Dead Game Of Thrones Characters Who Are Alive In The Books
It's undoubtedly one of the bloodiest shows on television, but the fans of HBO's hit fantasy drama Game of Thrones keep coming back for more. By one YouTuber's estimate, over 150,000 deaths were shown onscreen through the end of season six. With a body count that continues to grow with each new episode, many viewers are resigned to the fact that even their favorite characters aren't safe.
Thankfully, some of these characters have a second chance in the books upon which the show is based, George R.R. Martin's A Song of Ice and Fire novels. While Martin has his own staggering body count, let's take a look at the surprisingly high number of characters who are still alive and well on the page. The following images have been Photoshopped by the Looper team to give you an impression of what they look like in the books—which is in some cases significantly different than the way they look on the show.
Ramsay Bolton
Show watchers may have breathed a sigh of relief when the "King of Cruel" finally bit the dust—courtesy of his own starving dogs and Sansa Stark in season six—but Ramsay Bolton is unfortunately still alive and wreaking havoc in the books. When we last saw Ramsay in A Dance with Dragons, he had recently wed "Arya Stark"—actually Sansa's friend Jeyne Poole—a steward's daughter that Littlefinger "trained" (through cruel methods) to impersonate the younger Stark sister. Several weeks after their wedding, a bard (actually Mance Rayder in disguise) helps Theon and Jeyne flee Winterfell—who then run into Stannis Baratheon's army, which is waiting nearby.
Later, Jon Snow (who doesn't know Ramsay's bride wasn't really Arya) receives a letter from Ramsay, demanding the return of his wife and Reek—along with a number of outlandish requests. Ramsay also claims he has defeated Stannis' army and slain Stannis himself. Given what we know about Ramsay's ability to lie, it would be smart to take the Bastard of Bolton's words with a grain of salt until we learn the truth in The Winds of Winter.
Catelyn Stark
On the show, Catelyn Stark's sad tale ends when her throat is slit by the Freys at the Red Wedding. In the books, she's still kicking around—although we're not sure you could call her "alive." Not content with letting Catelyn rest in peace after having her brutally murdered, George R.R. Martin decided to have the Freys throw her body into the Green Fork of the Trident, where she drifts downstream until being discovered by the direwolf Nymeria (who's being unconsciously warged into by Arya Stark in Braavos). Nymeria pulls Catelyn from the river, and she's later found by Beric Dondarrion and the Brotherhood Without Banners.
Harwin (a former Winterfell guard who's joined the Brotherhood) begs Thoros of Myr (who's still alive in the books, too) to resurrect Catelyn like he'd done for Beric, but Thoros refuses—she's three days dead, and too much time has passed. Instead, Beric gives Catelyn the kiss of of life himself, bringing her back at the cost of his own life. Undead Catelyn—who now goes by "Lady Stoneheart"—isn't the same after being resurrected: she becomes the new leader of the Brotherhood, leading them on a bloody campaign of vengeance against anyone even vaguely associated with the Freys, the Boltons, or the Lannisters.
Shireen Baratheon
There's no doubt that Stannis Baratheon is a cold man both in the books and on the show, with little outward affection for his wife or his daughter. In season five, Melisandre convinces Stannis and his wife Selyse to allow her to sacrifice Shireen to the Lord of Light so he might bless Stannis' army and lead them to victory against the Boltons. Instead, half of Stannis' army deserts, Selyse hangs herself, and Ramsay Bolton easily wipes out the remaining soldiers in battle. Oops. In the books, Stannis doesn't take Shireen with him when he heads south to confront Ramsay Bolton. In fact, Shireen, Selyse, and Melisandre are all left behind at Castle Black when his army marches. For now, Shireen seems safe enough there—although some of the Wildlings are scared of her because of her Greyscale scars.
