Game of Thrones season four episode titled The Mountain and the Viper saw Oberyn Martell (played by Pedro Pascal) die in a thrilling, yet devastating battle against Ser Gregor Clegane, otherwise known as The Mountain (Hafþór Júlíus Björnsson).
Fans will remember the combat scene that saw Oberyn offer his services as Tyrion Lannister’s (Peter Dinklage) champion in a trial by combat.
The Red Viper impressed the crowd despite not being dressed for battle and having drunk before the match, taunting his opponent and attempting to get his confession for the rape and murder of Elia.
However, just when Oberyn appeared to be winning things took a turn for the worst as he met one of the show’s many gruesome endings as The Mountain crushed him to death.
But one fan doesn’t think the Red Viper should have died, taking to account the wound he inflicted upon his opponent before he was killed.
The scene saw Oberyn stab Gregor in the stomach severing his hamstring before he stabs him again through the breast plate.
Reddit user AnemicRoyalty10 explained that once the spear had been pulled from Gregor, it’s highly unlikely he would have been able to fight, as his circulatory system would have shut down.
The user said: “It seems rather preposterous that he would be able to lift all 400 plus pounds of himself off the ground to get aholt of Oberyn after tripping him,
“which is probably all anyone would have been able to do, especially after poison had been coursing through his body for what seemed like a long time, on top of a direct hit to the heart.
The user noted the show was of the fantasy genre, but still revealed the death took away from the realism.
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The user continued: “To me this debunks the theory that GOT was truly realistic.
“A more realistic outcome, as a commenter pointed out, would have been for Oberyn to win, Cersei to fly into a rage, and chaos to ensue, maybe Oberyn misses Tywin with a spear, etc.
“Instead what happened seemed to just be done for shock value and to shoehorn in a vintage GOT moment”.
Moreover, the theorist explains Oberyn should have been allowed more screen time and character development.
However, other fans disagreed as one user commented: “In the books I’m fairly certain he uses a poison that has a very slow and painful death that takes time to set in.
“Plus, I think his spear just punctures in armour in like his gut too so I don’t think that would’ve instantly killed him”
Another theory suggested Oberyn was responsible for killing Tywin Lannister (Charles Dance)
Reddit user Exex123 wrote: “Just realised about Oberyn. Being foolish during his duel with The Mountain actually led to the death of his main target, Tywin Lannister.
“If he had just finished The Mountain off, Tyrion would never have killed his father.”
Oberyn’s death had lead to Tyrion’s imprisonment, and during the escape of which was when Tyrion killed his father.
