Dethroned

The final season of Game Of Thrones airs in a few weeks.  The final battle is set up, and no one knows how things will end. (Spoilers to follow if you're not caught up.)

I started thinking about who the most beloved characters have been over the run of the show.  If I had to make a top ten (or fifteen) list, it would include Tyrion, Arya, Daenerys, Davos, Brienne, Samwell, Jorah, Bronn, Jon Snow and The Hound.  Notice something about them?  They're all still alive.

Not that the show hasn't killed off popular characters: Ned, Khal Drogo, Hodor, Ygritte, Catelyn, Shireen, Ser Barristan, Olenna, Tywin, Littlefinger, etc.  Yet, the ones that mean the most are, in general, still breathing.

I don't think this is a coincidence.  While the show may have followed the books (until it passed the books), I think the producers were also aware of what the audience wanted, and tried to move in that direction.

Which is what makes this final six-episode season so exciting.  There's no need to protect anyone any more. Sure, it would be a bitter pill to lose Arya or Tyrion, but it's too late for fans to give up on the show.

So I hope they go for it.  There are a number of characters I'd like to see do well, but I'm ready to take my medicine.