And the dead Game of Thrones characters fans miss the most is…

…Oberyn Martell. After all this time, Oberyn Martell.

Good times.

I gotta say: I’m a little surprised by this, not because I wasn’t a fan of Oberyn, but because I figured perceptions may have changed over a season after his death. Nothing doing. Fans remember Oberyn as fondly today as they did after Season 4 ended.

"Davos 4 king: “Probablly the Red Viper. We only got Pedro for a season but he was brilliant. Pedro’s adaptation of Oberyn was exactly how I always pictured him from the book and I can’t say that for many characters.”Timothy Eddard Stark: “[M]y second fav aside from Ned has to be the Red Viper himself….Oberyn Martel. His opening scene in season 4 was crazy good! That fight against the Mountain was so upsetting to me in the end as the Red Viper died. I wanted him around forever!”"

Congratulations, Oberyn: you are loved in death as in life.

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Ned Stark came in second, which is no surprise. By and large, commenters realized that his death was necessary to advance the story, but fans are still wistful for his decent, stabilizing presence. The fact that he was played by, as commenter DarkStark put it, “that genius of slow-burning, Sean Bean,” didn’t hurt, either.

There was an interesting debate in the comments over whether Ned Stark was, as WiC writer Ani Bundel opined, “an idiot.” On the one hand, the guy made a lot of political missteps in Season 1, as commenter The wolves will come again pointed out:

"1) Going to King’s Landing despite knowing that the previous Hand of the King was murdered.2) Telling Cersei that he knew the truth about her children.3) Refusing Renly’s offer of swords.4) Trusting Littlefinger to give him the City Watch."

But other commenters put Ned’s mistakes in context, pointing out that it wasn’t so much that he was stupid and more that he just wasn’t used to dealing with the kind of people he encountered en masse in King’s Landing. Here’s how commenter Harrion Karstark put it:

"He was limited, not an idiot. I believe he was limited as someone with a great deal of honor and power but no ambition in the midst of ambitious, power hungry yet depraved schemers. However it must be said that despite his poor political choices, Ned, years after his death, continues to maintain the loyalty of many of his bannermen…The qualities that allowed for Ned to be overwhelmed in Kings Landing are the very one’s that will add to the legacy and (as Jojen foretells) the revival of House Stark."

I agree with this. I don’t think Ned was unintelligent—it’s more that the kind of intelligence he had was ill-suited to the political games in King’s Landing. His managerial style worked well in the North, and still seems to be working, after a fashion, years after his death. A guy who inspired loyalty in his bannermen to the point where they’re willing to overthrow his usurpers in his family’s name had to be doing something right.

Then again, there’s two sides to every coin…

Khal Drogo was another long-dead character who did well in the poll. Commenter Ella wrote up a lovely little ode to him:

"In Jason Momoa, they found the perfect actor to portray this character, who seemed at first so impressive and daunting, but slowly revealed himself to be at once deeply sensitive and ruthlessly cunning…Drogo was a great twist on the traditional “barbarian” stereotype, and made us reflect on the fact that those who seem rough may yet be morally upstanding, and those who claim to be civilised may not boast of the best character. Or, to quote the start of a famous Tolkien poem, he reminded us that “all that is gold does not glitter”, and that sometimes one can find a treasure in the most unexpected places, like Daenerys found love in a strange land."

Finally, as a sidenote, no one missed the following characters: Janos Slynt, Qotho, Mirri Maz Duur, Master Cressen, Matthos Seaworth, Hoster Tully, Craster, and Locke. Sorry, guys.

“But…but I thought I had powerful friends.”

SPOILERY SECTION

Jon Snow placed third on the poll, and yes, it may have been a little silly to include him given the widely held expectation that he will return. Still, he was dead last we saw him, and until we get official confirmation that he’s coming back, I treat him as dead. Ditto the Hound.