Minor Character's Deaths That Hit You Harder Than You Would Expect

[The_Ugly_Little_Girl]

Maester Aemon of course...but I'm not sure if I'd really consider him a minor character.

Jeor Mormont.... Oh god, that one got me good.

All the child slaves the Grand Masters nailed up to point Dany's way to Meereen.

But Maester Cressen was the hardest for me. The whole prologue...ugh, it's the reason I can't like Stannis. The man's got some great one-liners, but he treated that old man so badly when all he did was love him. Stannis is a douchebag.

[Seneti]

Maester Aemon's death was really sad, although his last days before that were even more of a tear jerker. The one that really got me though was Donal Noye. I hadn't even noticed how much I had come to like this character and then "seeing" him go down as magnificently as he did... He was the Night's Watch character I cared for the most, which should have been a red flag to me because my favorites always die, but still... :crying:

[Fish Swim]

Yoren and Donal Noye. Donal Noye especially; like Seneti, I hadn't realised how much I'd come to like him until he died. I should have seen it coming, though, because if I like a character, it usually means they're marked for death. :frown5:

[Dead Wolf]

That dwarf septon Brienne met. Man, that was depressing.

Also, I love dogs so I just hate whenever a dog dies in fiction, and Crunch's death was pretty awful

What about Dog? But yeah I hated when Tyrion heard Crunch was dead

[Foothill]

Ser Kevan got to me a little bit too...I actually liked him.

[Melpomene]

-Masha Heddle

-Lommy Greenhands (He was physically suffering for his last few days, slowing dying, and when he showed some hope for help he gets a spear in the throat. Poor kid. Just got me for some reason)

-Any animal

-Maester Cressen

-Septa Mordane (She had nothing to do with what happened at KL, but still gets killed for it and head spiked. All she ever did was try and raise the girls and cared for them greatly)

-Yoren, Donel

-The little lamb boy who was trying to desperately get away in a last ditch effort from the Dothraki, but ended up getting more taunted and tortured.

There are a few more of course, but I'l keep the list short.

[Snowmelter]

Yoren is the saddest for me. I was rooting for him to get Arya back to Winterfell. In hindsight, it's a good thing he didn't.

[DavosSeaworthy]

Viserys, I didn't enjoy it as much as I expected. And yes, I enjoy the deaths of fictional characters, especially when they have it coming.

[Afro Seven]

Ygritte.

She just smiled at that. "D'you remember that cave? We should have stayed in that cave. I told you so."

"We'll go back to the cave," he said. "You're not going to die, Ygritte. You're not."

"Oh." Ygritte cupped his cheek with her hand. "You know nothing, Jon Snow," she sighed, dying.

A Storm of Swords; Hardback, pg. 623.

Not gona lie, I was damn near to tears at the end of that chapter.

Smalljon.

She saw Smalljon Umber wrestle a table off it's trestles. Crossbow bolts thudded into the wood, one two three, as he flung it down on top of his king.

A Storm of Swords; Hardback, pg. 581.

The incredible bravery and loyalty of that man is what makes his death so significant. Reading this I pictured the man rip a giant table from its hinges, lifting it over his head and throwing it over his king before protecting himself from the raining of bolts.

Worthy mentions:

Donal Noye

Maester Aemon

Maester Luwin

[Atropis the Elf]

Ygritte, I wasn't expecting her dying tbh

Maester Aemon, saddest of all

Arys Oakheart

Maester Luwin

I'm not counting Catelyn because 1. LS, 2. she was anything but minor character

[Greywind84]

Smalljon Umber and Dacey Mormont going down protecting Robb.

Cleos Frey (despite being a Frey) seemed quite likable.

Donal Noye killing Mag the Mighty whilst defending the Wall.

The Old Bear dying in Sam's arms.

And the Red Viper, dying without finishing his mission.

[Asha Greyjoy:Feminist Icon]

Maester Lewin. Jesus. It's just never not painful. I watched the series through S03 before starting to read ASOIAF and despite being totally prepared and fully braced for it I still read that through tears. As a part of a rewatch project with my gf, I just happen to have seen the S02 finale yesterday for, like, the fourth time. And white-faced Lewin being brave for the Stark boys (well, probably just Rickon, really...Bran's no dummy) is guaranteed to trigger my sad, sobbing, futile pleading with the screen: "No not Maester Lewin please don't die! Please let me fast forward baby I can't handle it again!" Sigh. Even still.

(Had even higher walls built for RW chapters and the pending death of Cat - and it was still incredibly devastating. She's not a minor character of course, but Dacey Mormont was. I've got the biggest ever girl crush on All Mormont She-Bears so that death really hurt.)

