Missing Game of Thrones characters – will uncle Benjen Stark, Daario Naharis and Jaqen H’ghar return in season 8?
As the final season of Game of Thrones approaches, many viewers are doing a rewatch of all seven seasons to get up to speed again before the saga of the Seven Kingdoms draws to a close.
But if you haven’t got time, or are already committed to a Marvel rewatch before Endgame, then here is your cheatsheet to where some of the many missing characters are currently located – or, simply, dead.
Where is Ellaria Sand?
The longtime lover of Prince Oberyn Martell of Dorne, Ellaria Sand (Indira Varma) enlisted the help of Oberyn’s bastard children, the Sand Snakes, to kill both Cersei’s daughter, Myrcella, as revenge for her lover’s death, and the royal family of Dorne, for their apparent inaction in taking revenge for Oberyn.
In season seven, Ellaria was later taken as a prisoner of war by Euron Greyjoy, and, along with her daughter Tyene, given as a gift to Cersei Lannister, and imprisoned in the Black Cells underneath the Red Keep. As revenge for Myrcella’s murder, Cersei killed Tyene in the same manner – a deadly poison – but she instructed the guards to keep the torches burning so that Ellaria had to watch her daughter’s death, and be powerless to do anything about it. Ellaria remains a prisoner of war, but it remains to be seen whether Tyene’s murder has broken her altogether.
Is Yara Greyjoy dead?
Yara Greyjoy (Gemma Whelan), the only daughter of Balon Greyjoy and sister to Theon, was taken prisoner by her uncle, Euron Greyjoy, after he ransacked her ships during the same attack that saw him take Ellaria Sand and her daughter prisoner. Rather then deliver Yara to Cersei too, he has kept her prisoner.
In season seven, during the parley between Cersei Lannister and Daenerys Targaryen, Euron bragged to Theon that he had his sister. Theon had abandoned ship during the attack, but now plans to rescue Yara, as she attempted to rescue him in season four when he was a prisoner of Ramsay Bolton.
What happened to Bronn?
The sellsword Bronn (Jerome Flynn), long hired by his employer and friend Tyrion Lannister, was knighted by Joffrey after his part in season two’s Battle of Blackwater. He parted ways amicably with Tyrion at the end of season four, and became employed by the Lannisters, Jaime in particular.
In season seven, he managed to hit Daenerys’s biggest dragon, Drogon, during her attack on the Lannister garrison, where he also saved the life of Jaime Lannister – albeit more out of a desire to get payment owed for previous work, than any sense of loyalty. He has been reunited with Tyrion, but his allegiance will always depend on who can pay more. For now, the wry fan-favourite remains alive.
Where are Ghost and Nymeria?
The last surviving direwolves of the Stark children, Ghost and Nymeria have been AWOL for a while. Arya Stark said goodbye to Nymeria back in the second episode of the first season, so as to prevent her from being killed by Joffrey, as became the fate of Sansa Stark’s direwolf, Lady.
Arya and Nymeria were reunited in season seven, with the direwolf now the leader of her own pack. They bid each other a final farewell then, and it’s unlikely we will see Arya’s wolf in season eight.
Meanwhile, Ghost, Jon Snow’s direwolf, was a total no-show in season seven – but he will be back in season eight. It turns out his non-appearance was caused by the budget: with dragons and giants and the White Walker army, there wasn’t enough visual effects money to spend on scaling up real wolves to direwolf size unless, as with Nymeria, there was a proper storyline for them.
But Joe Bauer, the show’s visual effects supervisor, has promised that Ghost will return for the final season, and will get to do some “pretty cool” things too. So hurrah for that, Ghost fans!
What happened to Ilyn Payne?
Ser Ilyn Payne (Wilko Johnson) is a familiar name from Arya Stark’s hit list of people she plans to murder, having killed her father, Ned Stark, in the season one finale, in his role as royal executioner. Unable to speak since the Mad King had his tongue removed with hot pincers, Ser Ilyn was last seen in season two, when he accompanied Cersei and other high-born refugees to Maegor’s Holdfast during the Battle of Blackwater, where Cersei’s plan was to have him execute them in the event of Stannis Baratheon taking the city.
When actor and musician Wilko Johnson was diagnosed with terminal pancreatic cancer, he was respectfully written out of the show. Johnson, however, has since made a recovery, and has expressed an interest in returning to the Seven Kingdoms. Illyn Payne was last mentioned in season four, when Tywin Lannister promised Tyrion that Ser Ilyn would not be the one to execute him, and he’s currently thought to be alive.
Where’s Ser Pounce?
Everyone’s favourite knight, Ser Pounce (actor uncredited) continues the grand tradition of important ginger cats started by Jones in Alien, and continued by Goose in Captain Marvel. Tommen Lannister’s beloved pet was last seen in season four, foiling Margaery Tyrell’s attempts to seduce the young king. He was a huge, and extremely fluffy, fan favourite, but while undoubtedly cheaper to run than dragons and direwolves, working with cats proved to be so incredibly irritating that the royal floof will not return to the show. Showrunners David Benioff and Dan Weiss have confirmed that Ser Pounce suffered an off-screen death at the hands of Cersei Lannister. “Ser Pounce’s death was so horrible we couldn’t even put it on the air,” Benioff told Entertainment Weekly, with a completely straight face, adding of his feline star: “There’s a reason the phrase ‘like herding cats’ came into existence.”