According to a sample chapter available for the upcoming The Winds of Winter, Stannis even directs one of his officers to see that Shireen sits upon the Iron Throne should he fall in battle. That being said, according to the Game of Thrones showrunners, Shireen's fiery death was one of three secrets that Martin revealed to them—although it's hard to imagine how it will play out when Stannis and Shireen are hundreds of miles apart. Perhaps Melisandre will make this decision with only Selyse's approval in the books, or maybe one of the Wildlings will do the deed because of how scared they are of Shireen.
Mance Rayder
Like Shireen Baratheon, the King-Beyond-the-Wall Mance Rayder met a fiery end on the show when he was burned at the stake by Melisandre and Stannis at Castle Black. In the books, a very similar scene plays out after Mance refuses to bend the knee to Stannis, and Jon Snow later directs the archers of the Night's Watch to shoot Mance so he can have a quick death. That's not the end of Rayder's story, however. Later in A Dance With Dragons, Jon is under the impression that his sister Arya (really Jeyne Poole) is being married off to Ramsay Bolton. Melisandre approaches Jon and offers a solution: send the Wildling captain "Rattleshirt" south to Winterfell to rescue her.
Jon balks at first (due to Rattleshirt's notorious reputation), but then Melisandre reveals that Rattleshirt is really Mance Rayder, who the Red Priestess has been disguising as the Lord of Bones using her magic. It was really Rattleshirt who died on the pyre. Jon agrees to the plan, and Mance heads south to Winterfell, posing as a bard and taking along six Wildling spearwives to help him. There, they murder a number of the Boltons' men and allies to sow dissent among their supporters, and later help Theon and Jeyne escape. The last we hear of Mance, Ramsay Bolton has told Jon in a letter that he has the King-Beyond-the-Wall captive, and makes a number of demands in exchange for his release.
Barristan Selmy
Fans of George R.R. Martin's books weren't pleased when former Kingsguard Barristan Selmy was killed off on the show in season five—and they weren't alone. Actor Ian McElhinney was none too pleased when he discovered that his character was being written off. As a book reader himself, McElhinney was expecting Ser Barristan to be around for much longer. "I was disappointed," he admitted. "I had enjoyed playing the part and I was looking forward to getting more meat in the part and I had to dared to presume that I would at least go into season six." He later told Entertainment Weekly he was glad he got to go off on a high note, and was particularly proud of himself for shooting his final fight scene with the Sons of the Harpy all on his own, without a stuntman to serve as a stand-in.
As of A Dance With Dragons, Barristan is alive and well, and serving as Daenerys' Hand of the Queen and Lord Commander of the Queensguard within Meereen. After Dany departs on Drogon's back following the incident at the fighting pit, Barristan takes control of the city and begins to train a new regiment of knights. In a sample chapter for The Winds of Winter, Barristan prepares to lead a charge on a plague-ridden Yunkish army that waits on Meereen's doorstep.
Tommen Baratheon
King Tommen showed us all at the end of season six why they call it "King's Landing" when he jumped from his window in the Red Keep after Cersei blew up the Sept of Baelor—and his wife Margaery with it. While there was a tragic end for the young king on the show, he's still alive and seated firmly on the Iron Throne in the books—for now, at least.
The book version of Tommen is several years younger than he is on the television series, so much so that the boy's primary hobbies are signing anything the small council puts before him and playing with the kittens Margaery gave him. Speaking of his lady wife, while the two are married in the books (at Mace Tyrell's insistence), they most definitely have not consummated their marriage bed. As of A Dance With Dragons, Tommen's future rule was looking bright with his uncle Kevan as Hand and Regent, but Varys nips that in the bud when he murders Kevan and Pycelle. With Cersei back in charge, a Targaryen claimant recently landed on the shores of Westeros, and the woods witch's prophecy of an early death hanging over his head, the Tommen of the books may not have much time left either.
