisters wiped completely off the board. We don’t think this will happen… but knowing this show, we’re also not going to totally rule it out.

Dragons

Viserion and the Night King. Photo credit: HBO

Sarah and Teija are in pretty solid agreement that all three dragons have to be dead by the end of the show for there to be a lasting peace in Westeros and a ruler on the Iron Throne who does not feel like they’re using the brute force of “I have a dragon” to hold the seat of power.

Lauren, on the other hand, feels that dragons returning to Westeros has been such an integral element of this show that it doesn’t make sense to kill them all off. While she agrees that the ultimate ruler of a truly peaceful Westeros can’t control a dragon, she believes there’s a way to cut the ties between humans and dragons (probably by killing off Dany) and still keep at least one dragon alive, somewhere, roaming wild and free.

However, we’re all in agreement that Dany will likely lose Rhaegal to Ice!Viserion (and then possibly use Drogon to burn his corpse to keep him from becoming a second wight, although having to contend against two ice dragons would certainly skyrocket the stakes for our heroes in the final battle), and then out of fear of losing her remaining dragon child — or perhaps a belated moral guilt for bending the dragons to her will despite her stated opposition to slavery — she will set him free. Ultimately, though, we believe it will be Drogon’s choice to return and save the day, Tolkien Eagle-ing his way into the darkest moments of the final battle to usher in an unlikely victory for the living.

Where we differ is that Sarah and Teija believe he will go down in a final epic dragon fight, taking Viserion with him, while Lauren thinks there’s a strong possibility that a victorious Drogon will fly off following the battle, keeping dragons alive, but out of reach.

However, before the final Dragon Reckoning occurs, we would really like to see Jon ride a dragon. Just once.

Jon Snow and Daenerys Targaryen

Daenerys Targaryen (Emilia Clarke) and Jon Snow (Kit Harington). Photo credit: HBO

As the only person who has never seemed to care a lick about ruling Westeros, it seems fitting that the person to wind up winning that particular lottery will be the one guy who never wanted to play in the first place. At the end of season seven, the show confirmed the popular fan theory that Jon is actually the son of Rhaegar Targaryen and Lyanna Stark, who married in secret (thus legitimizing his claim to the throne) before they both died, leaving Ned Stark to raise his sister’s son as his own. In addition to his blood claim to the throne, Jon has proven himself to be a strong and principled ruler, a loyal friend, and the type of leader that people will happily follow.

Dany, on the other hand, has been in hot pursuit of the Iron Throne since the beginning of this show. While there’s a chance she might be able to claim it briefly, as Cersei has done, her rule can’t possibly last long — giving characters the main thing they want on any sort of a lasting basis goes against the basic fiber of Game of Thrones. Somehow, she’s going to have to make way for Jon to take his place as the leader of Westeros, enabling them both to complete their arcs — Jon must finally embrace his royal lineage and become the king he was always meant to be, while Dany will have to turn away from hers in order to hold on to her humanity, which we’ve seen being gradually eroded away the more power she amasses.

We’ve already discussed the possibility that Dany goes out in a blaze of fiery glory, but another possibility for her demise is that she dies in childbirth. We last saw Jon and Dany canoodling at the end of season seven (intercut with the reveal that she’s actually his aunt, which… awkward timing, Game of Thrones). It would be sadly fitting, considering Jon’s mother died giving birth to him, if Dany dies giving birth to his child. And while we don’t love the idea of a powerful female character dying in this fashion to provide symmetry for a man’s arc… we also don’t put it past the Game of Thrones team to go this route.

Additionally, although the show has only included the first half of this prophecy, in the books, after Drogo dies, the witch tells Dany, “When the sun rises in the west and sets in the east. When the seas go dry and mountains blow in the wind like leaves. When your womb quickens again, and you bear a living child. Then he will return, and not before.

