Here’s where everyone stands going into the ‘Game of Thrones’ finale

From the very first shot of its opening credits, Game of Thrones has visually and thematically stressed that the machinations of its characters and plot are all part of an actual game. 

Westeros and Essos are the board, the powerful are its players, and those who get in their way are the unfortunate pieces whose lives tally the game’s victories and defeats. 

It its eight seasons on TV, Thrones has shown how the maneuvers of the players have changed the board and the way the game is played. What began as a simple blood feud between the Lannisters and Starks evolved into a convoluted war involving Greyjoys, Tyrells, Martells, Targaryens, and more — but all of those movements led to the defining moment of “The Bells,” wherein Daenerys Targaryen burned King’s Landing to the ground in a blaze of dragonfire. 

The destruction of King’s Landing and the irrefutable proof that Daenerys’ only intentions for Westeros are fire and blood are both game changers for the show leading into its finale, and the position of major players like Sansa, Tyrion, Jon, and Daenerys in the show’s last episode are unlike any seen so far on Thrones. Here’s where everyone stands. 

Team Jon

Dany’s burn-’em-all attitude lost her the support of Jon Snow and the North, as seen when Jon tried to order his men to retreat from King’s Landing once he realized his queen wouldn’t accept the surrender of the bells. It’s possible he’ll be able to hightail it back to Winterfell (everyone on the show has a teleporter now, that’s just canon) and shore up the Northern forces for a stand against Daenerys, risking the mad queen’s rage but fighting once more against an elementally overpowered enemy. 

Tyrion is undoubtedly anti-Dany as well, having betrayed her to free Jaime from her capture only to see his plans burn up in her wrath. He also betrayed Jon Snow, however, when he admitted that he should have told Daenerys that he knew about Jon’s secret Targaryen heritage. Considering Tyrion’s failures in picking the right side this season, he doesn’t really have a place to go — Daenerys will consider him a traitor while Sansa and Jon will fault him for staying loyal to Dany as long as he did. 

Speaking of Sansa, she’s killing it right now. She’s kicked back ruling the White Walker–free North, probably supervising some building projects and getting Brienne of Tarth drunk enough to admit Jaime Lannister ain’t shit. She has every right to say “I told you so” to Jon if he comes crawling back with news of Daenerys’ destruction, but it’s also in her best interest to take Dany out to protect the North and potentially maintain its independence. Sansa also has Bran with her, for whatever he’s worth these days.

Arya abandoned the North and was ready to risk it all for a shot at killing Cersei Lannister. Witnessing the destruction of King’s Landing changed her, and going by her furious look in Episode 5’s final scene she may have added Daenerys Targaryen to her list. Arya’s murder skills are unparallelled in Westeros, but wanting to kill Daenerys is not the same as being on the side of the North. She works better alone, without armies or massive battle plans, so if the whole game of thrones comes down to a blowout battle it’s not likely Arya will charge in on a horse and join the fray. She’s freaked out, angry, and extremely murderous; that’s a side unto itself. 

Team Daenerys?

One of Westeros’ forgotten powers is Yara Greyjoy, queen of the Iron Islands. She allied with Daenerys with the condition that Dany grant the Iron Islands independence; now that Jaime Lannister has wiped out her creepy uncle Euron, she has the strongest and largest navy in Westeros and no particular reason to fight against Daenerys. Mass murder is generally bad, but it’s also kind of what the Ironborn do, and going against her Targaryen ally would mess with Yara’s queendom. Drogon’s ship-burning powers are also a check against Yara’s naval strength, so it’s difficult to determine if she’ll even turn up to the final showdown.

Daenerys doesn’t have a problem with ruling by fear these days. 

With Yara (and to some extent, Tyrion) in the wind, Daenerys doesn’t have many solid allies. Varys mentioned in Episode 4 that “the new Prince of Dorne” supports her, but it’s unlikely that he’ll be important enough to appear in the finale. Missandei’s execution and a desire for revenge should keep Grey Worm and the Unsullied on her side, and the Dothraki don’t have anywhere else to go. The people of King’s Landing are sure to hate her even more than they hated Cersei, but Daenerys doesn’t have a problem with ruling by fear these days. 

Another possibly ally for Daenerys is Gendry. She removed his bastardy and raised him to the Lord of the Stormlands earlier in the season. Like Yara, Gendry owes his ascent to Daenerys, but unlike the Ironborn queen, he has little or no armies since Stannis and Renly split and wasted most of the Baratheon bannermen in the War of the Five Kings. Still, with the Iron Islands, Dorne, the Stormlands, and the Crownlands, she has secure control of at least four kingdoms and their rulers. 

The Resteros

Aside from the North, the remaining kingdoms are the Vale, the Reach, the Westerlands and the Riverlands. Robin Arryn is Lord of the Vale and no one has thought about him since Season 6. The Knights of the Vale came through for the North in the Battle of the Bastards, but that was Littlefinger’s doing and he’s dead as hell. 

The Reach has no ruling family since the Tyrells were wiped out, but Tyrion promised to give Highgarden to Bronn, who will undoubtedly come to collect now that Cersei is too deceased to give him any more money. If Tyrion leaves Daenerys, however, Bronn won’t be able to collect on anything. 

The power vacuum in the Reach, which controls most of Westeros’ food, is a huge problem for whoever rules, but Sam Tarly’s right to Horn Hill as one of the Tyrells’ strongest former leal lords might put him in a position to deliver the kingdom. Of course, that could only happen if the fall of the Wall / defeat of the Night King officially caused the Night’s Watch to disband and release him from his vows. Since he’s starting a family with Gilly, Sam might consider his watch ended. 

As for the Riverlands, they technically belong to Edmure Tully, who at last count was imprisoned while the Lannisters and Freys took Riverrun. If Edmure is still alive, he’s probably too weak to do much of anything, especially since he doesn’t have control of his castle. Still, any army coming or going to King’s Landing has to cross the Riverlands to get to the North, so it’s a strategically important place to control. 

With only one more episode of Game of Thrones left, there isn’t time to wrap up all of these loose ends. Recent seasons have narrowed the scope of the show to two locations and a handful of characters, but the finale could still come through in a way that proves how much every previous move in the game mattered. George R.R. Martin’s book series was concerned with the interplay between its characters and the kingdoms almost to a fault, but the books and show have both set up the game board for a complex and explosive conclusion.