Who will sit on the Iron Throne?
Now while there are some lead characters (Theon, Littlefinger) and a ton of secondary characters who arnt members of one of the 3 major houses, its a safe assumption none of them will be on the Iron Throne. So for the sake of this article we are looking only at the 8 living members of the 3 major houses, Stark, Lannister and Targaryen, and guessing not just their chances of sitting on the iron throne, but reaching the end of the last episode alive.
And we are going to rank them on a 0-10 scale from least likely to be alive/be king, starting with the character with the lowest chances in my opinion
8) Bran Stark
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Chances of survival: 0/10
Sits on the Iron Throne: 0/10
Bran Stark is dead.....the rest of the world (outside of Meera) just dont know it yet.
Think about it, if he wasnt, he wouldnt have had trouble explaining to Sansa what happened to him when he became the 3 eyed raven. It would be just like inheriting any other title....like the title of Lord of Winterfell he keeps shunning.
Unless of course when he says he's the 3 eyed raven now, he means it not as a title, but as in he is literally the same consciousnesses as the previous body inhabited by the 3 eyed raven. (which is also why he remembers being "bran" and refers to his past self in the 3rd person)
Consider the "original" raven claimed that body was over 1000 years old....and he'd been stuck into a tree the entire time. So it doesnt need to eat, or drink, the Raven is clearly sustained by magic. And the Raven seems to be a creation of the Children of the Forest, who have already been shown to have used magic to create the Night King and the White Walkers. So given the created an immortal Night King its not impossible the children could also create an immortal consciousnesses that jumps from body to body as needed.
Enter the ultimate weapon, the way for the Children to undo the Night King....the Raven. If the Raven is omniscient, as it appears to be, it knew everything that would happen. Including Bran getting "marked" by the Night King. And we already learned from Benjin Starks reanimated body that the dead cant exist south of the wall, and from the Children that their wards would also prevent the white walkers from crossing as well.
Except the mark on Bran nullifies the wards. But I wonder what would happen if those wards were to go back up, as the mark is destroyed along with Bran's body?
The Night King was already leading the White Walkers in The Long Night, AKA the last time they attacked. And at the time Valerian Steel and Dragonglass were much more common.....its not unreasonable to assume as the oldest and strongest Walker, the King is actually not affected by them at all. As he was created by the magic of the Children, the magic of the Children is all that can destroy him.
Which is the Raven's plan....bring the King south of the Wards, and die....reactivating the wards and presumably killing the Night King in the process. The King knows it too....which is why he was trying so hard to kill capture Bran when Bran first became the Raven.
And its possible he's going to succeed, and convert the Raven to a White Walker. Which is why the Raven just entrusted a Valerian Steel to the one person who is both skilled enough to kill him, and willing to kill what she would believe to be family to save the world...Arya.
End of the day though, Bran is dead, his body seems sure to follow...its his purpose. (and keep in mind due to Jojen dying we know the Raven has no compunction about people dying to achieve its goals, and it would seem the Children through Leaf killed themselves to give it the chance to complete its mission)
7) Cersei Lannister
Chances of survival: 1/10
Sits on the Iron Throne: 0/10
This one is short and simple: Everyone wants Cerseis head on a pike. And so far shes shown no remorse or regrets for her actions. And 10 episodes isnt enough time for a redemption story. Given that her death is the only thing the other major players agree on...that would seem to be a nice spark for an alliance against the walkers. The only question here is who kills her.....and the most likely choice there is the only person who can get close enough to her to do it...Jamie, who just recently uncovered the truth about the events that killed his children, and who was and wasnt actually responsible...and it seems clear he thinks Cersei might have harbored doubts her self but exploited the situation for her own gain (which she did).
its slightly possible she escapes death and is instead only a prisoner for the rest of her life, but given that she has nothing to do with the White Walker story, and her story arc seems destined to conclude with her either winning everything (which would require a really quick pivot to her giving a damn about the walkers, and therefore I dont think will happen) or losing everything....shes marked for death.
6) Arya Stark
Chances of survival: 10/10
Sits on the Iron Throne: 0/10
I cant see any reason for Arya to die. Her purpose in the story seems pretty clear...shes going to kill all the threats to her family, including Littlefinger and Bran. But they spent so much time building to her being the ultimate assassin that it seems highly unlikely they would have her die.
What shes going to do, I dont know. I think we need to see more of the storyline with the Lord of Flames and the Hound first.
My personal prediction is that the Hound is going to die for her, when she finds herself in battle with The Mountain, and in dying gives her the chance to kill him as well....but as to what comes after that...I dont know. And I kinda like the fact shes the one character here where I really dont know whats going to happen. But I do feel confident that absolutely nothing points to her dying...which makes her 1 of 3 characters I think this is true for.
5) Jamie Lannister
Chances of survival: 5/10
Sits on the Iron Throne: 1/10
Jamies kinda served as the "everyman" on the Lannister side of things, and in many respects he has all the traits his sister lacks to be as far as being a good ruler. Problem is, already being a Kingslayer, and soon to be a Queenslayer, no one is going to trust Jamie. And then theres the small matter of his being a Kings/Queensguard removing him from lines of inheritance..but as we found out with Jon Snow there is the occasional work around for that.
Still its highly unlikely circumstances work out for Jamie to be on the Throne...lots of other people more likely to get it have to die first. The most likely outcomes for Jamie involve either his dying in the aftermath of killing Cersei or leaving Westros and his reputation behind to find a new life in Essos.
4) Sansa Stark
Chances of survival: 7/10
Sits on the Iron Throne: 1/10
I dont think I'm breaking any news here, but Sansa doesnt have a dick.
And thats a major problem given that its pretty established in the GoT universe that if any option with a dick exists, they are going to take that one.
