i wish we truly moved on from the whole “this is what a character deserves or is entitled to” thing when it comes to this series. first of all, this is fiction. and sure, it is relevant in terms of the clear antagonists getting what is coming, and certain choices having consequences, the narrative is obviously not about to endorse some characters and their ideologies, methods, and roles from a thematic perspective, but when it comes to rewarding the heroes i doubt it is at all meant to be clear cut in the way some of you argue it is. the whole point is that trying to be a good person, fighting the horrors no matter the cost, is inherently meaningful. it does not have to be rewarded in a direct way with characters being entitled to happy endings by virtue of being heroic and making the right choices. according to george even the attempt, despite the results, holds meaning. that is what makes it truly profound. not getting clear personal rewards from heroism makes it a more profound triumph. the text already explores this a lot. the rewards of that are deeper and more existential, and is a big theme of defining true heroism. i especially do not think death is meant to be an indictment of certain characters, and i dont get why a lot of people seem to still argue on the pretense that it is lol. all men will die, but first they will live etc. you can absolutely prefer survival (or other specific things) for certain characters, and think it would be more moving and would work with their respective arcs better, but i do not really care for arguments that treat this text as something entirely karmic. george has said he does not believe in karma. he is also obsessed with covering the cost of triumph.
i would like to add that I think that one of the core moral/thematic points of ASoIaF is that it’s important to do the right thing even if you get punished/harmed for it, and I would submit that you can’t make the point “do good, even when it harms you” without showing the harms that can come from characters putting themselves on the line