One possible way to fulfill this prophecy would be to have the first half of the predictions be metaphorical — perhaps a dragon soaring from the west to the east, blazing so brightly that it lights up the sky; or the army of the dead freezing a sea solid, thus making it “dry”; or a mountain getting blasted to smithereens by dragon fire, so that the ashes blow like leaves — and to have the second half be literal, with a twist. Perhaps Dany does bear a living child, but she herself dies, showing that the prophecy is not actually about Drogo returning to her, but about her going to join him.

Daenerys Targaryen (Emilia Clarke) and Khal Drogo (Jason Momoa). Photo credit: HBO

Of course, we’ve heard absolutely zilch about Jason Momoa returning to Game of Thrones for the final season (although he was in Belfast hanging out with the showrunners and sporting a very Drogo-esque beard during filming), so it’s also possible nothing will come from that particular prophecy at all.

Another interesting prophecy, though, is the one pertaining to Azor Ahai, the legendary hero that is predicted to be reborn as a champion that will save the world from darkness. This prophecy states, “There will come a day after a long summer when the stars bleed and the cold breath of darkness falls heavy on the world. In this dread hour a warrior shall draw from the fire a burning sword. And that sword shall be Lightbringer, the Red Sword of Heroes, and he who clasps it shall be Azor Ahai come again, and the darkness shall flee before him.”

Jon Snow being the second coming of Azor Ahai has been a popular fan theory for years, but while most people assume that Lightbringer is a literal sword, what if it’s actually a metaphor for… a baby?

Hear us out. The “day after a long summer” is clearly the arrival of “winter,” which we’ve been told is coming since the very beginning of the show. The “cold breath of darkness” obviously refers to the Night King and his army of the undead. The meaning of “stars bleed” is a little less clear, but may possibly refer to Cersei’s slaughter of the Faith Militant (who mark themselves by bloody stars carved into their foreheads) at the end of season six. This all seems pretty straightforward, and can work no matter how you interpret the second half of the prophecy.

Here’s where things get interesting. What if the warrior drawing “from the fire a burning sword” is actually Jon delivering his and Dany’s baby? Dany, who is constantly referring to herself as a dragon who cannot be killed by fire, may herself be the fire. And then the rest of the prophecy is just Jon holding up his baby like Rafiki presenting Simba at Pride Rock. Plus, part of the story of Azor Ahai involves him having to kill his wife in order to create Lightbringer, and if Dany dies giving birth to Baby Lightbringer, that can technically be traced back to Jon, since he’s the one who would have gotten her pregnant in the first place.

Taking the prophecy imagery one step further (and we realize we are deep down the rabbit hole now, but bear with us), what if Dany actually passes her fire immunity to her baby and burns to death, leaving behind a very upset (and thus, red), yet very fireproof baby, in the midst of a blazing fire? Jon retrieving his baby from a fire would leave no doubt about what the prophecy is referring to, and would also provide some preeeeetty sweet imagery. Plus it would mirror Daenerys going into the fire and emerging with her dragon “children” back in season one.

Will any of this happen? We’re not sure, although we really like the idea of Lightbringer being a person and not a sword, because literal prophecies are no fun. But no matter how it all shakes out, we’re pretty set on Jon landing on the throne, most likely with a Stark/Targaryen heir (preferably a girl? named Lyanna?) set to follow in his footsteps, and Dany dying brilliantly and tragically.

Before Dany departs into the great beyond, though, she’s got to have at least one more mic-drop “Dracarys” moment, and another opportunity to save the day with her dragons.

Cersei and Jaime Lannister

Cersei Lannister (Lena Headey) and Jaime Lannister (Nikolaj Coster-Waldau). Photo credit: HBO

When Cersei was a child, she visited a witch who prophesied, “the valonqar shall wrap his hands about your pale white throat and choke the life from you.

‘Valonqar’ means ‘little brother’ in High Valyrian, which Cersei has always assumed referred to Tyrion, but we’ve been sure for years it’s actually talking about Jaime, the younger twin. The only thing we haven’t been sure of over the years (although we’ve had a lot of theories) has been what, exactly, would get under Jaime’s skin so much that it would finally push him over the edge.  

