Game of Thrones

Who dies in Game of Thrones?

A lot of people die in Game of Thrones, including Ned Stark, Robb and Catelyn Stark, Joffrey, Tywin, Daenerys, Cersei, Jaime, and the Night King. Jon Snow dies too, but Melisandre brings him back, so he is alive when the series ends.

Why could Jon Snow ride Rhaegal if he did not know he was a Targaryen?

Jon could ride Rhaegal because he was a Targaryen by blood, whether he knew it or not. The show treats dragon-riding as something Rhaegal could sense or accept in him, not a fact Jon had to consciously know.

What did Melisandre's final disappearance mean in Game of Thrones?

Melisandre didn’t disappear—she died after the Night King fell. Her final walk out of Winterfell means her job in the war against the dead was finished, though the show never says exactly what magical force finally took her life.

What happened to Gendry after he was legitimized as Lord of Storm's End?

Gendry stayed Lord of Storm's End, at least as far as the show tells us. Arya turned down his proposal, and he later appeared at the Great Council as Gendry Baratheon, but the finale never shows what his rule or personal life looked like after that.

Where was Game of Thrones filmed in Northern Ireland, Croatia, and Spain?

Game of Thrones used Northern Ireland as its main production base, Croatia for much of King’s Landing and Meereen, and Spain for Dorne, Dragonstone, Braavos, Highgarden, and more. The show mixed locations constantly, so one fictional city was often built from several real places.

What Game of Thrones spin-offs explain the history of Westeros before the original series?

The main one is House of the Dragon, which shows the Targaryens about 200 years before Game of Thrones and the civil war that wrecked their dynasty. A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms is another prequel set closer to the original show, while Aegon’s Conquest is only a reported projec…

Why did Game of Thrones change major events from the A Song of Ice and Fire books?

Because it was an adaptation, not a scene-by-scene copy, and TV needed a smaller, faster-moving version of George R. R. Martin’s huge story. The biggest split came when the show caught up to the unfinished books, so it used some of Martin’s planned endgame ideas but built its own…

Why did the dragons become nearly extinct before Game of Thrones began?

Mostly because the Targaryens used dragons against each other in the Dance of the Dragons, a civil war that killed most of them. The few left afterward grew weak and died out, though nobody knows for sure why they failed to recover.

Was the Hound's death in Game of Thrones intentional or symbolic?

Yes—his real death in Season 8 is a choice. Sandor knowingly takes Gregor into the fire, making it both revenge and a symbolic end to the trauma that ruled his life.

Why did the Hound fight Gregor Clegane in the Cleganebowl?

The Hound fought Gregor because Gregor had abused and scarred him for life, and Sandor finally chose revenge over survival. He knew killing the Mountain would probably kill him too, but he went after him anyway.

Will the Game of Thrones ending be different in The Winds of Winter and A Dream of Spring?

Probably, yes—at least in a lot of important ways. George R. R. Martin has said the books may share some big endgame ideas with HBO's finale, but much of the route there and many character stories will be different.

Which Game of Thrones character endings are different from the books?

Strictly speaking, we do not know yet: the Game of Thrones books have not reached their ending. The show’s final fates for Jon, Daenerys, Bran, Sansa, Arya, Tyrion, Jaime, and Cersei are TV-only outcomes for now, while many other characters are already in totally different places…

What happened to the baby Cersei claimed she was carrying?

Cersei never gave birth. She died while still pregnant when the Red Keep collapsed in “The Bells,” so the unborn baby died with her.

How did Daenerys's dragons grow so quickly during Game of Thrones?

They grew fast because they’re magical dragons, not normal animals, and several years pass off-screen. Drogon also had more room to hunt and fly than Rhaegal and Viserion, while the show scaled all three up for the later wars.