I’m nearly finished the fourth book now. Halfway through the third book or so, I was expecting GRRM to kill off ALL the interesting characters. Then it seemed he only had something against the male characters! LOL! I understand some of the lost threads make a reappearance in the fifth book. Yes, I had to consult a wiki a number of times after asking, “Wait! What happened to so-and-so from the previous book.”
I don’t subscribe to HBO but, I have seen the first two seasons. It gave a nice reinforcement to all the who’s who in the books, and the extra visualizations were nice too.
Back on topic, who do I think will survive? Beric Dondarrion! Just kidding. I have to see Dani making it to the end, and my least favorite - Sansa, although… given her “mentor” in book four, she could become more interesting. As much as I like Arya, I think she’ll be an entirely unrecognizable character in the end. And Cersei, of course; we have to have an antagonist! Notice they’re all female characters! I still don’t hold out much hope for the men. Bravery, nobility, strength, brilliance, anything resembling a good trait… none of them saved the men.