And, as I'm still about ½ way through the first-time AFFC+ADWD combo, I literally just read the Sam chapter with the funeral for and remembrances of Maester Aemon. I needed to quit reading for the night. I mean, I knew death was imminent - I had no zero hour expectations for his survival. I guess I just thought I had more time. :(

Also: Why are these two maesters both so awesome? Why are they not still alive? You're telling me that fucking FrankenMountain lives (well..."lives") to kill another day and Ramsey Snow is a person on the planet...yet the Maesters Lewin and Aemon are now gone. Plus, Aemon took all his sweet dragon knowledge to his fiery Targ grave and Jon Snow is without counsel and FUCK YOU MARTIN.

[Newstar]

I felt sorry for Quentyn Martell, walking Darwin award that he was. Barristan's description of his slow, agonizing death was horrifying. Joffrey deserves that kind of death, not a good, albeit reckless and stupid, kid like Quentyn.

[thesmilingspider]

Maester Luwin

Maester Aemon

the Cassels

Jeor Mormont

Septa Mordane

...and Ser Arys Oakheart (token southron in this list)

[Forelver]

The miller's two sons just killed me.

[Asha Greyjoy:Feminist Icon]

.

And the Red Viper, dying without finishing his mission.

Wait, I kinda thought part of the tragic irony in TRV's small and badass arc is that he does finish his mission. Assuming his mission is "Extract confession from Ser Gregor Clegane, The Mountain That Rides re: Elia, Rhaenys and Aegon VI. Also, kill Ser Gregor Clegane, The Mountain That Rides with poison that will guarantee a brutally painful and looooooong death." If so, Mission Accomplished!

The tragedy is that he uses the Tyrion trial as the opportunity to do something he already wanted to do. It had been delayed by Tywin's hedging and the absenteeism of Ser Gregor Clegane, The Mountain That Rides - but the Tyrion trial posed a way to do the poisoning and get confession in a public space. And in a way that would essentially legalize his killing of a Lannister bannerman/Lead Evil Henchman.

And had Oberyn taken his head in those few seconds when he had a pinned foe and the foe's own sword...he would have lived - but failed. He wanted a confession and he was willing to die to get it. I'm sure he would have preferred to get the confession, agonizing death and Not Dying out of the whole thing. But I believe he prioritized them in that order. Besides, the way I read it, The Red Viper of Dorne died or would have been rendered unconscious midway through the confession and spared much of the ugliness of its content. But no matter what came later, it's at least assured that he heard "Elia Martell of Dorne." ("Now say her name." is easily my #2 favorite just awesome badass line in the series.)

I also am open to the idea that TRV always knew it was a suicide mission but was willing to die to get that public confession from Ser Gregor Clegane, The Mountain That Rides. I mean, the man did say her name. Oberyn Martell never needed an evil man's head to stand in for justice. He wanted a confession. He wanted recognition.

And so again... Mission Accomplished!

The irony is that after all that, I assume Qyburn's been down there Frankensteining the shit out of Ser Gregor Clegane, The Mountain That Rides - possibly throwing in some pieces of puppeteers and women named Senelle - to recreate the monster into something more monstrous. Which may negate the "death" part of Oberyn's mission in one way...but may actually just double down. He certainly suffered an agonizing battle with deadly poisons...now he can be killed again! By his brother! And if Qyburn gets his skills perfected in Frankensteining we may have a situation where any and all people who have reason for vengeance and/or legal justice against Ser Gregor Clegane, The Mountain That Rides shall have their own turn to kill the man.

From over here, it's all win. (Minus the huge hole left in the world by one Oberyn Martell, The Red Viper of Dorne, Vice-Badass of Westeros and Founder of the Gives Not One Fuck Club.)

[KingofSothoryos]

Im sure no one will feel me on this but Yezzan zo Qaggaz, the Yellow Whale who owned Tyrion and Penny outside Meereen. Just the way GRRM describes him dying of the Pale Mare almost made me sick!

[Snowmelter]

another sad one is Old Nan. She may not be dead (it is mentioned that Ramsey took some survivors from Winterfell back to the Dreadfort), but if she isn't she probably wishes she was.

[Petyr Patter]

Pate. The fact that so few mention him just makes his passing all the sadder. It's also what cemented the Faceless Men as an EVIL in my mind.

The guy was a nobody whose great plan was to buy a donkey and ride off with a serving girl, and maybe learn to cut hair so he could be a traveling barber. Yet, the Alchemist gets him to steal a key for him, and then immediately kills him, probably with a poisoned coin. In general, the theme of a Feast for Crows is how horrible war is on the small folk, and it starts right off the bat.

[Greywind84]

From over here, it's all win. (Minus the huge hole left in the world by one Oberyn Martell, The Red Viper of Dorne, Vice-Badass of Westeros and Founder of the Gives Not One Fuck Club.)

I guess I just wanted to see the Viper standing over the Mountain, looking Tywin in the eye after he had been named and shamed by Ser Gregor. I get that it probably was a suicide mission, I just hoped that it wasn't.