Margaery Tyrell
In the season six finale, Cersei Lannister brought Margaery Tyrell—and most of the other Tyrells—to an early demise when she blew up a stockpile of wildfire beneath the Sept of Baelor. While the book version of Cersei most definitely hates her daughter-in-law Margaery and the rest of the Tyrell clan, she hasn't gone full "Mad Queen" just yet. Instead of Margaery being accused by the Faith of lying to protect her brother Loras as depicted on the show, the book version of Cersei plans an intricate web of lies and false witnesses in order to get Margaery arrested for fornication and a number of other charges by the High Sparrow.
Cersei is then arrested herself when one of her key witnesses (Ser Osney Kettleblack) recants his testimony and truthfully admits that it was Cersei he slept with, not Margaery. As of A Dance with Dragons, Cersei had recently completed her walk of atonement, and she and Margaery are both awaiting their trials—although it's implied that the case against Margaery is quite weak. In the event that she is convicted, however, her father Mace sits just outside King's Landing with a huge army to save her if necessary.
Doran Martell
The gout-ridden Prince of Dorne met his end in season six on the show, when Ellaria Sand and her daughters put their plan of vigilante justice into action following the death of Oberyn Martell. Both Prince Doran and his son Trystane are killed by Oberyn's family on the series, but in the books both of these scions of the south are still alive and doing just fine. For show watchers who haven't read the books, the "Dorne plot" of the novels might be nearly unrecognizable; several members of the Martell family were left out of the series completely, and Ellaria Sand was turned into a zealous widow hellbent on vengeance.
While there is a plot in the books by Doran's daughter Arianne and some of her "Sand Snake" cousins, it's actually a plot to crown Myrcella as the rightful ruler of the Seven Kingdoms in opposition to Tommen. The Ellaria of the books (who is not the mother of Obara, Nymeria, and Tyene) is against this plan, and even goes to Doran with her fears—who eventually locks up the Sand Snakes to put an end to their plotting.
Hodor
If you were grief-stricken following the season six episode "The Door" and the origin story and subsequent death of gentle giant Hodor, then we have some good news for you: Hodor is still quite alive in the books. As of A Dance With Dragons, Bran, Meera, Jojen, Hodor and Summer have reached the cave of the Three-Eyed Raven. Although they were attacked by wights just as they arrived, everyone survived the encounter. Bran hasn't encountered the Night King in any of his green dreams yet, although he's been wandering the caves to explore while warged into Hodor's body.
Hold the door—does that mean we just haven't gotten to Hodor's inevitable death yet and readers will have to relive the pain when The Winds of Winter is released? Maybe not. According to George R.R. Martin, while the meaning of his name (Hold the Door) will be the same in the books, the way the origin of the name is revealed will be different. Knowing Martin, that means the reveal will probably be just as heartbreaking, but in a completely different way.
Jeyne Westerling (Talisa Maegyr)
If you're a show-only fan, you might be wondering, "who in the world is Jeyne Westerling? For that matter, who is Talisa Maegyr?" In the books, Jeyne Westerling was the woman Robb Stark lost his crown (and his head) for—the girl he married for love after being betrothed to one of Walder Frey's daughters. In the show, they changed Jeyne's character to a girl called Talisa Maegyr—a battlefield medic who grew up a noble in Volantis, but relocated to Westeros because of her views on slavery. At the Red Wedding in season three, Talisa was murdered along with her husband Robb and the rest of the King In the North's retinue.
In contrast, Jeyne Westerling was from a relatively poor noble Westerosi house—one sworn to the Lannisters in the Westerlands. After Robb suffered an injury in battle, he recuperated at her family's keep and they fell in love. After an agreement is made for Edmure Tully to marry Roslin Frey, Robb wisely leaves Jeyne at Riverrun to avoid offending the prickly lord further. It doesn't save his life, but Jeyne is spared. Unfortunately, Jeyne was used as a dupe by her mother, who was in secret negotiations with Tywin Lannister. Her mother had been giving Jeyne "fertility potions" which were really contraceptives, and in return for their loyalty, the Westerlings are awarded the ancient keep of Castamere. When we last saw her, Jeyne was in mourning and being escorted away by a group of soldiers under orders to kill her should there be any escape attempts.
