‘Game of Thrones’: Major Character Just Died, Destroying One of the Show’s Best Couples

A major character death on this week’s Game of Thrones put an end to one of the most beloved couples in the show’s history.

Warning! Spoilers for Game of Thrones SEason 8, Episode 4 lie ahead!

Game of Thrones fans were forced to bid farewell to another major character this week — Missandei. The Naathi woman has served as an interpreter, adviser and friend to Daenerys Targaryen since Season 3, and has turned her small role into a major character on the show. Missandei’s romance with Grey Worm, the leader of the Unsullied has grown into a fan-favorite romance on the show, so it was only a matter of time before it was destroyed by tragedy.

Missandei left the north with Grey Worm after the Battle of Winterfell, heading back to Daenerys’ stronghold on Dragonstone. Once there, the Dragon Queen’s forces were attacked, and Missandei was taken captive.

Daenerys and her armies rushed to King’s Landing in the hopes of negotiating with Cersei, but of course, that is hardly an option anymore. They arrived to find Cersei standing on a castle wall with her re-animated bodyguard The Mountain. In full view of Daenerys’ forces, she ordered the Mountain to behead Missandei. The translator fell from the wall, her friends watching in horror.

If hatred between these two factions were not already at an all-time high, this will surely do the trick. Missandei was a key member of Daenerys’ inner circle, and this unfair death will lead reignite the rage between warring factions of humanity after we were distracted by the supernatural war against the dead.

Many fans expected either Missandei or Grey Worm to perish in the Battle of Winterfell itself. The two shared a heartfelt moment in Season 8, Episode 2, when they discussed their plans for after the war. Once they had put Daenerys on the Iron Throne, they intended to sail to Missandei’s home island of Naath, where the Unsullied could protect the local people from slavers and raiders.

That plan is out the window now, unless Grey Worm plans to make the journey himself. The two freed slaves found comfort in each others’ company, and their relationship even turned sexual last season in spite of the fact that Grey Worm is castrated.

As heartbreaking as it is, to some fans this is the first major character death of the season. Many main cast members have avoided death all year despite insurmountable odds, so this hits that much closer to home. Still, Daenerys’ response is sure to be fierce considering she has the blood of the dragon.

Game of Thrones airs on Sundays at 9 p.m. ET on HBO.