The Game of Thrones Season 7 finale set the stage for a big battle in Season 8, and it appears as though two characters some fans assumed were dead might actually be back for Season 8. The news comes after HBO released the full script for "The Dragon and the Wolf" as part of its big Emmy push, which gives some additional insight as to what happened when the transformed Viserion destroyed the Wall. In short, it's given some evidence to the fact that Tormund Giantsbane and Beric Dondarrion escaped the destruction and that they just might be alive when the new season begins.
The evidence comes in the final scene for the characters in Season 7, as the script explained Tormund and Beric led the Wildlings down a "massive zig-zag stairway," following the attack and disappeared from view. While the Game of Thrones script excerpt (via Insider) doesn't explicitly state either man escaped the devastating attack unscathed, the fact that the characters had a clear path to escape the devastation does make it sound as though each character has a fighting chance at survival. A giant staircase may not be as cushy of a way down as the elevator at Castle Black, but those zig zags might be helpful in keeping anyone escaping from being crushed by giant heaps of falling ice.
Some fans may be convinced the script shows Tormund and Beric survived the attack, although fans might remember actor Kristofer Hivju wasn't too optimistic about Tormund's chances of survival. When he was asked about the scene a year ago the actor pointed to the massive collapse of the Wall, which seems to indicate he didn't put much stock into that line in the script detailing Tormund and Beric's escape route. These days Hivju now most likely knows whether he and Beric survive or not, but the Game of Thrones crew didn't go through all those security measures just to have him spill the beans now!
In the rhetorical scenario that Beric and Tormund successfully escaped the Wall's collapse, Game of Thrones fans need to think logically about their odds of survival. Surviving that long fall means they'd almost instantly need to pop up and fight a massive army of undead soldiers, so if they aren't dead from the fall, logic would dictate they should be after that heavily lopsided fight. Of course, either man might've been knocked unconscious or trapped beneath some rubble from the collapsed Wall, both of which are arguably better than facing The Night King and the rest of the White Walkers. Anything is possible of course, so let's hope that if nothing else, at least one of the men is able to survive the encounter and help spread the word about the Wall's collapse before the White Walkers lay waste to the North.
Game of Thrones will be back on HBO in 2019 to answer all of fans questions regarding who lives and who dies, as well as other questions fans have had. For a look at what's coming to television in the meantime, be sure to visit our summer and fall premiere guides.