Stannis Baratheon
On the show, King Stannis Baratheon's death came in the season five episode "Mother's Mercy"—courtesy of Brienne of Tarth, who finds Stannis collapsed against a tree following his army's defeat at the hands of Ramsay Bolton. After she tells him she was present with Renly the night he was murdered by Melisandre's shadow assassin, Stannis curtly tells Brienne to "do her duty" by executing him.
In the books, Stannis hasn't yet met his maker, but his fate remains uncertain. As of A Dance with Dragons, Stannis was preparing for his battle with Ramsay—with his wife Selyse and daughter Shireen still safely back at the Wall. Later, Jon Snow received a letter from Ramsay, who claimed to have killed Stannis and the rest of his army after a battle lasting seven days. Given Ramsay's propensity for lying, we can't really count Stannis out until we see the body, so to speak. If Stannis does survive the battle, it's unlikely he'll ever meet Brienne; when we last saw her and Podrick in the books, they were in the Riverlands with Lady Stoneheart.
Roose Bolton
Early in the sixth season of Game of Thrones, Roose Bolton made a fatal mistake when he underestimated the malice of his bastard son, Ramsay. Worried about the possibility of his father disinheriting him in favor of Roose's new legitimate son with Lady Walda, Ramsay took matters into his own hands by stabbing his father to death in the episode "Home." He also killed Lady Walda and his baby brother, later telling others that his family had been "poisoned by our enemies."
In the books, Roose is still alive and creeping people out with his pale, cold eyes. While he does have a bit of a blind spot for his bastard son, he also hasn't been shy about telling him how his actions have threatened their family's hold on the North. When we last saw him in A Dance with Dragons, Roose had sent out the forces of Ramsay, the Freys, and the Manderlys to meet Stannis in battle, while Roose himself remained behind in Winterfell with the bulk of their soldiers as a reserve.
Lancel Lannister
Lancel Lannister's future on the show went up in smoke when he was killed in the season six finale, "The Winds of Winter." After being dispatched by the High Sparrow to find Cersei, Lancel spotted one of Qyburn's child spies and followed him into the labyrinth of passages below the Sept of Baelor. There, the child shanked him, forcing Lancel to drag himself to investigate some candlelight in the distance. He found three candles burning in a puddle of wildfire, and his efforts to blow them out came too late—leaving him to become the first victim in Cersei's explosive plot.
In the books, Lancel was gravely injured in the Battle of the Blackwater, leaving him a frail, pious, and fundamentally changed man after his recovery. He was given the Lordship of Darry and married to a promiscuous granddaughter of Walder Frey, but Lancel was interested in neither his wife nor his new title. He renounced them both and joined the Faith Militant as a member of the Warrior's Sons, an order of knights sworn to serve the High Septon. When he last appeared in the books, it was to serve as an escort for Cersei during her walk of atonement in A Dance With Dragons.
Littlefinger
In the season seven finale "The Dragon and the Wolf," Littlefinger's scheming finally caught up to him when Sansa decided she'd had enough of his meddling. With the help of an info-bomb from Bran and the slicing skills of Arya, Sansa managed to catch Littlefinger in his own web and execute him for treason and murder.The storyline of Littlefinger and Sansa differs considerably in the books; there, he's still happily attempting to scheme his way to the top from their current residence in the Eyrie.
Following his murder of Lysa Arryn, Littlefinger's newest plot is to marry Sansa to Harrold Hardyng, a distant cousin of (and heir to) young Lord Robert Arryn. Because of poor Sweetrobin's ill health and lack of other Arryn relatives, this would make Sansa's new husband the Lord of the Eyrie should Robert die. It's unclear exactly what Sansa thinks of this idea; in a sample chapter for The Winds of Winter, she suggests forming an order of knightly bodyguards to keep Robert safe, but she also attempts to seduce Harrold later at a feast.
