Who Should Win the Game of Thrones?

Let's take a closer look at all the players still left in the game on the HBO hit series!

By Lauren Piester, Billy Nilles Aug 16, 2017 6:52 PMTags
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We hate to alarm you, but there are approximately eight episodes left for Game of Thrones…ever. In just eight episodes, we'll know who wins the Game of Thrones and who dies, since those are officially the only two options. (Or at least we assume someone's going to win the throne, and everyone's not going to die, though that is always a possibility.)

With the sudden return of Robert Baratheon's bastard Gendry and the new revelation that Rhaegar Targaryen was, in fact, married to Lyanna Stark when Jon Snow was born (meaning he's a legitimate Targaryen heir), it feels like the right time to discuss exactly who on this show has legitimate claims to the Iron Throne, why none of that may even matter anymore, and who should be on at that throne when this all comes to a glorious end.

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Game of Thrones Cast: Then and Now
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First, a background refresher.

The Targaryen family ruled the seven kingdoms through 17 different kings, all of them marrying into their own family in order to keep the bloodline pure. Aerys was the last Targaryen king, and after he went mad, he was taken down by rebels in the houses of Stark, Baratheon, Tully, and Arryn.

After Jaime "King Slayer" Lannister—a member of his own kingsguard and the son of his Hand of the King—murdered Aerys, Robert Baratheon took the throne.

So technically, a Baratheon or a Targaryen could legally claim the throne, but based on the way the Baratheons ended up there in the first place, anyone could really be the next King or Queen of the Seven Kingdoms. The question we're now asking is who deserves to be on that throne…as well as how likely they are to be able to get there.

Petyr "Littlefinger" Baelish

Claim to Throne: Not legitimate. His only power comes from marrying Lysa Arryn, killing her, and now controlling her house and her son. He's got his sights set on Sansa but it's not like she's legitimate either.

Does He Deserve It? Yes and no but mostly no. He doesn't really deserve the throne itself, maybe, but he's been doing too much work behind the scenes to not achieve some kind of power. He's so creepy though.

Odds He'll Get It: If Littlefinger ends up as the King of the Seven Kingdoms, we will be shocked. But also kind of impressed?

Cersei Lannister

Claim to Throne: As Queen Mother, the suicide of her last son, King Tommen, following her murder of his wife, Queen Margaery, at the end of season six left the throne empty with no one to challenge her own coronation. However, considering Tommen wasn't actually the legitimate son of King Robert Baratheon, Cersei's child never actually belonged on the throne, meaning she should've never been Queen Mother in the first place.

Does She Deserve It? No. Cersei is a murderer, a liar, and an all-around terrible person. She does not deserve the power she's amassed.

Odds She'll Get It: Considering she's currently sitting on the throne, we're pretty comfortable in our prediction that she won't be sitting there by the time the series comes to an end.

Euron Greyjoy

Claim to Throne: Not legitimate. His only power comes from murdering his brother Balon, King of the Iron Islands, usurping his throne. His wooing of Queen Cersei by helping her avenge Myrcell's death has him one step closer to the Iron Throne.

Does He Deserve It? Not at all.

Odds He'll Get It: Euron is crafty and unpredictable, so one can never count him out, but the idea of someone from the Iron Islands sitting on the Iron Throne when all is said and done seems rather unlikely.

Jaime Lannister

Claim to Throne: As a glance at the (very convoluted) Baratheon family tree reveals that, once upon a time, a Baratheon married a Lannister, giving Jaime's nasty father Tywin a claim to the throne through the Baratheon line. Considering Tywin was murdered by Jaime's brother Tyrion, Jaime could very well challenge his younger sister Cersei as his father's first born son and rightful heir.

Does He Deserve It? If it's a choice between Cersei and Jaime, sure. But Jaime's claim would be through some pretty heavy technicalities. 

Odds He'll Get It: It would be a pretty neat twist to see Jaime unseat his sister-lover from the throne, but now that they're apparently expecting another child, we're not holding our breath that he'll do anything but stand faithfully by her side until the bitter end.

Lyanna Mormont

Claim to Throne: None whatsoever.

Does She Deserve It? Who among us doesn't think this feisty and fearless 10-year-old head of House Mormont of Bear Island is perhaps the most admirable person in Westeros? What we wouldn't give to see her on the throne.

Odds She'll Get It: Very, very slim. But we can dream, can't we? Let us live!

Jon Snow

Claim to Throne: Legitimate. The show has basically confirmed that Jon is actually the son of Rhaegar Targaryen and Lyanna Stark, and that Rhaegar and Lyanna were legally married. That means Jon is a direct descendant of the last Targaryen king's firstborn son, and has an even better claim than Daenerys (but don't tell her that).

Does He Deserve It? Honestly, he's not the strongest of leaders, but he's got a good moral center and he's already been declared the King in the North…even if a few of his constituents aren't so sure of his leadership anymore.

Odds He'll Get It: As much as we love us some Jon Snow, we'd be a little bored if he ends up on the throne at the end, especially considering how Dany will inevitably react to the fact that she is not, in fact, the last Targaryen.

Daenerys Targaryen

Claim to Throne: Legitimate, but not as legitimate as she thought. She's the daughter of the last Targaryen king, but since the firstborn son and his firstborn son are next in the line of succession…well, we'll just have to see what she does when she finds out the truth about Jon.

Does She Deserve It? She's heading into Mad Queen territory at present, but considering her entire history and how hard she's fought and how many people are devoted to her, yes. Yes she damn well does.

Odds She'll Get It: We used to think they were good, but she's too unstoppable right now to remain unstoppable forever.

Sansa Stark

Claim to Throne: As Lady Stark of Winterfell, she doesn't have much of a legitimate claim.

Does She Deserve It? Sansa has become one of Westeros' most cunning political figures as she's grown up, learning from the best. (All that time spent alongside Cersei wasn't all for naught.) But if she veers too much into her mentor's malevolent ways, we wouldn't want her anywhere near the throne.

Odds She'll Get It: Sansa's one to keep an eye on as the great fight for the throne heats up. We've got a feeling she just might surprise us all. 

Tyrion Lannister

Claim to Throne: As the second-born son of Tywin (and his murderer), Tyrion's claim to the Baratheon bloodline that would work in Jaime's favor wouldn't be of much use to him.

Does He Deserve It? We couldn't think of a fairer ruler for Westeros. His discomfort over Dany entering Mad Queen territory only further highlights how he ought to be the one in charge most of the time.

Odds He'll Get It: We're not sure we can imagine a world in which Westeros would accept Tyrion as their king. We've got a feeling he'll be standing next to whoever takes the throne, advising them from behind-the-scenes

Gendry

Claim to Throne: As the only living child of Robert Baratheon left, the bastard son technically has more of a claim than Joffrey or Tommen ever did considering Robert wasn't their father. However, the whole "bastard" title might make things a bit difficult. That said, if we're aiming to keep the Baratheon line on the throne, Gendry has a better claim than Cersei ever has.

Does He Deserve It? Gendry's been out rowing for the last three seasons, making him a bit of a non-entity as far as the Westeros power players are concerned. But he seems nice enough, right?

Odds He'll Get It: He didn't just pop back up for nothing. Don't count Gendry and his hammer out.

The Night King

Claim to Throne: None, he's a zombie.

Does He Deserve It? Hell no.

Odds He'll Get It: 100 percent. If the living don't band together and stop him first, that is.

Who do you think deserves to sit on the Iron Throne at the bitter end? Sound off in the comments below!

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