It seems my predictions for episode two did not come through. I predicted both Euron Greyjoy and Bran Stark would die, and neither of those characters met their maker (or is it makers?). Euron wasn’t even in the episode. Needless to say, I can claim zero points for last week.

However, I’m not giving up on my theories. In fact, the only thing I may have really gotten wrong was the show’s pacing. I expected episode two to be filled with more action given the time crunch for this season. Yet Thrones writers decided to give us one more episode filled with reunions and foreshadowing. So, I’m not admitting defeat on last week’s predictions, I’m going to fold them into this week, add a little salt, maybe some herbs, and throw the pot back on the fire. It’s time for episode three predictions.

A brief warning: if you are not up to date with the show, having watched season eight, episode two, you probably shouldn’t read on. 

Definitely NOT Dying in Episode Three
Daenerys Targaryen
Jon Snow
Tyrion Lannister
Sansa Stark
Arya Stark
The Night King
Cersei Lannister
(new addition) Jaime Lannister

I probably should have had Jaime in this category last week due to his needing one more dramatic scene with Cersei. I just wasn’t willing to go 100% on his survival, given that Bran could have easily told his family what Jaime did all those years ago, effectively throwing Jaime to the wolves. (See what I did there? Wolves? Starks? Throw him to the wolves. I know, I know. You’re impressed. Let’s move on.)

A side note: I’m changing the categories a bit for this week, because the show has made it quite obvious they intend episode three to be a giant battle at Winterfell between the living and the dead. This means certain characters are not likely to die this week purely due to absence. This also means more characters could die than what you might see in a normal episode. With one third of the season in the books, and very little action having taken place (unless of course we’re talking about Arya and Gendry ;) Episode three is set up to be a game-changer.

So, for our first category:

Most likely not appearing in Episode Three = not dead yet.
Melisandre
Bronn of the Blackwater
The Mountain
Qyburn
Yara Greyjoy
Euron Greyjoy

Now, on to the next:

Will be at the battle, but just can’t die yet.

• The Hound – Sandor has to face Gregor one more time, Thunderdome style. It just simply HAS to happen. If all the Brienne + Jaime fans, and all the Arya + Gendry fans received their fan service, I need mine. I may be alone in this, but The Hound is my favorite character, and if I don’t get to see him bludgeon his giant zombie brother to death before he meets his own end, I’ll be very disappointed.
• Varys – Varys hasn’t received a lot of screen time this season, and hasn’t really had his role revealed. If he were to die in this battle, it would feel like a waste of his character, and a little pointless.
• Beric Dondarrion – Not dying is kind of Beric’s thing, and I feel like he and Melisandre need a little screen time together to gush about their imaginary friend R’hllor the Lord of Light. I’m guessing they will have a scene coming sometime in the middle of the season.
• Samwell Tarly – Sam is on thin ice, I’ll admit, but I believe he has to stay alive through this episode if one of my other predictions is to come to fruition. At the end of episode two, Jon told Dany about the whole ‘Aegon Targaryen’ thing, and she was predictably skeptical. It’s going to have to be proven to her before she really believes it, and there are only two characters that can do that: Sam (through written history), or Bran (through the three-eyed raven). I’m picking Sam, and that leads me to…

Where I’m Placing My Gold
Bran Stark will die in episode three.
Bran was my prediction for episode two, and nothing has happened to make me change my prediction of HOW he will die. In fact, the events of episode two only served to reinforce my idea that the Night King will kill Bran.

I predicted last week that Bran was referring to the Night King when he said he was “waiting for an old friend,” and Bran basically confirmed that theory in episode two by announcing that the Night King always comes for whomever is the three-eyed raven. That was my first reason for thinking Bran would die. My second reason deals with Bran’s ability to essentially see all, and how that ability can ruin a plot line. (Note how Doctor Strange was killed in Infinity War because they couldn’t have him spoiling the Endgame). 