Interestingly, a woods witch had a prophetic dream of Sansa at Joffrey's wedding, and also had another dream of "that maid again, slaying a savage giant in a castle built of snow." Although Littlefinger is known for his mockingbird pin, the sigil of House Baelish is actually the Titan of Braavos—the giant warrior statue which guards the entrance to the port. So, even if Littlefinger is safe for now, his eventual downfall may actually play out very similarly to the show.
Benjen Stark
Unfortunately for actor Joseph Mawle, Benjen Stark wasn't given much to do on the show for seven seasons, except unexpectedly save both Bran and Jon from certain death beyond the Wall. Although he's already died once, the magic of the Children of the Forest allowed him to come back as an undead guardian for the Three-Eyed Raven. Now he's gone for good, killed by the Night King's army in the season seven episode "Beyond the Wall."
In the books, we never actually get a real confirmation that Benjen is the mysterious undead "Coldhands," but all the clues point to that being the case. He saves Sam and Gilly from the wights as they flee south from Craster's Keep, and brings them safely to the Wall. In A Dance with Dragons, he kills the Night's Watch mutineers that murdered Jeor Mormont, and he guides Bran, Meera, Jojen, and Hodor to the cave of the Three-Eyed Raven. While Benjen can't enter the cave or pass beyond the Wall because of magical spells, we presume he waits somewhere nearby in case the Three-Eyed Raven needs his help.
Myrcella Baratheon
Poor Myrcella. On the show, the sweet and courteous princess was flourishing in Dorne and quite obviously in love with Prince Trystane Martell. During the season six episode "Mother's Mercy," Myrcella became one of the first victims of Ellaria Sand and her daughters. In her thirst for vengeance over Oberyn Martell's death, Ellaria gives Myrcella a poisoned kiss—a poison that later takes her life in her father Jaime's arms.
In the books, Myrcella is alive and still in Dorne, but has been gravely injured. Cersei sends one of the Kingsguard to retrieve Myrcella and bring her back to King's Landing. Prince Doran's daughter Arianne abducts Myrcella in an attempt to have her crowned in opposition to Tommen, and in a confrontation with Doran's guardsmen, one of Arianne's accomplices tries to kill Myrcella to force a war with the Lannisters. Instead of killing her, his sword maims Myrcella, cutting off an ear and leaving a disfiguring scar across her face. As of A Dance with Dragons, Myrcella was traveling back to King's Landing, accompanied by Nymeria Sand—who will be taking a seat on the Small Council.
Viserion
One of the most shocking moments of season seven came in the episode "Beyond the Wall," when Jon Snow and his companions head into the wilds of the North in an attempt to capture a wight from the Night King's army. They manage to catch one, but soon find themselves surrounded by the White Walkers' legions of undead. Daenerys is forced to mount a rescue with her three dragons, and while she's saving the men, the Night King takes aim at Viserion and brings the dragon down with a magical ice spear. He then has the dragon's corpse raised from the bottom of a lake and uses his power to resurrect Viserion as his new undead mount.
In the books, Viserion and his siblings are safe—for now. Another son of Doran Martell, Quentyn, tried to steal one of Daenerys' dragons from their vault below the Great Pyramid. After Daenerys disappeared on Drogon, Quentyn hired some sellswords to help him capture a dragon, but they failed—miserably. Quentyn got fried by Rhaegal, and both dragons escaped their prison and flew off to make their own lair atop another one of Meereen's pyramids. When we last saw Viserion in A Dance with Dragons, he was happily roasting and eating the plague-filled corpses that the Yunkish army were flinging into Meereen. Yum. You do you, Viserion.
Rickon Stark
On the show, Rickon Stark joined his oldest brother Robb in death when he was killed by Ramsay Snow in the season six episode "Battle of the Bastards." We hadn't seen Rickon onscreen for some time; his last appearance was in season three when he and Osha parted ways with Bran, Meera, Jojen, and Hodor. We learned that in the interim, Rickon and Osha had taken refuge with the Umbers—a decision that proved to be fatal for them both when the Umbers betrayed them to the Boltons.
