Game of Thrones is especially known for killing off numerous characters in often the most brutal ways. However, a specific group of people has good survival chances, as a study showed.
What kind of study is this? In 2018, the hype around Game of Thrones was massive. The release of the eighth and final season was just around the corner. This inspired two scientists from Australia. As epidemiologists, they were probably very interested in mass deaths and their causes.
- Particularly honorable was their, by their own account, secondary goal: “[…] to give the authors an excuse to rewatch the first seven seasons before the final season becomes available worldwide.”
So the two examined the deaths of 330 important characters from the first seven seasons of Game of Thrones (via injepijournal.biomedcentral.com). They meticulously created statistics and compared their results with the real world.
Those Who Are Loyal Die
To find out who has the best chances of survival in Game of Thrones, let’s first look at the most common causes of death. Because it is very likely that death occurs sooner rather than later.
- 186 out of 330 characters examined have died, which is over 50 percent.
- The most common cause of death was violent death.
- Only two characters died of old age, namely Maester Aemon and Old Nan.
This high mortality rate is unlikely to surprise any Game of Thrones viewer. However, the study went further into detail and examined the exact causes and circumstances of the deaths.
- 80 percent of the deaths occurred in Westeros, in their own homes.
- 73.7 percent of the characters died from injuries, especially to the head and neck, including 13 decapitations.
- Causes of the fatal incidents included attacks (63 percent), battles (24.4 percent), and executions (5.4 percent).
Admittedly, these numbers don’t inspire much hope. Is there really no one who has even the slightest chance?
How does one survive in Game of Thrones? In fact, the two researchers were able to pinpoint a very specific group of people statistically more likely to survive:
- Women of high birth who have switched their loyalty at least once in the series.
Admittedly, unfortunately, there’s nothing one can do about the first two points. So the only survival tip we can give is: never be loyal! At least not if you live in Westeros.
As another indicator, they identified the screen time of the characters. Characters who are seen very briefly or for a particularly long time have particularly good chances of survival. The average character, however, doesn’t fare so well.
Do We Live Like in Westeros?
Game of Thrones is primarily a fantasy series meant to entertain. Statistics cannot be directly applied to our world. Nevertheless, the series is strongly based on historical models, such as the so-called Wars of the Roses from the 15th century. Therefore, it can be quite exciting to draw comparisons.
Also, the high death rates are unfortunately not without a real model.
- It is believed that in prehistoric times, about 15 to 25 percent of all deaths were violent.
Over time, the murder rate per 100,000 inhabitants continued to decline, using Europe as an example (via ourworldindata.org):
- Middle Ages: 40
- Baroque: 10
- Modern Times: 3
What is the reason for this? The foundation for this development is attributed by the two scientists primarily to the emergence of nation-states. With the increasing importance of trade, living people eventually became more valuable than dead ones.
Additionally, they list several factors that have been crucial to decreasing murder rates, such as: democratic government structures, the provision of public goods (like schools and hospitals), and violence prevention.
- It is no wonder that it is so dangerous in Westeros. Most of these factors are largely absent there.
There are also overlaps among the particularly vulnerable groups. We recall that women of high birth had particularly good survival chances in Game of Thrones.
- Also in the real world, the murder rate is lower in socio-economically strong countries.
- Only about 20 percent of all murder victims are female.
Author George R. R. Martin has once again proven how skillfully he can wrap real societal phenomena in gripping fantasy. In the prequel series House of the Dragon, he also drew inspiration from historical events. You can learn more about it here on MeinMMO: The war that inspired ‘House of the Dragon’ had no dragons, but everything else is suspiciously similar
