Game of Thrones is back today (well Monday in the UK) and this time it’s for the throne. Plus there’s that whole undead army converging on Westeros to wipe out all life. Which you know sucks. So who lives, who dies, who tells their story? Here are my probably completely wrong predications for who will live and who will die:
Team Greyjoy
Euron Greyjoy – I know we’re meant to hate him and he is utterly one note but I can’t help but love the character. The Ironborn are just pirates (even if the show weirdly makes a distinction between them and pirates) and Euron just wants to steal stuff, murder people and bag a queen. I appreciate his straightforwardness. He’s dead obviously. He cannot exist for any other reason than for Theon to kill him.
Fate: Dead by Theon’s hand
Theon Greyjoy – I’m not sure there is a more thankless character to have appeared on TV than Theon Greyjoy. He betrayed the Starks and Robb, murdered two small boys and was horrendously tortured and castrated by Ramsey Bolton. He’s a rather sad creature but the arc in the last series of him regaining his courage and choosing to go after his sister Yara was beautifully done. I fully expect him to save his sister, kill Euron and die in the attempt.
Fate: Dies resucing Yara
Yara Greyjoy – time for the Ironborn to have their first female Queen. She’ll be rescued by Theon and survive.
Fate: Queen of the Ironborn
Team Stark
Bran Stark – Is there a more boring character in the entirety of Game of Thrones than Bran Stark? I just fell asleep writing that sentence. The problem is his storyline to becoming the Three Eyed Raven has been so esoteric and he has constantly been surrounded by people much more interesting than him. His total lack of emotional response to Hodor’s devastating demise didn’t help. This Three Eyed Raven nonsense better pay off it was I’m saying.
Fate: He’s possibly the only character I don’t care about so he’ll probably live.
Brienne – Nobody touches Brienne. Let me repeat that NOBODY TOUCHES BRIENNE. Brienne of mother fucking Tarth did not come this far for some Lannister stooge or white walker to touch her. If she must go down I will accept her death from noone but the Night King himself but I want her to live and have a spectacular life as she deserves.
Fate – Lives
Podrick – I fear that they may kill Podrick to emphasise how high the stakes are. At which point I take to the streets. Podrick is such a brave, honourable soul. Yeah he’s totally dead isn’t he?
Fate – Dies.
Arya Stark – Oh man I love Arya. She’s fought so hard and come so far and she still has names to cross off her list. But she’s effectively a killer now and I struggle to see how she’ll fit into the new world. I fear she is going to go down fighting at the battle of Winterfell.
Fate: Dies
Sansa Stark – Hello and welcome to my TED talk about how Sansa Stark is the only person on this show remotely suitable to sit on the Iron Throne. Sansa Stark started as a spoiled little rich girl, kidnapped by a mad King and now she is a ruler and brilliant tactician. She understands the importance of diplomacy and how to get the houses on side. She is far smarter than her brothers and has shown that she is the true Lady of Winterfell. I found the Ramsey Bolton storyline and his treatment of Sansa unbearable to watch and was pleased when she got her revenge both on him and on Baelish for selling her to him. Sophie Turner has quietly emerged as one of the best actors in the cast and the producers have clearly recognised that.
Fate: Queen of the North
Team Snow
Samwell and Gilly – This show is terrible at killing characters but I genuinely think people will riot if Samwell, Gilly or baby Sam die. There is a line people.
Fate: Live and get married
Tormund – King of the Wildlings and last seen at the Wall with the Night’s Watch. It could go either way with him but his adoration of Brienne is adorable and it would be sweet to see them get together.
Fate: 50/50 but I’m going for lives
Gendry – I keep hoping that the fact that Gendry is actually Robert’s son and therefore one of the heirs to the Iron Throne will come into play but to be honest they keep forgetting about the character until he is needed.
Fate: Again 50/50 but I’m going for dies
Davos – Liam Cunningham has turned this character into the moral centre of the show. Unwaveringly loyal, Davos is just a really good human being. He tried repeatedly to save Stannis from himself and his agony over the loss of Shireen hurts. He’s the person you would want by your side in a time of crisis. I can’t bear the thought of them killing him off.
