HBO
Game of Thrones Season 7 Episode 4, “The Spoils of War,” was an absolutely phenomenal episode. But there are a few key questions that fans have about certain characters now that the episode is over.
This story has MAJOR spoilers for Season 7 Episode 4 of Game of Thrones.
Don’t read on unless you’ve seen the episode.
At the end of the “The Spoils of War,” Jamie decides to try to put a quick end to the war, even though it will put his own life at risk. If he can kill Daenerys, he will also kill Cersei’s biggest challenger and possibly put an end to the entire war. But with Drogon protecting her, Jamie’s putting his own life at risk too. It’s a suicide mission, and he knows it.
In an interesting twist, Jamie’s attempt also plays a strong parallel to when he was the Kingslayer. He already killed one Targaryen — Dany’s father, the Mad King Aerys. And he killed him when his back was turned.
So here Jamie is, attempting to kill Dany while her back is turned. At the last minute, Dany turns around and is face-to-face with the man who killed her father. (But does she know that?)
That’s when Drogon comes to the rescue of his mom. And of course he will! He prepares to breathe fire on Jamie, stopping his attempt to kill Dany. But someone pushes Jamie out of the line of fire — literally — at the last second, and they both go tumbling into the Blackwater Rush.
The last scene in the episode just shows Jamie sinking to the depths of the Blackwater. He’s sinking fast. He’s not moving. Either Jamie has resigned himself to die or he’s been knocked unconscious.
Will he survive? Is there any way he’s not dead?
Fans are divided on what to think. Jamie is sinking fast because his armor is very heavy. He only has one hand, which will make swimming difficult. It will also make getting that armor off so he even could swim very difficult.
Jamie is likely dead. Some fans think he has too much of a story line left. They think he has to be the “valonquar” and kill Cersei. But in George R. R. Martin’s world, no one is safe. Remember, Ned Stark died. Robb Stark died. Many huge characters who still had a lot of storyline left to fulfill were killed.
Based on the history of this show, there’s no reason to believe that Jamie’s life will be spared.
Some fans are still holding onto hope, however. We didn’t actually see Jamie breathe his last. Bronn isn’t wearing armor, so he could jump in after Jamie, dive into the water, and pull him ashore. If that happens, then Tyrion will probably intervene to not have Jamie killed, but to keep Jamie and Bronn prisoner. And this would certainly make an interesting storyline, with Jamie the one imprisoned now instead of Tyrion — a role reversal of sorts. Maybe Daenerys will send Jamie’s gold hand to Cersei to show that she has him and she’ll ultimately trade Jamie for Yara.
If Bronn can’t save Jamie, maybe Tyrion will convince Dany to somehow use Drogon to save Jamie. But this scenario seems really unlikely.
Some fans believe Jamie is alive because we didn’t actually see him die. But they said the same thing about Stannis. Remember, we only saw Brienne brandishing the sword above her head. His death wasn’t shown onscreen, but he did actually die, as we later found out. So that means even if we don’t actually see Jamie’s death on screen, it still could mean that he’s dead.
Do you think Jamie is dead? Let us know in the comments below.