The Game of Thrones Characters Who Might Die at Winterfell, Ranked From Least to Most Likely
There are still a handful of episodes left in the eighth and final season of Game of Thrones, but it's the third episode that has us ready to throw in the towel on the HBO fantasy series for good. Why? Because it seems like all of our faves — OK, not all of them, but most of them — are going to die in the Battle of Winterfell thanks to the Night King's advancing army of frozen zombies. Have we not suffered enough, HBO?!
To distract us from the heartbreak to come, we decided to be logical about this and figure out who is most likely going to die by the time the third episode's credits start to roll. Will it be the newly knighted Brienne of Tarth? Will Arya and Gendry perish hand in hand? Does Bran already know the answer to all these questions but is selfishly not telling anyone?! Keep reading to find out our thoughts, but be warned: plenty of spoilers abound below, so proceed with caution!
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He'll survive. Samwell Tarly isn't known for his fighting prowess, even if he did kill a White Walker way back when. Despite that, we think he'll still come out of the battle in one piece since he's an important backbone of the series at the moment. Like Bran, he serves as a sort of living memory of what's been going on. When all of this is over, Sam will hopefully be there to write it all down and pass on everyone's legacy.
He'll survive. Tyrion hasn't been on Dany's good side lately thanks to a few crucial missteps involving his sister, Cersei, but we think there's hope yet for this wisecracking character. Daenerys even makes a big show about the world needing his clever mind if and when they survive, which bodes well for Tyrion's future.
She'll survive. We have a lot of faith in Sansa. No matter what horrors she's gone through, she's always managed to outsmart her opponent and pull off a victory, which makes us think she'll be one of the few left standing when the snow settles following the Battle of Winterfell. She's also one of the only people we've seen who's capable of being a decent leader, so we'd bet that she'll maintain her position as Lady of Winterfell for years to come.
He'll survive. We all know Jon is going to throw himself headlong into battle, but there's no way the heir to the Iron Throne is going out this early in the season. Sorry, there's just NO WAY, PEOPLE.
She'll probably survive. OK so here's where things start to get a little murkier. While we do think Arya will make it out of Winterfell alive, the odds aren't as strong in her favor as they are for her older brother and sister. Part of that is because, yes, she sleeps with Gendry the night before battle because she doesn't want to die a virgin, which would make her death even sadder than usual. There's also the matter of that teaser released before season eight, which shows Arya running for what seems like her life through the halls of her ancestral home. Is she running away from something, though? Or toward it?
He'll probably survive. Ser Davos has been a sturdy constant throughout much of the series, and we're of the opinion that he's simply too pure to die. After suffering the loss of Shireen, getting murdered by a wight or White Walker seems like far too cruel a death for Davos to have. Let him die in peace far, far later on in life, David Benioff and D.B. Weiss! Please!
She'll probably survive. Is Game of Thrones brazen enough to kill off a small child? Um, yeah. Duh. Given Lyanna's determination to ride into battle despite her cousin Jorah warning her against it since she's the future of House Mormont, she's definitely in danger. We're hoping against hope that Lyanna is able to come out of the battle victorious, but we're also not afraid to admit that we're scared for her. Her death would certainly pack an emotional punch.
She'll probably survive. A conversation between lovers about all they're going to accomplish once the [insert conflict here] is over is essentially a bright neon sign flashing "WARNING, DEATH IMMINENT." Fortunately for Missandei, we don't think it'll be her who bites the big one.
He'll probably survive. We're determined to see the Clegane Bowl come to pass and refuse to believe anyone but his own zombie brother is able to kill him. That's that on that.
She'll probably survive. Given Jon Snow's confession to Daenerys in the crypts at the end of episode two, we can see the Dragon Queen reacting in a few interesting ways. She could try to kill Jon herself in the middle of battle to eliminate him as a threat to her sitting on the Iron Throne, for instance. Or, going in the other direction, she could die trying to save him, at peace with the knowledge that a Targaryen will be on the Throne even if it's not her. While we're leaning toward the latter idea, we also don't think it's Dany's time to go just yet. She's one of the most popular characters on the show, too, so we could see her death taking place in the season's penultimate episode or the series finale, instead.
He'll probably survive. He's the only member of the Wildlings — sorry, "Free Folk" — left on the series except for Gilly, so it would be a surprise if the show snuffed out that tangible connection to that part of the world. However, he's a beloved character and largely serves as comic relief, facts that both point toward his death.
