For Game of Thrones, the devil is in the details, and it looks like season 8 might just feature someone of a Northern constitution.
Warning: Potential Game of Thrones season 8 spoilers follow.
Winter is Coming, our sister site, now reports that the actor who plays Ned Umber, Harry Grasby, has been spotted in the Belfast airport. Granted, WiC definitely has the corner on the reasonable expectation of what this actually means for the young Lord of the Last Hearth, picking up especially on the possibility that he may actually still be at Winterfell.
And, as WiC also reminds us, there’s likely something huge going down at Winterfell. So, based on some gut work here, I think it’s possible — if not trending directly into things being likely — that he’ll die during those action sequences. Granted, it won’t have emotional weight in the moment — hey, even WiC doesn’t expect you to remember the name of the character, let alone the actor.
What it might end up doing, however, is giving some emotional weight to whoever escapes from or survives the action at Winterfell. And, in particular, I’m thinking of Jon Snow here. This isn’t the first time some of his actions will lead to a particularly young man getting killed. Sure, Ramsay Bolton killed Rickon, but Jon’s choice to battle didn’t really help things along.
While characters in Game of Thrones grow up quickly, Jon still isn’t completely hardened and, as Kit Harington himself has pointed out, is still trying to do the right thing and not cause unnecessary death. This isn’t to say, of course, that Daenerys Targaryen will be completely blasé about his possibly having an emotional moment — she’s capable of empathy — but she’s a little more ruthless and a bit tougher, at least when it comes to the business of ruling (not so much the combat or the combat planning) than he is.
Of course, this is all just rampant speculation, but, ultimately, Jon and Dany are some of our main characters. It’s easy to see how more minor roles like this one could be used to serve their narratives.
Next: The Lannisters and more of TV's best family feuds
What do you think of this possible comeback?