In the books, some of Rickon's story remains the same. Osha take him and Shaggydog, and they split up from Bran's group in order to keep the Stark siblings safe. For some time, it was unknown where Rickon had ended up, but a new clue from A Dance With Dragons revealed the truth. The Manderlys found a mute squire who'd survived the sack of Winterfell and subsequently followed Osha and Rickon for quite some time. Through gestures and drawings, he told the Manderlys that they fled across the Bay of Seals to the notorious island of Skagos, where it's said the inhabitants still engage in cannibalism. Lord Manderly then told Ser Davos Seaworth that if he could "smuggle me back my liege lord" from the island, he'd declare House Manderly for Stannis Baratheon.
Olenna Tyrell
The "Queen of Thorns" Olenna Tyrell received a relatively gentle death (by Game of Thrones standards) in season seven, when she took the painless poison offered to her by Jaime Lannister after his army had sacked Highgarden. Displaying her trademark sharp tongue and sharper wits, the Tyrell matriarch opted to take the poison before revealing to Jaime that she was the one responsible for the murder of his son, Joffrey.
Like her onscreen counterpart, the book version of Olenna has taken leave of King's Landing, returning to Highgarden the day after Margaery's wedding to Tommen. As she hasn't been seen in the books since A Feast for Crows, it's unknown if Olenna later returned to the capital after her granddaughter was arrested by the High Sparrow.
Walder Frey
While fans of the show had to wait several years for it, Lord Walder Frey finally got his comeuppance for the events of the Red Wedding when he was killed by Arya Stark in the season six finale. She murdered his sons Lothar and Black Walder before baking them into a pie and serving it to their father while she was disguised as a serving wench. After she revealed herself and killed him, Arya took his face and posed as Lord Walder in order to organize a feast for the remaining Frey kinsmen—where she murdered them all with flagons of poisoned wine.
As satisfying as his sticky end on the show was, Lord Walder is still hale and hearty in the books. As of A Dance with Dragons, the prickly and treacherous octogenarian was recently wed to a young new wife, and had struck a marriage pact with Lord Wyman Manderly to wed two of his grandsons to two of Wyman's granddaughters. Those same grandsons later happened to go mysteriously missing along the road from White Harbor to Winterfell. How tragic.
Brynden Tully
Brynden Tully, we hardly knew ye. In the show, Brynden "the Blackfish" was woefully underused, getting even less screentime than his bumbling nephew Edmure. Brynden only appeared in six total episodes of the series before losing his life in season six, when Jaime Lannister came with an army to retake Riverrun. What's more, his death occurred offscreen, so we didn't even get to seem him go out like a boss.
Thankfully, this rebellious member of House Tully still lives on in the books. While the show's version of the Blackfish would rather die than give up Riverrun—even to help his great-niece Sansa—the Brynden of the books is more pragmatic. When Edmure agrees to hand over the castle to Jaime, he helps Brynden escape by raising a portcullis at the Water Gate, which allowed his uncle to swim to freedom. As of A Dance with Dragons, Brynden's current whereabouts are unknown—but he may eventually make his way back to the Vale, where he'd previously served his niece Lysa.
Jojen Reed
Like Bran Stark, Jojen Reed occasionally had prophetic visions of his own. Even though he knew that the quest to bring Bran to the cave of the Three-Eyed Raven would cost him his life, Jojen didn't shy away from his duty. He survived the journey, but when the group was attacked by wights just outside the cave in season four, Jojen was stabbed multiple times and his sister Meera was forced to slit his throat in a mercy killing.
