Every Major Character Who Died in 'Game of Thrones' Season 8 [SPOILERS]
By Hannah Wigandt
This story includes spoilers for 'Game of Thrones' Season 8.
Between two brutal battles and the all-out destruction of King’s Landing, you might think more of our favorite Game of Thrones characters would have perished in the final season. It was always a given that we would see some gruesome deaths—some of them warranted and some of them not so much. After all, Game of Thrones wouldn’t be Game of Thrones without characters dying, and that's exactly what we got. So to commemorate all of this season’s fallen characters, here’s a list of every major death that made us either reach for a tissue or shout with joy.
Eddison Tollett - Died in "The Long Night," Season 8, Episode 3.
One of the first deaths during the Battle of Winterfell was Eddison “Dolorous Edd” Tollett, loyal brother of the Night’s Watch. After saving Samwell Tarly from a pack of wights, Edd was stabbed in the back by one of them.
Jorah Mormont - Died in "The Long Night," Season 8, Episode 3.
Jorah Mormont’s last moments saw him fighting to the death to protect Daenerys Targaryen, the woman he loved.
Lyanna Mormont - Died in "The Last Night," Season 8, Episode 3.
Lyanna Mormont proved that size really didn’t matter when she took on a huge undead giant and stabbed it in the eye as it crushed her. She was one of the true heroes of the Battle of Winterfell.
Beric Dondarrion - Died in "The Long Night," Season 8, Episode 3.
We finally learned why Beric was brought back to life so many times: During the Battle of Winterfell, we saw that he was meant to protect and sacrifice himself for Arya Stark as he blocked out wights and allowed her to fulfill her destiny of killing the Night King.
Theon Greyjoy - Died in "The Long Night," Season 8, Episode 3.
Theon Greyjoy definitely made some questionable choices throughout the series, including betraying the Starks. But when he decided to return to fight for Winterfell, he was ready to right his wrongs. He died protecting Bran Stark during the battle, and finally got his redemption.
The Night King - Died in "The Long Night," Season 8, Episode 3.
No one expected one of the biggest villains to be defeated so easily. Arya swung out of nowhere and stabbed the Night King with the dagger Bran had previously given her. The Night King burst into shards of ice, and so did all of of his fellow White Walkers. Without the White Walker magic to animate them, the horde of wights collapsed, too.
Melisandre - Died in "The Long Night," Season 8, Episode 3.
Returning to Winterfell despite being banished, Melisandre knew she needed to carry out her destiny as well. She used her sorcery skills during the Battle of Winterfell and lit the trenches on fire, forming a barrier against the undead army. And when she reminded Arya of the prophecy she had told her back in season 3, her job was complete. When the battle was over, she walked out into the snow, dropped her necklace, and disintegrated.
Rhaegal - Died in "The Last of the Starks," Season 8, Episode 4.
Sadly for Daenerys, Rhaegal—one of her two remaining dragons—was taken out by Euron Greyjoy's scorpion-equipped Iron Fleet as the Mother of Dragons's crew headed back to Dragonstone. It was not an end Rhaegal deserved, nor was it one that viewers were necessarily expecting.
Missandei - Died in "The Last of the Starks," Season 8, Episode 4.
Missandei’s death was one of season 8's most shocking. After being captured in the attack by the Iron Fleet, she was executed in front of both Grey Worm and Daenerys. In a way, Missandei's murder was the first major move in the battle between the two queens.
Lord Varys - Died in "The Bells," Season 8, Episode 5.
Varys’s intentions were pretty set when he learned that Jon was the true heir to the Iron Throne. He quickly took action to spread the secret, and that of course was a threat to Daenerys and her claim. In the end, Varys was torched by Drogon’s fire for treason—as Daenerys said he would be if he ever betrayed her.
Qyburn - Died in "The Bells," Season 8, Episode 5.
One of the more satisfying deaths of the season goes to Qyburn, who was quickly tossed and killed by The Mountain simply for being in the way. After The Hound approached his brother, clearly ready for their highly-anticipated fight, the zombie-like giant killed the man who brought him back to life before taking on the person who really mattered.
The Hound and The Mountain - Died in "The Bells," Season 8, Episode 5.
Everyone knew that Cleganebowl was coming. While Daenerys was busy burning King’s Landing and its many innocent citizens, The Hound set out to find his brother, The Mountain—and Cleganebowl commenced. But because The Mountain had been brought back from the dead, it was almost impossible for his brother to kill him. In the end, The Hound was forced to sacrifice his own life—by throwing himself off the steps of the Red Keep along with his brother—in order to achieve his goal.
Euron Greyjoy - Died in "The Bells," Season 8, Episode 5.
Everyone wanted Euron to get what he deserved, and he eventually did when he fought with Jaime. As both were wounded, Jaime found the strength to stab Euron and kill him.
Jaime and Cersei Lannister - Died in "The Bells," Season 8, Episode 5.
When Jaime left his fight with Euron badly injured to go find Cersei, we knew he wouldn’t make it. The pair went down to the basement to find a way out, but all of the exits were blocked. In the end they died embracing each other, as the walls of the castle caved in on them.
Daenerys Targaryen - Died in "The Iron Throne," Season 8, Episode 6.
This was arguably the most shocking death of the entire series, let alone the season. After Dany began exhibiting similar traits to her father, "The Mad King," Jon realized there was only one way to stop her ... and that was to kill her. The Mother of Dragons died in Jon’s arms, and was taken away by a heartbroken Drogon.
This article also appears on Mental Floss.