Death is a natural occurrence in Westeros. Well, it’s a natural occurrence just about everywhere, but it can’t be understated how often characters lose their lives in Game of Thrones. This is a series that established the inherent danger of its premise within minutes. Beloved characters come and go like the wind, and violent battles are always around the corner, sometimes built up for seasons at a time.
Not all battles are fought equally, however, and for as much glee Game of Thrones puts into offing its main cast, attentive fans will have noticed how rarely major characters actually die during major battles, especially between seasons 3 and 8. For a TV show that made its bread and butter out of killing main characters (those actually billed in the opening credits), Game of Thrones can be surprisingly reserved during its big battle episodes.
Battle Of The Blackwater (0)
Ser Mandon Moore of the Kingsguard is the only notable named character to die during the events of the Battle of the Blackwater in the TV continuity. To be fair, however, no major characters end up dying during A Clash of Kings’ depiction of this battle either, with Davos’ fake-out death being the main “death” of the battle.
The episode closes with Tyrion’s “death,” likely to call on Ned’s death from the first season’s penultimate episode, but it doesn’t take long for the season finale to establish that Tyrion is just fine. As this is the first major battle in Game of Thrones, though, it’s perhaps expected for no major characters to die. Besides, it isn’t as if the status quo doesn’t change after this battle. Tyrion is further disfigured and no longer Hand. Tywin is back in the Capital. Stannis has been smashed at the Blackwater, and Davos is MIA. That’s more impactful than any single death.
Massacre At Hardhome (0)
The Massacre at Hardhome is many a fan’s favorite battle, and it isn’t particularly hard to see why. While the events at Hardhome are only alluded to in the books, Jon Snow actually travels to Hardhome in the show and confronts the White Walkers face to face. It’s a brutal fight that dwindles the Watch and the Wildlings’ numbers, but no main characters end up dying.
Worth noting are the deaths of supporting characters Karsi and Loboda, two characters who are introduced specifically for this episode. They both create some conflict, particularly in their interactions with Jon Snow, but their presences show that the Wildlings are willing to fight alongside the Watch, sowing the seeds for mankind’s stand against the dead at Winterfell in season 8.
Battle Of The Goldroad (0)
If you asked most fans what their favorite battle across the 2 final seasons was, most would likely point to the Battle of the Goldroad, a showdown that saw Targaryen forces meeting Lannister forces in the open field for the first time in the series. It’s a definitive win for Dany that ends in Randyll and Dickon Tarly executed by dragonfire, but all major characters survive the ordeal.
This is made worse, however, by the fact that Jaime and Bronn are given some serious plot armor for this battle. Jaime quite literally drowns in a full suit of armor only to be rescued by Bronn, and Bronn himself comes way too close to death too many times during the Battle of the Goldroad. Considering how poorly utilized he is in season 8, Bronn should have died here, rescuing Jaime. It would have added more weight to Dany’s early conquest of Westeros.
Wight Hunt (0)
The beginning of the end for a good chunk of fans, the Wight Hunt in season 7 stretched the series’ suspension of disbelief a bit too much. The episode itself is both well-directed and well-produced (with some of the best visuals in the series and snappy dialogue,) but the actual story surrounding the hunt is… dumb.
It doesn’t help matters that season 7 genuinely does a pretty good job building up to this event only to pretty much keep the hunting party intact. Of the crew heading North, only Thoros dies. Viserion is killed and revived later in the episode by the Night King, and Benjen dies saving Jon, but these deaths aren’t exactly handled with the most grace.
Battle Of The Bastards (1)
Although reception to the final 2 seasons has soured fans on Game of Thrones post-season 4, most tend to agree that the series up to season 6 (and season 6 over season 5 in particular) is still worth a watch. The Battle of the Bastards might very well be the best-directed battle episode in the series from a pure spectacle perspective, and it does a great job at highlighting the ideological differences between Jon, Sansa, and Ramsay while paralleling Jon with Dany.
As far as the main cast goes, only Ramsay ends up dying, but that’s for the best. Rickon and Wun Wun die as well, but mainly do amplify the emotional impact of the episode. Ramsay is the only main character who could have died this episode without distracting from the conflict at hand (Jon vs Ramsay, not just on the field but ideologically.)
Battle Of Castle Black (1)
Built up all season in the North, the Battle of Castle Black sees the Night’s Watch fighting off Mance Rayder’s Wildling army in the dead of the night. It’s a heated battle that not only utterly cripples the Night’s Watch for the remainder of the series, but results in the tragic death of Ygritte, the greatest love of Jon Snow’s life (sorry, Dany.)
Notably, this episode places a great deal of focus on everyone in the Watch, not just Jon. Both Green and Pyp die fighting alongside their brothers, with Grenn, in particular, fending off a giant and saving Westeros in the process. With such an intimate cast of characters in the focus, the Battle of Castle Black might be the most well rounded in the series.
Battle Of King’s Landing (3)
Fast forward to the final battle of the series. Daenerys’ forces have arrived at King’s Landing, and what many expected to be a grueling duel to the death ends up being a total massacre. The Lannister forces are destroyed, with Cersei buried underneath the Red Keep alongside her brother Jaime. All the while The Hound and The Mountain kill each other with Euron and Qyburn victims amongst a now destroyed kingdom.
It’s interesting the series opts for such a smackdown as the final battle, and it isn’t as if there aren’t plenty of major character deaths, but something feels profoundly lacking in this battle. Dany’s forces get away too clean. Which is the point, granted, but it doesn’t feel narratively earned. Not helping matters is that the emotional resolution of the battle is reserved for the finale.
Battle Of Winterfell (3)
The battle that irreversibly ruined Game of Thrones for some fans, the Battle of Winterfell didn’t kill enough main characters but is still home to the most character deaths in the series. Of the main cast, Theon, Jorah, and Melisandre die. Of the recurring cast, Lyanna Mormont, Beric Dondarrion, Dolorous Edd, Alys Karstark, Dany’s Bloodrider Qhono, Viserion, and the Night King all die.
That’s a lot of characters, but no one expected to survive to the political endgame. Since Game of Thrones opted to resolve the White Walkers first, this unfortunately resulted in all the major players surviving. This is a shame since those deaths would have actually had some impact. As is, the deaths we do have in the battle are well done, but really only exist in a vacuum.