Going into season eight, we’re pretty sure it will have something to do with the fact that he is on the side of the living while Cersei is on the side of… well, herself. It seems highly likely that she will promise to send Lannister forces to the Battle of Winterfell, only to renege on the agreement in order to let everyone else kill each other. Throwing all of humanity to the wolves in a desire to rule over the bloody pieces seems like a very Cersei thing to do.

But while we have no doubt that Jaime will be horrified at Cersei’s callous ability to turn her back on the living, we’re not sure that even this degree of heartless political maneuvering will be quite enough to provoke Jaime to commit sororicide. Jaime has always known that Cersei doesn’t care about the rest of the world, but he’s always been sure she at least cared about him. In order to cross that final, homicidal line, he’s got to feel a sense of personal betrayal so severe that it allows him to finally see her for the monster she is. Our guess is that he will discover that Cersei lied about her pregnancy (and will likely lie about a miscarriage as well, since she’ll eventually have to find some way to explain why she’s not getting any bigger), and that this lie, in combination with her vast crimes against humanity, will be enough for Jaime to finally add “Queenslayer” to his list of unfortunate nicknames. 

As for Jaime himself, we’re not entirely sure what his fate will be following the death of Cersei. We think there are pretty good odds that he’ll be the one to bring the armies of King’s Landing to the final battle, so we think he’ll outlive Cersei by at least a little bit, but beyond that, we’re not sure. He may perish heroically in battle, he may be surprised to find himself on the pointy end of a perceived ally’s sword (Brienne?), he may throw himself from a window once all the dust settles. (Between Jaime shoving Bran from a window in the pilot, and Tommen jumping from a window in season six, odds seem high that at least one of these two has got to go out via window.)

Without his sister, Jaime is a bit of a wild card, but even if he makes it through the Battle of Winterfell unscathed, it seems doubtful that Jaime will last much longer than that. It’s just a matter of when, and how.

One thing is for sure, though: whenever this ultimate sibling showdown occurs between Jaime and Cersei, we’ll probably get a gorgeous and haunting new version of ‘The Rains of Castamere’ to go with it.

The Starks

Sansa (Sophie Turner), Bran (Isaac Hempstead Wright), and Arya Stark (Maisie Williams). Photo credit: HBO

We are of the firm belief that we have run out of Expendable Starks. Let us keep the four we have. House Stark has suffered enough and it’s time to leave them alone. Full stop.

sigh

We wish we could leave it at that, but this show has taught us better than to think we can keep characters around just because we like them. So let’s look at this practically. Of the three remaining Starks who are not Jon, the one we would hate to lose the least is Bran. However, we suspect Bran isn’t going anywhere. He’s the Three-Eyed Raven, so he’ll probably just hang out communing with his weirwood tree at Winterfell indefinitely. Or maybe he could go live in the Eyrie. After all, a bird needs a roost.  

Arya, on the other hand, feels like she may be in trouble. We love Arya, but don’t really see an obvious path forward for her in a peaceful Westeros. Maybe she could go join the Faceless Men, maybe she could go marry Gendry and repopulate House Baratheon (although Arya Stark settling down to play house and crank out babies seems about as likely as Theon Greyjoy landing on the Iron Throne), or maybe she could just roam the countryside like a feral cat and occasionally pop in to visit her siblings… but none of that feels truly satisfying for Arya.

She’s still got a few names left to cross off her list, but after that, we’re not sure where Arya winds up. If she dies, it’s got to be a meaningful death. Maybe she sacrifices herself for one of her siblings or Gendry, maybe she dies taking out the final name on her list (Melisandre? The Mountain?), or maybe she just disappears after the final battle and we are left to wonder whether she died, or is just wearing a new face.

Then there’s Sansa, who deserves a nap and a cookie more than anyone else on this show.

We don’t think it’s wishful thinking to say that we think Sansa is making it out of season eight alive and thriving. Girlfriend has been through so much, that it just doesn’t make any sense to kill her at this point. Sarah and Teija believe Sansa will end the series ruling over Winterfell, while Lauren thinks there’s a sort of poetic justice in giving her Casterly Rock, after all the Lannisters have done to her (after all, she is technically still married to Tyrion).