Consider she was passed over in favor of her "bastard brother" to be Queen in the North. And the only examples we've seen of women taking crowns over men, have been either, Cersei, who only got the crown cause all her kids were dead, her brothers in law (Stannis and Renly) were dead and her brothers ineligible, they literally couldnt find a dick to put that crown on, and Yara Greyjoy, who specifically got the crown because Theon (the heir) doesnt have a dick anymore. And in both cases that was the first times a women ever got that position. So Sansa's got almost no chance in hell at the throne as long as any of the other major male characters are alive.
Though Littlefinger is trying to put her on the throne (with himself controlling her) so its not entirely impossible.....its just extremely unlikely, especially since she doesnt trust him. The only real question is, will his manipulations and/or her possible decision to go along with them result in her death? As shes starting to remind people more and more of Cersei it seems a distinct possibility she becomes a problem.
If she doesnt die, I dont expect her to have too sad an ending though. At a minimum, she will be Lady of Winterfell and Warden of the North....possibly even Queen in the North (should Westros split apart), once it comes to light (and it will) Jon Snow's true heritage and the truth of Bran's lack of existence. As there are no male Starks left, she is the legitimate claimant to those titles
3) Daenerys Targaryen
Chances of survival: 10/10
Sits on the Iron Throne: 5/10
Turns out, Sansa's not the only one who has a problem with a lack of dick. Daenerys entire claim rests on the fact that as the last Targaryen, shes the only possible heir to the throne. The problem is, shes not the last Targaryen, and the other one has a dick.
Not only that, but Jon Snow is the son of Rhaegar, who was Crown prince when he died. So while Snow's a bastard, he is a male relative of the last actual heir. So it seems Dani doesnt have much of a case after all to be the ruler of Westeros.
And while Bran might be a suspect source when he reveals the truth, especially since to an outsider (who doesnt realize hes the Raven now) he has a vested interest in making the Starks the rulers, the fact is, hes actually not the only one who knows the truth...Howland Reed, Meera Reed's father was present at Jon's birth...and Meera just went to join him, so his debut on the show seems highly likely and given that every time hes been mentioned on the show they keep fawning over how respected he is, hed be very difficult to refute.
Furthermore, while lots of people believe Jon and Dani will marry....that still wouldnt get her on the Throne, Jon's claim would always be the stronger one. In short as long as Jon lives, Dani isnt going to be on the Throne. Unless Jon himself decided to help cover up his true parentage....which seems possible, given he doesnt want to be king.
Though, theres another issue as well. Season 7 has gone to great lengths to make it clear Dani doesnt seem at home in Westeros, shes here only because she believes shes entitled to it. It seems possible, especially when it becomes clear shes not entitled to it, that she realizes Essos is home, and goes back to her queendom there to rule over it...leaving Westeros to its own devices.
So taken all together, nothing points to her death, but a whole lot points against her sitting on the Throne.
2) Jon Snow
Chances of survival: 7/10
Sits on the Iron Throne: 8/10
If there is a theme to Game of Thrones, its that the most reluctant rulers seem to be the best ones...and the Jon's the most reluctant they have. So he would seem to be the best choice to sit on the throne....the one he is technically entitled to.
The North/the Vale/the Riverlands (or at least the Tully's who would presumably be back in control) cant exactly decide they are willing to overlook his bastard status to claim him as the legitimate king in the north, then claim being a bastard stops him from being the legitimate king of Westros if his real parentage goes public.
So his chances of winding up on the iron throne seem incredibly good...assuming he survives the battle against the Night King, which he might not. Dying a heroic death attempting to kill the night king would fit his character just as well as being king. Not to mention, what better way to show off the Night Kings power than by having him kill Snow after snow tries to stab him with Dragonglass only to fail and die in the attempt.
1) Tyrion Lannister
Chances of survival: 10/10
Sits on the Iron Throne: 8/10
No really...let me explain. Like Jon Tyrion has been reluctant to lead, like Jamie, he has all the traits of a good ruler...and more to the point he is politically perfectly positioned to rule.
Consider, as Jamie is disinherited by being a Kingsguard, Tyrion is technically now the Heir to the Throne..,.in fact as he does have a dick, hes got a better claim on it than Cersei...just most people think hes dead.
Futhermore, Tyrion is technically still married to Sansa Stark....so he's member of the Stark family, in fact he's arguably the heir to that as well. Of course, he would likely renounce his claims/agree to ignore it in favor of Sansa (who he doesnt particularly want to be married to) in exchange for loyalty to the crown but with more independence than before (so similar to Dorne). And lets not forget he also has the respect of Jon Snow, the alleged head of the House...that has to count too.
Lastly, in the likely event (in my opinion) Dani realizes Essos is home and goes home (taking Jamie with her I assume) while also being perceived as the legitimate heir, who is the one Westrossi she would actually trust to rule in her stead? Tyrion. (keep in mind she did leave a regent behind in Essos to rule for her in the form of Daario Naharis, who she does appear to legitimately love, so her reversing the situation doesnt seem unbelievable)
Granted that would in effect make the relationship between Westeros and Essos similar to the one between Canada and England, in which Dani is the ruler in name, but as a practical matter Tyrion rules for her...but as he would be the one physically on the iron throne it counts.
in short, Tyrion is the only person who has the loyalty (of house Lannister following his sisters inevitable death) and/or family connections (to Lannisters by birth, Starks by marriage) as well as the respect of the leaders of the houses (Sansa and Jon both respect him as does Dani)...which means hes perfectly positioned to take the throne with the least number of complaints.
So there you have it, my predictions for who exactly is going to rule Westros....at least until sunday when the major plot twist I didnt see coming happens and a person dies and therefore every piece of logic I used here is no longer relevant and it becomes crystal clear that Hot Pie is the future king of Westros.
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