So let’s do a recap of where our favourite characters stand as the final season begins. 

1. Jon Snow/ Aegon Targaryen

The entire Song of Ice and Fire has been about him, hasn’t it? Jon has come a long way from being the bastard of Winterfell. 

He chose to go to the Wall because he didn’t belong at Winterfell. He became a brother and then the Lord Commander of The Night’s Watch. He became the first Lord Commander to grant passage to the wildlings through the Wall and help them rehabilitate, which got him killed. 

But then Melisandre brought him back.

 And since then, he has retaken Winterfell, gathered an army, convinced Dany to fight beside him and is going to lead the war against the dead.

BTW, he doesn’t know that Dany is his actual aunt. So that would be very weird revelation. 

2. Daenerys Targaryen

Dany is a woman who was once sold like a mare, captured, raped and was hunted. She accepted what life threw at her and overcame all odds to make the world a better place.

She went to Meereen and abolished slavery, gained an army that loves her as much as her enemies fear her. Her ideals were strong enough to make Lord Varys turn to the Targaryen dynasty to save the people. 

She agreed to join forces with the North and agreed to a truce with the Lannisters. She might have lost a dragon trying to save Jon and Co. but she is the key to defeating the dead. Although, we’ll have to see how much of a welcome she receives from the other Starks of Winterfell upon her arrival. 

3. Cersei Lannister

Cersei started off as an evil character and nothing much has changed. Although, along the way, she had gained an immeasurable amount of respect from us for achieving the things she did.

This, despite overwhelming odds that forced her naked on the streets.

From single-handedly destroying the Starks to destroying the Sept and the Sparrow and killing all the Martells and Tyrells, she has become the most formidable villain in all the 7 kingdoms. 

Her hate for Tyrion is well known as is her love for Jaime. But since Jaime left her at the end of the last season and we know that she has hired the Golden Army, she might cause some serious pain to Dany and Jon. 

4. Sansa Stark

Literally, nobody else in the show or even in real life could have survived the way Sansa Stark has survived. And through her struggles, she has become one of the most astute political masterminds in the 7 kingdoms. 

Hell, she outsmarted Littlefinger!

She was once an ignorant irritating teenager, who was infatuated with the guy who eventually killed her father in front of her own eyes.

She lived in King’s Landing as a political slave, powerless against those who saw the destruction of her family. 

Littlefinger helped her escape but then ‘sold’ her to the sadistic Ramsay Bolton who raped her in her own home. But she escaped and it was she, who made sure that the Starks took back Winterfell. She was the first to accept Jon as a Stark and it is because of her that the North still remains united.

5. Tyrion Lannister

From being the drunken womaniser to being the Hand of the Queen to Daenerys Targaryen, the dwarf of Casterly Rock has come a long way. He has always been despised by his own family but he is a Lannister after all. And being a seriously intelligent and astute politician is one of the perks.

Tyrion was betrayed by his own family and the entire city cheered despite him saving them from Stannis, at the war of the Blackwater Bay. So he killed his father and the woman he loved. 

He had his heart broken by her when she falsely testified in court against him after they had a brief affair. 

But Lord Varys had the common sense to save him from certain death and bring him to the service of Daenerys.

He proved his worth there and became her right-hand man, always keeping her in check from following in the footsteps of the Mad King. 

6. Arya Stark

Pocket rocket, isn’t she? When we watched her for the first time in season 1, we know she was going to become something seriously badass (if she didn’t die first). 

She saw her father’s death, escaped King’s Landing, escaped the Brotherhood and hung out with The Hound as they ate chicken and stabbed people. She then escaped again and went to the free city of Bravos to become a ‘Faceless Man’. 

She trained, she made mistakes, lost her eyes, got her eyes back and returned to Westeros, killing a bunch of people as she did so. 

And then she came back and killed every last Frey that lived, thus exacting vengeance for the death of her mother and brother. Then she returned to Winterfell and executed Littlefinger. 

God damn terminator, isn’t she?

7. Ser Jaime Lannister

Once the most hated character in GoT, Ser Jaime has undergone some really serious character development to become one of the most loved ones. 

Jaime’s story begins when we see him push a kid from a tower because he saw him getting it on with his own sister and hear stories about how he betrayed his own king. And he’s a Lannister. They’re all supposed to be evil. 

But down the line, we realise that Jaime is not a villain. When he killed the Mad King, he spared the lives of everyone who lived in King’s Landing. 

He is not a hero either. He has done some heroic and some terrible things. He didn’t desert his soldiers when Dany attacked with the Dothraki and her dragons. But he would gladly murder people at his own convenience.

But by the end of the last season, he gave his word to the North to fight against the dead and despite Cersei being against it, he rides to Winterfell. 

8. Bran Stark

Going into season 8, Bran Stark might just be the key to defeating the Night King’s army. But it didn’t start that way. In the begining, he was just a crippled boy escaping beyond the wall to know what fate demanded of him. 

And in the process, he lost everything. People made sacrifices for him so that he could know the use of his power and find his purpose. Summer and Hodor being the most notable ones that laid down their lives to make sure he was alive. 

At this point, he is an all-seeing creature with little or no empathy. But he is likely the only one upon whose shoulders lie the responsibility of saving the living. 

9. Samwell Tarly

Sam ‘The Slayer’ Tarly went from being outcast from his own house to being the first person in a 1000 years to kill a white walker. That’s something, right?

Jon’s most loyal friend, Sam stood by him in every decision he ever made. He even found a cure for greyscale. And now he’s back to Winterfell and found out Jon’s true heritage! We’re still unaware about what role he has to play in the great war. 

But with his knowledge, it’s quite possible that he finds a way to defeat the white walkers for good. 

10. Ser Bronn of the Blackwater Bay

You could find out about his parents but it won’t matter. He has proven himself to be a skilled warrior; not the most honourable but cunning beyond measure. He’s held his own a knight of the Vale, Stannis’s army and even the Dothrakis. 

He even almost managed to kill a bloody dragon. So let’s just hope that he lives long enough to get his own ‘fooking castle’.

The final season is going to be something, isn’t it? So get ready for most of the above characters dying horrible deaths.