Entertainment

Why Jon Snow Could Die In The 'GoT' Finale

by Leah Marilla Thomas
Macall B. Polay/courtesy of HBO

The Game of Thrones Season 7 finale has snuck up on fans, so make sure all your last-minute preparations for potential character deaths are done. This year, fans lost Olenna Tyrell, Samwell's family, Viserion the dragon, most of the Sand Snakes, and Thoros of Myr. Those are all mostly minor characters, so it's possible that the show is gearing up for a big goodbye in the finale episode. Perhaps it has to do with Jon Snow coming face to face with that other Queen. Will Cersei kill Jon Snow on Game of Thrones? She must have some sort of plan brewing.

The King in the North plans to bring a wight to Cersei and convince all of Westeros to take arms up against the Night King. A meeting has been planned. Sansa Stark is sending Brienne in her place. The teaser for the episode showed that at least Jon, Tyrion, Jaime, Jorah, and Theon will be attending. It would be surprising if the Lannister Queen let everyone leave this alive. Maybe Jon won't make it. Sansa warned him that Starks who travel to King's Landing tend not to come back. Maybe he'll never get to see Arya again. Plus, fans would definitely be let off the hook for 'shipping him with his aunt if he just up and left this mortal coil for good.

In an interview with Indiewire from July of this year, Kit Harrington reminded fans that nobody is safe on Game of Thrones. "We need to know Jon Snow is in genuine peril otherwise the whole point of this TV show is lost," he said. "We know everyone’s in peril. So don’t expect him to be in Season 8; he might not be.”

However, let's be honest about the validity of that source — the actor, that is. The only way to really get the truth out of Harrington is to threaten him with a speeding ticket, a la the cop who allegedly learned the truth about Jon Snow's resurrection before the rest of us and (thankfully) kept quiet about it. After having to deny his involvement with the show for a full year between Seasons 4 and 5, nobody would blame the actor for having a little fun in interviews now.

Perhaps Harington is protesting a bit too much, after playing one of the only characters who was able to wake up from their own death scene. Sure, don't expect Jon Snow in Season 8 — maybe that just means that he's going to go by a Targaryen name in the final stretch.

Cersei and Jon have been in the same space before, way back in Winterfell during Season 1, but didn't really have the chance to meet that Lannister sibling. The Jon and Tyrion bond was established early on, and Jon had a memorable moment with Jaime as well, but not Cersei. As a bastard of House Stark, Jon was not permitted to have dinner with the rest of his noble family. Little did they know that, as former crown prince Rhaegar Targaryen's secret and possibly legitimate son, Jon technically outranked them all.

Macall B. Polay/courtesy of HBO

But, unless Cersei were to know this information about Jon's parentage, she doesn't have much reason to kill him. At this moment, Jon doesn't really present a threat to her position. He isn't trying to start a rebellion, or secede the North from the Seven Kingdoms. He's obsessively occupied with the White Walkers.

Still, just in case, heed Harrington's warning and don't rule out the possibility that Jon could bite it at any time. The season is almost over, Cersei can rarely be trusted, and Jon Snow has never dealt with anyone quite like her before — that's a recipe for disaster on Game of Thrones if there ever was one.