Welcome to the Legion!

game-of-thrones-tyrell

Earlier this week, A Song of Ice and Fire author George R. R. Martin says that characters who are still alive in the books will die in the HBO TV series. Not one, not two, but four!

People are going to die who don’t die in the books, so even the book readers will be unhappy. Everybody better be on their toes…. [Showrunners David Benioff and D.B. Weiss] are even bloodier than I am.

Of course, this isn’t the first time characters on the show have met their end before their literary counterparts. Daenerys’ handmaiden, Irri, died in Season 2, Joyeuse Erenford (Walder Frey’s wife) met her end at the conclusion of the Red Wedding by Lady Stark’s hand, and Daenerys sentenced Qarth merchant Xaro Xhoan Daxos to death by locking him inside his empty vault. However, we’re now being led to believe that the next culling of characters will have more of an effect on us. Because reasons, and because Martin is the devil.

(Warning: spoilers ahead. Obviously.)

So who’s head is really up for the chopping block?

01-s5-media-blast-kit-a

Jon Snow

I’m getting this one out of the way first because he is the most obvious choice here. In A Dance with Dragons, Jon Snow’s plot ends on a cliffhanger with him getting stabbed seemingly to death. With all the fan theories about his destiny and what-not drifting about the internet, I doubt Jon will stay dead for very long in either medium. But he will get stabbed, and HBO will leave his story on a cliffhanger. Making us all think he’s met the same fate as his father. Prepare yourselves, reactions videos are coming…

barristan selmy

Barristan Selmy

A lot happens to Daeny’s crew across the Narrow Sea. In the trailer, we see glimpses of unrest in Meereen to the point of revolt. In one flash, there’s a message on a wall that says”Kill the masters” written in blood. There’s another one showing the friggin’ huge statue atop of the pyramid getting pulled down. In A Dance with Dragons, there’s a resistance calling themselves the Sons of the Harpy, who’ve been picking off Daeny’s supporters and allies during the night. They’re also launching diseased corpses over the wall, causing a plague called the Pale Mare. Then there’s a wedding, a dragon attack, an attempted assassination, and a coup d’état.

I’m not sure how much of the above will be covered in Season 5, but my bet is on Barristan dying (eventually). He has, and will, prove himself a worthy advisor and defender to Daeny and her cause. His prowess in war will be needed to fend off the opposing forces against Team Daeny. After that, however, is anyone’s game. In the books, he does become the Queen Hand and takes over Meereen with Missendei in Daeny’s stead. All sorts of things can happen between the Daeny’s wedding with a shifty noble named Hizdahr zo Loraq and Selmy’s becoming the Queen’s Hand. He could die after the coup and make Missendei the Hand, for instance.

03-s5-media-blast-Missendei

Missendei

Or Missendei will be killed and Selmy absorbs her literary counterpart’s role. In the books, Missendei becomes Daeny’s most trusted, personal ally. She’s also clever as hell (for a kid). She shows signs of being a combination of Petyr Baelish and Varys when it comes to subversive strategy against an enemy. Potential for this character makes her unlikely to be killed any time soon, but this is Game of Thrones. All bets are off.

10-s5-media-blast-brienne

Brienne of Tarth and/or Podrick Payne

Brienne is too noble to survive this world. Has she learned nothing from Ned Stark?! Also, she’s in Star Wars. She’ll be okay.

As for Podrick, people still hate the Lannisters. So much so that they’ll take that hate out on anyone who’ve ever been associated with them. The lovable squire used to serve under Tyrion, a traitor to the family, but a Lannister nonetheless. In A Feast for Crows, Lady Stoneheart, whom we know will not make an appearance in Season 5, abducts Podrick and Brianne and sentences them to death. Brianne survives the encounter, and according to George R. R. Martin, so does Podrick. But the show can just as easily kill him anyway.

rikon-stark-1024

Rickon Stark

This kid is going to be a ball of anger pretty soon, which never ends well for any character. Plus he hasn’t done much to further the plot on TV or in the books. He could finally meet his end just to tie up loose ends in the overall story.


Christina is the co-host of “Intro to Geek” on Shauncastic and Editor-in-Chief at Agents of Geek. Her love of all things Mass Effect knows no bounds. She also carries an obsession with comic books, video games, and quirky television shows. Her heroes are Tina Fey, Amy Poehler, and Gail Simone. She hopes to be just like them when she grows up.

About author View all posts

Christina E. Janke

Christina is the co-host of “Intro to Geek” on Shauncastic and Editor-in-Chief at Agents of Geek. Her love of all things Mass Effect knows no bounds. She also carries an obsession with comic books, video games, and quirky television shows. Her heroes are Tina Fey, Amy Poehler, and Gail Simone. She hopes to be just like them when she grows up.

1 CommentLeave a comment

  • I’m not convinced that anyone that important is going to die. (And it’s not George’s fault who the show-runners kill off.)

    Some book readers get really angry when even minor characters (like Pyp and Grenn, both alive in the books and both killed in the show’s presentation of the Wildling attack on the Wall) are killed. That started in season two with Rakharo dying (because the actor had a minor role in World War Z.)

    It’ll probably be someone like Meryn Trant. Some people will riot, but my money (that would literally be 0 dollars) is on someone other than the major set of characters.