This 'Game Of Thrones' Character Was Originally Going To Survive The Final Season

Death came for a few key players in the final season of HBO's Game of Thrones, but it turns out one character was initially supposed to live through the events of season eight and still be alive when the last episode's credits rolled. Now Dave Hill, one of the show's writers, has revealed the identity of that character, and the performer who embodied that character has responded.

Spoilers ahead for the final season of Game of Thrones.

In an interview with Entertainment Weekly, Hill explains that Ser Jorah Mormont, the exiled knight who became an advisor to Daenerys Targaryen, was originally going to last all the way through the show. And they even had a specific plan for him:

"For a long time we wanted Ser Jorah to be there at The Wall in the end. The three coming out of the tunnel would be Jon and Jorah and Tormund. But the amount to logic [sic] we'd have to bend to get Jorah up to The Wall and get him to leave Dany's side right before [the events in the finale] ... there's no way to do that blithely. And Jorah should have the noble death he craves defending the woman he loves."

Jorah, who loved Daenerys more than anything and gave his life to protect her against the army of the dead during the Battle of Winterfell, would have been heartbroken to see his queen murder innocent civilians in King's Landing later in the season. We know her ruthless decision was in the works for a while, and if the initial plan was for Jorah to remain alive through that, his presence alone wouldn't have been enough to stop her from torching everyone. How would witnessing that destruction have affected his loyalty?

As for Iain Glen, the actor who played Jorah in the series, he's glad his character didn't have to deal with that additional conflict:

"There's a sweetness in that because Jorah will never know what she did. That's probably best. It's a blessing for him that he never found out what happened to her. And from a pragmatic story point of view, his death served a greater purpose. Where could we have taken Jorah from there? F— if I know."

Would Jorah have been in the room with Jon and Tyrion, trying to convince Jon that killing Dany was the right thing to do? Could Jorah have been the one to kill her instead of Jon? Maybe we'll find out in Martin's books...if he ever finishes them.