Wherever Sansa winds up, though, we are all in agreement that it must be Sansa’s choice. No one will be marrying her off or telling her where to go — wherever she lands, and whoever she lands with (if anyone), will all be choices she makes for herself.

Tyrion Lannister

Tyrion Lannister (Peter Dinklage). Photo credit: HBO

We are pretty sure Tyrion is safe. Not just because we don’t think we can bear it if he dies, but also because we think his siblings are definite goners, so he’ll be the only Lannister left. And we really do think that the four Houses represented by the sigils in the show’s logo — Stark, Lannister, Targaryen, and Baratheon — will be the four left still standing (or at least crawling) at the end.

Assuming Tyrion makes it through the final battle, we expect he’ll stay on as Hand to the King, transferring his allegiance from Dany to Jon (and, by extension, Dany’s child). That, of course, leaves Casterly Rock without a steward, so we see two possible options for the Lannister holding.

The first, and most obvious, is for him to give it to Sansa. She’s legally his wife, and by golly, she has earned that holding. Whether or not she’d actually go rule it would be up to her to decide, but if she opts to stay in Winterfell, she can always appoint her own steward to manage the Rock for her.

The less likely, but by far the most amusing option, would be for Tyrion to give it to Bronn. A Lannister always pays his debts, indeed.

The Greyjoys

Euron (Pilou Asbæk), Yara (Gemma Whelan), and Theon Greyjoy (Alfie Allen). Photo credit: HBO

Despite making it this far, we’re pretty sure House Greyjoy is getting wiped off the map. Euron cannot possibly be long for this world (we’re a little shocked he’s still around, honestly), and if Yara isn’t already dead, she likely will be soon.

The only player from House Greyjoy that we think still has anything interesting left to do is Theon, who has been saying for years that he made the wrong choice when he sided with his family against Robb Stark, and that if he had it to do over again, he’d do things differently.

We believe season eight will give Theon the second chance he’s been yearning for. He never did deliver the Greyjoy troops he promised Robb, but if he’s able to overthrow Euron and reclaim leadership of the Ironborn, he may still be able to finally make good on his promise by showing up to fight for House Stark. Ultimately, we anticipate Theon will die for Jon, fighting for him the way he never did for Robb, and completing one of the most symmetrical character arcs in the series.  

Gendry

Gendry (Joe Dempsie). Photo credit: HBO

We love Gendry a lot, but we honestly don’t see much of a reason why they brought him back at this point, unless it’s to keep House Baratheon alive. Which means Gendry lives, as he can’t exactly propagate his House all on his own, and with all that the show has to accomplish this season, we doubt it’ll be spending any time finding Gendry a wife to impregnate. Most likely, Gendry makes it through the final battle, perhaps a little worse for wear, but still breathing, leaving the door open for the new ruler of Westeros to legitimize him and for House Baratheon to rise again.

It would be nice to see Gendry forge a friendship with Jon, mirroring the friendship of Robert and Ned. He can go back to Dragonstone (since, as we said above, we don’t think Dany will be using it anymore), reboot his House, and be the Baratheon Westeros needs, if not necessarily the one they deserve.

Samwell Tarly

Gilly (Hannah Murray) and Samwell Tarly (John Bradley). Photo credit: HBO

We expect the body count to be high this season, but we think Sam is safe, as is Little Sam. This show has killed off plenty of kind-hearted loveable characters and small children, but those tend to be the sorts of plot devices designed to ratchet up the stakes, and they’re already pretty darn high. Now that we’re in the final act, we expect this season to be all about paying off long-running arcs and providing resolution, and Sam’s death wouldn’t accomplish any of that.

Gilly, on the other hand, we’re unsure about. She doesn’t seem to serve much of a purpose in the overall story, but she is The Thing Sam Cares About Most, so either the show will keep her around to give Sam a well-earned happy ending, or will kill her off in order to motivate Sam to do something brave and reckless because of his pain. We, obviously, would go with Option A, but we’re not the ones in charge here, and could really see this going either way.

