All Men Must Die
With the season eight premiere drawing ever closer, the excitement levels for Game of Thrones fans is almost at fever pitch.
As is the norm with every season, the speculation about who's going to die is part of the fun.
On this note, here's our ranking of who's the most likely to meet their maker, starting from the
most likely to the
least.
Melisandre
During her conversation with Varys on the cliffs of Dragonstone, after stating that she's heading away to Volantis, The Red Woman ominously said: "I will return, dear Spider, one last time. I have to die in this strange country, just like you."
Don't forget that Melisandre is still on Arya's kill list and that she's forbidden - under penalty of death - from returning to The North.
The Red Woman may have brought fire and ice together in season seven, but we've a strong feeling that her time is coming to an end.
To be fair, she had a good run of it.
Beric Dondarrion
The dude has more lives than a zombie cat.
However, with Thoros of Myr now dead, if Beric gets killed again, there's no way he can be resurrected.
Gonzo.
Cersei Baratheon/Lannister
Over the course of seven seasons, there has been nobody better at playing the game of thrones than Cersei, but she's a goner.
Aside from the fact that she has the Night King's forces to contend with, if the Jon-Dany alliance is successful, she'll also have to face their wrath after she betrayed them.
All this without mentioning the fact that anyone who occupies the Iron Throne tends to die.
Oh yeah, there's also the small matter of Bran's vision of a dragon flying over King's Landing to contend with.
Daenerys also had an eery prophecy which saw the throne room destroyed and covered in snow.
To compound matters, Jaime is no longer by her side to protect her and she's also on Arya's kill list.
The odds are massively stacked against her.
Euron Greyjoy
Even if he succeeds in his mission to bring The Golden Company over to Westeros to boost Cersei's forces, there's no way that the Queen will marry him.
She has twice previously expressed her hatred at marrying for political gain as seen by her marriage to Robert Baratheon and her engagement to Loras Tyrell.
Also, we've a strong feeling that Theon Greyjoy's redemption will come full circle and he'll take out his uncle.
Dolorous Edd
"Don't knock it down while I'm gone" - Jon Snow.
Always Sunny music plays.
The Night King knocks down The Wall.
For the Lord Commander of the Night's Watch, night is gathering and there's a shit cloud on the horizon because after Eastwatch-by-the-Sea was destroyed, Castle Black could be next on the Night King's path.
Yeah, we've a feeling that the Night's Watch - as we know it - isn't going to last much longer.
The Mountain
Cleganebowl. Get hype!
To be honest, the highly-anticipated smackdown between Sandor and Gregor Clegane could go either way - here's hoping for The Mountain vs Red Viper levels of gore - but our money is on The Hound, marginally.
Also, given the fact that The Mountain is so closely aligned with Cersei and never leaves her side, he's a dead man for the exact same reasons that we stated previously.
He's another person that's on Arya's list, too.
Grey Worm
He's the leader of Dany's army. He's about to see ferocious combat on the front line.
He's almost certainly a dead man.
Jorah Mormont
The guy survived exile, greyscale, and being put in the friend-zone for an eternity.
He has been living a charmed life for quite some time now and we reckon his number is up.
We're in the endgame and Jorah really has no huge purpose anymore.
Jaime Lannister
A one-armed man travelling into a part of Westeros where everyone hates him.
The odds are not good.
Aside from this, you just know that he's going to be front and centre for The Great War. Despite his Kingslayer reputation, we have seen Jaime's redeemable qualities.
However, we're not counting him out just yet because we've a feeling that he has a big role to play.
Sadly, we also think that Tyrion will be the sole survivor of House Lannister - one last f**k you to his father, Tywin.
If Jaime is going out though, you know that it's going to be epic.
Daenerys
You might be hearing the name Nissa Nissa mentioned an awful lot in the coming weeks and if Jon Snow is in fact The Prince That Was Promised, things don't look good for his new aunty-lover (still can't wait for the scene when they find that out).
Then again, Dany has had that prophecy where she's walking through the throne room and throughout the history of the show, she has frequently defied expectations and grown as a leader.
Still though, George R.R. Martin has said that ending is bittersweet and if we had to bet, we'd say that Dany is in peril.
It's the most perfect case of a 50-50 scenario.
Her fate can go either way, but we're leaning towards death.
Lord Varys
Melisandre (see above) already said that he's practically a dead man walking but The Spider always has a plan.
However, there is still the mystery of the voice that he heard in the fire.
Remember when the sorcerer castrated him? Varys' severed genitals were thrown into a fire and from the flames he heard a voice that shook him to his core.
The Red Woman's words could be an attempt to spook him, or they could be prophetic.
