[quote=@pugbutter] Except Daenerys, Jon Snow, and Tyrion. GRRM's books have "main characters" like any other, but he's talented at tricking his audience into thinking minor characters (who are going to die later) are actually the protagonists. All three of these characters have plot armor, especially Ms. Mary Sue. [/quote] True. But I'd say that there is a fundamental difference between a main character and a protagonist, in the strict sense. There are no protagonists in the setting. Everyone is an antagonist. And I'd also remind you that these decisions about killing/not killing are dictated by [i]plot[/i] and [i]story[/i], not popularity or attachment, by and large. But now we're kind of drifting from the point of the question originally asked.