Game of Thrones Writer Says One Dead Character Was Originally Supposed to Live Through Season 8

The final season of Game of Thrones took quite the toll on the show’s massive roster of characters, with at least a dozen meeting their end over the course of the last eight episodes. Fans of the fantasy series expected that to happen, as Game of Thrones has always been ruthless when it comes to killing off characters. However, as it turns out, one of the most tragic death scenes in Season 8 wasn’t actually supposed to happen.

In the aftermath of the controversial final season, Game of Thrones writer Dave Hill talked with Entertainment Weekly about the events of the show over the last six weeks. He revealed that Ser Jorah Mormont, who died defending Daenerys at the Battle of Winterfell, was originally going to survive the entire series, and head north of The Wall with Jon Snow when all was said and done.

“For a long time we wanted Ser Jorah to be there at The Wall in the end,” Hill said. “The three coming out of the tunnel would be Jon and Jonah and Tormund. But the amount to logic we’d have to bend to get Jorah up to The Wall and get him to leave Dany’s side right before [the events in the finale] … there’s no way to do that blithely. And Jorah should have the noble death he craves defending the woman he loves.”

The death of Jorah was definitely the better call, as it completed his series arc and gave him one of the most fitting ends of the entire season. According to actor Iain Glen, who played Jorah on the show, it was probably best for his character that he wasn’t around to see Dany become a villain.

“There’s a sweetness in that because Jorah will never know what she did,” Glen said. “That’s probably best. It’s a blessing for him that he never found out what happened to her. And from a pragmatic story point of view, his death served a greater purpose. Where could we have taken Jonah from there? F— if I know.”

Do you agree with the choice to kill Ser Jorah at the Battle of Winterfell? Or do you think he should’ve survived the final season? Let us know your thoughts in the comments.