In any case, once the dust settles, Sam seems destined to be Jon’s maester. Sure, he got kicked out of maester school, but Jon seems likely to embrace a court of misfits, and we don’t see a little thing like Sam not technically being a maester standing in the way of Jon appointing him to the position anyway.

The Night King

The Night King (Vladimir ‘Furdo’ Furdik). Photo credit: HBO

There’s been a lot of speculation among the fandom about the true identity of the Night King, the frosty, undead leader of the White Walker army. Many subscribe to the theory that the Night King is actually Bran Stark, who will warg back in time to try to stop the White Walker invasion before it starts, and somehow get stuck in the process.

There’s certainly some canon evidence supporting this theory — after all, we learned in season six that Hodor was more or less created by a future version of Bran warging back into his younger self. And Jojen Reed did warn Bran in season four to be careful with his warging, lest he become trapped in a different body. So warging back in time is definitely possible, and finding oneself unable to escape after warging is also possible.

Despite all that, we’re still not fully sold on the Bran-is-the-Night-King theory. While it would be kind of cool, we really don’t see Bran — who, as the Three-Eyed Raven, has the knowledge of everything that has ever happened throughout history downloaded into his brain, even if he hasn’t had the chance to parse it all yet — taking that sort of risk without being pretty certain it will work. Maybe season eight will convince us otherwise, but for now, while we wouldn’t rule out that Bran will warg into something before the show ends, we don’t think it’ll be the Night King.

However, while we don’t think that the Night King is Bran Stark, we wouldn’t rule out him still being a Stark (possibly Bran the Builder, who has been name-dropped multiple times throughout the series?). The show has long hinted at a connection between the Night King and the Starks, and there would be a sort of beautiful symmetry in the main villain of the series turning out to be part of the same family we’ve been rooting for all along. Plus the Stark family motto is “Winter is Coming,” which, you know, feels relevant.

No matter what the true identity of the Night King turns out to be (if it’s even revealed at all), we’re certain that the White Walkers will be soundly defeated this season, and their leader along with them. So if he is a Stark, he’s about to be a dead Stark.

Direwolves

Ghost the direwolf. Photo credit: HBO

Technically, there are two direwolves left: Jon’s wolf Ghost, and Arya’s wolf Nymeria. However, Arya encountered Nymeria briefly in season seven, and that scene seemed to function as a final farewell between the two of them, as Nymeria has found a new pack and is no longer bound to Arya. While we do have a strong suspicion that there’s going to be a Tolkien Eagle moment in the final battle, we think it’s more likely that it’ll be Drogon returning to fight than Nymeria and her wolves showing up. (Although it would be kind of cool to have both of them return, showing that the Armies of the Living are made up of more than just humans.)

Most likely, though, is that we’ve seen the last of Nymeria. Which leaves us with Ghost, who we refuse to believe will be anything less than okay by the end of the season. We have already lost far too many direwolves, and we are putting our collective foot down. No. More. Dead. Direwolves.

We do expect to see Ghost fight hard for Jon, but while he may get wounded, he must live. There’s simply no other option.

Who Wins and Who Dies?

‘Game of Thrones’ season eight cast photo. Photo credit: EW

While we’ve already touched on some of our more complex theories about who will be left still standing at the end of the series and who won’t, here’s a rundown of our predictions for the fate of every significant character left in season eight.

Jon Snow

Alive, seated on the Iron Throne, probably a dad.

Daenerys Targaryen  

Dead, either a noble self-sacrifice in battle, or in childbirth. Finally the mom of an actual human. Possibly reunited with Drogo in death.

Sansa Stark

Alive and thriving in a place of her choosing.

Arya Stark

Undecided. Most likely Stark to die, but we still give slightly better odds to her surviving. No idea where she’ll end up, but we’re sure she will NOT be settling down in one place to live as a noble.

Bran Stark

Alive. Bird. Weird. Probably stays at Winterfell, but we won’t rule out making a nest for himself up in the Eyrie.

