‘Game Of Thrones’ Season 8, Episode 3 Death Watch: Who Won’t Survive Battle For Winterfell?

“Game of Thrones” has managed to be merciful thus far in the first two episodes of the final season and not kill off any of the characters fans still love. However, with the epic battle against the Night King and his army of the Dead set to finally take place in the show’s next upcoming episode, it doesn’t feel like fans will continue to be so lucky.

Someone will have to die—and likely, a lot of people will be saying their goodbyes to the HBO series after this episode. What fans don’t yet know is just which characters those will be.

So which characters are going to make it out of the Battle for literal Life? Here are our predictions for which characters survive, who dies, and whose fate is truly up in the air.

SURVIVORS

Jon Snow

Though fans are really hoping to see the Azor Ahai prophecy addressed (especially during the literal battle with the dead), it doesn’t seem like the show is going to sacrifice one of the two biggest leads just yet. The show did previously set up the possibility that when all the fighting is over that Jon (Kit Harington) and Dany (Emilia Clarke) could rule together, and if that isn’t the case, the one who perishes likely won’t die until the final episode since it would make the rest of the season a little more anticlimactic.

Daenerys Targaryen

Like Jon, Dany will also likely be safe from death this episode because it doesn’t make narrative sense for either one of them to die just yet. She also just found out about Jon’s real identity, and the show was setting that up to be a major conflict between them since she is questioning if the claim is really that legitimate. That conflict wouldn’t have been set up if one of them was going to die in the very next episode.

Sansa Stark

With all of the growth Sansa (Sophie Turner) has had since the show began, it would be a waste for the series to kill her off at all, let alone during this fight. For a while now, she has seemed to have a bigger role to play in whatever the future of Westeros holds—as a result, she won’t be killed off.

Samwell Tarly

Sam (John Bradley) may have cheated death more than a few times with the different situations he’s faced, but he too also has a big role to play. If the Night King’s (Vladimir Furdik) goal is to do what Bran (Isaac Hempstead Wright) says and basically erase all memory from the world by killing him, then after the battle and the Night King’s presumed eventual defeat—someone else will need to be left to record the world’s memory. Who would be better for that job than Sam?

The Hound

Though he is going to be on the front lines, The Hound (Rory McCann) will make it through this battle for one purpose and one purpose only—Cleganebowl. If the show intends to do some fan service this season, then they will make that battle between the Clegane brothers happen—it can’t though if the Hound doesn’t make it to King’s Landing.

Gilly And Little Sam

At this point, it would just seem strange for the show to make a point of killing off Gilly (Hannah Murray) and Little Sam. Not only are they perhaps the most defenseless characters of all, but at this point, their placement in the story isn’t really important enough for there to be a big show of them being killed. It doesn’t seem like viewers’ time would be wasted on them being killed.

Ser Davos Seaworth

Like other characters, Ser Davos (Liam Cunningham) seems to still have an important role in the story. Since we have yet to see Melisandre (Carice Van Houten), but we expect we will see her at some point, it seems like he’ll make it through this battle. Even if he doesn’t have anything to do with her foreshadowed death, it feels like they will have one more meeting before her time on Earth comes to an end. Since she isn’t in Winterfell (that we know of), that means his death seems unlikely, at least for right now.

DEFINITELY DYING

Bran Stark

The Night King’s goal is to kill Bran if what he told everyone is to be believed. If he can achieve that, it could be the end of the war with the dead. As the prime target (and the literal bait) for the Night King, it feels like he is going to meet his death in this episode.

Varys

We know Varys (Conleth Hill) is slated to die because of Melisandre’s prophecy. At this point, he doesn’t really add anything to the story since he no longer has his “little birds” and doesn’t really serve a purpose. Though he’s going to be in the Crypts (which are supposed to be the safest place—but likely won’t be), he seems like a likely candidate to die.

Brienne Of Tarth

If one death is for certain, it’s Brienne’s (Gwendoline Christie). Not only is she commanding one of the main flanks and will be on the front lines, but she was just knighted in the last episode—which was also called “A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms.” If there is one thing “Game of Thrones” has taught us, it’s that good things don’t happen to people without something bad—like their death—happening almost immediately afterward. Since she finally got her dream of being made a Knight, her time has come to an end.