We reckon that he's another 50-50 scenario.
Davos
We didn't want to write it. We don't want to think it. We can't even contemplate it....but... this is the type of death that George R.R. Martin would relish.
Honourable, friendly, and an incredibly decent man, there isn't a single Game of Thrones fan that doesn't love Ser Davos.
He survived the Battle of Blackwater and the Battle of the Bastards but he could strike out at three.
Yep, we're getting that sinking feeling.
Brienne of Tarth
Courageous, honourable, a thoroughly noble person.
People like that never last in Game of Thrones.
This being said, anyone that can beat the living hell out of The Hound and go toe-to-toe with Arya is worth fearing.
However, if there's fighting to be done, she's going to be at the frontline.
Army of the dead + dragon fire = really bad odds of survival.
Yara Greyjoy
Our money is on Theon rescuing her... but... she'll still die.
Again, it can go either way but we're fairly certain that Theon's arc will end with him finally learning what it takes to be a ruler as he ascends to the Salt Throne.
This being said, Yara would also make an excellent Queen of the Iron Islands, however, the odds are not in her favour at the minute.
Missandei
Collateral damage. She's a nice character but her death would be very much a 'thank u, next' moment.
We know that's harsh, but come on.
This being said, she's rarely up close and personal whenever there's danger, so, she might have a chance.
Podrick
You get the feeling that the most famous squire in Westeros is being groomed and taught to fight for a reason.
We think that he'll land a major kill and go out with honour.
Then again, he's plucky and relatively insignificant enough to be granted a happy ending.
The Hound
With regards to Cleganebowl, we're making him the marginal favourite by 51% to 49%.
Brienne knocked the crap out of him before Arya left him for dead. He survived.
The odds were stacked against him at Blackwater. He survived.
He's the only man that's ballsy enough to say 'Fuck the King'. He survived.
It would probably take the combined strength of The Mountain, The Night King, and Dany's dragons to kill him.
Tormund
When you look at things objectively, things aren't great for the funniest fecker in Westeros.
The last time we saw Tormund, he was facing the full force of the Night King and Viserion as The Wall came crumbling down.
This being said, we reckon that not only is he fine, but he's more determined to fight than ever before.
He has survived beyond The Wall. Lived through the Wildlings attack on Castle Black. Held his own during the massacre at Hardhome. Fought the Night King's forces.
Truthfully, we just hope that he gets to make those babies with Brienne because those 'great big monsters' that could conquer the world.
A smart bet could be on Tormund being made some kind of Lord by the end of the season - perhaps like Mance Rayder, he'll become The King-Beyond-the-Wall.
Gendry
After all those years of rowing, it's impossible to shake the feeling that Gendry was brought back for a very particular and significant reason.
Of course, there's a lot of fan speculation that Arya and Gendry could be a romantic item.
After all, during the time when they were both trying to escape from The Brotherhood Without Banners, Gendry did say to her that "You wouldn't be my family. You'd be my lady".
It's also worth remembering that Gendry is the last of the Baratheon blood line - that we know about (Robert did have plenty of bastards).
In the first episode, King Robert wanted Joffrey to marry Sansa in an effort to unites the Houses of Stark and Baratheon. Could this finally come true?
Our money is on yes.
Bronn
All he wants is that castle and christ almighty, he deserves it!
We think he'll get it, too.
After surviving the Loot Train attack where the full force of Dany's dragons laid waste to the Lannister troops, we've a feeling Bronn is being earmarked for something big.
Sam
There is a very popular theory that much like Frodo in The Lord of the Rings, Samwell Tarly will survive and the entire story that's depicted in Game of Thrones will be documented in a book that he's writing.
To be honest, we don't buy it because George R.R. Martin has constantly said that the ending of the A Song of Ice and Fire saga will subvert expectations and norms, but we also think that Sam, Gilly, and young Sam will live to tell their tale.
After all, killing him would be like shooting a puppy. Could George R.R. Martin be that cold?
Seriously, killing Sam would be colder than the Night King's heart.
Arya Stark
She's the perfect killing machine after picking up some deadly lessons from her lethal mentors - emphasis on the word deadly.
Arya is driven and resourceful like her father.
Like a dancer, Arya is graceful and balanced with a sword in her hand thanks to Syrio Forel's teaching.
Arya is as cold blooded and merciless as The Hound.
Arya is a master of stealth due to her time with the Faceless Men.
Arya also has her kill list to complete.
The only reason why she's lower than some of her siblings in this dead pool is because she sees more combat than most, therefore, the risks are higher but we don't see her biting the dust.
Sansa Stark
In many ways, the Sansa that we knew at the start of Game of Thrones is already dead.
