'Game of Thrones' Season 7, Episode 6: Spoilers and Theories for 'Beyond the Wall'—Who Is Going to Die in Fight Against White Walkers?

Winter. Is. Here.

Buckle up, Game of Thrones fans, because this is where our journey through Season 7 really picks up as the HBO fantasy drama airs its penultimate episode of the current season Sunday.

If you've managed to avoid watching that leaked version of Episode 6, then you're in for a wild ride Sunday as GoT goes "Beyond the Wall."

Picking up where we left off last week in "Eastwatch," the majority of the action this week will follow Jon Snow (Kit Harington) and his ragtag crew of White Walker hunters on a mission to catch one of the undead to return to Westeros and prove that this supposedly mythical threat is real.

In "Eastwatch," Jon put together a team: Beric Dondarrion (Richard Dormer), Thoros of Myr (Paul Kaye), recently-cured-of-greyscale Jorah Mormont (Iain Glen), the Hound (Rory McCann), Tormund Giantsbane (Kristofer Hivju) and recently-returned-to-GoT Gendry (Joe Dempsie).

Sunday's episode is directed by Alan Taylor, a veteran GoT director who went on to make Thor: The Dark World and Terminator: Genisys. Taylor has plenty of experience with huge action sequences, so you can expect that "Beyond the Wall" will feature some pretty spectacular battles with deadly consequences. Jon and company are facing off against the Night King, after all.

Let's dive into this week's preview:

Who will die beyond the Wall?

The penultimate episode of a GoT season is known to be high-stakes. From the Red Wedding to the Battle of the Bastards, what was traditionally Episode 9 (when GoT produced 10 episodes) always had some major repercussions.

Though GoT consists of just seven episodes this year, let's assume executive producers David Benioff and D.B. Weiss are still following their previously established formula of delivering big twists in the penultimate episode. And what bigger twist than a major death?

Faced against an army of thousands of White Walkers and reanimated corpses known as wights, the odds are not in favor of Jon Snow and the rest of his group.

Here is my scale of likely deaths:

  • Most likely to die: Tormund Giantsbane; Thoros of Myr.
  • Could go either way: Beric Dondarrion; the Hound.
  • Least likely to die: Jon Snow; Gendry; Jorah Mormont.

It's safe to say that Jon won't be dying—again. After all, the whole show kind of hinges on him and Daenerys Targaryen (Emilia Clarke) at this point. Gendry, meanwhile, has only just returned to GoT after a three-season absence. Surely he has a bigger purpose to serve? And Jorah has only just been cured of greyscale—he can't possibly die now, after overcoming a deadly affliction.

Related: Is Game of Thrones About to Kill Off Fan-Favorite Bronn?

As for Beric, the Lord of Light believer has died six times and been resurrected every time. Even if he does die, there's always a chance he could come back to life. Or perhaps death by White Walker is the one death that sticks?

Unfortunately for Torienne shippers, one of the most likely deaths is fan-favorite Tormund, mostly because, well, imagine what a gut punch that would be for viewers. It's about that time in the season where we lose a character we love. This is GoT, folks—we're not allowed to have nice things. And Tormund's death would be only more impetus for his friend Jon to defeat the Night King.

Thoros is perhaps the easiest member of this gang to lose. He isn't as big a character in the lore of the series. But killing him off would give the battle between Jon's crew and the White Walkers some grave consequence.

Of course, this is all just theorizing. What we do know is that at some point during this battle beyond the Wall, Jon will be seriously injured—as teased in the second trailer for Season 7 back in June.

In that trailer, Jon is seen slumped, presumably from a wound, on horseback, and retreating through the snow. The scene featured an ominous voiceover from Sansa Stark (Sophie Turner) which suggested Jon could be in jeopardy: "When the snows fall and the white winds blow, the lone wolf dies, but the pack survives."

In Focus

In Photos: 'Game of Thrones' Season 7, Episode 6—'Beyond the Wall'

Jon Snow and company fight the cold climate and the White Walkers.
Launch Slideshow 12 PHOTOS

Where's Daenerys?

Applying logic to a television series that skips through time in the space of a single scene and, you know, features dragons, is probably an exercise in futility. But this point is well worth making.

In "Easwatch," Jon told Dany of his plan to go north beyond the Wall on a mission to catch a White Walker and bring it back. Surely, instead of a perilous trek through thick snow, he could enlist her, hop on Drogon, fly beyond the Wall, incinerate a few wights and return with a Walker in time for dinner?

Well, judging by the teaser trailer and first images from "Beyond the Wall" (see above), that is simply not the case. In the teaser, Dany and Tyrion Lannister (Peter Dinklage) are seen looking forlorn at Dragonstone, perhaps worrying about Jon's safety.

But in the pre-air pictures for the episode, there is one intriguing picture which might hint that Dany will charge into action:

Game of Thrones 6x07 — "Beyond the Wall"
HBO

Dany is seen in a new costume—something of a Westerosi version of a ski suit. She appears to be on the move as we see two of her dragons, while Tyrion lags behind her, looking concerned. Has Dany decided to fly north of the Wall, against her Hand's advice? That seems very likely.

There's more supporting evidence that Dany might join Jon in the fight against the White Walkers.

A Reddit theory posits that a vision Dany had in the House of the Undying in the Season 2 finale, "Valar Morghulis," could be a clue to her destiny in the next episode.

Back in Season 2, the Khaleesi's dragons were stolen from her. When she went to retrieve them from the House of the Undying, she experienced magical visions. In one, she turned away from the Iron Throne. She walked through the gates of the Wall to a tent, where she encountered her dead husband, Khal Drogo, and their unborn son, Rhaego. However, hearing the cries of her dragons, she tearfully walked away from her dream of being reunited with her family.

Reddit user /u/sephelutis theorizes that this foreshadows her arriving beyond the Wall once more to help a young dragon (remember, Jon is actually a Targaryen) in need: "Conquest was never her purpose, there is a young dragon out there in grave danger, he must live, and only she can save him, her true purpose has been this all along."

Another theory hails from George R.R. Martin's A Song of Ice and Fire novels:

Comment from discussion .

In the books, Dany encounters a shadowbinder—a sorceress like Melisandre—called Quaithe, who tells her: "To go north, you must journey south. To reach the west, you must go east. To go forward, you must go back, and to touch the light, you must pass beneath the shadow."

Applying that to GoT, Redditor /u/salviaJ notes that "Dany traveled east on Essos and gained her army for the conquest of Westeros, now only to conquer the south she'll have to first go North."

King's Landing is in the south. Dany's ultimate endgame is to overthrow Queen Cersei (Lena Headey) and take the Iron Throne. But to do that, perhaps she must first go north beyond the Wall and help Jon.

Game of Thrones airs Sundays at 9 p.m. on HBO.

For more Game of Thrones coverage on Newsweek, click here.

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