Winter has come for Game of Thrones (GOT) fans after waiting two whole years for the premiere of the final season. Though the show is based on George R. R. Martin’s book series A Song of Ice and Fire, the two are very different portrayals, in fact, the show’s storyline has gone beyond Martin’s latest book.

The show has grown into an international phenomenon, captivating viewers with a journey of complex characters including queens, dragons, and dwarves through the dangerous political game that has ravaged the fictional continent of Westeros, all fighting to sit on the infamous Iron Throne.

GOT fans will tell you that the show isn’t for the faint hearted as it displays graphic violence, nudity, incest, and obscene language. Fans know that GOT is notorious for killing off main and favorite characters, so they do not hold any illusions as to the possibility of death for any and all characters.

For example, the execution of GOT’s beloved main character Eddard (Ned) Stark. This was a turning point in the show, establishing that no one is truly safe. The slaughter of heartthrob Robb Stark and his newly pregnant wife, along with the Stark matriarch, Catelyn Stark reminded fans of this fact at the appropriately named ‘Red Wedding.’

Theories for the eighth season have spread across the internet for the past two years anxiously anticipating the answer to the big question: who will sit on the Iron Throne? Will Daenerys finally take what she believes to be her’s?

Will Jon Snow (A.K.A. Aegon Targaryen) claim his birthright as the rightful ruler of the seven kingdoms? Will Cersei defeat them both and keep her throne? Will an unsuspecting character rise up and take the throne right out from under the main contenders? Will the Iron Throne even survive the Great War? Or will the Night King prevail and decimate all of Westeros? Maybe Ned Stark should have listened to the deserter who spoke of the Wight Walkers in the first episode.

Nevertheless, the wall has fallen and the dead march South. The long night is upon us and it is one that the North will remember for centuries to come. The sentence has been passed and the sword will be swung. In the midst of the fighting and chaos, the ladder may be broken, and all may fall into the pit. No one is safe, not even No One. It has been asked, Will the Seven Kingdoms perish? Not today. Winter is Here.