7 Game of Thrones characters we hope will return in the final season
If Jon Snow can be brought back from the dead on Game of Thrones, is it too much to ask to bring back some characters who didn’t even die and have just been hanging around Westeros off screen?
There are so many people on the epic HBO fantasy that it can be easy for both the show and the audience to forget about some of them. But with season 7 featuring the long-awaited returns of Gendry and Nymeria, there are a few more characters for whom we could use some resolution in the final six episodes. Without further ado…
Salladhor Saan
Known on the internet as the “Sex Pirate,” Saan (Lucian Msamati) has been such a scene stealer that it’s hard to believe he’s only appeared in three episodes, with the last being all the way back in season 4. Here’s hoping that Davos’ mercenary friend eventually makes it to King’s Landing for his shot at seducing Cersei. It will be hard to resist these charms: “You don’t know how persuasive I am,” he told Davos’ son. “I never tried to f— you.”
Ilyn Payne
One of the names still on Arya’s kill list is Ilyn Payne, Ned Stark’s executioner, who has been absent since season 2. Wilko Johnson, the English musician and actor who played Payne, was diagnosed with terminal pancreatic cancer in 2012 but announced in 2014 that he was cancer-free after a radical surgery. Hopefully he’d be available to come back so Arya can exact her revenge.
Ghost
This return is essentially confirmed, but HBO had better spare no expense in season 8! We need plenty of Ghost, considering that Jon Snow’s direwolf hasn’t been seen on the show in years.
Daario Naharis
Daenerys left her warrior lover (played most recently by Michiel Huisman, and first by Ed Skrein) in Meereen when it was time to sail for Westeros, and while Daario is probably killing it with the local ladies and potential usurpers, maybe Jon should have to fight for the love of his aunt.
Syrio Forel
Arya’s “dance” instructor (Miltos Yerolemou) memorably taught her how to wield her sword, especially when he took out the men who came for her after Ned was arrested. Arya believes he was killed during that sequence by Ser Meryn Trant, but we never saw a body and the Hound notably declared that the now-deceased Trant was a very beatable fighter…
Illyrio Mopatis
The name might not ring any bells, but Mopatis (Roger Allam) is a critical character in the show’s history. The powerful mystery man is the one who orchestrated Daenerys and Khal Drogo’s marriage and gifted her the three dragon eggs. His second and final(?) appearance saw Arya overhearing him conspiring with Varys.
Ser Pounce
Sorry, GoT creators, I will neither buy or accept that King Tommen’s beloved cat is dead. Even you guys can’t be that cruel. Honestly, I could see a scenario where the Night King and company eliminate the entire realm, and there’s no man or woman left to sit on the Iron Throne, but be sure that Ser Pounce is scurrying right around it.
Game of Thrones returns April 14 at 9 p.m. ET on HBO.
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