Naive, idealistic, and not clued in, Sansa had to learn from every horrific circumstance that she was dropped into but as she said in the final episode of season seven:
“I’m a slow learner, it’s true. But I learn. Thank you for all your many lessons, Lord Baelish. I will never forget them".
We've already seen that power and leadership is well suited to the Lady of Winterfell and when it comes to sponging up knowledge, nobody else has been surrounded by the most powerful leaders - good and bad - in Westeros.
During the course of seven seasons, Sansa has been slowly learning from the likes of Ned Stark, Tyrion, Littlefinger, Olenna Tyrell, Cersei, Ramsay, Tywin, Jon.
The only person left that she has to meet is Daenerys.
Sansa may not be the most 'action-packed' character in the show, but she's a survivor that's slowly learning how to rule.
If any of the Seven Kingdoms manage to survive The Great War, she'd be a talented ruler.
Bran Stark
Bran is dead. Long live the Three-Eyed Raven.
We've already seen Max Von Sydow's take on the character die after the Night King cornered him the cave, and it's very unlikely that his protegé will die.
Why?
Well, Game of Thrones is a saga that does give particular weight to the idea of storytelling, history, and legacy.
Essentially, the Three-Eyed Raven is the keeper of knowledge and memory in the realm, he's not going to be killed-off because in doing so, Game of Thrones would contradict so much of its own narrative structure and meaning.
If the Three-Eyed Raven goes then the Night King goes with him.
Yin and yang. Light and dark. Good and evil.
Balance needs to be attained.
Tyrion Lannister
The man that Jon Snow-himself (Kit Harington) thinks will end up on the Iron Throne.
To be honest, there would be something special about seeing one of the smallest men in Westeros occupying the biggest and most significant chair in the Seven Kingdoms, but our reasoning is far more simple.
Family.
Tywin hated his son and felt that Tyrion was a stain on his legacy. Cersei loathes her little brother and still blames him for the death of their mother.
While the relationship between Jaime and Tyrion is more friendly, we don't think the Kingslayer is long for this world.
We reckon 'The Imp' will finally claim Casterly Rock as his own while Tywin turns in his grave.
The Night King
We're in the endgame now and this all depends on how you think the show will end.
Looking at things objectively, The Night King is formidable.
Not only does have an entire army of wights and White Walkers to protect him, he never gets his hands dirty in combat, and there's also the small matter of the dragon that he acquired from Daenerys.
Aside from this, we all saw what he can do with a spear and to compound things, there's a very strong possibility that he's a green-seer too.
He's the final boss. He's death incarnate. He's more terrifying than every killer in Westeros combined.
He's also a mystery.
It's arguable that the biggest question that remains to be answered in Game of Thrones is what does the Night King want?
Also, why is now the perfect time to move south of The Wall? Have they been provoked by something/someone?
Plenty of theories are being circulated but this writer is a firm believer in the idea of a 'pact' between the living and the dead.
For decades, the Night King has been a persistent threat to the Seven Kingdoms and if we do get the 'bittersweet' ending that George R.R. Martin has promised, we think that things won't be as simple as good vanquishing evil.
Jon Snow
It's the problem that resurrection brings.
To be honest nobody believed Kit Harington when he said that Jon Snow was gone for good after the mutinous members of the Night's Watch got all stabby with their Lord Commander, and while Jon's return to action has been epic, it does create a narrative issue.
If a character is practically everlasting, there's not much narrative tension surrounding their potential death.
Okay, Jon might die in combat and Melisandre, too - meaning that he can't be resurrected.
However, there's always Kinvara - the other priestess - that could possibly bring him back from the dead.
They couldn't kill him twice? If they did that, his first death would lose its dramatic impact and legacy.
In narrative terms, Jon has already told us that he's not fond of killing and while season eight will have some epic action, we don't think the final showdown will be a straight shootout between good and evil.
Perhaps another pact will need to be negotiated?
As we've previously seen, Jon is a pragmatic leader - he made peace with the Wildlings because he knew that it was for the greater good, he disobeyed his advisors and travelled to Dragonstone because he knew Dany's help was essential, and he tried to make peace with Cersei, too.
Ultimately, Jon has always been good at seeing the bigger picture and if it comes to saving his people, he'd probably even negotiate with the Night King.
What this involves, though, is a mystery.
Ultimately, there's only going to be one person that will end up on the Iron Throne.
Lyanna Mormont because she'll live forever and marry Hot Pie.
The King and Queen we deserve.
Whatever happens, all will be revealed when Game of Thrones returns on 15 April on Sky Atlantic at 2am and again at 9pm.
It will also be available on NOW TV.
