How we pray for just one season to go by without having George R. R. Martin butchering his characters in the most gruesome manner, but that prayer would be for naught, as Martin himself says he does this to make fans understand that he wants “the reader to feel that no one is ever completely safe, not even the characters who seem to be the heroes.”
Some of the characters we’re introduced to have actually survived in the novels as compared to the live-action series, and it’s about anybody’s guess as to who Martin will kill off next. While we may not know who survives, what we do wish is that few of his characters should have made it to the very end, and we’ve compiled the following list in their memory.
Ned Stark
Lord Eddard Stark of House Stark, is one of the few characters in the series who’s genuinely a steadfast man. Stark was always known for doing the right thing, and it is because of this quality that he got himself in trouble. Stark discovers that all of Cersei’s children were sired by her twin brother Jaime Lannister, and not her king and husband, Robert Baratheon. Words go a long way in ‘GOT’, and Ned Stark speaking the right words to the wrong people resulted in his beheading. Too bad, he would’ve been proud of what his (surviving) children have become.
Catelyn Stark
Catelyn’s knack for strategy saw her as a great leader and her commanding presence as the voice of House Stark, made many a man listen to the aged mother’s words of wisdom. Sadly, in what was one of the most gruesome deaths in ‘GOT’, Catelyn, along with her son and his to-be wife, was brutally stabbed to death in what came to be known as The Red Wedding. Fans were devastated when Catelyn Stark was murdered by Walder Rivers in the show’s third season. Granted, this wasn’t a surprise killing, Catelyn dies in the books as well, but returns as Lady Stoneheart. Unfortunately, the series may not see the Stark’s mother returning in any capacity.
Hodor
The lovable half-giant would carry on his duties to the young Bran and his companions without so much of a word of protest, and his death may have been the most complex death in the entire series. Hodor met his end when he was faithfully protecting Bran and Meera from the White Walkers. This episode and moment in ‘GOT’ simultaneously saw Hodor’s origin story, along with his death, and it’s heartbreaking that he had to die because of Bran’s half-baked time-traveling adventure.
Oberyn Martell
Martell felt like the hero we’ve been promised since most of the Starks met their end, and him getting his due revenge on The Mountain seemed like a fitting conclusion to the story of Oberyn Martell. But, as usual, anyone that seems too good to be true in the ‘GOT’ universe, never seems to make it out alive. Martell was one of the greatest fighters in the ‘GOT’ universe and it was quite shocking, if not, horribly cruel to see The Mountain pop Martell’s head like it was nothing but a piece of bubble wrap.
Olenna Tyrell
Olenna Tyrell was arguably one of the best characters in ‘GOT’, with her know-it-all attitude, and love for the dissing all the nonsense that was growing around her. She had no aspirations to take the Iron Throne and even called it an “Ugly Iron Chair” back in season 3. Her only concern was that there was peace among the ruling classes and that Cersei’s son, Joffrey Baratheon, was dethroned as soon as possible. While her character will be missed, Olenna got the last laugh in the series, when, Cersei planned on brutally executing Olenna, Jaime Lannister convinced his sister to let Lady Tyrell drink poison instead. After drinking the poison, Olenna revealed to Jaime that she was behind Joffrey’s murder and urges him to let Cersei know that she killed their son. A fitting end to the Queen of Thorns.
While we do have more characters we really wish were for Season 8, there’s still a whole roster of characters that Martin is just itching to kill off in the season finale. Here’s hoping that Cersei is finally one of them.
‘Game of Thrones’ will return for the season finale on April 14, only on HBO.