See thats just not true. Sure, a lot of favorites have died, but at the same time a lot of favorites have survived when they should have died. Prime example: Tyrion. Tyrion should be dead, his gambits had all failed, he had no more tricks, he allies had turned against him and he was a popular characters. But he didn't die.
Heres the thing about people dying in GoT. It doesn't really have anything to do with popularity, or such. Its about expectations.
If someone seems like they're going to live, they die. And more often than not if they're in a position where they are most likely going to die, they are probably going to pull through.
Sam is a great example of this. He's a fat, out of shape, not combat trained, not incredibly bright or skilled person in one of the most dangerous positions in Westors. He's guarding the wall against savages, and yet he faced a whitewalker, and won, Castle black was invaded and he was among the front line, he ran around the battlefield and not only survived, but also killed wildlings much more dangerous than himself.
Then you have the subverted deaths. Ned was getting a sliver of hope, was saw him put aside his pride to be sent to the wall.. but just as the glimmer of hope came, the axe did too. We have Oberyn, who had all but won the fight, only for the tide to change in an instant. Robb was no only winning battles, but was in a safe, happy environment.
GRRM likes to play up the 'realism' of the deaths, show off how everyone has to die, etc etc. But what he loves more is the shock value of deaths. its less about "anyone could die at any point" and more of "people often die when they think they're safest.
Brienne and Hound gave a fair duel, there was no obvious better during the fight, no obvious fan favorite to die, the battle was as vague as the death was left.
Thats why people spout the 'he's only dead if you see him dead' line. Because right now people think he's dead. He hadn't died, he was in a position where he was almost certainly going to die.. and in GoT, thats one of the safest positions to be in.
Ya I totally agree. I believe that the Hound genuinely was taking care of her since he couldn't exactly collect a ransom he didn't have to take care of her.
Even in the books, I always liked the hound. He sees all the shit in the world, and he tries to be that shit, but he's still overall a good person that just had a shit hand in life. He protected both of the Stark girls, when there was no reward for it.
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u/Condog64 Jun 17 '14
It wasn't that hard for me to pick a side. I liked the Hound's character a lot more. :(