He'll probably die. We'll just come right out and say that Theon is probably the last person we'd ever want defending us from a horde of icy undead monsters, especially if we can't walk. It's because of that that we're especially nervous for Bran, who will be sequestered in the Godswood with Theon and the Ironborn to "protect" him during the battle. Oh, there's also the fact that the Night King wants to kill him above all others (casual), and he had a heart-to-heart with Tyrion telling him about his transformation into the Three-Eyed Raven, so the evidence is stacked high against Bran's chances of survival. We'll go out on a limb and say that while his body will likely perish, his mind and consciousness will continue on living in some other way, be it in a Weirwood tree or with animals nearby.
He'll probably die. Oh, Gendry. Could your night of passion with Arya be the last thing you get to do in life?! We don't want it to be so, but let's face the facts — he's already made a ton of weapons for the troops to use against the dead, which is basically his sole purpose for being on the show. If a fan-favorite supporting character has to die, Gendry would be an emotionally gutting choice for the showrunners to go with.
She'll die. We feel awful for even saying this, but Gilly is a goner. Where is she staying during the battle? In the Winterfell crypt, which is an awful idea since it's full of dead bodies just waiting to be awoken by the Night King. Would her death be tragic? Of course — she'll probably die protecting her infant son, and her death will also destroy her boo, Samwell. Like Gendry, Gilly is known enough within the fandom that her dying would be crushing, even if she's not a main character.
He'll die. In season eight's "A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms," we see Jorah approach Dany and passionately tell her how much he's enjoyed their ever-evolving relationship, and that she needs to full trust Tyrion as her Hand of the Queen. In other words, he's basically saying goodbye to his Khaleesi without actually saying goodbye. So, we're calling it now: Jorah is going to die valiantly, doing his father's memory justice as he takes out wights with his new Valyrian steel sword.
He'll die. The show is going to try to get as high a body count with recognizable characters as they can while holding back on eliminating any main players. So, that means supporting characters like Beric, who is more popular to book readers anyway, will likely die in the invasion. Without Thoros of Myr to bring him back from the dead as usual, this might be Beric's last hoorah.
He'll die. Theon has had one of the more depressing character arcs on this series, so our fingers are crossed that at least he'll die an admirable death while trying to protect Bran. He's not a good fighter and he's earned a reputation as a coward (though, to be fair, he's been suffering from an extreme amount of PTSD, thanks to Ramsay Bolton), but as we see earlier in the season when he rescues his sister Yara, Theon is determined to redeem himself. Sacrificing himself for the greater good will do just that.
He'll die. The preview for next week's episode shows Jaime on the front lines of battle alongside Brienne of Tarth. Is that worrisome? Hell yeah. He only has one hand, you guys! Jaime is a better fighter one-handed than most men are with two working limbs, but he's going to need every advantage to win against the Night King, so we don't have a lot of faith in his survival right now. This is how we think it'll happen: Jaime will die in battle in Brienne's arms (rounding out his redemptive arc), and later on in the season Arya will take his face and kill Cersei while posing as Jaime, therefore technically still fulfilling that dark prophecy.
He'll die. There are a few things to back up our assumption that Brienne's trusty squire is going to fall during the Battle of Winterfell. In terms of the show, Pod will never leave Brienne's side, which means he'll be in the thick of the most dangerous action. Outside the show, actor Daniel Portman, who plays Pod, has given an interview to Esquire about his time on Game of Thrones, which almost seems like a farewell gesture. There's also the matter of his recent Instagram post featuring him and costar Gwendoline Christie (aka Brienne), which he captioned:
"My dear, dear friend. A beautiful companion on this journey and the kindest, most committed, hardworking person I've had the pleasure of doing any of the crazy stuff we do with. The show might be over for us, but the love remains, always. My friend."
Bye, Podrick.
She'll die. Brienne is one of our favorites, and it truly destroys us to even think about her dying, but . . . she's going to, y'all. It's inevitable. After she achieved her lifelong goal of being knighted (by Jaime, no less) Brienne's huge smile seemed to say it all. The preview for episode three features the fearsome knight leading the charge into battle against the White Walkers, so we know that her death — while gut-wrenching — will at least be a valiant one. (We'll riot otherwise.)
He'll die. Greyworm's short time onscreen in "A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms" is spent telling Missandei that when the battle is over, they'll move to paradise and live happily ever after, before they seal the deal with a beautiful kiss to remind us of everything they've gone through. So, yeah — this is one Unsullied soldier who is marked for death. (We're stocking up on tissues as we speak.)