GRRM's death fake outs

[Señor de la Tormenta]

It was actually "The Queen's Hand" chapter at the end of ADWD. Took him three days to die, then died before the sun rose on the fourth day. Only time Quent seemed to smile was in death.

Im getting rusty. Its time to do a re read.

[robbyhouston]

These may help.

The man looked over at the woman. “The things I do for love,” he said with loathing. He gave Bran a shove.
Screaming, Bran went backward out the window into empty air. There was nothing to grab on to. The courtyard rushed up to meet him. Somewhere off in the distance, a wolf was howling. Crows circled the broken tower, waiting for corn.

—BRAN

Another man whipped a torch round and round his head and then lofted it toward the thatched roof of the stables. “Save me the Freys,” the Bastard was shouting as the flames roared upward, “and burn the rest. Burn it, burn it all.”

The last thing Theon Greyjoy saw was Smiler, kicking free of the burning stables with his mane ablaze, screaming, rearing . . .”

—THEON

“I’m being swept out into the bay. It wouldn’t be as bad there; he ought to be able to make shore, he was a strong swimmer. Salladhor Saan’s galleys would be out in the bay as well, Ser Imry had commanded them to stand off . . .

And then the current turned him about again, and Davos saw what awaited him downstream.

The chain. Gods save us, they’ve raised the chain.

Where the river broadened out into Blackwater Bay, the boom stretched taut, a bare two or three feet above the water. Already a dozen galleys had crashed into it, and the current was pushing others against them. Almost all were aflame, and the rest soon would be. Davos could make out the striped hulls of Salladhor Saan’s ships beyond, but he knew he would never reach them. A wall of red-hot steel, blazing wood, and swirling green flame stretched before him. The mouth of the Blackwater Rush had turned into the mouth of hell.”

—DAVOS

“Was that why he reeled backward, or did he see the sword after all? He would never know. The point slashed just beneath his eyes, and he felt its cold hard touch and then a blaze of pain. His head spun around as if he’d been slapped. The shock of the cold water was a second slap more jolting than the first. He flailed for something to grab on to, knowing that once he went down he was not like to come back up. Somehow his hand found the splintered end of a broken oar. Clutching it tight as a desperate lover, he shinnied up foot by foot. His eyes were full of water, his mouth was full of blood, and his head throbbed horribly. Gods give me strength to reach the deck . . . There was nothing else, only the oar, the water, the deck.

Finally he rolled over the side and lay breathless and exhausted, flat on his back. Balls of green and orange flame crackled overhead, leaving streaks between the stars. He had a moment to think how pretty it was before Ser Mandon blocked out the view. The knight was a white steel shadow, his eyes shining darkly behind his helm. Tyrion had no more strength than a rag doll. Ser Mandon put the point of his sword to the hollow of his throat and curled both hands around the hilt.

And suddenly he lurched to the left, staggering into the rail. Wood split, and Ser Mandon Moore vanished with a shout and a splash. An instant later, the hulls came slamming together again, so hard the deck seemed to jump. Then someone was kneeling over him. “Jaime?” he croaked, almost choking on the blood that filled his mouth. Who else would save him, if not his brother?

“Be still, my lord, you’re hurt bad.” A boy’s voice, that makes no sense, thought “Tyrion. It sounded almost like Pod.

—TYRION

“Slow red worms crawled along her arms and under her clothes. It tickles. That made her laugh until she screamed. “Mad,” someone said, “she’s lost her wits,” and someone else said, “Make an end,” and a hand grabbed her scalp just as she’d done with Jinglebell, and she thought, No, don’t, don’t cut my hair, Ned loves my hair. Then the steel was at her throat, and its bite was red and cold.”

—CATEYLYN

*did actually die but may be relevant

The mud slowed her, though, and then the water. Run fast as a wolf. The drawbridge had begun to lift, the water running off it in a sheet, the mud falling in heavy clots. Faster. She heard loud splashing and looked back to see Stranger pounding after her, sending up gouts of water with every stride. She saw the longaxe too, still wet with blood and brains. And Arya ran. Not for her brother now, not even for her mother, but for herself. She ran faster than she had ever run before, her head down and her feet churning up the river, she ran from him as Mycah must have run.

His axe took her in the back of the head.

—ARYA

“Brienne felt the hemp constricting, digging into her skin, jerking her chin upward. Ser Hyle was cursing them eloquently, but not the boy. Podrick never lifted his eyes, not even when his feet were jerked up off the ground. If this is another dream, it is time for me to awaken. If this is real, it is time for me to die. All she could see was Podrick, the noose around his thin neck, his legs twitching. Her mouth opened. Pod was kicking, choking, dying. Brienne sucked the air in desperately, even as the rope was strangling her. Nothing had ever hurt so much.

