Who Wins 'Game Of Thrones?' 8 Theories For How HBO Series Ends

Fans are still going to be waiting quite a while for Season 8 of "Game of Thrones," meaning the answer to the biggest question in Westeros—who will be sitting on the Iron Throne in the end—won't be answered for some time. However, that hasn't stopped anyone from wracking their brain in an attempt to try and figure out who will be the most powerful person in Westeros when the show airs its final episode.

There are several theories that have been floated over the years over who would successfully win the war for the Iron Throne. What started as the War of the Five Kings has since become something very different, as the initial "five kings"-- Joffrey Baratheon (Jack Gleeson), Robb Stark (Richard Madden), Balon Greyjoy (Patrick Malahide), Renly Baratheon (Gethin Anthony) and Stannis Baratheon (Stephen Dillane) have all since been killed. Now Daenerys Targaryen (Emilia Clarke) has arrived in Westeros, though she's pausing her fight for the throne to focus on the White Walkers with Jon Snow (Kit Harington), and Cersei Lannister (Lena Headey) sits as the Queen of the Seven Kingdoms. However, will one of them be the one still there in the end? Here are eight theories for who may control everything when "Game of Thrones" comes to an end.

Jon Snow, a.k.a Aegon Targaryen, Takes His Rightful Place

Ever since the show confirmed that Jon Snow was indeed the bastard child of Lyanna Stark and Rhaegar Targaryen, there has been a commotion for him to become the King of the Seven Kingdoms. Those calls only became stronger after the Season 7 finale revealed he wasn't an illegitimate heir after all, and was actually the pair's legitimate son, because they had secretly married.

In addition, Kit Harington recently made remarks which seemed to confirm his character makes it to the end of the show, which makes his chances of being the one to take the Iron Thone even greater than previously believed.

"I’m a survivor," he said. "And there are only a few of us left who have made it all the way through. It is emotional. This has been an incredible part of my life."

Daenerys Becomes The Queen She's Been Preparing To Be

Daenerys has been actively trying to build up a proper army and band of followers to help her take the Iron Throne back from the Baratheon/Lannister families throughout the show's history, as her family was the ones who were overthrown during Robert's rebellion. While Jon's claim seems significantly more legitimate than hers now, there are still reasons she could be the winner in the end.

Cersei's Evil Continues To Win

Fans are hopeful that Cersei will be overthrown before the series ends, and Lena Headey herself has admitted she doesn't have high hopes her character will still be on the Iron Throne when the series ends. However, Cersei still does have a chance. Her ruthlessness and smarts about how to rule are useful skills, and she's been on the sidelines for nearly two decades, watching her husband, and later, both her sons, rule the Kingdom, and she has quietly pulled several strings behind-the-scenes. It'd be foolish to count her out just yet.

Sansa Stark Proves Herself To Be An Even Bigger Force

Another woman who has proven herself in recent seasons is Sansa Stark (Sophie Turner). Once a pawn for other people to use, she has since proven herself to be a natural leader. She is not only the reason her family was able to defeat the Bolton armies in the Battle of the Bastards, but she has also shown that she's no fool anymore, managing to surprise Littlefinger (Aiden Gillen) and successfully turn on him and execute him for everything he'd done. She's also shown herself to be a wise ruler as the Lady of Winterfell during Jon's absence. In addition, she has admitted that she studied Cersei during her years in King's Landing, which means she's picked up quite a few tips about how to govern that some of her contemporaries sorely lack.

Tyrion Lannister Surprises Everyone

If the show were to allow the most wise and fair person of all to rule, then Tyrion (Peter Dinklage) would be the surprise person to take the Iron Throne in the end. Though his chances seem to be highly unlikely, there are several cases for why he'd be a good ruler. Depending on how things pan out during the war against the dead, it may be time for a new kind of king—and Tyrion would be the least diabolical, but also one of the smartest candidates for the job.

Gendry Assumes His Place As Robert's Heir

When the series began, Robert Baratheon (Mark Addy) was still king, and when he died, Joffrey ascended the throne. Though he was believed to be Robert's son with Cersei, the truth was that he was illegitimate, born of Cersei's incestuous affair with her brother, Jaime (Nikolaj Coster-Waldau). In an attempt to keep a true heir from challenging his power, Joffrey ordered for all of Robert's bastard children to be killed. Gendry is the only one who is still alive. While it would seem more likely that somehow a Targaryen would take back the throne at this point, if it were to still rest in the control of either a Baratheon or a Lannister, then Gendry is the only living relative of Robert's who would have a claim any longer, since Cersei's children are all dead, as are Robert's brothers. King of the Seven Kingdoms would certainly be quite the title for the bastard who made swords in Flea Bottom.

The Iron Bank Controls It All

One theory which was recently floated out by the actor who portrayed the representative to the Iron Bank who came to see Cersei in Season 7, was that no matter who rules in the end, the Iron Bank will still be the one controlling the money—which could mean that they will in fact be the ones in charge of the iron throne. The theory was shot down however, as Mark Gattis, who portrays Iron banker Tycho Nestoris admitted the showrunners shut down his suggestion that his character win it all.

"I pitched to Dan and David, the showrunners, that I should be the last person alive in the shoe because obviously if anyone survives it is the banks," he said. "They just laughed at me. I could imagine one final shot where I was just walking among the bodies of absolutely everyone, turn to the camera and say 'next.'"

No One Rules, Because The Night King Kills Them All

Of course potentially the most morbid possibility is that no one will be sitting on the Iron Throne, because there either won't be an Iron Throne left to sit on, or anyone left to sit on it. The Night King and his army have officially breached the Wall and are making their way to the living. Should the attempts to kill him and all of his wights fail, it will mean he is the victor, because everyone will either die and be burned before they can be turned, or they will turn and join his army in the end. "Game of Thrones" would very well make this a possibility in the end.

"Game of Thrones is expected to return to HBO some time in 2019.