‘Game of Thrones’ Season 6: Who Could Die, Survive or Come Back to Life?
Tomb of Thrones?
Valar Morghulis.
HBO’s latest publicity push for Game of Thrones takes characters, both living and dead, and places their likenesses side-by-side in the Hall of Faces in the House of Black and White. The individual character posters were all tweeted out with samples of the characters’ most memorable quotes.
On Twitter, fans are being encouraged to use the hashtag #SpeakTheNames when predicting which characters will be next to meet their ultimate fates. The official Game of Thrones account also tweeted out the Faceless Man quote, “Speak three names and the man will do the rest.” Could this mean that three of the characters in these posters will be the next to die? (As the saying goes, all men must die.)
We’ve gathered all the individual Hall of Faces portraits and taken our best guesses on how likely 16 characters will be the next to die (or return from the dead).
Jon Snow (Kit Harington)
Where we left off: Jon’s brief tenure as Lord Commander, with its unprecedented tolerance of wildlings, rubbed many members of the Night’s Watch the wrong way (et tu, Olly?). Season 5 ended with Jon bleeding out into the snow.
Quote: HBO left Jon Snow quoteless, possibly to spark wild speculation, and possibly because Jon Snow simply knows nothing worth quoting.
Chances he’ll return from the grave: High. Putting aside all the set sightings and fan theories about warging and Red Gods and Azor Ahai, Jon Snow has been such a huge part of HBO’s press machine for the upcoming season that it would be shocking if he didn’t turn up.
Daenerys Targaryen (Emilia Clarke)
Where we left off: After all this time, it’s still not entirely clear what kind of queen Dany wants to be. Some questionably brutal leadership decisions led to a riot last season, and a large Sons of the Harpy group made an attempt on her life. Luckily the Mother of Dragons lived up to one of her many titles when Drogon flew her out of harm’s way. Unfortunately, he deposited her seemingly in the middle of nowhere, encircled by a Khalasar of Dothraki.
Quote: “I will do what queens do. I will rule.”
Chances she’ll die: Low. If Dany were to die at this point, not only would fans throw a fit, but about half of the series’s plot would be completely moot.
Tyrion Lannister (Peter Dinklage)
Where we left off: Tyrion was holding down the political fort in Meereen while Dany was missing and Daario and Jorah were out searching for her.
Quote: “If you want justice, you’ve come to the wrong place.”
Chances he’ll die: Low. Meereen isn’t a stable city, but not even George R.R. Martin could get away with killing a character like Tyrion. Probably.
Arya Stark (Maisie Williams)
Where we left off: Arya had been training to become a Faceless Man, but when she decided to borrow a mask from the Hall of Faces to exact some personal revenge, she paid the price with the loss of her vision.
Quote: “Anyone can be killed.”
Chances she’ll die: Moderate. As Arya herself says, anyone can be killed. Arya has been a fan favorite, but she’s not in great condition at the moment as a blind assassin-in-training.
Sansa Stark (Sophie Turner)
Where we left off: Sansa had jumped off the walls of Winterfell with Theon to escape her nightmarish marriage to Ramsay Bolton. We know she survived the fall from photos HBO released, but she’s still in hostile territory.
Quote: “I don’t pray anymore.”
Chances she’ll die: Moderate. It’s likely that Sansa will head toward the Wall to meet up with the Night’s Watch, but even if she manages to make it that far, there’s no telling what she’ll find there.
Jaime Lannister (Nikolaj Coster-Waldau)
Where we left off: Jaime admitted to his daughter who her real mother was (Cersei), only to have her immediately die in his arms.
Quote: “We don’t get to choose whom we love.”
Chances he’ll die: Moderate. Jaime’s had a rough time the last couple of seasons, losing his hand and his ability to fight, finding his relationship with Cersei to be oddly strained and losing his daughter all in fairly rapid succession. But no amount of hardship is too much for Game of Thrones, so Jaime isn’t entirely safe, especially if war breaks out with Dorne.
Cersei Lannister (Lena Headey)
Where we left off: Cersei made it to the Red Keep after her imprisonment by the Sparrows, and after her shameful naked stroll through the streets of King’s Landing.
Quote: “When you play the game of thrones, you win or you die.”
Chances she’ll die: Moderate. Cersei may be free from the Sparrows, but public opinion of her in King’s Landing may also be at its lowest point. Unless Cersei has truly turned over a new leaf, she’ll likely seek vengeance against the Sparrows and against Dorne, putting her at odds with two powerful enemies.
