SPOILERS, OBVIOUSLY
I’m relieved to report that this list is a lot shorter than I’d previously feared. After the first two episodes of this season were spent trying to tie up every loose end before the dead finally arrived at Winterfell, it seemed inevitable that everyone we’ve grown to love over the last ten years would die. Except for Jon – or, Aegon – obviously. He always evades death.
But sadly, the army of the dead did take some lives in the Battle of Winterfell, but in case you couldn’t see what was going on, here is a list of those who died (RIP).
Despite Melisandre (!!!) returning and lighting their swords, the entire Dothraki army was annihilated by the army of the dead. Unlucky lads.
Edd Tollett
The first death of the episode that really gets you, this one. Edd, fucking Edd. What a man. An upstanding member of the Night’s Watch whose final word was “Sam”, having just saved him from being killed by wights as he was stabbed in the back. A true hero.
Lyanna Mormont
Words will struggle to do Lady Mormont’s bravery justice. The Head of House Mormont as a literal child, she never backed down, was determined to fight, and thank God she did because slaying of the giant wight may have saved many other lives.
Beric Dondarrion
Despite being brought back to life by the Lord of Light several times in the past, this was his final hurrah. Beric died while protecting eventual hero Arya Stark from oncoming wights. It was a noble death for a noble man.
“The Lord brought him back for a purpose, now that purpose has been served.”
Theon Greyjoy
What a journey Theon endured over the seasons. From Stark outcast to Greyjoy to Reek to coward to Greyjoy to protector of arguably the most important person in the show, he has enjoyed one of the best character arcs in the show. Put in charge of defending Bran Stark, he breathed his final breath while charging at the Night King in a valiant effort to be the world’s saviour.
The Night King
When the Night King smirked at Daenerys as she tried to burn him alive as if to say ‘please, you think I can fucking burn? Come on’, I really thought he might actually win. Game of Thrones do love throwing up surprises after all. But no, of course, if he had won, what would happen in the remaining episodes?
Just as he was reaching for his spear to finally do what he had set out to do – kill Bran – it was Arya Stark to the rescue as she leapt to Bran’s defence. For an instant it appeared to be in vain as the Night King held her aloft by the neck, but Arya managed to catch her knife and stab him in the stomach, killing every wight in the process.
Jorah Mormont
Oh mate. This nearly had me going. Jorah, a loyal servant to Daenerys for all eight seasons of the show, through thick and thin, died protecting his queen. Daenerys’ tears spoke for all of us as Jorah bled to death in her arms.
Melisandre
Not exactly the most popular character on the show, but she probably, just about redeemed herself in the Battle of Winterfell, arriving just on time to light the Dothraki’s swords and light the trench before the wights found a way through it. Just as she told Ser Davos, she died before the morning, taking off her youth-preserving necklace and marching off into the night before collapsing into a corpse.
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