Game Of Thrones: All 8 Characters Who Survived From Beginning To End
After 73 blood-filled episodes, only 8 characters lived from Game of Thrones’ pilot until the end of season 8 – here’s who survived Game of Thrones.
Leading up to the end of Game of Thrones, many fans were left wondering if Arya would survive the final battle or if fan-favorite Tryion would die given the show’s bloody reputation. Although fans who read the books knew about the deaths of many beloved protagonists and villains ahead of time, those new to the story were quickly informed that no character was safe once Sean Bean’s Ned Stark was beheaded in season 1. The deaths of Game of Thrones ‘ best characters became expected in the series, especially once the show surpassed the timeline of George R.R. Martin’s books. However, many key characters survived all the way through the entire deadly series.
In Game of Thrones season 8, many of the remaining prominent characters from season 1 were killed in the Battle of Winterfell, the sack of King’s Landing, or in the latter event’s aftermath. A few Game of Thrones characters were luckily survived from the show’s premiere through all 73 episodes. With some character fates unknown by the end, only a handful of figures are confirmed to have survived from the first episode to the end of Game of Thrones. While less than a dozen Game of Thrones characters survived from the pilot to the finale, there is also a considerable number who lived from the first season (not necessarily the pilot) until the end.
Jon Snow
Leads The Wildlings Beyond The Wall
One of the first characters to appear in Game of Thrones’ pilot episode and who survived in Game of Thrones, Jon Snow’s resilience through the end of the series was unsurprising to many. While Jon Snow did technically die in Game of Thrones’ season 5 finale, he was resurrected by Melisandre a few episodes later, which allowed him to officially resign his post as Lord Commander of the Night’s Watch. Jon was soon established as the King in the North, leading the so-called bastard son of Ned Stark to gather forces against the Night King.
Along the way, Jon created an alliance with Daenerys Targaryen supporting her as queen after the two fell in love, only for Jon to discover that he’s the trueborn son of Rhaegar Targaryen and Lyanna Stark. After Daenerys sacked King’s Landing and murdered thousands of innocent citizens, Jon Snow killed Dany while embracing her as what he felt to be his final honorable act. Exiled to the Night’s Watch, Jon Snow’s Game of Thrones story ended as he went Beyond the Wall and lived among the Freefolk. Perhaps, the books up until this point have ended with Jon’s apparent death with his resurrection not confirmed in the source material.
Sansa Stark
Leads Winterfell As Queen Of The North
Although Sansa Stark was one of Game of Thrones’ least-liked figures in the pilot and season 1, Sophie Turner’s character soon became one of the strongest parts of the entire series. Many were worried for Sansa’s safety as she found herself often surrounded by enemies, but she managed to come out of the entire experience with strength and power. From a spoiled lady to the independent, loyal Queen in the North, Sansa’s journey featured one of the best arcs in Game of Thrones. While she had several close calls with death, Ned Stark’s eldest daughter survived until the end of Game of Thrones’ finale, where Sansa was last seen being cheered and crowned as the Queen in the North. The books last ended with Sansa with Littlefinger in the Eyrie.
Arya Stark
Travels West Of Westeros To Discover A New World
As a girl with no name who mastered death, Arya Stark was known as one of Game of Thrones’ best characters all the way from the pilot to the finale. Death seemed to be the least of Arya’s fears by the end of Game of Thrones, which was partially due to her impressive survival skills while also being the one to save the day by killing the Night King.
After being saved by Beric Dondarrion in The Battle of Winterfell and narrowly escaping death during the sack of King’s Landing in season 8, Arya Stark sat on the council that elected her brother Bran as King of Westeros. Following her family’s major rule in Westeros in Game of Thrones’ finale, Arya’s story ends with the exciting notion that she will be sailing to sea as an explorer searching for “what’s west of Westeros.” The books last find Arya training with the Faceless Men in Braavos.
Bran Stark
Becomes King Of Westeros
In a well-rounded story, Bran’s arc begins with the Game of Thrones pilot and concludes in the finale. In the pilot, the talented climber Bran was thrown out of a window when he caught Jaime and Cersei together, leaving him permanently paralyzed from the waist down. Bran then went on a journey as the Three-Eyed Raven, seemingly abandoning his title as Lord Brandon Stark of Winterfell after Robb’s death. When Bran returned to Winterfell as the new Three-Eyed Raven, he used his abilities to bring together the stories of the remaining major characters and helped finally defeat the Night King when Arya climactically stabbed the undead leader.
In Game of Thrones’ finale episode, Tyrion decides that the remaining nobleman who deserves to be king is Bran the Broken, who he decides has the best story of any character (though this has been up for heavy debate since 2019). Bran Stark’s Game of Thrones arc concludes as he bears the titles of the Three-Eyed Raven and the King of Westeros. In the books, Bran has only just met the Three-Eyed Raven Beyond the Wall.
