Game of Thrones: Will House Mormont survive the upcoming battle?

The last surviving members of House Mormont will both be on the battlefield during next week’s episode. Will Westeros see the end of another great house?

The characters had plenty to say to one another during this week’s episode of Game of Thrones, especially with many of them doubting that they’ll survive the approaching Battle for Winterfell. Amidst all the unfinished business being taken care of, Jorah Mormont has a brief but interesting conversation with Lyanna Mormont while they’re preparing for the approaching threat.

Jorah tells Lyanna that she should remain in the crypts with the women and children—not because she can’t hold her own on the battlefield, but because he wants to preserve House Mormont if he should fall during the conflict. “You’re the future of House Mormont,” he tells her.

To be fair, it’s an understandable thing for Jorah to be concerned about; we’ve witnessed several great houses of Westeros come to an abrupt end already, including the Baratheons (with the exception of Gendry) and the Tyrells. It’s possible we’ll see more of them perish before the eighth season finale, and House Mormont seems like an obvious contender given how small it is.

Lyanna, however, refuses to budge on her position. She insists on fighting against the army of the dead, telling Jorah, “I will not hide underground. I pledged to fight for the North, and I will fight.” She also cites her experience training her men and her capabilities on the battlefield as reasons that she should be present for the battle.

Lyanna’s decision is an honorable one, and it rings true to her character, but it doesn’t bode well for her future on the show—or for the future of House Mormont, for that matter. Jorah’s warning could be interpreted as foreshadowing for next week’s episode, and the last things fans need is to worry about one more beloved character not surviving the Night King’s assault. No matter how fierce Lyanna is, there’s a good chance she’ll be unprepared to face the White Walkers. (Is anyone actually prepared to face the White Walkers?)

Jorah’s insistence that Lyanna is the “future of House Mormont” is also interesting because it implies that he will never be able to lead Bear Island. Either Jorah has already written himself off, intending to die fighting the Battle for Winterfell, or he doesn’t believe the people of Bear Island will ever follow a disgraced knight—even one with a royal pardon.

Some fans have believed that the series has always been setting Jorah up to eventually reclaim his home and his house, so this might be how the show goes about handling this. We certainly hope not, though. As much as we love Jorah, it’d be a shame to lose a leader as tough as Lyanna.

But Lyanna’s survived this long, even with everything that’s been thrown her way since her family died fighting in Robb Stark’s rebellion. It’s possible she’ll live through the battle and see her people returned home. Either that, or she and Jorah will both find themselves in perilous danger by the end of next week’s episode. If the promo trailer is anything to go by, that outcome wouldn’t be too surprising…and it could mean the end of House Mormont.

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

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