The third reason I’m predicting Bran to die uses logic I applied to my Euron Greyjoy prediction from last week, and that is Game of Thrones loves to reward arrogance with severe punishment. Using a crippled boy as bait to win a battle is arrogant if not completely reckless, and this is the exact kind of drama GoT thrives upon. Jon using Bran to smoke out the Night King is sure to backfire in the bloodiest of ways, give Jon a reason to doubt his leadership skills, and possibly even a reason to keep his birthright a secret, relinquishing his claim to the throne. Plus, it just feels like every one of our major characters at the Battle of Winterfell should lose someone symbolic of their journey. (More on this in a second).

Bold prediction for Episode Three: Everyone loses at the Battle of Winterfell.
Whether it’s your life, or the life of a loved one, almost everyone will feel the sting of death.

• Greyworm and Missandei – What a sweet conversation they had in episode two about what they will do with life after the war. Too bad they are minor players in the Game of Thrones, “crushing dreams since 2011.” Greyworm = dead. Missandei = dead. Daenerys = shaken.
• Ed Tollet – Again, a nice conversation between Jon, Sam and Ed in episode two, reflecting on their time with the Night’s Watch. But it played like a three-man smoke break at Ed’s retirement party. Ed Tollet = dead. Sam and Jon = sad emoji.
• Podrick Payne – Hey everybody, check it out, in episode two Pod learned to sword fight pretty well. It even earned a smirk from grumpy old Brienne. It’ll probably earn an icy sword through the ribs by way of a white walker in episode three. Besides, I can’t for the life of me figure out why Pod’s still here. Podrick = dead. Brienne and Tyrion = “Oh no, my squire!”
• Tormund Giantsbane – Poor Tormund, the last of the good wildling characters reduced to nothing more than comic relief. My guess is he dies at the hands of the undead giant woman whose teat he suckled when he was ten. One last laugh for Big Red. Tormund = dead. Jon = sad. Brienne = relieved, but sort of guilty that she’s relieved. I mean, it’s not like she wanted the guy dead, it’s just… well… uncomfortable. And speaking of uncomfortable…
• Gendry – Good job, lad. You made the weapons, deflowered Arya Stark, and well… I guess that’s about it. Thanks for playing. Gendry = dead. Arya = probably angry she just lost her new toy, sort of like a cat who lost its ball of yarn behind the couch. There’s no real emotion there, but you still know the cat is going to scratch the hell out of someone for this. Quick aside: How old is Arya supposed to be, anyway? Did we just watch Gendry get aggressively seduced by a fourteen-year-old?
• Theon Greyjoy – I addressed this last week, but it bears repeating. Theon is only here to die for the Starks. Theon = dead. Starks = shrugs all around.
• Jorah Mormont – It just feels like the right time for the old bear to meet his end. He’s had some nice moments over the last couple of seasons, after what felt like a never-ending series of taking it on the chin. He’s made peace with Dany, found a friend in Sam Tarly, and even had a brief moment with the lady of his house. I assume he will die defending his dragon queen. She’ll see him off with a kiss, a tear, and c’est la vie. Jorah = dead. Daenerys = broken-hearted. Like Bran for Jon, this one will hit Dany hard. It’s her journey coming full circle, and she is destined to feel guilt over Jorah’s death. It may cause her to reevaluate love, what it means to her, and if what she feels for Jon is a deep love or something else. Like Bran’s death for Jon, Jorah’s death for Dany should complicate the Jon / Daenerys dynamic. 
• Brienne of Tarth – Oh, Jamie, you couldn’t have given her one night? C’mon, man. Other than that omission, episode two played out like a highlight reel for “The Big Woman.” Whether it was proudly watching her squire, or earning Jamie’s admiration as well as a knighthood, or Sansa treating her words like whispers from God, Brienne was an all star in episode two. (Just ask Tormund). Unfortunately, it was an all too obvious prologue for what will assuredly be a fan-favorite’s death. Brienne will die, and Ser Jaime Lannister will finally see the light one frame too late. 
• Gilly, Little Sam,  and Davos Seaworth – I’ve grouped these last three because of how I believe they will die, and honestly I can’t even feel especially clairvoyant for this prediction. It is a rare occasion that Game of Thrones telegraphs an event as much as this one, but they were about as heavy-handed with this as anything I’ve ever see. I mean, the army of the dead is at the gates, they are led by white walkers who raise the dead, and you’re ushering the woman and children down into the crypts? SERIOUSLY?! A thousand years of dead Starks are about to come alive and you put the women and children on the front lines? Gilly and Little Sam are going to die, and Sam Tarly is going to lose it. And don’t think we didn’t notice what you did with Davos there, GoT. That little girl with the burn on the side of her face was obviously intended to represent Princess Shireen, Stannis’ greyscaled daughter. Davos is going to run down into the crypts to save that poor girl, only to find she’s been zombified, and then the little girl will eat his face off. It’s going to be brutal.

