The 8 Characters Most Likely to Survive Game of Thrones

Planning for a peaceful life away from all the nonsense after the fighting is over is never the wisest thing to do before a cataclysmic battle. While we would like nothing more than for Grey Worm and Missandei to get to fulfil their dream of retiring on an island, we doubt it's in the cards. Most likely, Grey Worm will die tragically in battle and Missandei will narrowly escape a horrible death in the crypts. It will be difficult, but we hope that after this is all over, she's able to find love, comfort, and acceptance back in her home country.

Game of Thrones has absolutely no qualms about killing kids. This is the show that burned Shireen Baratheon alive, skewered Rickon Stark right in front of his brother, and murdered and mutilated young Ned Umber just a couple weeks ago.

Still, Lyanna Mormont feels about as safe as any child has ever felt on this show, despite her determination to fight in the Battle of Winterfell. She's proven a fearless and exceedingly capable leader for House Mormont and an unswervingly loyal supporter of House Stark, consistently offering just counsel that is wise beyond her years. This has never been a show where merit-based arguments for survival have carried much weight, but if anyone ever deserved to get through a massive battle unscathed, it's her.

Sam's final shot in "A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms" seemed more than a little foreboding, with him and Gilly gazing at each other in bed over the sleeping form of Little Sam on the eve of battle, calling to mind the elderly couple in Titanic, right before they go down with the ship. Still, we think Gilly and Little Sam will be in far more jeopardy down in the crypts than Sam will be up on the wall. As Sam poins out a few times while the people of Winterfell prepare for battle, he's made it through several skirmishes with the White Walkers intact and has even taken out a few of the dead himself. Most likely, he'll get through this one, too, and will live to eventually become a maester, although he'll suffer some devastating losses along the way.

Much as we're rooting for these two kids to make it work, it seems like a long shot that they'll both make it out of the imminent Battle of Winterfell alive. No main character on Game of Thrones has uttered the phrase "Valar Morghulis" more frequently than Arya Stark, and her preapocalypse tryst with Gendry doesn't bode well for either of their longevity. However, while at least half of this couple is likely doomed, we're not entirely sure which half it is.

Arya still has a lot of unfinished business in Westeros: not only are there still a few big names left on her list, but she's finally reunited with her family and made peace with Sansa, so it would be a shame to lose her now . . . although that sort of sentimentality has never seemed to matter much to this show before.

On the other hand, Gendry is the last living Baratheon, and unless Arya became pregnant during their one time together (which seems unlikely, since one assumes that a girl would've been careful), losing him now would mean that House Baratheon is gone for good. Several of the Great Houses have already been wiped out — RIP House Tyrell and House Martell — but we suspect the show has a reason for keeping a Baratheon around for this long.

One of these two is almost certainly on the chopping block, but the other one is most likely safe. If we had to place a bet, we think the odds may favour Arya ever so slightly, but really, this one could go either way.

While being a walking, talking homing beacon for the Night King doesn't seem to offer the best odds for long-term survival, Bran's all-seeing abilities as the Three-Eyed Raven give him a unique perspective that may enable the armies of the living to get a leg up on the White Walkers. Not only does Bran possess knowledge that Daenerys, Jon, and their armies can use to effectively strategize against the armies of the dead, but he'll also be receiving his own personal protection detail to guarantee his safety.

Granted, we expect keeping Bran safe to be a taller order than anyone realises, but as Sam points out in "A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms," keeping Bran safe is about more than protecting a single person; it's about preserving the histories and memories of the world of men. When you consider Bran is the sole protector of all human history, he feels pretty safe.