WARNING: There might somehow be spoilers for Game Of Thrones season eight below
Game Of Thrones has a history with algorithms and A.I. to this point. Not only did we have one fan create a program to write the next book in George R.R. Martin’s series for him, but there are also others who are trying to use computers to figure out which characters will die in season 8. That isn’t new because that has happened in prior seasons, but it’s an excellent place to start when trying to get your feelings together or place a few bets before the season premiere.
As Entertainment Weekly points out, Boston-based data scientist Taylor Larkin used “automated machine learning” to dig through the past of the show (and Westeros) to determine who was is marked for death in the upcoming finale:
Taylor Larkin studied 2,000 living and dead A Song of Ice and Fire characters detailed on a Wiki fanbase and analyzed their traits — such as their gender (female characters, it turns out, die less frequently than males, who are more likely to be in battles), age (older characters are more vulnerable), house (Targaryens, in particular, haven’t fared well), nobility status, and how many of each character’s relatives have died (which turned out to be a very pivotal trait given how many families on the show have been decimated by rivals).
So if you believe data and such things when it comes to the fictional ends to fictional characters, you might find yourself surprised by who comes out on top and who bites the big one in the final six — just six — episodes of season eight. If you don’t believe in it, you can have some fun reading through the list below to pass the time until 2019.
Daenerys Targaryen – 83.77% chance of death
Jaime Lannister – 72.91% chance of death
Tyrion Lannister – 70.76% chance of death
Bran Stark – 66.02% chance of death
Cersei Lannister – 60.39% chance of death
Jon Snow – 58.99% chance of death
Euron Greyjoy – 54.95% chance of death
Sansa Stark – 50.28% chance of death
Arya Stark – 49.04% chance of death
Gendry – 39.87% chance of death
You can check out Larkin’s full report over at the DataRobot site, including the reasoning that led to each entry. The toughest pill to swallow from the whole thing is that Gendry might walk away with his life. Also, Cersei Lannister not being a stone cold lock is a bit of a stretch too.
(Via Entertainment Weekly / DataRobot)