'Game of Thrones' Season 8 Spoilers: Why Jaime Will Kill the Night King

As the clock ticks down to the Game of Thrones Season 8 premiere date — we know it’s sometime in April 2019, but when?!? — speculation over which characters will prevail in the coming battle against the Night King and his undead army keeps ramping up.

Now, a new theory with some strong evidence behind it suggests that one character could be destined to stop the Night King: Jamie Lannister. It might be a bit of a stretch, but we wouldn’t rule it out entirely. At the very least, it’s something fun to think about while you wait for Game of Thrones Season 8 to actually release.

Possible spoilers for Game of Thrones Season 8 below.

There’s a popular theory (based on a prophecy in Game of Thrones) that Jaime will kill Cersei in the final season, whether as his final big move or on the path to something else. After the Season 7 finale, when Cersei refused to help Jon Snow and Daenerys Targaryen fight the Night King, fans have wondered whether Jamie would stab his sister in the back in an attempt to do the right thing.

However, this new theory suggests that Jamie’s role in Game of Thrones Season 8 could be even more important than killing Cersei. He could be destined to take on the Night King himself.

There’s also a theory that Arya will use Jaime’s face to kill Cersei. If that does happen, Arya may or may not reveal the truth before the Lannister woman dies. If that does happen, what does that mean for the real Jaime? Could he be elsewhere when it happens or could Arya choose to use his face because he dies and Cersei doesn’t know it yet?

Either could be true if Jaime’s role in the final season puts him in the center of the action during the big battle against the Night King and the Army of the Dead.

“Jaime will kill the Night King using the scorpion [and] valyrian steel arrow which will be reforged from his sword by Gendry,” redditor u/Arcaroth writes. They add that Jaime could earn the name the Kingslayer once again, “but this time he will not kill the fire king, but the ice king.”

Jaime became known by that name when he served in the Kingsguard of and then killed Aerys II Targaryen (a.k.a. “the Mad King”). Taking out the Night King would be a nice bookend to Jamie’s story while also referencing the title of the series of books the HBO show is based on.

More specifically, the scorpion, that giant crossbow designed to fight dragons could be key to the plot, and u/Arcaroth a previous scene that could have foreshadowed this outcome.

“On the fields of fire, he told Bronn to shoot Drogon with the scorpion because ‘he can’t shoot with one hand,’” they write. “He will have to do it this time.”

In Season 7, Jaime had Bronn use the scorpion, and Bronn put an arrow into Drogon. Could the scorpion come into play again, this time perhaps in a situation where Jaime has to use it against the Night King?

The same redditor goes on to suggest, “if he doesn’t kill the Night King he will at least make the King land to King’s Landing by killing his dragon.”

“My guess is Jaime will lead the armies of men against the army of the dead,” this redditor adds in the thread’s comments. “Maybe he sacrifices himself to kill the Night King, and then Arya takes his face to take down Cersei?”

This could take into account the theory that Jaime uses the scorpion as well. Maybe he knows he won’t survive if he uses it against the Night King and does it anyway. Maybe he does or doesn’t kill the Night King (or at least his ice dragon).

Either way, there is one problem with the theory that Arya uses his face to kill Cersei. Game of Thrones would likely want fans to think it’s the real Jaime until the big reveal. However, Jaime is also a major character and deserves a good death scene. In order for both these events to happen, they’d have to be shown out of order or fans would have to think Jaime survived the battle only to later be shown he didn’t.

Perhaps Jaime tries but fails to kill the Night King. That could result in his death, or at least his presumed death. If he does attempt this and survives, you’d assume he’s going to be alive when the series ends; any death after that would feel lacking, wouldn’t it?

Game of Thrones Season 8 will premiere in April 2019 on HBO.

Related video: ‘Game of Thrones’ Season 8 Teased in Epic New Video