She screamed a word.”

—BRIENNE

The sudden cold hit Tyrion like a hammer. As he sank he felt a stone hand fumbling at his face. Another closed around his arm, dragging him down into darkness. Blind, his nose full of river, choking, sinking, he kicked and twisted and fought to pry the clutching fingers off his arm, but the stone fingers were unyielding. Air bubbled from his lips. The world was black and growing blacker. He could not breathe.

There are worse ways to die than drowning. And if truth be told, he had perished long ago, back in King’s Landing. It was only his revenant who remained, the small vengeful ghost who throttled Shae and put a cross-bow bolt through the great Lord Tywin’s bowels. No man would mourn the thing that he’d become. I’ll haunt the Seven Kingdoms, he thought, sinking deeper. They would not love me living, so let them dread me dead.

When he opened his mouth to curse them all, black water filled his lungs, and the dark closed in around him.

—TYRION

The effort brought a red flush to his neck. “You are still a smuggler, ser, come to steal my gold and blood. You would take my son’s head. I think I shall take yours instead. Guards! Seize this man!”

Before Davos could even think to move, he was surrounded by silver tridents. “My lord,” he said, “I am an envoy.”

“Are you? You came sneaking into my city like a smuggler. I say you are no lord, no knight, no envoy, only a thief and a spy, a peddler of lies and treasons. I should tear your tongue out with hot pincers and deliver you to the Dreadfort to be flayed. But the Mother is merciful, and so am I.” He beckoned to Ser Marlon. “Cousin, take this creature to the Wolf’s Den and cut off his head and hands. I

want them brought to me before I sup. I shall not be able to eat a bite until I see this smuggler’s head upon a spike, with an onion shoved between his lying teeth.”

—DAVOS

Then Bowen Marsh stood there before him, tears running down his cheeks. “For the Watch.” He punched Jon in the belly. When he pulled his hand away, the dagger stayed where he had buried it.

Jon fell to his knees. He found the dagger’s hilt and wrenched it free. In the cold night air the wound was smoking. “Ghost,” he whispered. Pain washed over him. Stick them with the pointy end.

When the third dagger took him between the shoulder blades, he gave a grunt and fell face-first into the snow. He never felt the fourth knife. Only the cold ...

—JON

[rmholt]

Lately, quite a few people on this forum have been discussing the idea of characters who were reported dead being alive, specifically Quentyn Martell and Loras Tyrell. I'm personally on the fence.

My question is for the veterans that have been around since, like 1996, or whatever.

Has the George fooled us before. Did fans actually believe Davos was dead when it was reported? Or Theon?

Be honest.

We saw Quentyn die. He was a mere pawn anyway. I thought the Hound was done for and was happy Arya reappeared but neither was witnessed dead by POV. Are you mistaking a POV losing consciousness for a reported death for Theon, Davos, maybe Arya?

We only hear what Cersei hears - and she's ripe for being played big time. Loras is a Tyrell. He's a player.

Davos, Arya, Sandor, Theon, Jon, if the POV doesn't see someone die or obv dead, he or she is presumed alive. Contrast Tyrek Lannister and Forley Prester. Jon Connington vs Rhaegar. The reason GRRM world has a way for fAegon to not be laughed off the page.

[rmholt]

There's a theory that Loras is fine and the rumor is just a plan for the Tyrells to undermine Lannister power.

Its more believable than what Cersei has been told.

[rmholt]

The general rule of thumb (exception: Syrio, because really) is to be skeptical unless you see the person actually die. So Arya, Davos, Theon, Loras, etc. should have raised skepticism. But guys like Robb, Quentyn and Ned are pretty concrete. There's nothing cliffhanger-ish about Quentyn Martell's death.

There are characters who wander off scene whose arc ends before they do whose fates may never be known.

[Kienn]

People have definitely been fooled, and are still fooled in some cases.

[Dr. Qyburn]

Lately, quite a few people on this forum have been discussing the idea of characters who were reported dead being alive, specifically Quentyn Martell and Loras Tyrell. I'm personally on the fence.

My question is for the veterans that have been around since, like 1996, or whatever.

Has the George fooled us before. Did fans actually believe Davos was dead when it was reported? Or Theon?

Be honest.

I had a fun time recently when I was reading the archived threads made before ADWD came out. A lot of people on one thread were pretty convinced that Davos is dead. Some even claimed that faking Davos death would be playing one trick too many times. So yeah, GRRM has fooled his own fair share.

