By WALLY MONK – Paint Monk’s Library Editor

I’m not ashamed to admit that this monk is as addicted to HBO’s Game of Thrones as most fans of swords-and-sorcery. As we approach the epic “Battle of Winterfell” in Season 8, Episode 3, some characters are bound to be sent to the great blue beyond.

Who will it be? Share your thoughts below (here on the blog, not on our Facebook page) and win a chance to get a free copy of Giant-Sized Conan the Barbarian #1.

Here is the list of characters I believe are doomed this weekend when Thrones goes live on Sunday, listed in order of the likelihood they’ll meet their untimely demise in a few days. This is all speculation, of course, but I’m betting that I got a few of them right.

WARNING: Season 8, Episode 1 and 2 spoilers ahead. If you haven’t seen the first two episodes, you might want to skip this article.

5. Jaime Lannister

The Kingslayer, or the Lannister that we used to hate but has now grown a conscience, is likely to be one of the fatalities on GOT this weekend. Broken, one-handed and having left his beloved-but-bat-guano-crazy sister Cersei, he’s in for the fight of his life. He is surrounded by people who don’t trust him, and I believe he’ll go down in an incredible act of heroism – perhaps saving newly knighted Ser Brienne of Tarth from a White Walker. Or maybe the episode ends with a surprise, as Jaime helps kill the Night King only to be shot in the chest at the bitter end with an arrow from Cersei’s newly commissioned assassin, Ser Bronn of the Blackwater.

4. Ser Brienne of Tarth

Brienne’s knighting in Season 8, Episode 2 could be a bitter foreshadowing of her impending doom in Episode 3. It would be truly bittersweet, as she has always longed to be a knight, and finally obtained this life dream just one installment earlier. Brave and certainly no coward, there’s no doubt she will see her fair share of heavy combat. Will she survive? I’m betting not.

3. Tormund Giantsbane

Brave, honest and habitually intoxicated, wildling Tormund knows little fear. He’s just survived the tumbling down of the Northern Wall and managed to maneuver around an army of White Walkers to get to Winterfell. He’s eager to fight, and very likely to throw himself into the thick of things. My thought is that if Brienne dies, Tormund will probably die first in his attempt to save her. I can imagine Tormund’s last words, telling Ser Brienne that she should have *CENSORED* him when she had the chance as he dies in her arms.

2. Theon Greyjoy

I have always felt bad for actor Alfie Allen. The character he portrays, Theon Greyjoy, has been a mess since Season 2’s takeover of Winterfell and later, Ramsay Bolton’s foul removal of the Greyjoy heir’s crown jewels. How many episodes did he think his name was Reek? Good grief, Theon has been through more than any film character should have to suffer.

None the less, Theon is at Winterfell for redemption, and I predict that he gives up his life to save Bran Stark from the Night King. He dies nobly under the shelter of the foliage in the Godswood.

And finally…wait for it…this one makes me really sad as she is one of my favorites….

1. Arya Stark

It’s the biggest battle Winterfell – and perhaps the Seven Kingdoms – have ever seen, and one Stark will fall. It can’t be Jon Snow, unless the producers want people to quit watching before Episode 6. It won’t be Sansa, as she’s not a fighter and far too wily to put herself on the front lines. Bran is a possibility, but as he said, if he is eliminated, so is “life” and memory. So who does that leave? I’d say “poor” Arya, but she’s not a little tomboy anymore.

She’s just experienced love for the first time with Robert Baratheon’s illegitimate son Gendry and had a dragonglass weapon custom-built for some plans she may have during the battle. Plus, watching Arya fall would drive Jon Snow into a rage. I’m guessing she is killed by the Night King’s hand.

What do you think? What did I miss? Share your thoughts below, and get a chance at a free vintage comic book for sharing a few words.