In fiction, 'plot armor' is defined as an intangible force that protects major or important characters in a work when the situation, by all rights, should lead to their death. In particular, if the situation is one that a less important character would die in, but the main character survives, plot armor is considered to be at work.
Whether it is due to villain incompetence, a twist of fate, or sheer luck, there are a number of ways plot armor can manifest. Due to its longer runtimes, and the need to preserve popular characters to retain audiences, television can be especially prone to plot armor, with some episodes showing egregious use of it.
10 Spike Survives Sunlight - 'The Harsh Light Of Day'
Vampires die in sunlight. Despite not being the case in Dracula, it is one of the best-known vampire tropes in existence, and one often used in Buffy the Vampire Slayer. Typically, for a Buffy vampire, just a touch of sunlight is enough to set them alight and kill them quickly.
In the Season 4 episode 'The Harsh Light Of Day,' Spike acquires a ring that makes him immortal, and immune to sunlight, using it to attack Buffy in the daytime. When it is removed, he is exposed to the sun but survives long enough to retreat with minor injuries. Angel would establish Spike and Angel deliberately building up a resistance to sunlight, but at the time it was sheer plot armor.
9 Gus Fring Walks Away From A Car Bomb - 'End Times'
Season 4 of Breaking Bad follows the conflict between Walter White and Gus Fring as their once-harmonious partnership breaks down, in part due to the actions of Jesse Pinkman, and each views the other as a threat to their life.
Once the two have resolved to kill one another, Walt initially sets up a car bomb on Gus's car. When Gus walks up to it, he simply senses that something is wrong, and walks away, with absolutely no overt sign to him of any danger. This is clear plot armor, but fans nonetheless applaud the episode for ramping up the tension for the season's explosive finale, 'Face-Off.'
8 Owen Survives A Point-Blank Gunshot - 'Captain Jack Harkness'
Torchwood features a character who literally cannot die regardless of what happens to him, and yet it features occasional plot armor for its other characters as well. One particular case comes in the episode 'Captain Jack Harkness' when Owen threatens to open the Rift to retrieve Jack and Gwen from the past.
Ianto Jones holds him at gunpoint, but Owen ignores him and does so anyway. As a result, Ianto shoots him from a distance of mere feet, straight in the back. Not only does Owen survive the near point-blank shot, but he is able to complete his task, rather than going into shock.
7 Abaddon Spares Dean - 'Devil May Care'
In its fifteenth season, Supernatural would go on to make plot armor a literal plot point, with God withdrawing it from the brothers once they anger him, resulting in their lives becoming far more inconvenient, and ensuring they cannot come back from the dead (as they have done dozens of times).
In prior seasons, however, there is no explanation, it just happens. In the second episode of Season 9, Dean goes up against Abaddon, a powerful demon and Knight of Hell. Once they battle, she overwhelms him and, despite him possessing several weapons capable of harming her, instead threatens him for long enough that the angel Ezekiel can make himself known, diverting Abaddon.
6 Alicia Survives The Bunker - 'This Land Is Your Land'
More obvious cases of plot armor come when protagonists just happen to survive based on random chance, or a situation where everybody has an equal chance of dying. In 'This Land Is Your Land' in Fear the Walking Dead, Alicia is trapped in a bunker with a disrupted airflow with dozens of other people, and the air begins to run out.
Despite everybody else dying of asphyxiation and becoming a zombie, Alicia not only manages to survive but is able to use enough oxygen to fight her way through the population. Nonetheless, the episode is well-regarded for its tension, in spite of plot armor.
5 Ragnar Overcomes His Kidney Damage - 'The Dead'
The latter half of Season 3 of Vikings follows Ragnar and his allies besieging Paris so that they might plunder it, having two assaults rebuffed. In one of these assaults, Ragnar falls from a siege tower and is grievously injured, later seen urinating blood to suggest he has damaged his kidneys - something that is difficult to treat even now.
The show toys with the viewers, with the entirety of the season finale, 'The Dead' showing Ragnar's death, and plans to bury him in Paris. However, midway through his funeral, the injured Ragnar pops out of his coffin, takes the French princess prisoner, and walks her through all of Paris to open the gates. He collapses after but makes a full recovery offscreen despite the extent of the damage.
4 Dooku Spares Anakin - 'Crisis On Naboo'
Star Wars: The Clone Wars is a prequel series to Revenge of the Sith, meaning that the characters who appear in that film cannot die, whatever the situation. Often, the show manages to be well-written and tense despite this, but there are times when it is obvious that the narrative is letting them live.
In 'Crisis on Naboo,' Dooku ambushes Anakin and Palpatine, engaging the Jedi one-on-one. It is made clear as late as Revenge of the Sith that Dooku and Anakin believe Dooku to be the better swordsman, and despite some back and forth, he clearly dominates the fight. Nonetheless, after electrocuting Anakin and leaving him stunned, Dooku doesn't spare a few seconds to kill one of his most dangerous adversaries, instead he is seen retreating.
3 The Doctor Survives A Dalek Blast - 'The Big Bang'
Dalek weapons are some of the most devastating seen in Doctor Who, capable of killing in a single shot. When the Doctor is hit with one in 'Journey's End,' it is suggested to be such a crippling wound that he has to regenerate immediately, or he will die.
When a different Dalek shoots the Doctor in 'The Big Bang,' however, the Doctor has a few minutes before he gives out. This gives him enough time to travel backwards, talk to himself, and set himself up to reboot the entire universe. A UNIT soldier would have died immediately.
2 Ramsay Wears No Armor But Plot Armor - 'The Laws Of Gods And Men'
Game of Thrones initially became known as a show that avoided plot armor - protagonists would die or be wounded as readily as minor characters if they were hit with a sword, outnumbered, or simply if they made poor choices. Part of the controversy over Ramsay Bolton as a villain is that, as a villain, he is given plot armor in excess of any other character.
A prime example comes in Season 4's 'The Laws of Gods and Men.' Yara Greyjoy attacks the Dreadfort with some of the deadliest warriors the Ironborn have to offer, and they are met by regular Bolton guards, and Ramsay himself, who isn't just unarmored, but half-naked. The result is overwhelmingly in Ramsay's favor, despite his disadvantage.
1 The Terminus Butcher Stops Before Glenn Is Killed - 'No Sanctuary'
The Walking Dead initially also subverts plot armor in many cases, becoming known for a high fatality rate amongst seemingly prominent characters. As the series goes on, however, the plot armor becomes more prominent.
In a gratuitous case, when Rick, Daryl, Glenn, and Bob are overpowered in Terminus, they are taken to a butcher's room, where they are to have their throats cut and their blood let so they can be used as food. The butcher kills several unnamed characters, and just as he gets to Glenn, they are interrupted by a question about Rick's gun bag, saving the main characters.