9 Characters Who Will Definitely Survive Game Of Thrones

3. Arya Stark

From his earliest outline of the novel series, Martin openly said he planned for five main characters to survive and for the story to follow them as a sort of generational tome. Or in other words readers would follow them as they grew up, immediately implying that both Arya and Bran would remain very much alive. Arya has big plans: she still has her kill list (though it is diminishing rapidly), and while she will likely get her chance to kill Ser Meryn Trant and eventually The Mountain, it's unlikely she'll get to cross the final name - Cersei - off her list. Why She'll Survive Interestingly, Arya will probably end up being saved by the selfless sacrifice of either Brienne Of Tarth, who swore an oath to her mother to protect her, or The Hound - if he is genuinely going to return in some form. It would fit the narrative cycle and either character is pretty interchangeable considering Martin's penchant for noble deaths. But killing Arya would be a betrayal of a character too far: she's come too far and is basically Martin's appointed hero, as well as the centre-piece for his band of misfit victors (the unwanted eldest son, the daughters forced to take arms, the bastard, the crippled boy...)