5 Game of Thrones characters who only survived because of plot armors

The world established by Game of Thrones was a cruel and unrelenting world. George R. R. Martin portrayed a grim and foreboding atmosphere in the literary source material, and consequently, Game of Thrones on HBO did the same with its world-building. It was necessary to portray the amount of gore and the multitude of deaths on the show for the full extent of the literary material to shine through. In such a world, the value of one's life is puny compared to the juggernaut of battles of events that bring about calamitous change.

Several characters in Game of Thrones have met a bloody and violent death. However, there have been certain characters that have continued to survive and escape fate, regardless of the perils that besieged them every step of the way. These are characters who have been, in a way, protected by plot armor or the narrative device that wouldn't kill them off right away in situations that would cause the death of other, not-so-fortunate, characters. Here, we take a look at five such characters that would have been dead too quickly had it not been for their immense plot armor.

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Who are the five Game of Thrones characters saved by plot armor?

Keep reading to learn more.

1) Samwell Tarly

Tarly, undeniably, might be the most inept character to have survived the events of the entire Game of Thrones. Right from the beginning, he seemed to be underequipped to carry on in such an unrelenting world. It would have been a different thing altogether if he had not participated in many of the battles and campaigns on the HBO show.

The fact that he did, as an educated individual and as a Maester, and survived to tell the tale, bewilders many to this date. During the Battle of Winterfell, he was bombarded by the Wights and survived. He also survived during The Long Night, whereas many others perished. It's almost preposterous that he was able to make it through unscathed owing to plot armor, whereas several fighters, more capable than him, were killed in battle.

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2) Arya Stark

Arya Stark surviving the Battle of Winterfell is another example of Game of Thrones plot armor coming to rescue a character in times when they needed it the most and wouldn't have made it out otherwise. Apart from this, Arya had also been through personal injuries that were sufficient to kill any other character in her place.

There's no sense in her surviving the attack by the Waif and coming out alive. On the other hand, many fans of the show were confused for a long time about how she was able to kill the formidable Night King. Many would argue that in a different set of circumstances and without the existence of plot armor, the Night King would have snapped her neck early on in the fight.

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3) Jon Snow

He was arguably the most important character of the show, and that is perhaps the reason why he was revived and brought back even after being dead. This goes on to prove his immense power in the narrative, and therefore, the use of plot armor was the greatest in his case on Game of Thrones. Apart from this, one can list several other instances when Jon Snow's brush with death could have easily taken a toll on his life, such as during his betrayal of Daenerys, the Battle of the Bastards, when he was caught north of the wall, and so on.

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4) Bronn

The character of Bronn was either summoned by Lady Luck herself, or he had the gift of plot armor to his credit. The fact that someone like him became the Master of Coin and the Lord of Highgarden speaks volumes about the plot armor he had around him to protect himself against all attacks. From breaking into Winterfell with a bowcaster to confront Tyrion and Jaime to surviving Dorne, he was involved in quite a few spectacular feats that would have summarily killed anyone else in his place on Game of Thrones.

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5) Tormund Giantsbane

There's no doubt that Tormund was a well-liked character on Game of Thrones. However, there were several instances when he was saved from the clutches of death by plot armor. One such instance that readily comes to mind is during the Battle of Winterfell, wherein he would have perished straightaway if not for plot armor. The Battle of Hardhome and Castle Black were two of the other similar situations.

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Kat Harrington speaks about the ultimate fate of Jon Snow on Game of Thrones

Speaking in an exclusive interview with Entertainment Weekly, Harrington opened up about the ultimate fate of Jon Snow on the HBO show. When asked about his initial reaction after learning about what happens to Snow in the end, Harrington recalled:

"Like every season, you read something in the script and go, “Oh f–k.” I kind of knew it was coming. I didn’t read (George R.R. Martin’s novel) A Dance with Dragons. But I read the other books and I had heard this is what happens. So I had an inkling it should be this season. I didn’t realize it would be the final shot of the season and that made it extra special. It’s always kind of nice really when you’re the last thing that happens in that episode. I dunno, I loved it. I loved how they brought Olly in to be the person who kills me. I love how the storyline with Thorne was wrapped up. I think it was really well crafted by (showrunners David Benioff and Dan Weiss). It felt like the right way for it to happen."

Harrington was then asked about his last day on the set of the show, to which he replied:

"I got a big wrap and, like any of the actors who die on Thrones, I just wanted to f–k off out of there— I got a tear in my eye. I was more moved and emotional than I thought I’d be."

Game of Thrones is available on HBO.