Episode three promises to be one of the show’s darkest ever. However, I think I’ve found a way to inject a little levity. Try this on for size: The crypt scene begins with pure silence, no screaming, no zombie noises, just silence. We see Davos scramble down into the crypts because he realizes what is about to happen too late. His eyes grow wide as he sees all the dead woman and children, the camera closes up on his face, and then the bass and drums drop from Michael Jackson’s Thriller. The dead begin to rise and dance toward Davos as Vincent Price’s voice echos over Winterfell: 

“The foulest stench is in the air,
The funk of forty thousand years,
And grisly ghouls from every tomb,
Are closing in to seal your doom.
And though you fight to stay alive,
Your body starts to shiver,
For no mere mortal can resist,
The evil of the thriller.”

Cut to the Night King cackling, his arms raised in the air, as he stands next to Bran Stark in his chair, his decapitated head lying upon the snowy ground. (END SCENE)

(I know, I know. You’re impressed.)

Thanks for reading,
Dylan Lee Peters

Bold Prediction For Episode Two
Bran Stark will die, and there are two reasons I believe this to be true.

1. The Three-Eyed-Raven is really just a complication for the story at this point. The ‘Jon is Aegon’ reveal happened, and will likely be confirmed by Bran in episode two. Once he has satisfied that role, a person who can see into the future and the past is a plot line liability. Every moment of friction for our lead characters would inevitably be followed with “why don’t they just ask Bran?” or “why doesn’t Bran just look into the future?” It’s really not interesting to a story when someone knows all the answers. It’s why people hate spoilers, and at this point, Bran Stark is a walking spoiler alert. (Yes, I absolutely intended to use ‘walking’ as the adjective there, even though I know Bran can’t walk. Deal with it).   
2. As Bran told Meera in “The Spoils of War,” he’s not Bran anymore, “not really.” This matters a lot going forward, especially given how episode one ended. Bran said he was, “waiting for an old friend,” and then the episode ended with Jaime Lannister arriving at Winterfell only to find Bran creepily staring him down. The assumption is that Jaime is the ‘old friend’ Bran was waiting for, but I’m not sure he is. I mean, Bran doesn’t even see himself as Bran anymore… “not really.” He sees himself as the Three-Eyed-Raven. So wouldn’t he be referring to an “old friend” of the Three-Eyed-Raven? My guess is that Bran knows the Night King is on the doorstep of Winterfell and he’s ready to meet him. I’ll even add in a prediction that Bran gives one last clue to how to defeat the Night King before he dies at his hands.

There we have it. I’m picking Euron Greyjoy and Bran Stark to go down in episode two. I’d love to read what you think and see your predictions in the comments.


And… I’ve got great news to report on the Everflame: Mystic Wild front. Revising and editing of the manuscript is progressing wonderfully, and I hope to have the novel available in early summer. If you haven’t already, please check out my page dedicated to the new book. It currently has a map, a book blurb, and a cover image. Sample chapters to come! I expect this to be a great adventure for fans of my previous Everflame series, as well as for new readers. You will not have to have read the last series to enjoy this new novel. I promise!


Thanks for reading,
Dylan Lee Peters