Tormund Giantsbane (Kristofer Hivju)
Where we left off: Tormund and a large faction of wildlings were living on the south side of the wall after the events at Hardhome.
Quote: “If you lie to me, I’ll pull your guts out through your throat.”
Chances he’ll die: High. Now that Jon Snow is “dead,” the Night’s Watch may turn on the wildlings Jon advocated for. That, on top of the White Walkers, the Boltons and everything else trying to kill everyone in the North, puts Tormund in a difficult situation.
Melisandre (Carice van Houten)
Where we left off: Convincing Stannis to burn his own daughter to death wasn’t enough to secure victory on the battlefield against the Boltons. Now Melisandre is back at the wall just in time to possibly call on her god’s proven resurrection powers to help a certain Night’s Watch Lord Commander.
Quote: “There’s only one war: life against death.”
Chances she’ll die: Moderate. It’s not clear what purpose Melisandre can serve now that Stannis is out of the picture, but she seems to be in the right place at the right time to help solve the whole Jon Snow situation. After that, all bets are off.
Daario Naharis (Michiel Huisman)
Where we left off: After the riot in the arena where Drogon swooped in to whisk Dany away, Daario took it upon himself to seek out his queen. Since Grey Worm was wounded, Daario’s only backup wa errant knight Jorah, who's also a competitor for Dany’s affections.
Quote: “I have only two talents in this world: war and women.”
Chances he’ll die: Moderate. He’s a very capable fighter, but he is headed into dangerous territory with someone who isn’t exactly his best buddy.
Nymeria Sand (Jessica Henwick)
Where we left off: Nymeria is one of the Sand Snakes, daughters of the late Oberyn Martell. The Snakes, led by Oberyn’s lover Ellaria, poisoned Myrcella Baratheon just as she was preparing to leave Dorne with her father.
Quote: “I’m better than you, I’ve always been better than you.”
Chances she’ll die: High. If the conflict between Dorne and King’s Landing escalates this season, all of the Sand Snakes will be high value targets. They may even face some dire consequences at home from Oberyn’s brother, Prince Doran.
Oberyn Martell (Pedro Pascal)
Where we left off: Oberyn was very, very dead.
Quote: “I will be your champion.”
Chances he’ll return from the grave: Low. If there are flashbacks to the backstory of the Sand Snakes, Oberyn could show up, but even all of the White Walker and Red God magic in Westeros probably couldn’t bring back someone whose head was so thoroughly crushed under a Mountain.
Robb Stark (Richard Madden)
Where we left off: The last time Robb made it on screen, he was being paraded around with his dire wolf’s head stitched onto his neck.Quote: “This war is far from over.”
Chances he’ll return from the grave: Low. Robb was as thoroughly mutilated as a character could get on television.
Catelyn Stark (Michelle Fairley)
Where we left off: Catelyn was the last Stark to die during the infamous Red Wedding, which also claimed the lives of Robb, his wife, and his unborn child.
Quote: “Treat your oaths recklessly and your people will do the same.”
Chances she’ll return from the grave: Moderate. It’s getting pretty late in the game for Lady Stoneheart to show up, but it may not be too early to entirely rule out an appearance by Catelyn’s reanimated corpse.
Joffrey Baratheon (Jack Gleeson)
Where we left off: To the delight of just about every Game of Thrones fan and character, Joffrey gave the Purple Wedding its name when he gagged on poison and turned a lovely shade of lilac.
Quote: “A king does not ask. He commands.”
Chances he’ll return from the grave: Low. Joffrey is likely to stay dead through sheer fan willpower, if nothing else. But if Maester Qyburn’s zombie Mountain experiment goes well enough, Joffrey seems like someone Cersei would want to try to bring back.
Robert Baratheon (Mark Addy)
Where we left off: Robert died all the way back in Season 1 after getting a little too much to drink from Cersei’s cousin and former lover Lancel (who is now a member of the fanatical Sparrows).
Quote: “I was never meant to be a father.”
Chances he’ll return from the grave: Low. If there are flashbacks to the days of the rebellion when Robert took power from the Targaryens, he could show up. But he’s not directly involved in the confrontation at the Tower of Joy, which is a flashback sequence from the war that’s rumored for Season 6.
Game of Thrones, Season premiere, Sunday, April 24, 9/8c, HBO
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