The first bit of advice given to me when I mentioned that I would start watching Game of Thrones was "Just assume everybody will die. Don't get too attached as the author is well known for killing his characters". This advice is very much true. If you're looking for happiness and life, go read..uh..Eat Pray Love or something, not Game of Thrones.
Like any other story where characters often die (The Walking Dead is another example for me), after a while it loses its' shock value and becomes a bit irritating "Oh, there goes another one. Great."
