All men, women, and dragons must die: The final Game Of Thrones dead-pool odds
It all comes down to this: On Sunday, May 20, Game Of Thrones will all be over, but for the cries of fans who feel betrayed by the abrupt turns of season eight and the posts on websites seeking to squeeze just a little blood from the Dragonstone (hello). But some things must come to a definitive end, like the lives of an indeterminate number of characters, and the for-entertainment-purposes-only wagering on the lives of that indeterminate number of characters. Eckstein the oddsmaker emerges from the chambers of America’s Line one last time to bring you these Game Of Thrones dead-pool odds, and an invitation: “We are going all-in on a re-do for season eight. By the time you read this, nearly a million nerds will have signed on to the petition to remake the entire season. We are having a writer’s workshop here in Vegas in June, in my pool, and if you’re interested, email me, [email protected].”
2-1 Daenerys
Eckstein the oddsmaker says: Totally dead, book it. If Dany does not die, I will be standing in front of the Siegfried & Roy statue on the Las Vegas Strip in a Speedo!
The A.V. Club says: Count on it—and maybe count on it happening because Varys was poisoning her before he was executed.
3-1 Grey Worm
Eckstein the oddsmaker says: He looks at Arya the wrong way, and he gets faced!
The A.V. Club says: Honestly, we’ve predicted that Grey Worm was going to die this entire season, and we’ve been wrong every time. Remember how he lived through the Sons Of The Harpy attack that killed Barristan Selmy? This guy’s the ultimate survivor. He makes it through to the end.
5-1 Bronn
Eckstein the oddsmaker says: Cocky does not work. He is history.
The A.V. Club says: He’ll be one of many to try, and fail, to assassinate Dany.
8-1 Tyrion
Eckstein the oddsmaker says: He betrayed Dany, and we heard a rumor that Dany has a fire-breathing dragon.
The A.V. Club says: Drink up, because we may have witnessed the last of Tyrion’s strategizing.
25-1 Brienne
Eckstein the oddsmaker says: Not only is she alive, but she is pregnant with Jaime’s baby!
The A.V. Club says: One of the larger questions of the finale is whether any of the characters we left up north in “The Last Of The Starks” have taken their final bows. There’s still story to be told for Ser Brienne, so we say she gets at least a scene.
25-1 Sansa
Eckstein the oddsmaker says: Think she’s gonna make it, but she really pissed off Dany, and that could be trouble.
The A.V. Club says: At the very least, she deserves a “Told ya so” moment to revel in.
30-1 Bran
Eckstein the oddsmaker says: Don’t really care. The character was so weak we might even take him off the betting board.
The A.V. Club says: As long as that horse that he definitely warged into remains safe, The Three-Eyed Raven is safe, too.
50-1 Arya
Eckstein the oddsmaker says: George R.R.’s wife said that if Arya died, she would leave him!
The A.V. Club says: And if Benioff and Weiss kill Arya, well—it’ll just be more fuel on the fan-outrage fire.
50-1 Gendry
Eckstein the oddsmaker says: This guy might never be seen again, so who knows if he dies.
The A.V. Club says: Last chance for everyone’s favorite dark-horse candidate for The Iron Throne to make his move (if the Iron Throne even exists anymore).
50-1 Drogon
Eckstein the oddsmaker says: Gotta have at least one dragon left, right?
The A.V. Club says: Just for parallelism’s sake, the series begins without dragons, and ends without them, too.
75-1 Davos
Eckstein the oddsmaker says: Like his accent, so he avoids the grim reaper.
The A.V. Club says: Unless the former smuggler gets caught up in some sort of mutiny, he’s safe.
100-1 Jon Snow
Eckstein the oddsmaker says: Can you spell sequel?
The A.V. Club says: Ugh. He lives, he’s the king, he doesn’t want it and neither do we.
Over-under on total named character deaths: 4.5
Who’s ruling Westeros at the end of the finale?
2-1 No one
3-1 Sansa
4-1 Bran
5-1 Jon
Eckstein the oddsmaker says: Thinking that after all the shenanigans, they will have a council rule, because too much power in one ruler does not work.
The A.V. Club says: It’ll be Jon, king in the snore-th.
Who kills Daenerys?
2-1 Jon
5-1 Arya
Eckstein the oddsmaker says: If Jon does kill Dany, and we do have him as the favorite, then he will be very, very, very sad, and head north to rebuild the wall. Arya has had her one shining moment, melting the ice king, and will not get another, but she just might stick a shiv in Grey Worm.
The A.V. Club says: Jon again. Can we just go back to the fourth season?
Prophecies for profit that are still in play
3-1 Jon Snow and Daenerys Targaryen will sit on the throne together at the end of the series
6-5 Drogon dies from poison absorbed through his arrow wound
1-10 Quaithe will not re-appear before the end of the series
5-1 Quaithe will re-appear before the end of the series
This week’s bets
Marah Eakin
$1,505
$100 on Tyrion, $300 on Daenerys, $300 on Grey Worm, $50 on Davos, $200 on Sansa ruling, $200 on Jon ruling, $300 on Arya killing Daenerys, $55 on Drogon
Travis Tessmer
$717
$117 on Jon, $100 on Dany, $100 on Arya, $25 on Grey Worm, $25 on Bronn, $50 on Tyrion; $50 on Nobody ruling Westeros; $50 Arya kills Dany; $100 on Drogon dying; $25 over 4.5 deaths, $25 to Jon on the Throne, $25 to John killing Dany, $25 on Bran
Caitlin PenzeyMoog ($5 on Quaithe not re-appearing before the end of the season)
$699
Daenerys: $100, Grey Worm: $100, Arya: $50, Drogon: $9, Jon: $200, Davos: $20, Bronn: $20 the over: $100, Jon kills Daenerys: $100
Kelsey J. Waite
$639
$200 Daenerys dies, $50 Drogon dies, $20 under, $200 Arya kills Daenerys, $19 Jon kills Daenerys, $100 Sansa rules, $50 Jon rules
Baraka Kaseko
$430
$200 on Dany dying, $100 on Jon killing Dany, $50 on Tyrion dying, $50 on Drogon dying, $30 on Jon dying
Alex McLevy
$285
$25 on Tyrion, $25 on Jon, $25 on Grey Worm, $25 on named character deaths under, $25 on Arya killing Daenerys
Danette Chavez
$240
$5 on everything
Stephanie Potakis
$157
$10 on Daenerys, $5 on Grey Worm, $1 on Bronn, $10 on Tyrion, $10 on Davos, $20 on the over, $10 on Sansa ruling, $10 on Jon ruling, $5 on Jon killing Daenerys, $3 on Arya killing Daenerys