There will likely be many elements from Game of Thrones that will carry over to House of the Dragon, one of which is mass amounts of death to minor and significant characters alike. Game of Thrones constantly killed characters, which helped shape its legacy and some of its greatest moments. Some fans, though, feel certain deaths came prematurely.
There are many Game of Thrones-related threads and conversations on Reddit where fans voice their opinions, and that includes ones on characters who they believe were killed off too soon, still having potential and value to the show.
Only two of the six Direwolves that audiences meet in the first episode survive through to the end of Game of Thrones (those being Ghost and Nymeria), with the others heartbreakingly dying, including Bran's loyal friend Summer.
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Many Game of Thrones deaths were timed perfectly, but Redditor Francis_29 believes Summer died too soon, saying, "He should have run with Meera." Summer sacrifices his life to save Bran from the Wights in season 6, which seems a fitting death for the Direwolf, although it would have been nice for more than just the two Direwolves to have survived the show.
Of the six Direwolves, it is Lady who, totally unfairly, meets her end first, being a substitute execution since Nymeria could not be found for punishment for attacking Joffrey. Not one person comes out of this debacle looking likable.
Many believe she deserved a longer line, such as Redditor darcy_milan, who simply states "Lady" in response to characters who died too soon. She could have been freed to run off, or her death could have been pushed back more. Either way, this innocent animal deserved a fuller, happy life rather than getting executed by the always duty-bound and honor-filled character of Ned.
Many members of the Night's Watch get killed without deserving it throughout Game of Thrones, such as Edd, Grenn, and Pyp. One of the best who some believed deserved to live on was Yoren, a recruiter for the Night's Watch met in the first two seasons.
Redditor PamelaBreivik lists Yoren as a character who died too soon but also concedes that "At least Yoren had the most badass death in the series." Even if he should have lived on, perhaps to aid Jon and even live on to see the Battle of Castle Black, fans can be less annoyed about his death given the brilliance of his final scene.
Karsi is far from the most well-known name in Game of Thrones, but she has a heartbreaking role to play in one of the series' best episodes, 'Hardhome,' as she goes from Wildling to part of the Night King's army.
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Karsi gets a couple of mentions on Reddit for a character who died too soon, including from a deleted Redditor who spoke on Karsi saying, "She was extremely likable, and I hoped she would have made it." It would have been great to see her brought south of the wall, and there is no doubt that, especially as a mother, she deserved to live longer; but audiences could tell she was doomed in that episode.
A Wildling prisoner turned close friend and protector of Bran and his brother Rickon, Osha underwent some great character development as a side character before being murdered by Ramsay Bolton.
Some, like Redditor Hydrolized_Fish, believe Osha got killed too soon, stating that "Her character dynamic was so awesome." It is unclear what Osha could have gotten up to beyond her being killed by Ramsay, but her character consistently impressed and, like Rickon, did not deserve to be killed by the psychopathic and evil Bolton.
Most deaths of significant characters, whether they come too soon or not, come on-screen and usually in a fittingly cruel, brutal fashion. Not Blackfish, though; his death rather disrespectfully comes off-screen.
Redditor Applegirl26 states that this is the most botched off-screen death in the show and that they "think he [Tully] should have gone with Brienne." This definitely would have been an interesting route for the Blackfish character, but even if that did not happen, he still probably should have gotten an on-screen death rather than a fleeting mention - especially given that he survived the Red Wedding.
The final season of Game of Thrones got so much wrong, and in the minds of many, the fate of Lord Varys is the perfect example, executed by Daenerys after Tyrion snitched on him for his betrayal of the soon-to-be Mad Queen.
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Redditor HistoricalMaize9818 says that Varys' death was "just plain stupid, he shouldn't have died or at least not the way he did." It would have been both fitting and fascinating had Varys survived until the end of the show and just generally been smarter in his attempts to betray Daenerys. The death was unfairly clunky for a character like Varys, and if he were to die, it deserved to happen later in a much more fitting fashion.
Despite their family - and their arguable wrongdoings in the case of Tommen - it is hard not to feel bad for the two younger Baratheon/Lannister children as they both have far better personalities and die in a truly cruel fashion, with Myrcella's death perhaps coming too soon.
A few fans list Myrcella as a bit of premature death, with a deleted Redditor saying they wish she had lived longer, partly because of her kindness and partly because "it would've been cool to have more insight into what it was like to grow up surrounded by so many key players." Myrcella could have been important in the grand scheme of things, just like the rest of her family, but instead, she died pretty much as soon as her potential story begins.
Oberyn Martell is perhaps the show's best example of a character being efficient with their screen time, having very few minutes on-screen for someone so popular and iconic. Fans still wish they got more of the charismatic Pedro Pascal played Prince of Dorne, whose heartbreaking death is one of the saddest and most brutal in the entire show.
The Red Viper is perhaps the most popular answer when the question of characters who died too soon pops up, with Redditor RC11111 saying, "Obviously his death was a great part of the story, but I would have loved some more of him in the books." Many others feel the same way about his show counterpart, and with good reason. He was a remarkable character who could have led to some great storylines that may have been worth sacrificing Cleganebowl for.
While Oberyn Martell deserved to live longer and be a more prominent part of the show, at least he got a fittingly brilliant, gut-wrenching death. Ser Barristan Selmy did not get anywhere near that level of respect when he shockingly got killed by the Sons of the Harpy.
His death, which did not happen in the books, happened in the show for no real narrative reason. Many Redditors like Three__14 state that Selmy was killed far too soon, stating that "It would've been amazing to see him plan the defense against the brewing civil war inside Mereen with Tyrion." Everyone except the show writers thinks Selmy could keep going and could continue to be an awesome part of the story away from Westeros.
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