Plot armor is a plot device wherein a fictional character is preserved from harm due to their necessity for the plot to proceed.[1] The Oxford English Dictionary identified the term as originating in the 2000s, with its first reported use on the Usenet forum alt.games.dur-trs-trap.[2] While protagonists and heroes within fictional works are often shielded from destruction by plot armor, their deaths in certain works function as a plot twist.[3]
Within certain works of fiction, elements of the story can provide an explanation for why the protagonist is protected.[4] Various iterations of James Bond have been cited as defining examples of plot armor.[5] Other works eschew plot armor for main characters. The deaths of Ned Stark and other main characters within A Game of Thrones and its television adaptation have been considered examples of protagonists defying expectations that their role in the plot protected them from harm;[3][6] a battle where many main characters escaped harm within the same series has also been cited as examples of plot armor.[7][8][9]
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