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Who Will Survive on Game of Thrones?

The 8 Characters Most Likely to Survive Game of Thrones

We're a third of the way through the final season of Game of Thrones, and after two episodes spent reminding us why we like these characters so much, the bloodbath is upon us. All signs point to the upcoming Battle of Winterfell wiping the board clear of a huge number of major players, freeing up the final three episodes to focus on . . . well, whoever is left. Which may be little more than Hot Pie and a weirwood tree, if all the "we're all gonna die" talk leading up to the battle is any indication, but we're holding out hope that at least a few of our favourite characters will make it through.

Even then, though, surviving the first major battle of season eight shouldn't be taken as a guarantee of a character's ultimate survival; we expect the show to pick off several more beloved stragglers before all is said and done. That said, while Game of Thrones has been reminding us from the beginning that "All Men Must Die," we suspect that at least a few of our favourites will make it through the final gauntlet still breathing. Keep reading to find out which characters we think will be telling the God of Death, "Not today," in the final four episodes.

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8. Missandei

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.

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7. Lyanna Mormont

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.

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6. Samwell Tarly

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.

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5. Arya Stark or Gendry

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.

Image Source: HBO

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4. Bran Stark

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.

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3. Tyrion Lannister

Things aren't looking great for House Lannister at the moment; Jaime and Tyrion are both in Winterfell waiting to fight an undead army, and Cersei is currently holed up in King's Landing with her zombie bodyguard and her sinister machinations. While the Mad Queen is seemingly safe for now, she's been so aggressively The Worst since the beginning of this show that there's no way she comes through these last few episodes alive, and although we've really enjoyed Jaime's character growth throughout the show, we kind of expect that whenever one twin goes, the other will follow shortly behind.

Tyrion, on the other hand, feels safer than either of his siblings, even if he has suffered a few advisory hiccups lately. Throughout the show, he's shown himself to be a forward thinker and a keen strategist, skills that won him the title of Hand of the Queen. Our hope is that, before the final chapter of Game of Thrones comes to an end, we'll see Tyrion and Sansa come together as equals to concoct the ultimate winning strategy. Considering how drastically the armies of the living appear to be outmatched by the armies of the dead, it will likely be wits, not strength, that will prove to be their most valuable asset.

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2. Sansa Stark

Long gone is the frivolous, shallow girl of season one, who wanted nothing more than to marry well and live a comfortable life (which, considering that Sansa was barely even a teenager in season one, wasn't that unreasonable of a life goal). While Sansa began her journey as a timid, naive child, after apprenticing under the likes of Cersei Lannister, Petyr Baelish, and Olenna Tyrell, the current Lady of Winterfell has grown into possibly the smartest and most cunning player left in the game. Sansa may not be a fighter, but her wits are sharper than Valyrian steel, and we don't expect that anyone — undead or otherwise — will be savvy enough to get the best of her.

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1. Jon Snow

Now that the Targaryen-shaped cat is out of the bag, it seems likely that Jon is the Song of Ice and Fire spoken of in the series title, with his half-Stark and half-Targaryen blood making him the heir to the Iron Throne. While it's technically possible that the show could still kill him off after spending seven full seasons leading up to the reveal of Jon's true identity, it doesn't seem very likely. We didn't stick with Jon through multiple battles, betrayals, heartbreaks, and literal death only to lose him now, mere steps from the finish line. Plus, there's something to be said for the ultimate winner of the Iron Throne being someone who's never been driven by any sort of personal ambition but by a selfless desire to do what's best for the people who depend on him.

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