Cersei Lannister

Super dead. Killed by Jaime, probably choked to death with his golden hand, fulfilling the valonqar prophecy. Other possibility: Jaime shoves her out a window.

Jaime Lannister

Likely dead, method uncertain. If Cersei doesn’t die via window, Jaime probably will.  

Tyrion Lannister

Alive. Hand of the King. Still pays his debts.

Brienne of Tarth

Undecided. Sarah expects Brienne to be one of this season’s most gutting deaths, but Teija and Lauren are both of the belief that Brienne will survive until the end, and will live out the rest of her days serving Sansa.

Jorah Mormont

Dead. So dead. How is he not already dead? Greyscale is supposed to be fatal, and yet Jorah managed to cure himself through… exfoliation and moisturization? If all it takes to cure greyscale is a rigorous skincare regimen, how on earth did Stannis not discover that while searching all of Westeros for a cure for Shireen? Why are there forbidden cities of exiled stone people when they could all just be slapping some aloe on their dry areas and peeling them off like a moderate sunburn? None of this makes a bit of sense.

Anyway, Jorah’s definitely dying this season.

Lyanna Mormont

ALIVE. If this Jon-on-the-Iron-Throne thing doesn’t work out, give it to her.

Theon Greyjoy

Dead. A heroic, sacrificial death protecting a Stark, probably Jon, thus enabling him to finally keep his promise to Robb.

Euron Greyjoy

DEAD. Suuuuuuuuper dead. By Theon’s hand, most likely, in his efforts to rescue his sister. Please let this happen early in the season, as Euron is insufferable.

Yara Greyjoy

Dead. She may already be dead. If she’s still alive and Theon manages to rescue her, she’ll likely die in battle.

Samwell Tarly

ALIVE. Rogue maester of King’s Landing. Still the best Tarly.

Gilly

Undecided, but probably alive, along with Little Sam.

Varys

Dead. The death of Varys has been heavily foreshadowed, and he may in fact already know some of the particulars of his death, having received a prophecy from R’hllor as a child that he’s never told anyone. Varys has always been an intriguing, mysterious character, but while we don’t know a lot about him, we do know he hates magic, so we wouldn’t be surprised if there was something mystical about his inevitable demise.

Davos Seaworth

Dead, alas, though he is one of our most beloved characters. If he must go, we still like our theory that he dies taking out Melisandre.

Melisandre

Dead. Not only has she already told Varys that she will die when she returns to Westeros, but she’s on Arya’s list, as well as in Davos’ crosshairs. We’re not exactly sure which of them will land the killing blow, or if it’ll be someone else entirely, but we’re convinced that there’s no way Melisandre makes it out of this season alive.

Sandor “The Hound” Clegane

Dead. The chances of Cleganebowl happening seem to diminish with each season, but we still place the best odds on the brothers taking each other out somehow. However, they’re both still on Arya’s list (even though she left the Hound alive the last time she saw him, she clearly assumed he was going to die), so there’s a possibility they’ll be thwarted before Cleganebowl even gets a chance to start.

Gregor “The Mountain” Clegane

Dead. For real this time. See above re: The Hound.

Missandei

Alive. Happy and free.

Grey Worm

Undecided. Sarah thinks there’s a chance he might be on the chopping block, but after all the carnage of the past seven seasons, it would be lovely to get to see the Unsullied warrior finally allowed to pursue a peaceful life far away from the horrors of battle. He and Missandei could settle down in roles they choose for themselves, making their own decisions for the first time in their lives. They’ve earned it.

Or, he could die in battle, a tragic hero who gave his life before ever getting a chance to live it.

Tormund Giantsbane  

Probably dead. We see a veeeery slim chance that Tormund survives to lead the Wildlings, but more likely than not, he’s one of the Battle of Winterfell’s biggest and most heartbreaking casualties.

Gendry

Alive, and legitimized as a Baratheon by whoever takes the throne. Gotta go make more Baratheons.