Podrick Payne

Since Podrick (Daniel Portman) will likely be serving beside Brienne, his death seems likely.

Ser Beric Dondarrion

Much has been made about the fact that Thoros’ death in Season 7 means that the next time Beric (Richard Dormer) dies, it will be the last time. That time seems like it will be now since he managed to escape death at the Wall, but he won’t be so lucky twice.

Tormund Giantsbane

As much as we’ve grown to love Tormund (Kristofer Hivju) over the years, it seems that his love for Brienne might motivate him in a way that could prove to be reckless in this episode. It’s easy to picture that if he is close by as the battle arrives, that if he sees her go down, then he will try and charge a massive group of Wights in her honor. Though he has experience with them, more than anyone else at this point, his love could blind him when it comes to his safety and may make him forget what not to do.

Jorah Mormont

Joran (Iain Glen) managed to beat Greyscale thanks to Sam, which is a miracle in and of itself. He also survived the excursion beyond the Wall—but there’s only so many times a man can beat death on “Game of Thrones” before their time truly comes.

Theon Greyjoy

Sadly, though he just got back to Winterfell and seems to have a connection to Sansa, Theon (Alfie Allen) is another character who is sure to die. Not only is he going to be protecting Bran, which makes him an easy target for the Night King, but he also got his much-needed redemption arc early on by saving Yara (Gemma Whalen) and getting her back to the Iron Islands. Since he no longer needs to be redeemed and is going to be directly in the path of danger—his days are numbered.

Dolorous Edd

Though we’ve only been recently reunited with Edd (Ben Crompton), it’s going to be a short-lived return. He, Sam and Jon have all been reunited for the first time since they were all at the Wall together back in Season 5, and they made a point of the fact that they were the only three men of the Night’s Watch left. The show never leaves a minute wasted, which means one of the three has to die. Since Sam and Jon both have bigger parts to play in the story, that means Edd is going to be the one to go.

COULD GO EITHER WAY

Arya Stark

It’s hard to tell whether Arya (Maisie Williams) will live or die. While she is someone who is truly skilled and can be a useful warrior, the Season 8 trailer seemed to show that she would be in the Crypts with the other women and children—and she runs in terror while in there. That makes it seem likely that she will die. However, on the other hand, her death before she could finish crossing off the last big name on her kill list would be bittersweet and highly unsatisfying, which means she could potentially still make it through this.

Gendry

Since characters who usually wind up in romantic entanglements don’t tend to fare well on “Game of Thrones,” that could mean that following their decision to have sex, either Arya or Gendry (Joe Dempsie) could die. Of the two, Gendry seems the more likely option, but it would also still feel like a disservice to the character, who was off the canvas for so long that killing him at all seems wrong.

Grey Worm

Grey Worm (Jacob Anderson) and Missandei (Nathalie Emmanuel) made plans to go to Naath after the wars are over and they are officially one serving Daenerys. Because they made those plans, that means one of them is set to die now. Of the two, Grey Worm seems the most likely since he’ll be on the front lines commanding the Unsullied, but with the way this battle could go, Missandei could also be at risk, which makes his death less certain.

Missandei

Missandei is at risk for the same reason that Grey Worm is, but seems slightly more likely to make it out alive.

Jaime Lannister

The preview clip for the episode showed Jaime (Nikolaj Coster-Waldau) was seen standing right beside Brienne as they prepared for battle, so he is just as much on the front lines as she is. We can see him dying a hero’s death fighting for the right side—but we also feel he still has a bigger purpose when it comes to dealing with Cersei (Lena Headey) later.

Tyrion Lannister

Tyrion (Peter Dinklage) seemed pretty certain that he might die in Winterfell with this battle, which does make it possible he could perish. Still, even with all of the mistakes he’s been making as Daenerys’ hand, he seems to have an important role that will keep him around a bit longer.

Lyanna Mormont

Would the show seriously kill off another child character after the backlash it received when they killed Shireen (Kerry Ingram)? They could, and tiny little Lyanna (Bella Ramsey) refuses not to fight. But someone has to survive from the Mormont family, and while Jorah is someone we’ve had more investment in over eight seasons, seeing her go would just be terrible, since no one tells it like it is better than little Lyanna.

“Game of Thrones” airs Sundays at 9 p.m. EDT on HBO.