# Plot armor

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{{Short description|Plot device wherein a fictional character is preserved from harm}}

'''Plot armor''' is a [plot device](/source/plot_device) wherein a fictional character is preserved from harm due to their necessity for the [plot](/source/Plot_(narrative)) to proceed.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.dictionary.com/browse/plot-armor|title=Plot armor|work=[Dictionary.com](/source/Dictionary.com)|access-date=31 January 2024}}</ref> The ''[Oxford English Dictionary](/source/Oxford_English_Dictionary)'' identified the term as originating in the 2000s, with its first reported use on the [Usenet](/source/Usenet) forum alt.games.dur-trs-trap.<ref>{{Cite OED|plot armor|3086855677|access-date=31 January 2024}}</ref> While [protagonist](/source/protagonist)s and heroes within fictional works are often shielded from destruction by plot armor, their deaths in certain works function as a [plot twist](/source/plot_twist).<ref name=Somers>{{cite magazine|title=Twisty Business|magazine=[Writer's Digest](/source/Writer's_Digest)|first=Jeff|last=Somers|date=September 2023|volume=103|issue=5}}</ref>

Within certain works of fiction, elements of the story can provide an explanation for why the protagonist is protected.<ref>{{cite book|title=The Navigator: Excellent Writing Across the Disciplines|editor-first=Brandi|editor-last=Handley|date=2021|jstor=31795394|page=22}}</ref> Various iterations of [James Bond](/source/James_Bond) have been cited as defining examples of plot armor.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2021/05/28/crosswords/daily-puzzle-2021-05-29.html|title=Low-Key: Adam Aaronson sneaks up on us with a subtly strenuous Saturday puzzle.|first=Caitlin|last=Lovinger|date=28 May 2021|access-date=31 January 2024|work=[The New York Times](/source/The_New_York_Times)}}</ref> Other works eschew plot armor for main characters. The deaths of [Ned Stark](/source/Ned_Stark) and other main characters within ''[A Game of Thrones](/source/A_Game_of_Thrones)'' and its [television adaptation](/source/Game_of_Thrones) have been considered examples of protagonists defying expectations that their role in the plot protected them from harm;<ref name=Somers/><ref>{{cite journal|title=Bad TV|first=Andrea Long|last=Chu|journal=[N+1](/source/N%2B1)|date=Spring 2018|issue=31|page=10}}</ref> [a battle](/source/The_Long_Night_(Game_of_Thrones)) where many main characters escaped harm within the same series has also been cited as examples of plot armor.<ref>{{cite magazine|url=https://www.rollingstone.com/tv-movies/tv-movie-reviews/game-of-thrones-review-the-long-night-sepinwall-828477/|title='Game of Thrones' Close-Up: To Kill a King|first=Alan|last=Sepinwall|authorlink=Alan Sepinwall|magazine=[Rolling Stone](/source/Rolling_Stone)|date=29 April 2019}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2019/04/29/arts/television/fans-reaction-game-of-thrones.html|title='Game of Thrones' Fans Are Thrilled, Confused and Setting the Internet on Fire|first=Niraj|last=Chokshi|work=[The New York Times](/source/The_New_York_Times)|date=30 April 2019|access-date=31 January 2024}}</ref><ref>{{cite journal|title="What Should Have Been, But Sadly Wasn't". Commoning HIV/AIDS History in "Pose"|first=Kilian|last=Schmidt|page=87|journal=Femina Politica|date=2023|volume=32|issue=2|doi=10.3224/feminapolitica.v32i2.07|doi-access=free}}</ref>

==See also==
* [Killing off](/source/Killing_off)
* [Deus ex machina](/source/Deus_ex_machina)

==References==
{{reflist}}

Category:Literary concepts
Category:Plot (narrative)

{{Lit-stub}}

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Adapted from the Wikipedia article [Plot armor](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Plot_armor) by Wikipedia contributors ([contributor history](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Plot_armor?action=history)). Available under [Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/). Changes may have been made.