Which Game of Thrones characters will die in episode five?
We pick the seven most likely candidates to leave Westeros in a body bag – as well as the characters who’ll almost definitely survive the whole thing
Game of Thrones is soon coming to an end forever, but we're sure the series will still manage to sneak in some grisly deaths at the last minute. It’s kind of its thing!
And with that in mind, we’re taking a look at who seems likely to meet the Stranger in what we have left of the series, as well as note any characters who seem to have plot armour forged thick in Valyrian steel..
- New Game of Thrones season 8 episode 5 images could spell disaster for Daenerys
- Game of Thrones season 8 episode 4 review recap
- Listen to the RadioTimes.com Podcast now: subscribe on iTunes / subscribe on Google Podcasts
It’s hard to predict the fate of every single character in Game of Thrones – while we think Arya, Sansa, Bran and Davos are pretty safe, we can’t be certain – but we’ve still tried our best to make an educated guess about what fatalities are coming our way.
Starting with…
Cersei Lanniser
While Cersei hasn’t had that much to do this series, her actions in episode four put her firmly on Daenerys’ own kill list, and assuming Dany manages to take King’s Landing – which it definitely feels like she will – we’d be very surprised if Cersei lived long enough to raise another perfectly sculpted eyebrow.
Though of course, it may not be Daenerys who actually kills her. Long ago, a witch predicted that Cersei would be killed by the valonquar – a Valyrian word meaning “little brother” – which she has always taken to mean Tyrion, partially explaining her hatred of him.
But the thing is, Tyrion isn’t Cersei’s only younger brother…
Jaime Lannister
Jaime’s fate has always been inextricably tied to that of his (slightly older) twin sister, and it’s hard to see that changing in these final episodes.
Whether it’s Jaime that ends up killing Cersei, as suggested above, or whether he ends up just dying with her during an attack by Daenerys, we’d be extremely surprised if the two elder Lannisters don’t go down together.
Grey Worm
Look, OK, we were fooled – when Unsullied leader Grey Worm (Jacob Anderson) started chatting about his retirement plans in episode two, we thought he’d be dead and gone in the next episode, and said so in a piece suspiciously similar to this one.
As it turns out, that was kind of the point of that conversation – to make us think Grey Worm was a goner – as Anderson later explained.
“I’d seen so many memes beforehand that Grey Worm was a shoo-in, he’s a definite death this week,” Anderson told the New York Times. “And I was just laughing. But the show still manages to surprise people, no matter how they take things.”
Now, though? With Missandei and Jorah dead and Grey Worm now standing as the last of Dany’s loyal Essosi advisors? We wouldn’t be surprised to see Grey Worm feed his namesakes pretty soon.
Varys
The spymaster has also lived up to his name recently when it comes to his loyalty, as the best thing anyone can say about his allegiance is that it…Varies (sorry).
Anyway, as a man who is now fairly openly discussing removing (and possibly killing) Daenerys in favour of Jon in large, echoey rooms, we wouldn’t be surprised if word of Varys’ treachery makes its way back to the Dragon Queen soon enough and she arranges a little visit with Drogon’s fiery breath.
We doubt even Varys could talk his way out of this one…
Euron Greyjoy
Look, Euron’s had a good run. For a character only introduced in season six he’s made a surprisingly big impact on the endgame for Game of Thrones, but now we’re reaching the stage when it feels like he’s one villain too many.
As the murderer of Daenerys’ “son” Rhaegal, it could be Emilia Clarke’s queen who sends him to his doom, or it could be that Jaime will take him down in the greatest ‘Who’s the daddy?' edition of Jeremy Kyle ever committed to television. Or maybe Yara will return to wreak revenge on her hated uncle?
Whatever happens, we're pretty confident Euron’s grand plans will be sunk before the series’ conclusion. Can't really imagine him happily sailing off into the sunset.
The Hound and/or the Mountain
distant air horns sound
The brothers Clegane seem fated to clash swords again before the end, just as they did in the first series, and with very little of Game of Thrones left we’d say Cleganebowl is imminent.
As for who’d win, well, it’s hard to imagine it being the Mountain – much as the showrunners enjoy subverting expectations, that would end up being quite underwhelming storytelling – so we’d call this either a Hound victory or a two-way knock-out (i.e. where they both die). Get hype.
Daenerys Targaryen
We don’t want Daenerys to die. You probably don’t want Daenerys to die. But with the way the series has been leaning on her “Mad Queen” vibes, don’t be surprised if one of the drama's ostensible heroes ends up being one of its final sacrifices.
If she does listen to her worst impulses and burns King’s landing, we could see the likes of Jon or Tyrion stepping in to stop her, possibly lethally, and really living up to Game of Thrones’ depressing, tragic reputation. Hope it doesn’t happen, though!
And as for the characters who definitely won’t die? Well...
Won't die: Jon Snow
For years now, Jon has given off the impression of a man who’d like nothing better than to jack it all in, go hiking in the mountains and live off the land while making artisanal homebrew. Instead, he just keeps on getting promoted and promoted, no matter how often he quits his jobs, and he seems knackered and depressed.
Quite frankly, at this stage death would be a pleasant release for Jon, so it seems like the series will just keep him alive out of spite. Clearly Jon will now live forever, presiding over petty political disputes and being told what an idiot he is ad finitum until he ends up wishing he’d given that Night King guy more of a fair hearing.
Won't die: Samwell Tarly
Look, somebody has to survive to write the “Song of Ice and Fire” account of the entire series, Frodo Baggins style, and who better than inveterate bookworm Sam?
Plus, after managing to survive the entire Battle of Winterfell (and make a comfy sofa out of dead bodies by the end) despite having no combat ability, it’s hard to see what COULD kill Sam at this stage.
Won't die: All the characters who seem to have sort of… left the series
A few weeks ago we were merrily predicting the death of Tormund Giantsbane, but now it appears Jon Snow’s last remaining wildling pal may have made fools of us all, leaving Jon’s army to return home North of the Wall instead.
It’s unclear if this is the last we’ll see of Tormund, Jon’s direwolf Ghost or Gilly (all of whom Jon bids farewell to in episode four) but if it is, props to them all – being a character who leaves Game of Thrones without a grisly death puts you in a pretty elite club.
Game of Thrones continues on NOWTV and Sky Atlantic on Mondays at 2am and 9
