Which Stark Will Be the Next to Die?

Updated on Aug 20, 2017 at 10:37 AM

Game of Thrones has always been hard on the Stark family. Between Ned's beheading in season one and poor Rickon's death by arrows in season six, the Starks surely wish they had never left Winterfell in the first place. After losing Ned, Robb, Catelyn, Talisa, Rickon, and technically Benjen (he's probably not coming back from his current semi-undead state), the family is down to just four members: Jon, Sansa, Arya, and Bran. At the moment, the remaining four have reclaimed Winterfell and the North, but they're also facing down a long Winter and a dash of infighting thanks to the combative Stark sisters. The big question is, will the Stark kids survive the coming war? It would be nice to assume they'll all make it to the end, but Game of Thrones is nothing less than ruthless when it comes to killing the characters we love.

With that reality in mind, it's best to be prepared for the worst, so we have ranked the remaining Starks from least to most likely to die before the series ends. Read on to discover which character is unlikely to live to see Spring.

Sansa

After being held captive by the Lannisters, forced into two separate marriages, abused at the hands of Joffrey, and assaulted repeatedly by Ramsay, Sansa has been through enough. She's now a savvy young woman and a survivor fully capable of ruling the North. If she starts to see through Littlefinger's games soon, Sansa is almost certain to live out her days as the Lady of Winterfell. And hopefully, when the war is over, she can just chill under the weirwood tree with a book and a nice glass of Dornish wine. She deserves it.

Bran

Thanks to his status as the Three-Eyed Raven, we're not sure Bran can actually die. The poor guy is a bit of a mess now that his mind contains all of time . . . or whatever happened to his brain post-Hodor. Bran is never going to be the same again, and a happy ending is out of the question for him. But he is sure to live on in some form, creeping on his family members — both past and present — for all of eternity with his greenseer skills.

Arya

Would any Stark death hurt more than Arya's? Her journey has been a tumultuous one involving side quests, assassin training, and Frey pie. The fans adore Arya, and they want her to live (and preserve her humanity). That's exactly why she's unlikely to make it to the end of Game of Thrones. With the Night King's army heading for Westeros, Arya is certain to join the fight, and the likelihood of her falling in battle while doing something that's foolish — but brave! — is high. On the bright side, Gendry's return could be a sign that Arya has a long life of adventuring ahead of her. After all, Robert and Ned always did want to join their Houses. At this stage in the game, things could truly go either way for Arya.

Jon

Poor Jon has already died once, and as the tragic hero of the story, he's the most likely Stark to die again. It won't happen anytime soon, but all of the revelations about his parentage and potential to be the King of Westeros feel far too happy for the brooding former Commander of the Night's Watch. Jon, much like his adopted father/uncle, Ned, is noble to a fault, and as a result, misery has been on his heels since the story began. It will be far more shocking if he doesn't die protecting the kingdom from the Night King's army of the undead than if he does. As the character most likely to be Azor Ahai, he's also the Stark who is most likely to meet a shockingly heroic end and leave the fans everywhere sobbing over the death of the King in the North.