Fate: Lives
Beric Dondarrion – I do enjoy his little trick with bring able to make his sword catch fire. But the Lord of Light bought him back repeatedly for a purpose. Time to find out what it is.
Fate: Dies fighting the Night King
The Night’s Watch – I’m pretty sure most of the Night’s Watch are going to get wiped out in battle but I kind of hope Eddison lives.
Sandor Clegane – it’s time for Clegane Bowl! Sandor versus the Mountain and I have my money firmly on Sandor. In all seriousness Rory McCann has turned what could have been a horribly one note character into one of the most interesting, nuanced characters on the show. His chemistry with Maisie Williams was fantastic. Clegane doesn’t want to kill anymore and I’d like him to get the kind of peace he found in the episode featuring Ian McShane’s brief appearance. After he offs his zombie brother of course. Also his line delivery is second to none.
Fate: Offs his brother and then goes and finds peace living off the land.
Team Lannister
Bronn – I spent a miserable Christmas once in my youth working at HMV where I was forced to listen to Robson and Jerome’s debut album over and over and over. It was truly a special kind of hell. I never thought I would enjoy anything either did ever again but Jerome Flynn has made the craven Bronn an absolute delight. I do not want any heroic sacrifice nonsense. I want Bronn to live.
Fate: Lives
Qyburn – He’s just super helpful isn’t he? I’d like a morally suspect doctor/scientist who was loyal to me and dedicated to vanquishing my enemies as long as I didn’t pay too close attention to his “science experiments”. I think Qyburn is great but for Cersei to die (and oh boy is she dying) Qyburn is an obstacle to overcome.
Fate: Dies
Team Targaryen
Grey Worm – Grey Worm is a soldier and soldiers die in battle. Sorry Grey Worm but I think you and your unsullied are in for a rough time.
Fate: Dies
Missandei – Missandei’s arc has been realising that she is so much stronger, wiser and more capable than her masters ever allowed her to think she was. The last two series even showed she was smarter than Tyrion at times. I sadly think she’ll lose Grey Worm but get her own position of power.
Fate: Lives
Melisandre – sorry Lady Melisandre but your time is up. She has forseen her own death and frankly Shireen’s death needs to be avenged. Time to pay the piper.
Fate: Dies
Varys – Easily the best actor in the supporting cast Conleth Hill has made Varys a memorable viper indeed. Melisandre has forseen his death and I fear that Cersei may have her revenge. But hopefully we get to understand more about the voice he heard in the flames first.
Fate: Dies
Jorah Mormont – Iain Glenn has taken what could be a slightly sad sack character (given his unrequited love for Daenerys) and turned him into one of the most likeable characters in the series. Jorah is strong and kind and fiercely loyal. It’s his greatest wish to die protecting his queen. He’ll get his wish.
Fate: Dies
A tale of Fire and Ice – Daenerys Targaryen and Jon Snow (aka Aegon Targaryen)
Emilia Clark and Kit Harrington have effectively become the leads of the show and so it stands to reason that they will both live. But…I’m not completely convinced. All the very heavy handed commentary about how Daenerys can’t have children at the end of last season means that inevitably she will be pregnant with a little Targaryen in the new series who will have a killer claim to the throne given he is the progeny of two Targaryens. (The scene where she finds out Jon has a much better claim to the throne than she does is going to be fun) I think it is the baby that is the “prince that was promised’ in Melisandre’s prophecy. But that doesn’t mean the Mother of Dragons and the King of the North will get to raise him.
Kit Harrington has done a lovely job with Jon Snow. Playing the saintly good guy isn’t always much fun and he’s made him the most relatable character on the show. The producers have also been smart to surround him with stronger actors that he can vibe off well. I’d like to see Jon triumph but I fear he was bought back for one purpose and that purpose was killing the Night King.
