5 Game Of Thrones Characters Who Should Have Never Died

For a hard-hitting, high-stakes TV show like "Game of Thrones," it's usually a good thing when fans wish they could undo some of the characters' deaths. That's a sign that audiences cared, and that the cast and crew did such a good job that it really feels like we've lost a friend. There's a little part inside every "Game of Thrones" fan that wishes they could undo Ned's death, for instance, even though we know that without his death, the entire rest of the show could never happen. 

But as any "GoT" fan who made it through the later seasons could attest, not all "GoT" deaths are on the same level. Some of them are good in theory but poorly executed, while some are bad in theory and executed even worse. Here's our list of five characters who totally should not have died in the manner they did. And while there are admittedly a lot of season 8 deaths on this list, but there is one earlier death that might surprise you. 

Throughout the first few seasons, when the showrunners still had plenty of book material to work with, the cunning eunuch Lord Varys was one of the most compelling characters on the show. He seemed so smart, so ruthless, yet he had a mysterious code of honor that set him apart from other sleazy schemers like Littlefinger. 

But by the final season, Varys' IQ had fallen by at least a couple dozen points, to the frustration of the actor himself. Varys was quick to turn on Daenerys in "The Last of the Starks" despite her not doing anything that bad until "The Bells," and he was immediately executed for betraying her. Daenerys' execution of Varys was intended to show her sliding down into the dark side even further, but it was a fair response: she had straight-up told him in season 7 that if he betrayed her she would kill him, and she honored her word. 

The problem with Varys' death is that I don't believe he'd turn on Daenerys so quickly, nor do I believe he'd be so clumsy with his methods of betraying her. Varys is famous for his strong self-preservation instincts; the Varys of the early seasons would've at least escaped the island Dany was staying at before sending all those ravens out. There's also the issue that Varys' whole reasoning behind switching allegiance to Jon Snow — the idea that the person who doesn't want to be king would make the best king — is a rather boring, simplistic take on power. You know who else was also reluctant to be king? Robert "Bobby B" Baratheon, and that guy was terrible at the job.  

Ah, Daenerys' second dragon Rhaegal, my favorite character. Rhaegal may not have wowed us with any witty dialogue, and he may have always been in the shadow of his big brother Drogon (who was clearly their mother's favorite child), but it was still a shame to watch him go out the way he did. 

Rhaegal dies in "The Last of the Starks" when he's shot in the neck by a ballistic arrow from a surprise Greyjoy fleet. It's a silly death because of how absurdly improbable it is for a fleet to sneak up on Daenerys while she's flying in the air with a literal bird's eye view. It's also dumb if you consider how difficult of a shot this was for the Greyjoy army to pull off. You can't just shoot a dragon hundreds of feet in the air from a medieval-era bow attached to a swaying ship — not on the first try, at least. 

Rhaegal's death was a clear case of the writers pulling the strings to rush along Daenerys' descent into madness, rather than delivering a realistic death that came more naturally. We're not opposed to him dying at some point in the season, but surely the plot point could've been handled better than this.

What a disappointment Jaime turned out to be. After going through a thrilling redemption arc throughout most of the show and finally hooking up with Brienne in season 8, he gives up his earned happy ending to return to his sister, only to die with her moments later. It stings because Jaime easily could have stayed redeemed, but blew it not because of any real organic shift in his character but because the writers seemed to think it'd be poetic for the incest twins to die together. 

To be fair, it's not inherently bad for a character to backslide from their redemption arc. A character nearly achieving redemption and then blowing it at the last moment can make for a thrilling, tragic story. The problem is that nothing about this backslide feels earned. It feels like a plot point the showrunners were told about from author George R.R. Martin early on; it's a plot point that may very well work fine in the books, but the showrunners stuck to it without providing enough of the context that might've let it make sense to viewers. 

It's possible Jaime will receive the same tragic end in the books (assuming they're ever published, of course). If so, hopefully that ending will be given the time and depth it needs to work. 

The best part about the Hound's storyline is that we get to watch this angry man give up on his need for vengeance. When he and Arya first meet, they are both consumed by hatred towards the people who've harmed them. By the end of season 7, they've both learned to put that aside, choosing to act more on a desire to help the people around them. 

This would've been a nice, hopeful place to leave the Hound's arc on, but the showrunners apparently couldn't resist giving into the "Cleganebowl" fan memes. In "The Bells," the Hound confronts his evil brother Gregor "The Mountain" Clegane, as fans had long predicted he would. The two fight it out for a bit before the Hound tackles the Mountain off the top of a castle and they fall together into a pit of flames.  

It all feels silly because, well, the Mountain's already dead by this point. He's been a near-lifeless zombie for several seasons and he would've died during the battle of King's Landing whether the Hound fought him or not. The Hound dying in his fight against his already-defeated brother feels like an empty reversal on his long-term character arc. Their battle doesn't feel epic so much as pointless and sad. It feels like the Hound of the past few seasons would've progressed beyond his need to do this.

As a lifelong defender of George R.R. Martin, I've often bristled at the complaint that he's a nihilistic writer. I believe he's an optimist at heart, even despite all the horrible things that may happen throughout this series. But the one moment that really shattered my ability to make this argument is with poor Prince Oberyn, who snatches defeat from the jaws of victory in his battle with the Mountain. Forget the Red Wedding — this is easily the most depressing thing that has ever happened on the show, not to mention the most gory. It was depressing in the books, too, but at least there I didn't have to hear the sound of Oberyn's head popping. 

Many fans defend this death on the grounds that it was vital to the plot. Without Oberyn's death, they argue, Tyrion never would've been forced out of King's Landing and never would've teamed up with Daenerys. But it's easy to imagine a version of events where Oberyn wins and Tyrion's forced out of the city anyway. Regardless of the trial itself's outcome, Tyrion by the end of season 4 (or the end of "A Storm of Swords") is still a total pariah in the city, someone who Cersei will repeatedly try to poison as long as he's within her sights. Combine that with Shae's betrayal and Tyrion's fury at his own family, and it makes sense that Tyrion would set sail to Essos even if he wasn't facing the gallows. 

This is likely the most controversial pick of the list, as fans generally consider Oberyn's death to be one of the most iconic moments in the series. But I find the moment too bleak to truly enjoy, and I feel like keeping Oberyn around could've helped the Tyrion and Dorne storylines of the next two books/seasons work a lot smoother. But all of this pales into comparison to the real reason I wish Oberyn hadn't died in season 4: I just like the guy. When a character this cool comes along, it feels like a shame to let him go so soon.