Game of Thrones season eight will include Tormund Giantsbane (played by Kristofer Hivju), as confirmed by the HBO trailer for the upcoming series, which will air on Sky Atlantic in the UK. Tormund ended the previous series of the HBO and Sky series facing the collapse of the Eastwatch section of the Wall with Beric Dondarrion (Richard Dormer). Hivju recently discussed how the character survived the fall of the Wall in an interview.
How did Tormund survive the fall of the Wall?
Hivju told the Radio Times: “There will be a resolution of some kind [to the cliffhanger].
The actor added: “But as to how Tormund reappears… well, I’d watch.”
In the same interview, the Tormund star heavily implied his character will die in the upcoming season eight of Game of Thrones.
He said: “Every time we get new scripts it’s been like, ‘Am I dying on that page?’ No.
“That page? No. That page? No. End of the script? OK! But for season eight, it’s a different story…”
Hivju had previously told The Hollywood Reporter that even he thought his character was done for after the Night King (Vladimir Furdik) unleashed his Ice Dragon on the Wall.
He said: “It doesn’t look good, though, does it? … Realistically speaking, if you’re on top of an ice wall and it’s many hundreds of meters tall…
“I was a competitive climber when I was younger, and that fall, I must say, it doesn’t look good, man. It really doesn’t look good.”
A number of fans have shared their theory of how the formidable Tormund survives.
Most of them focus on the moment where we see the Wall start to collapse and they argue that Tormund is shown to have made it to the part of the Wall that is still standing.
They also point to the fact that he does not get an offscreen death, which would seem unlikely for such a fan favourite character.
One Reddit user pointed out: “In the last shot with Tormund you can see some Night’s Watch structure behind him on the top of the wall, and in this photo you can see that there are still some night’s watch structuring intact on the side of the wall that isn’t collapsing.
“They’re both alive, they just have to run to Castle Black now.”
In an interview with Esquire, Richard Dormer shared what his character and Tormund’s role is in season eight.
He said: “Beric is staying behind with Tormund to guard the Wall.
“The dead are coming from the north so Beric is a pretty good shock trooper and he’s going to be with Tormund and the Wildlings to keep the Army of Undead at bay.”
In the season eight trailer, the Tormund and Beric are seen at Winterfell, with the latter brandishing a flaming sword.
Fans will have to tune in from April 14, however, to find out exactly how Tormund survived.
Game of Thrones season 8 starts April 15 on Sky Atlantic
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