I have some news for you guys. Game of Thrones really doesn't kill that many people...especially in battle
Last Sunday on Game of Thrones, The Longest Night, was the most hyped up battle in TV history and was the most watched GOT episode of all time. When something is this popular and when something has this much hype, some fans are bound to be disappointed. Some people were bound to be have complaints. Yes, Jon is a terrible general and Daenerys still doesn’t know how to use her dragons properly, but the final ten minutes of the episode gave me an adrenaline rush that rivaled Hardhome and The Winds of Winter.
This episode was far from perfect and, unlike what some people on this site have said, this episode was not a masterpiece. It had serious flaws, but that doesn’t mean the episode wasn’t enjoyable. It also doesn’t mean you aren’t allowed to complain about how this episode played out. The things I think you’re allowed to complain about in this episode are as follows: Jon. Is. The. Worst. General. Of. All. Time (he always has been and always will be), the episode had some bad lighting (I had to turn off all the lights in my apartment and turn up the brightness to 95 on my TV in order to see everything properly), not learning more about the Night King during the episode isn’t a bad complaint either, and finally complaining that Jon or Daenerys should have been the heroes destined to kill the Night King is understandable.
WHAT I WILL NOT STAND FOR IS PEOPLE COMPLAINING THAT NOT ENOUGH PEOPLE DIED!
What did you want from this show? More trauma? Do you want more of our favorite characters that we’ve learned to love and care about die? Do you understand the show you’re watching?? Game of Thrones, despite its reputation for killing everyone, doesn’t really kill people during battles. GOT kills characters when the character is put in a situation because of their own mistakes (Robb and Jon), GOT kills characters because they have a fundamental character flaw (Oberyn and Ned). GOT doesn’t just kill important characters randomly during a battle. The reason the deaths of so many important characters shake us to our core is because we learn to care so much about them beforehand. We see them die in scenarios that they got themselves into and they can’t get out of.
To make my case, let’s do an accounting of the important GOT deaths.
Characters who died in Seasons 1-4 (the seasons almost entirely based on the books): Robert, Viserys, Drogo, Ned, Renly, Davos’ kids (they felt important at the time but even Davos has forgotten about them so I have too), Jeor Mormont, Robb, Catelyn, Talisa, Joffrey, Lysa Arryn, Tywin, Oberyn, Shae, Ygritte, Pip, Grenn, and Jojen. (18 total)
How many of those characters died in battle? Davos’ kids (Battle at Blackwater Bay), Pip (battle at Castle Black), Grenn (Castle Black), Ygritte (Castle Black), and Jeor Mormont (during a mutiny technically but I’ll count it). So four character that we cared about died during battles during Seasons 1 through 4.
Onto 5 through 8. Here are the totals.
Barristan Selmy, Mance Rayder, Maester Aemon, Stannis, Shireen, Myrcella (and all the Sandsnakes), Hodor, Roose Bolton, Ramsay Bolton, Balon Greyjoy, Allister Thorne, Olly, Rickon, Wun Wun, Margery, Loras, Tommen, the High Sparrow, Walder Frey, Brynden Rivers (Bloodraven), Olenna Tyrell, Randyll and Dickon (ha!) Tarly, Little Finger, Thoros, Beric, Lyanna Mormont, Theon Greyjoy, the Dothraki, most of the Unsullied, Melisandre, Viserion, Jorah, and Edd. So about 31 plus the two armies.
How many of them died in battle?
Barristan (in the streets of Mereen fighting the Harpys), Wun Wun, Obara and Nymeria Sand (killed by Euron’s men in Season 7), Theon, Lyanna Mormont, Viserion, Jorah, and Edd. I am not including the Tarlys and Stannis because they were executed post battle.
So if we do a total accounting of everyone who died in battle, we get 13 total characters throughout the entire show. So out of the 49 total characters killed only 13 were killed during an all-out battle. That’s about 26% of the total TV show deaths. Four of those deaths came in The Long Night and if you include Melisandre post-battle death then that’s five total. So to sum up all these calculations, of the 49 people that died in this show (that we somewhat care about) only 13 died in big epic battles and 38% of those that died in battles died in Season 8, Episode 3.
On top of the just the sheer quantity of death, we also need to think about the fact that some deaths are way more impactful than others. Ned’s death was the big death in Season 1, and besides him no one else really died that we didn’t except to die. It was so brutal though because we cared about him and because he was such as good man. This is the same case for Jorah the Andal who died saving the woman he loved. He literally died only after all the wights around him had fallen. He refused to die until he knew that Dany was safe. This death was a top five death in the show and one of the most gut-wrenching scenes to watch as a fan who cares about Jorah and Daenerys’ relationship as much as I do.
Basically what I’m saying is that GOT has never killed major characters in battle because the emotional impact isn’t the same as having characters die in a tragic way that was their fault in some ironic twist of fate. They also often don’t kill characters until their character arc has been fulfilled or they no longer serve a purpose to the plot.
The people we expected to die but didn’t still have purposes to serve. The Hound still has to fight his brother in Clegane Bowl. Tyrion and/or Jaime still have to kill Cersei. Arya still has to live happily ever after with Gendry. Jon and Daenerys still have to figure out what to do about the fact that they’re both Targaryens. Sam has to write The Song of Ice and Fire, and Bran has to continue being weird in social situations (because I’m finally starting to enjoy his character as a result). See? There’s still a lot for many of these characters to do in this show.
Game of Thrones, when it comes down to it, kills characters…but that isn’t what the show is about. It’s a fantasy show/political drama that subverts expectations and is about human’s fighting each other. It isn’t about pure good versus evil because the show isn’t at its best when it becomes a show about that. Nothing in this show is completely black and white. Daenerys has a tendency to be both good and evil. Cersei is evil but because she does anything to keep her family alive. If the White Walkers are still around, then nothing else in the show matters. Daenerys and Jon being Targaryens? Doesn’t matter. Who sits on the Iron Throne? Doesn’t matter. All of these issues we’ve learned to care about don’t matter if the White Walkers are still on the board. The idea of what the show is about is an issue for another day, but I think it was worth briefly addressing in this post.
So to summarize…GOT never kills important characters in major battles. They never have and there is no reason for them to start now. Also if we’re being honest, the battle episodes are never the best episodes. Think about Baelor, The Rains of Castamere, The Door, The Winds of Winter. These episodes don’t have a major battle in them but, they are some of the greatest episodes of all time. Killing major characters doesn’t define Game of Thrones. Subverting expectations does - often times character death are a result of that; creating characters we love and care about like they are real people does too. The Long Night didn’t kill tons of major characters because they didn’t have to and because Game Of Thrones just simply doesn't.