Postcards from Westeros Volume 8
By Bill Keveney, Paste BN
As the astute Cersei once put it, "When you play the Game of Thrones, you win or you die."
So, what'll it be, actors?
I talked to the stars of the show before the start of Season 7, and they handicapped whether their characters would survive until the end of the series, which has four more episodes this season and six in a final eighth season.
The actors offered a mix of answers and, to be clear, they weren't giving out any spoilers. (Indira Varma predicts her character Ellaria Sand will get the Iron Throne, which seems a long shot since she's now chained in a King's Landing dungeon.)
John Bradley, who plays maester-in-training Samwell Tarly, is betting on the continued survival of his unwarrior-like character.
"I always said if you were to put money on it, you would have put money on Sam expiring a long time ago," he says. "If he's still around at this stage, you get the impression they must be keeping him around for a reason."
Jerome Flynn says wit may save his jaunty mercenary, Bronn.
"The thing he's really got going for him is humor. In the midst of all the darkness and the tragedy, Bronn's humor is good comic relief," he says. "So, that's what I'm pinning my hopes on. Come on, keep cracking the jokes, Bronn."
Conleth Hill is less optimistic about Varys, who may have gotten a hint of his fate in a conversation with Melisandre (Carice van Houten) in last week's episode. "I think Varys will go before it's over."
Nikolaj Coster-Waldau, who plays Jaime Lannister, has a more dire prediction. "Nobody survives until the end," he says, before pointing at a picture of the icy Night's King. "That guy will survive until the end."
For more predictions and a video chat with the stars, click here.
In other news:
-Did you see our exclusive photo from Sunday's upcoming episode? Bonus: 86 additional images from Season 7.
-We ranked the top 10 characters from Episode 3 based on how well they're winning the battle for Westeros, and their own survival. (Is it just us or is the definition of "winning" growing murkier by the episode?)
-In Episode 3, we said goodbye to a fan favorite: the barbed-tongued Lady Olenna Tyrell (Diana Rigg). We remember here grand style here.
-You watched 'GOT' Sunday with 9.2 million of your best friends.
-And you thought you had a bad week: HBO was hacked, and 'GOT' Episode 4 was leaked.