12 Game Of Thrones Characters Who Are STILL AWOL

7. Ilyn Payne

Last Seen: At Maegor's Holdfast in Season 2, where he was stationed to kill Cersei, Sansa and all the other ladies if Stannis Baratheon took the city.

It was only real life tragedy that spared Ser Ilyn Payne from Arya Stark's rapidly shrinking Kill List. The royal executioner who took Ned Stark's head (only as a matter of duty, it has to be said) was played by rock legend Wilko Johnson, who was diagnosed with terminal pancreatic chancer in 2013. His character was retired as a mark of respect, so we never got to see the end of his arc.

Remarkably, and thankfully, Johnson beat the cancer and made a full recovery and has gone on record to discuss returning to the show. He deserves as much after his personal triumph, and it would be great to see that plot thread tied up.

Could He Return?

Well, he's in King's Landing, so it's a possibility he'll reappear in the final season. It's not like the show likes to leave threads loose, but there's a lot they have to fit in in the final season, so who knows?