'Game of Thrones' Season 8, Episode 4 Deaths: Don't Forget Bronn's Mission

The Great War is won, but the Last War against Cersei Lannister is heating up in Game of Thrones Season 8. We don’t know much about what’ll happen next, but everyone would do well to remember the crucial scene from the Season 8 premiere where Cersei gives Ser Bronn of the Blackwater a special assignment to murder her brothers. Some fans think Bronn might succeed in killing Tyrion before the series ends, and it might even happen in Episode 4.

During Season 8, Episode 1, “Winterfell,” Cersei had Qyburn give Bronn the same Lannister crossbow that Tyrion once used to kill his own father. “Our queen’s brothers are unlikely to survive their northern adventures,” Qyburn said, “but in the event that they do, she has a keen sense of poetic justice.”

Tasked with assassinating Jaime and Tyrion Lannister in exchange for several chests of gold, Bronn muttered “That fucking family!” and presumably left King’s Landing shortly thereafter. He hasn’t been the same since, so it feels all but certain he’ll pop up again in Episode 4, somewhere in the North as he tries to track down the Lannister brothers.

“I don’t know, they might not love him as much as they do right now, but I hope they still do.” Bronn actor Jerome Flynn told Insider. “He is who he is and what he says, isn’t he? And he’ll do what he needs to get his castle.”

Okay, we should definitely be worried.

Fans have traced the show’s “keen sense of poetic justice” for years. In August 2017, redditor u/razobak09 noted that throughout the series, major characters often die in a way that reflects their past deeds. Ned Stark once beheaded a man who abandoned the Night’s Watch, and he himself lost his head later in Season 1. Cersei straight-up giving Bronn the same crossbow feels perhaps too forced and heavy-handed, but it would feel justified given the show’s history with irony. (Read more on that theory here.)

Perhaps more importantly, will Bronn even go through with it? Tyrion and Bronn were inseparable in early Game of Thrones seasons. Later, Bronn proved a loyal companion to Jaime in Seasons 6 and 7. Bronn definitely likes the Lannister brothers more than he does Cersei, but does that matter?

Bronn’s always been motivated by wealth and self-preservation. If he switches sides here, it’ll redefine his character in a surprising way. It might make more sense for him to stay the course and die trying to kill the Lannisters.

There’s also the added evidence that David Nutter, who directed “The Rains of Castamere” (the Red Wedding episode), is also directing Episode 4. When Metro.co.uk asked Nutter if we might expect a similarly shocking scene in Season 8, he said, “The short answer is — yes!”

Whether or not this emotionally devastating scene happens in Episode 4 remains to be seen, but Nutter definitely makes it seem like it’s coming sooner rather than later. What if Bronn successfully murders multiple key characters at once? Not only would it be devastating if Tyrion and Jaime died, but if the ever-likable Bronn were the one to do it, we’d all be heartbroken.

Game of Thrones Season 8 airs Sundays on HBO at 9 p.m. Eastern.