[Loge]

For the record, Loras Tyrell has not been reported dead, only seriously wounded.

[Hangover of the Morning]

Is it just my bias towards AFfC/ADwD (or my memory playing tricks on me) that I have a feeling that the number of cliffhanger death fake outs grown exponentially in the last two books?

[Mikkel]

Well I thought Ramsay was actually dead (turns out to have been the first Reek), and I remember thinking "does this matter?". Naturally, it did matter eventually, but at the time it seemed like a meaningless detail. Oh and I thought Cat was a goner after the RW, but I can hardly have been alone in that?

[Hangover of the Morning]

Well, the skin is presented in ASOS, Theon's is knocked in ACOK, long enough time to believe he was dead. I did fell for it :blushing:

Also by the time Ramsay betrayed Theon most character who "died" remain dead. (Ned, Renly, Robert, Viserys, etc). But now, we can even see a character die, and later learn it was glamour or some magic (Mance/Rattleshirt is one of my less liked fake deaths in the serie)

Totally agree, especially about Mance. The feeling from the first couple books that war and politics have bloody, real consequences has started to fade. Mance was an oathbreaker who tried to invade the realm of Stannis, a man notorious for his lack of mercy. But he gets a get-out-of-jail free card for reasons that don't even make sense

Can't agree more on the Rattleshirt/Mance fakeout death. The reveal felt so cheap and disappointing.

[Cas Stark]

Is it just my bias towards AFfC/ADwD (or my memory playing tricks on me) that I have a feeling that the number of cliffhanger death fake outs grown exponentially in the last two books?

I have the same memory. That fake deaths and cheesy cliffhangers went kind of wild in the last two books.

[ChillyPolly]

I believed that Bran and Rickon were dead too, but by the time Davos's "death", I had learned andI doubted it from the beginning.

Yeah, but you were still fooled by Quentyn.

[Mikkel]

Yeah, but you were still fooled by Quentyn.

I'll go on record and say that if Quentyn isn't dead, I was officially fooled.

[ChillyPolly]

I'll go on record and say that if Quentyn isn't dead, I was officially fooled.

Good sport!

[ChillyPolly]

I know a lot of people who thought Brienne and Davos were dead. GRRM fooled them at least.

I still think Brienne is dead ... unless zombies count as "alive"?

[ChillyPolly]

We saw Quentyn die.

We saw a man burnt beyond recognition die.

[Bright Blue Eyes]

Got a list saved for this kind of threads:

1. Bran - Game
Ser Jaime throws him of a tower. Dead by impact.

2. Arya - Game
Yoren goes for her face with a blade, she fights him unsuccessfully. A cut throat, dead. Her last chapter in the book.

3. Bran - Clash
Theon knows where Bran and company are hiding. He will show no mercy. 200 pages before Bran is confirmed alive.

4. Jaime - Clash
Insults Cat repeatedly. Cat demands a sword. Last chapter in the book.

5. Davos - Clash
Drifts into the burning chain. Last chapter in the book.

6. Theon - Clash
Is on the losing end of the Battle of Winterfell turning into wholesale slaughter. Won't be seen for two books.

7. Jaime - Storm
Vargo Hoat sends a message to Lord Tywin. An arakh descends.

8. Cat - Storm
Red Wedding.. Well, she actually dies. Not the end of her story though.

9. Arya - Storm
The Hound's axe took her in the back of the head.

10. Davos - Storm
Stannis is ready to take his head off.

10a. Arya - Feast
Not dead, but blinded. Last chapter in the book.

11. Brienne - Feast
Hanged. Last chapter in the book.

12. Tyrion - Dance
Drowns in the Rhoyne.

13. Davos - Dance
Lord Manderly orders him executed. Was backed up in Feast.

14. Asha - Dance
Finishing blow with an axe.

15. Theon - Dance
Rowan promised to kill him after visiting "Abel".

16. Theon - Dance
Jumps down a 40-foot wall.

17. Jon - Dance
Gets caesared. Last chapter of the book.

So, 17 cases of a PoV character dying at the end of their chapter. Five of them at the end of the book. All presently alive and back in action, except Jon.

Is it just my bias towards AFfC/ADwD (or my memory playing tricks on me) that I have a feeling that the number of cliffhanger death fake outs grown exponentially in the last two books?

Nah. Feast is actually below average. Now Dance rocks it, though except Jon, it's not their last chapter in the book.

[Lord Lyman]

Yeah, but you were still fooled by Quentyn.

Do not go there, He is dead and gone.

[ChillyPolly]

Do not go there, He is dead and gone.

... until next volume.