All of the reunions and conversations and knighting and sex and songs in “A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms” clearly portended doom, setting us up for a lot of deaths in the apocalyptic Battle of Winterfell. Game of Thrones loves to hurt us, so seeing happy moments this past week means heartache next week. And yet, the show perhaps provided us with a mercy by giving so many of these characters closure, easing (somewhat) the eventuality of their passing. Game of Thrones has not hit us with a major death in awhile, but at this point, there’s an investment in almost all of the remaining characters; whoever expires will be a tragedy. That will be doubly true if and when they immediately get up with cold blue eyes and join the Night King’s Army of the Dead...

With that said, let’s look into the probability of who’s safe, who will die, and whose fate could go either way:

Probably Safe

game-of-thrones-season-8-episode-1-image-20
Image via HBO

Let's get this out of the way first -- Season 8, Episode 3 is the halfway point of this final season, which means that while the episode will likely clean house when it comes to more minor characters, most of the marquee names are probably safe. Probably, but not assuredly. That would include Tyrion Lannister, Jon Snow, Daenerys Targaryen, and Sansa Stark, although frankly Sansa’s survival could just be wishful thinking on my part. Jon and Dany have a lot of unfinished business, and none of their Episode 2 storylines felt like they had closure. The battle after Winterfell, assuming anyone survives, will be for the Iron Throne, which means its major contenders (the two Targaryens) will be part of that final scuffle for it, with Tyrion guiding the drama from here on out.

As for Sansa, well, someone has to stand up for the North's interests!

Probably Will Die

game-of-thrones-season-8-episode-2-images-davos
Image via HBO, Helen Sloan

Episode 2 set up some potentially heroic fates for Jorah Mormont, Theon Greyjoy, and Brienne of Tarth, whose stories feel like they could come to a natural conclusion in the Battle of Winterfell (however tearful it may make us). Jorah has come to terms with Tyrion guiding Dany now, and he has a Valyrian sword in hand again -- to die protecting his Queen would be his ultimate dream.

Theon has a lot of making up to do when it comes to Winterfell, as he himself noted in this last episode, and it would be fitting for him to sacrifice himself in service of the castle and family who raised him.

Brienne -- Ser Brienne now -- received her long-desired knighthood and validation from Jaime which ... look, I don’t want it to happen, but it will probably happen.

Battle leaders Lady Lyanna Mormont and Dolorous Edd also probably have some strong final stands to make before they are cut down at the hands of the Night King, especially since Edd seems specifically brought back to remind us he exists (and that they need to burn the bodies of the dead), which usually is a sign that person is about to disappear. The same can be said for Ghost, which really makes me exceptionally angry, but the series cast its lot with the dragons to the detriment of the direwolves’ magic long ago.

Grey Worm and Missandei basically sealed their fates when they talked lovingly about their post-war lives, which means they’re likely both toast, though Missandei has an outside chance at survival (even though her role in the series as Dany’s confidant has been so diminished, making her less “essential” than before).

Podrick Payne, Gendry (Baratheon), Beric Dondarrion, and Tormund Giantsbane are also characters who are arguably no longer essential to the rest of Game of Thrones’ overall story. The resurrection magic bestowed on Beric has always been more or less ignored by the show’s writers, and as lovely as Pod, Gendry, and Tormund are, each got memorable moments in Episode 2 that felt like swan songs.

As for Davos Seaworth, our beloved Onion Knight, I think it’s very likely he perishes saving the little Shireen-like girl who is going to be “protecting” those in the crypt, since he could not save Shireen herself. It would be poetic, since it’s unlikely Davos would have the time (or ability) to go toe-to-toe with Melisandre before the series is over even if she does return, however satisfying that might be.

Let’s not forget as well that any/all of these characters could immediately be raised as White Walkers, which is truly a fate worse than death. If Brienne falls, we know she did it having achieved greatness ... but to be turned into a wight at that point would be truly horrific and a twist of the knife for viewers. The same is true for, well, everyone on this list. What is dead may never die...

Could Go Either Way

game-of-thrones-maisie-williams
Image via HBO

The thing about Game of Thrones is that we know Episode 3 is going to be impossible to predict. There will be big names who will die and minor characters who will survive, because who the heck knows anything? Still, there are several characters whose fates truly hang in the balance based on their storylines in Episode 2 as well as where they will be during the battle.

Firstly, everyone has more or less guessed that anyone in the crypts is in for a bad time. “The dead are already here,” as we heard in the trailer, so putting a bunch of people in a small space that’s full of dead people with one exit is … not great. I think it’s very possible that Samwell Tarly, Gilly, and Varys could die here. However, it’s just as likely that they find unexpected ways to survive, particularly Varys (who hasn’t had much to do yet this season), or even Gilly if Sam sacrifices himself for her and his son.

And as much as we all are looking forward to a potential Clegane Bowl between Sandor and Gregor (which could still happen even if Sandor becomes a wight, and then it would be a Zombie Clegane Bowl), there is a possibility that he could expire in the battle protecting someone else, and yet, the show hasn’t really set that up in any meaningful way. (I don’t think he would die protecting Arya, for instance, because she doesn’t need his help).

Speaking of Arya Stark, she is one of three major players who could die in the battle, the others being Jaime Lannister and Bran “No I’m Actually the Three-Eyed Raven” Stark. The show has not spent seven seasons leading up to the Night King finally doing something south of the wall for it to end with a few minor characters dying. Bran says, for instance, that the Night King wants to wipe out all of human history. It’s very possible that he does that by killing Bran, or that Bran is somehow absorbed into the weirwoods and thus “dies” as himself to truly become part of their neural network. The first would be fittingly nihilistic and provide actual consequences for the Night King’s march, though the latter would also work with the mythology. Something weird is going to happen, and Bran will unlikely remain as a human in any capacity afterwards.

As for Jaime, there is a popular theory that the King Slayer will become a Queen Slayer and eventually take out Cersei, as the “valonqar” mentioned in Cersei’s prophesy. For that reason, his odds are fairly good at survival (perhaps he’ll also stab the Night King in the back while he’s at it, why not?) A good deal of Episode 2 saw Jaime facing forgiveness and redemption by returning to Winterfell, the place that ended up changing the trajectory of his life, so I don’t think his story is over quite yet.

Arya, well, it seems that she has reclaimed herself as Arya and essentially left her time as No One in the House of Black and White behind. She's still a fantastic fighter, of course, but her reverting back to her old self completely (unless she takes Gendry's face next week, which is still possible) could spell the end for her. Arya as a White Walker would also be one of the most harrowing things the show could do to us, and knowing its track record, definitely not out of the realm of possibility.

Poll Results