Tyrion Lannister
Becomes Hand Of The King To Bran
Alongside Jon Snow, Tyrion Lannister is one of the series’ most important, prominent characters who miraculously survived from Game of Thrones’ beginning to the end. While many characters wished him dead or expected him to die, especially when he was sentenced to death by his father, Tywin Lannister, Tyrion defied the odds and survived. In the pilot, Tyrion was living lavishly due to his sister’s title as the queen, his father’s title as Hand of the King, and his family’s massive wealth, but this all changed once King Robert Baratheon died.
After several seasons as Game of Thrones’ most humorous, sympathetic, strategic character, Tyrion became Hand of the Queen to Daenerys Targaryen and found himself directly battling his sister Cersei. At the end of Game of Thrones, Tyrion Lannister convinces Jon to kill Daenerys after her massacre in King’s Landing, which lands him in the dungeons. Leading the council in the Game of Thrones finale, Tyrion nominates Bran Stark as King of Westeros, with the Lannister heir once again serving as Hand of the King with Tyrion still seeking redemption. Tyrion is currently in Meereen in the books, though he has not yet to meet Daenerys.
Ghost
Joins Jon Snow Beyond The Wall
The last of the direwolves to stick with the Stark children, Jon took in Ghost in Game of Thrones’ pilot episode when he, Ned, Bran, Robb, and Theon happened upon a litter of direwolf pups next to their slain mother. They found six direwolves, one for each Stark child including Jon, with the “bastard” being given the lonely albino pup with white fur and red eyes.
Jon and Ghost stayed together for the majority of Game of Thrones in which the direwolf would often protect its human, though the two were separated from time to time after Jon left the Wall or Winterfell. Jon and Ghost are finally reunited in Game of Thrones’ finale when the lead character is exiled to the Night’s Watch, where the two start Beyond the Wall and lead the Freefolk home.
Nymeria
Leads A Pack Of Wild Wolves
While Lady, Shaggydog, Gray Wind, and Summer were all confirmed to be killed during Game of Thrones, the only other pup from the pilot assumed to be alive by the end alongside Ghost is Arya’s direwolf Nymeria. In season 1, Arya let Nymeria go free to avoid her being killed as punishment for biting Joffrey, and the two weren’t reunited until Game of Thrones season 7 when Arya found Nymeria leading a pack of wolves in the woods. Nymeria’s fate was never revealed thereafter, but it’s assumed that the leading direwolf survived to the end alongside Arya. In the books, it is hinted that Nymeria and her pack are targeting Stark enemies like the Freys.
Illyrio Mopatis
Likely Remained In Essos
Illyrio Mopatis was an important figure in Game of Thrones’ pilot and season 1 until Viserys was killed, whereupon Dany began her journey to reclaim her throne in Westeros. Illyrio, a Magister of Pentos and Targaryen loyalist, kept Viserys and Daenerys in his manse until he arranged her marriage with Khal Drogo, all the while having secret communications with Lord Varys.
After Game of Thrones season 1, Illyrio Mopatis bears little importance on the series and Dany’s trajectory, as he never physically reappears after episode 5. Illyrio’s last storyline was in Game of Thrones season 5 when Master of Whisperers Lord Varys smuggled Tyrion to his home in Pentos, with Varys revealing their plan to restore Targaryen rule. Illyrio’s fate was never confirmed in Game of Thrones’ finale, but it’s assumed that he’s still living lavishly across the Narrow Sea. In the books, it was Illyrio who chaperoned Tyrion as he arrived in Essos.
Other Game Of Thrones Season 1 Characters Who Survived The Ending
While very few characters who appeared in Game of Thrones’ pilot survived the ending, there were several more characters who were introduced later in season 1 who made it through the season 8 finale. While he would quickly become one of the most important characters in the series, Samwell Tarly wasn’t introduced until season 1, episode 4, with his arc coming to a close in the series finale as the Grand Maester. Likewise, Tyrion’s trusty sellsword pal Bronn didn’t make his debut until episode 4, though would survive through the end to become the Lord of Highgarden and Master of Coin to Bran Stark. Gendry Riverswas introduced in Game of Thrones season 1, episode 4 when Ned Stark discovered he was King’s Robert’s bastard son.
By Game of Thrones’ ending, Gendry became legitimized as Gendry Baratheon and the Lord of Storm’s End, though Arya rejected his marriage proposal. Robin Arryn, the young cousin of the Stark children who debuted in season 1, episode 5, also survived from beginning to end as the Lord of the Eyrie. While Drogon technically appeared as a dragon egg in Game of Thrones’ pilot, he and his siblings weren’t born until the season 1 finale.
After Rhaegal, Viseryion, and their human mother Daenerys died in Game of Thrones season 8, Drogon became the last-known living dragon, having taken his mother’s body back to Essos in the series finale. Other characters featured in Game of Thrones season 1 whose ending fates are unclear are Ilyn Payne, Hot Pie, and Jaquen H’Ghar (or the Faceless Man who uses his alias), the latter of whom is likely still overseeing the House of Black and White in Braavos.