In the books, Jojen and Meera show up earlier in the story, and Jojen even warns Bran before the Ironborn attack Winterfell. With the aid of Coldhands, the entire group eventually makes it to the cave of the Three-Eyed Raven without any loss of life. Once there, however, Jojen soon becomes despondent, depressed, and homesick for Greywater Watch. While some fans have come up with the unlikely theory that Bran is being fed a paste containing Jojen's blood at the end of A Dance with Dragons, there's no real concrete evidence to support this. Until we read otherwise, Jojen is still safe and moping around the cave while Bran learns to control his new powers.
High Sparrow
Although he was undoubtedly a shrewd man, the High Sparrow contributed to his own death (and that of dozens of others) when he refused to listen to Margaery Tyrell's warning during Cersei Lannister's trial. In the season six finale, Cersei brought her plot to fruition by blowing up a stockpile of wildfire beneath the Sept of Baelor, killing all those still trapped inside.
In the books, it's obvious how much political power the High Sparrow has. The wars that have shaken Westeros drove many to embrace the Faith, swelling the religion's ranks dramatically with thousands of followers. Because of his power, Cersei doesn't dare make a move against the High Sparrow—if she did, she'd soon find half the nation in open revolt. This political situation and the High Sparrow's savvy maneuvering have managed to keep him alive so far, although we'll have to see what happens when the day of Cersei's trial finally arrives.
Alliser Thorne
At the end of season five, Alliser Thorne manages to organize a successful mutiny against then-Lord Commander Jon Snow, murdering Jon before getting himself named as Lord Commander. His reign is short, however—after Melisandre resurrects Jon and the Wildlings battle and capture the mutineers, Jon gives those who murdered him a taste of justice, sentencing them all to die. Alliser and his co-conspirators are hung and their bodies burned.
In the books, Alliser Thorne dislikes Jon, but he's careful not to cross the line into disobedience. Thorne supports Janos Slynt's bid for Lord Commander when the time comes to vote, but he later watches silently when Jon executes Slynt for insubordination. Jon then orders Thorne to go on a ranging with two other Night's Watch members—and Thorne complies. He may hate Jon, but he wisely avoids giving Jon any excuse to execute him. In fact, Thorne was still away from the Wall when the mutineers killed Jon, so he had no part of their treachery. If Jon does get resurrected in the books, then he'll no doubt execute the mutineers—but Alliser Thorne won't be on the gallows with them.
Randyll Tarly
Most viewers probably weren't too upset by the death of Randyll Tarly in season seven, especially after witnessing the bullying and xenophobic tirade he launched at his son Samwell when Sam and Gilly visited Horn Hill. Proving stubborn and implacable to the end, Randyll refused to bend the knee to Daenerys Targaryen—despite the fact that he had fought for Rhaegar in Robert's Rebellion, and his liege lady Olenna Tyrell had been allied with Daenerys. Respecting his wishes, Daenerys executed him and his son Dickon in the episode "Eastwatch."
In the books, House Tyrell is intact and Margaery is still married to Tommen. Thus, Olenna has not switched her allegiance to Daenerys, and so the Tyrells (and their bannermen) are still currently allied with Tommen. As of A Dance with Dragons, Randyll was in King's Landing, where the High Sparrow released Margaery Tyrell to his custody to await her trial. Additionally, he was awarded the position of justiciar on Tommen's small council by Kevan Lannister, in an effort to undo some of the damage Cersei has done to their alliance.
And many more
In addition to those we've covered here, there are dozens of other characters who still live on in the books. These include (but aren't limited to) Selyse Baratheon, Walda Bolton, Trystane Martell, Areo Hotah, Dickon Tarly, Ellaria, Obara, Nymeria and Tyene Sand, Thoros of Myr, Summer, Shaggydog, Loras Tyrell, Mace Tyrell, Othell Yarwyck, Bowen Marsh, Pyp, Grenn, Hizdahr Zo Loraq, Pyat Pree, Xaro Xhoan Daxos, Rakharo, Irri, Osha, Wun Wun, Lothar and Black Walder Frey.