9 Options For The Iron Throne In The "Game Of Thrones" Finale

There aren't many contenders left.

Well, we're here. The ~game of thrones~ is just about over. In the final episode, we'll finally have the answer to who will "win" the throne in the end.

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Let's take a look at the possibilities...

1. Daenerys Targaryen

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Imagine if Game of Thrones ended with Dany as the "Mad Queen" sitting on the Iron Throne. Westeros would be right back where it started before Robert's Rebellion.

Honestly, I wouldn't put it past the showrunners, but I think there's no way Dany is getting her own personal happy ending, which sitting on the throne would be. You can bet she's going to be punished (read: probably killed) for what happened in Season 8, Episode 5.

2. Jon Snow (aka Aegon Targaryen)

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Jon is the heir to the Targaryen line. But he really, really, really doesn't want to be king. The thing is, his whole arc the past couple of seasons has been about being thrust into positions of power he doesn't want. For so long he's been driven by his need to defeat the Night King, and now that threat is out of the way, it's hard to know what Jon's purpose will be. It doesn't help that his internal life hasn't been explored at all in the last couple of episodes – we don't even really know how he feels about his true parentage.

It would be "bittersweet", I suppose, for Jon to end up in a role that he doesn't want – but that he'll be good at.

On the other hand, the Game of Thrones showrunners seem to be going for plot twists and shock value over logic this season, which makes Jon as king less likely.

3. Gendry Baratheon

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A wild Baratheon appears! Dany may rue the day she legitimised Gendry. He's Lord of Storm's End now – could he be King of the Seven Kingdoms before the show is over? Maybe after all that war, the true heir of Robert Baratheon will sit on the throne. He was raised as a commoner, so he might even be a king ~of the people~. It would be surprising, and actually kind of great.

4. Tyrion Lannister

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Tyrion is Cersei's heir, I guess? Although how Cersei got herself on the Iron Throne, if we're talking purely from a lineage perspective, is pretty dubious. Tyrion is a smart character (or at least he was until around Season 4 or 5 – and we're still told he is, even if he hasn't done anything smart in awhile). He's also the ultimate underdog, and seeing him become king would subvert expectations, which Thrones loves doing.

5. Sansa Stark

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Sansa basically rules the North now. Is there a way she could make it all the way to the Iron Throne? I mean, I'm not sure how, but hey if Cersei can, why not Sansa? She did learn a lot from her, after all.

Maybe Sansa and Tyrion will even renew their marriage and rule together? ...Yeah. Probably not. But out of all the possible candidates, Sansa is certainly the *best* option now.

6. Arya Stark

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Frankly, this isn't going to happen. As Arya would say, "That's not me". Arya is a warrior, not a ruler.

7. Bran Stark

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Who knows what's going to happen to Bran now that the Night King is defeated. Even before that, his powers were entirely underwhelming. All he does is sit around staring at people and saying creepy things? The dude is basically a computer. Will a computer end up on the Iron Throne? It doesn't make a lot of sense.

There's also the popular theory that the show will end with the death of magic. Which would mean no more dragons...and no more Three Eyed Raven.

8. Samwell Tarly

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Stranger things have happened! But also I don't really think it's likely. I could see Sam being Hand of the King though. Or maybe maester, if he hadn't flunked out of maester school?

9. No one

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I don't mean this in an Arya sense! I mean this in the way that it seems likely that literally none of these characters will end up on the Iron Throne. Perhaps it'll be someone totally unknown (ugh) or maybe the show will end in democracy (lol?).

Guess we'll find out soon enough!

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