Bronn

Undecided. We’re not sure if it makes more storytelling sense to kill Bronn in battle, or keep him alive to continue heckling everyone around him indefinitely. While we lean a little more toward the former, it would be so great to see Bronn finally get his castle.

Beric Dondarrion  

Dead. He’s on Arya’s list, and we don’t see him being able to cheat death this time.

Brynden “The Blackfish” Tully

We. Never. Saw. A. Body.

Daario Naharis

Undecided. Last we saw Daario, he was being left behind in Meereen to help keep the peace at the end of season six. If he stays put, he should be fine. If he shows up to fight for Dany, he’s probably toast.

Jaqen H’ghar

Alive. Who knows if he’ll even show up this season… but then again, how will we know that he didn’t show up?

The Night King

Dead. Killed either by Jon using Longclaw, his Valyrian steel sword, or by Dany/Drogon using dragonfire.

Drogon

Undecided. Sarah and Teija say dead, Lauren says alive but no longer tethered to humanity.

Rhaegal

Dead. Killed by Ice!Viserion. Possibly turned into a second wight, thus placing the possibility of victory even further out of reach (but making it seem that much sweeter when it comes). Also possible that he gets charbroiled by Drogon before the Night King can turn him into a wight.

Ice!Viserion

Dead. Killed by Drogon.

Ghost

ALIVE. STOP. KILLING. DIREWOLVES.

Nymeria

ALSO ALIVE. Probably out roaming the forest somewhere.

(Update: 4/12/19 1:43pm CST) Podrick Payne

Oops, we forgot about Podrick. So sorry, Pod, it was completely unintentional. Alas, Podrick is most likely also dead, and it’s going to be heartbreaking, because we really like him.

(Update: 4/14/19 7:58am CST) Qyburn

Argh, we forgot Qyburn too! Well, Qyburn is also dead. No way Cersei’s mad scientist is getting out of this show alive.

 

How about you? What are your predictions for the final season of Game of Thrones? Did any of our arguments sway you, or do you think we’re dead wrong about everything? Let us know in the comments!

4 thoughts on “Our Predictions for the Final Season of ‘Game of Thrones’

  1. WHAT ABOUT PODRICK?? We are still waiting to learn what exactly he did to impress all those prostitutes!

    And I’ve been predicting it for a while: Jaime takes out Cersei to save Tyrion from her, maybe dying in the process. I think it’s as likely now as it’s ever been.

    Drogo died, baby Drogo died, and Drogon is gonna die. Rhaegal will bond to Jon over Dany and live; he’s named after Jon’s dad after all. And I bet there will be new dragon eggs somehow before this ends.

    • I CAN’T BELIEVE WE FORGOT PODRICK. We were even talking about him just the other day. Curse this show for having too many characters! (But not really, we love it.) Editing the post now to fix it.

  2. Twist on your Jaime goes out a window theory… he does, but he is somehow shoved by Bran!!! Thus creating a neat, opposing book end to events that transpired in season one.

    Theory 1 regarding the dragons: All the dragons die. However, Dany and Jon’s predicted offspring discovers dragon eggs at the end. You’ll see an egg cracking to imply future generations.

    Theory 2 regarding the dragons: One dragon survives, but becomes Jon’s, thus solidifying his reign.

    Tormund and Brienne survive and produce impossibly tall offspring… because my heart wills it so!

    • Lauren here. I would accept either dragon theory, with a slight caveat. My MAIN issue with the dragons is I do not believe they’ll go extinct — if the three we know of wind up dying, dragons still have to live on somehow, and your first dragon theory allows for that. However I think that if Rhaegal is the dragon who survives (because there is a certain poetic beauty to Drogon and Dany going out together or very close to together), I don’t think he will be “Jon’s dragon” at the end. I still feel like whichever dragon survives has to be set free so that the ruler of Westeros isn’t effectively holding a weapon of mass destruction.

      However I COULD easily see a scenario where, after Drogon and Dany have both perished, Jon rides Rhaegal to victory before Rhaegal flies off on his own.

      I honestly don’t think Brienne is ever going to give Tormund the time of day, but I’m really enjoying watching him pine after her.

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