Who will win the Game of Thrones?

Game of Thrones season 8 starts on Sunday, and by the end of it we should know whose buttocks will be nestled in the gentle embrace of the Iron Throne. It's taken a long time for us to get here, through battles and heartache and more murders than a true crime convention, and whatever happens in the finale, some people are going to be upset. We've asked our best writers who they predict will win the Game of Thrones, and we got some surprising answers. This is the latest in a series of big questions we'll be interrogating our writers with, so share your answers and suggestions for topics with us on Twitter.

Daenerys Targaryen

Let’s be honest, I think we all know Dany is going to be sitting on the Iron Throne when all is said and done and Game of Thrones finally comes to an end. She’s been the frontrunner throughout the show - someone who could rule (thanks to her royal blood) and should rule (she’s actually a just and honorable monarch, unlike most of the other candidates). Every season of the show has been bringing her ever closer to ruling the Seven Kingdoms that I just can’t imagine a world where that doesn’t happen. And despite the doom and gloom of Thrones, I have a feeling that George R.R. Martin and David Benioff and D.B. Weiss will give us a semi-happy ending with a good person on the Iron Throne in the end (although not everyone will survive), and that’s really only Daenerys. Sure, Jon Snow is also a good person, but he doesn’t want to rule Westeros and I have a strong feeling he’s going to die (again) sacrificing himself to stop the White Walkers anyway. Without a doubt, Daenerys Stormborn of the House Targaryen, First of Her Name, the Unburnt, Queen of the Andals and the First Men, Khaleesi of the Great Grass Sea, Breaker of Chains, and Mother of Dragons is the Queen we deserve. Lauren O’Callaghan

A dragon

I'm sorry, but in a world where there are dragons, humankind is never going to be king. If I had it my way, of course, direwolves would be the ruling race and everyone would submit to their canine overlords, because thus far they've been treated so very, very badly. At least, that's as far as I know. I gave up with Game of Thrones in season 1 and book one (don't @ me), so from what I've gleaned from working in the games and entertainment industry, there are at least two dragons left in Game of Thrones land, and unless there's some fire-breathing person about, they're going to win everything. Oh, unless the Night King has something to say about that, I guess. Fire vs. Ice, right? Sam Loveridge

Lady Lyanna Mormont

OK, this is less of a prediction and more a wish I'm sending out into the universe. This 10-year-old badass made her first appearance in season 6 and has been my favorite character ever since. When was 10, I still believed in Santa Claus and had to tuck my duvet around my leg as a basic means of monster protection. Lyanna of Bear Island is capable and confident leading an army, staying loyal to the King of the North and the Starks. I've tried to map it out on the back of a napkin and I'm not sure we've got enough episodes to get her from tiny ally to ruler of Westeros, but I can dream. Rachel Weber

Nobody

Everyone will die, because I guess that's kinda George R.R. Martin's thing, and the HBO showrunners need to maintain that spirit for the Game of Thrones finale. Each and every character you've loved following for the past eight years of your life will meet some horrible, unjust end, graphically shown on screen to really drive home the awfulness of it all. Interspersed between these gruesome deaths will be some degree of sexual violence and/or incest, plus dragons that looks like CG refugees from the 2002 film Reign of Fire. The final shot in the whole series will be the empty throne, with Daenerys painfully crawling towards it before she dies on the steps just inches away from her rightful seat. The end. Lucas Sullivan

No-one (no, not Arya)

Yes, it's the most contrary answer. Throughout Game of Thrones, the Iron Throne has been a pointy, blood-stained Macguffin; a symbol of power for the various players to yearn for as the Long Night slowly creeps over Westeros, and humanity does terrible things to itself. Daenerys wants it most, and is the leading candidate, but I just don't see a show like Game of Thrones wrapping up so neatly for her. Jon Snow doesn't want it, nor does Tyrion, and despite George R.R. Martin's penchant for grisly twists, I don't see the Night King sitting there when the dust settles. Audiences wouldn't stand for it. I could see some kind of dramatic end scene where Cersei dies on the throne, as King's Landing is consumed by either fire or ice (take your pick), but ultimately I think season 8 will end with an empty seat and a far less tidy conclusion than a joyful coronation. Andy Hartup

Daenerys Targaryen

Full disclosure: I haven't watched Game of Thrones and I dropped the books years ago because I got bored of them. One of the few characters I didn't get bored of, however, was Daenerys. So naturally, I'm hoping she wins it in the end. I remember there being approximately 117 characters in Game of Thrones, but from what I read, only one of them has a dragon entourage, and that's gotta be a pretty big advantage. I imagine that's pretty much where any throne room argument would end. "I want the throne." "Well, I also want the throne." "Well, I have pet dragons." "Well, all right then." Plus, if Daenerys wins, her dragons will probably become royal guards or something, and the sight of them coiled around the Iron Throne would make for a great ending shot. Austin Wood

Randy Orton

After three hours and fifty seven minutes of aerial pans over extremely expensive battle scenes, Jon Snow is the only living (or unliving) character in Game of Thrones. Winded and wounded, he saddles a horse, pausing to survey the field of corpses where all his closest friends and hated rivals now lie, their bodies cooling in the chilly northern air. Except the ones that were already cold. They might be getting slightly warmer, depending on the environmental conditions? Anyway, we see a montage of Snow riding south with the tattered banner of House Stark, ready to reclaim the throne of his adopted family. A new retinue accompanies him by the time he enters the gates of the Red Keep, but Snow approaches the Iron Throne alone. As he's about to claim his seat, we see something slither in from the corner of the screen. It's Randy Orton, like the snake that he is! Then BOOM - RKO outta nowhere! Straight into a chokehold until Orton is pronounced the new king of Westeros by submission. Connor Sheridan

Do we deserve beheading for our answers? Have we got it all wrong? Let us know on Twitter.

Rachel Weber is the former US Managing Editor of GamesRadar+ and lives in Brooklyn, New York. She joined GamesRadar+ in 2017, revitalizing the news coverage and building new processes and strategies for the US team.