'Game of Thrones' Season 8, Episode 3 Spoilers: 1 of These 2 Will Die

Here’s a general rule anytime there’s a big battle in a war epic: If a character makes plans to reunite with friends and lovers, they never will. Because they are going to die. And Grey Worm, as much as it pains me to say it, will receive the kiss of death in Game of Thrones Season 8 before the upcoming Battle of Winterfell in Episode 3.

In the excellent Season 8 episode “A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms,” the series spent a few precious moments with many of the most recognizable characters in Game of Thrones. While some had more screen time than others, the scenes with Grey Worm (Jacob Anderson) and Missandei (Nathalie Emmanuel) were more than just noteworthy. They were foreboding.

Besides functioning as one of the show’s rare, explicit depictions of racism — even when facing annihilation, the North’s white people aren’t kind to brown foreigners — their moments together provide a ground-level view of what the soldiers are feeling on the frontlines. And wouldn’t you know it: The frontlines are terrifying! There are freaking ice zombies marching to the gates, and the Battle of Winterfell will be anything but chill.

Grey Worm and, to a lesser extent, Missandei, are both popular candidates in the dozens of different Battle of Winterfell death pools, especially among those on Reddit. (Here’s one, here’s another, and another one.)

Grey Worm, the show’s sole representation of the Unsullied (not counting extras who mill about in the foreground and background), has an unusual tether outside a soldier’s life: his lover, Missandei. Look, I didn’t write the show, but showrunners Weiss and Benioff have made Missandei the emotional stakes that dangle over Grey Worm as he heads to battle. It’s the thing that will make his totally inevitable death all the more heartbreaking.

Since arriving in Winterfell, these two have spent almost their entire time together, promising to live happy and free together when it’s all over. Missandei misses the warm beaches outside the North, and Grey Worm promises to bring her there. You know, just like how another soldier named Steve Rogers once promised Peggy Carter a dance. Grey Worm and Missandei secretly know they can’t keep their promise, and it will be through no fault of their own.

But What If…

Alternatively, Grey Worm may live, as he’s more than a proven soldier. But if it’s not Grey Worm, then it’s Missandei, who will fall victim to the White Walkers.

As one popular theory suggests, the Night King will use the dead inside Winterfell to strike our heroes from within. It’s called the “crypts theory,” because the characters of Game of Thrones spent so much dang time in this week’s episode talking about how safe the crypts are and why it’s a good idea for everyone to hide down there. Jon Snow, you really do know nothing.

Among many others, Missandei will hide in the crypts, and it’s extremely likely that if the theory pans out to be true, then Grey Worm’s kiss goodbye wasn’t for him — it was for Missandei.

Either way, Game of Thrones is going to be a real tearjerker next week. I’m not so hot over the fact that the show’s only two major characters of color are candidates for certain doom, but while I’m hoping for the best, “A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms” has done a lot to prepare me for the worst.

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