What happened to Daario Naharis?
Daario Naharis (Michiel Huisman) is the head of the Second Sons, a company of sellswords who join Daenerys Targaryen. He quickly became her lover, but when the time came in season six for her to leave for Westeros, she broke off the relationship on Tyrion Lannister’s advice, as she would appear stronger if she were unattached.
She charged Daario to stay in Mereen with the Second Sons to keep the peace while power was transferred to the people, and he was briefly mentioned in season seven. He remains alive, but now she’s romantically involved with Jon Snow, he’s very much an ex.
What happened to Benjen Stark?
Benjen Stark (Joseph Mawle) was Ned Stark’s younger brother, and joined the Night’s Watch where he achieved the position of First Ranger. He hadn’t been seen since season one, when he vanished on patrol, until he rescued Bran Stark and Meera Reed in season six.
It turned out that he had been attacked by White Walkers and left for dead, but was saved by the Children of the Forest, who stabbed him with dragonglass and thus prevented him from turning into one of the wights. On the other hand, he was left unable to cross the Wall due to the strong magic in place to prevent dead men from passing.
In season seven, he rode to the rescue once again when Jon Snow was left north of the Wall to face the army of the wights. Uncle Benjen gave Jon his horse, and sent him back to the Wall, before taking his nephew’s place and sacrificing himself.
Where is Salladhor Saan?
The sellsail and pirate Salladhor Saan (Lucian Msamati) was a chum of Davos Seaworth from his smuggling days. Once the Iron Bank agreed to loan funds to Stannis Baratheon, Salladhor Saan was hired to provide ships to transport Stannis’s troops to Castle Black, and, as of the end of season four, he’s still alive.
Where is Kinvara?
Unlike her fellow High Priestess Melisandre, Kinvara (Ania Bukstein) is convinced that Daenerys Targaryen is the true ruler of the seven kingdoms. As High Priestess of the Red Temple of Volantis, she’s one of the highest servants to the Lord of Light, if not the highest, and she helped to ensure that the people of Mereen saw Daenerys as a protector, not an invader.
Kinvara was a regular fixture in season six, and her last appearance had her promising to send her best speakers out into Essos to preach on behalf of Daenerys.
What happened to Robin Arryn?
Creepy mummy’s boy Robin Arryn (Lino Facioli) is the Stark children’s cousin, the only child of Catelyn Starks’s sister, Lysa Arron. Following the murder of his mother at the hands of her second husband, Petyr Baelish, and Baelish’s own murder by Arya Stark in season seven, Robin became the Warden of the East and Lord Paramount of the Vale of Arryn.
In season five, he had been moved to Runestone to be fostered by Lord Yohn Royce, and was still there in season six when he agreed with Lord Baelish’s suggestion to send the Vale armies north to protect Sansa Stark from Ramsay Bolton’s clan. He is presumably still in Runestone, being just as rubbish at swordsmanship and archery as he was when we last saw him.
Where is Jaqen H’ghar?
A trick question, this: rather, who is Jaqen H’ghar? Or, who is the person borrowing the face of Jaqen H’ghar in their dealings with Arya Stark? This assassin, a member of the Faceless Men, lost their identity on becoming one of the group, and it is uncertain whether it is even the same assassin who met Arya while wearing the face.
Regardless, we know him as the actor Tom Wlaschiha, last seen in season six when Arya completed her training as a Faceless Man at the House of Black and White in Braavos, when he allowed her to qualify as “no one” despite her insistence on retaining her identity.
Jaqen’s character from the books was combined with that of the anonymous “Kindly Man” who trains Arya, so it’s unlikely that we’ll see the charismatic assassin again, as his purpose has now been served.
What happened to Edmure Tully?
The grumpy younger brother of Catelyn and Lysa Stark, Edmure (Tobias Menzies) spent much of season three complaining and making himself thoroughly disagreeable to everyone in his family. It therefore raised an eyebrow when he was rewarded with marriage to Walder Frey’s beautiful daughter Roslin.
Unfortunately, Edmure’s joy was shortlived, as his wedding night was marred by the deaths of Catelyn, his nephew Robb, his daughter-in-law Talisa and many Stark supporters. Still, before Walder Frey threw him in his dungeons – he said in season six that “killing [his] son by law would not be right” – Edmure managed to impregnate Roslin, and a son was born, whom he has yet to see.
Although Frey, along with his sons, has since been killed by Arya Stark, there is no word of Edmure having been released. We’ll find out if, and when, in season eight.
Where is Illyrio Mopatis?
Illyrio Mopatis (Roger Allam), he of the two neat pigtails in his beard and a rich and powerful Magister of Pentos, brokered the deal to marry Daenerys Targaryen to Khal Drogo in season one. As a wedding gift, he gave Daenerys the three fossilised dragon eggs that she would later hatch in fire. He is allied to Varys, as part of a group seeking a Targaryen ruler for the seven kingdoms, and he was responsible for introducing Ser Jorah Mormont to Daenerys to spy on her for Varys.
Illyrios Mopatis has been mentioned in passing in seasons two and five, but has not been seen since the fifth episode of season one. He is still alive, as far as we know, but given the number of characters and plotlines to be tied up in season eight, it’s uncertain whether he’ll return.
Watch season 8 of Game of Thrones when it starts in April through NOW TV with a free 7 day trial of their Sky Entertainment pass