As for Daenerys? Look I love my girl and she has come through so much. She was raped and sold and has clawed her way to a position of power winning the respect of both the Unsullied through her war against slavery and the Dothraki (because of the whole not being able to be burned in a fire thing). Plus dragons are awesome. But I think the last couple of series showed quite clearly that even with Tyrion’s counsel she’s a pretty shitty ruler. She’s a big picture kind of gal but has no idea how to actually rule. I keep harking back to the scene where she roasted Samwell’s family (and robbed us of the pleasing vision of the nice one from The Umbrella Academy). There was ZERO excuse for that. So they didn’t bend the knee. So what? She straight up murdered them showing herself to be identical to any other tinpot despot. I really want that scene to have consequences. It probably won’t but to me that sequence showed that if Daenerys ruled she wouldn’t “break the wheel” but be just like everyone that came before. Her father killed with wildfire, she murdered with dragon fire. No difference. I can’t see them killing her off but I do wonder if she’ll get to rule considering that dragons, military might and ability to walk through fire aside she is a fucking terrible leader.
Fate:
Jon Snow – Dies
Daenerys – Lives
The Lannisters
Save the best till last. If the producers kill off any of these three before the final episode they are utter fools because the acting of Peter Dinklage, Lena Headey and Nikolaj Coster-Waldau is miles above the rest of the cast. All three are phenomenal. Dinklage has had a rough couple of seasons (the whole Mereen storyline was rather dull) but he’s still superb and Lena Headey is just fucking unbelievable as Cersei.
I think only Tyrion is going to end the series breathing. Cersei has had a hell of a journey and I can’t help in a way but root for her. Clearly the smartest and most capable of her brothers her lack of a penis saw her underestimated and undervalued by her father who sold her off to Robert Baratheon. Siring children with her brother and not her husband she coped with the horrors of Robert’s constant poor treatment of her and his philandering before having him killed. Which you couldn’t really blame her for. She’s had to suffer the loss of all three of her children (Marcella’s death in particular was hideously cruel) and suffer the indignities of the walk of shame. I found the militant arc so frustrating as Cersei was so blinded by her hatred for Margaery (having interpreted the prophecy the gypsy woman told her about a young queen to be about Margaery when its clearly about Daenerys) that she armed a group of fanatics missing that OF COURSE she would be their next target. I’ll admit I cheered when she bombed the fuck out of everyone that hurt her even if I did feel it was rather unfair on Margaery and Loras. Both her and Margaery were just unappreciated women struggling to survive in a society that values them for their capacity to breed rather than their minds. In another time they could have been friends.
But with Tommen’s death she is rather free to be as truly horrendous as she wishes. I loved how as she became Queen all the fabulous red and gold dresses she wears made way for “Do not fuck with me” black (a costuming choice echoed by Daenerys and Sansa as the last series progressed). For a long time I thought Arya would kill Cersei but I’m no longer convinced. I think the only person that can touch her is Jaime. Coster-Waldau has done a beautiful job in the past couple of seasons of showing how much he truly loves Cersei. I mean it’s tough to root for an incestuous relationship but he’s shown us how Cersei is his world. But she’s batshit. I mean a whole undead army is descending on Westeros Cersei. Can you focus for a second? Forget the Game of Thrones. Let’s worry about the undead hordes keen on ripping you limb from limb. Cersei has had to endure endless indignities in her route to power and she will not give it up for a second. But she doesn’t give a shit about her people. Just herself. And Jaime which is why I’m fairly sure he’s going to end up killing her and then himself. I very very much don’t want her to die with a child inside her but I fear her tales of being pregnant may be a terrible lie and possibly the thing that may tip the scales with Jaime.
As for Tyrion Peter Dinklage correctly guessed his fate. I however cannot. I would like him to live and rule Kings Landing and then get the vineyard he wants. But who knows. Maybe he’ll raise the little “Prince that was promised”. Tyrion has also endured hell and found a family that loves him with Team Targaryen (I did a little cheer when he was named Hand of the Queen). Dinklage has struggled a little with a poor arc since his character left Kings Landing but he still does so much with the smallest of moments. Watching his pain as the dragons destroyed the Lannister army , the army he fought so hard to protect at the Battle of Blackwater. Dinklage can take the smallest scrap and make it sing. He’s a truly wonderful actor. And he better be the last Lannister standing. Or we riot.
Cersei – Killed by Jaime
Jaime – Dies by his own hand
Tyrion – Lives (or we riot)
Who gets the Iron Throne?
Drum roll please.
And the answer is:
Noone.
The Iron Throne was forged in dragon fire and it will be destroyed in dragon fire. The Kingdoms will rule independently with Sansa, Yara, Missandei and Tyrion all ruling.