I don't think that's comparable. Khal Drogo dies of an intentionally self-inflicted wound. He obtains it after trying to change the Dothraki's ways and being challenged for it. The way he deals with the challenge can be seen as reverting back to the old Dothraki ways, and ultimately he cannot escape them.
There is also an implication that he was from the beginning poisoned by the witch, as Daenerys convinces Drogo to accept medicine from her, and she later makes sure the child doesn't live. Furthermore, Khal Drogo's death serves a purpose for Daenerys' character arc. Among other things, it teaches her that you cannot peacefully change things for the better, a lesson repeated again later that ultimately leads to her "fire and blood" approach.
Yeah, on second thought you're right.
My impression of that scene is colored by the books, where it's explicit that the witch was telling Drogo 'you have to do this and this painful annoying thing to keep the wound from getting worse' and he didn't do it consistently. But I actually don't think that this should be relevant; the show can be different. Maybe the implication that she poisoned him was given on purpose. It would make sense.
There is also an implication that he was from the beginning poisoned by the witch, as Daenerys convinces Drogo to accept medicine from her, and she later makes sure the child doesn't live. Furthermore, Khal Drogo's death serves a purpose for Daenerys' character arc. Among other things, it teaches her that you cannot peacefully change things for the better, a lesson repeated again later that ultimately leads to her "fire and blood" approach.
Woah I never drew that connection. Very cool.
That said, I still question whether Rob stark dying from a common disease would make a bad story. It doesn't have to feel anti-climactic; there can be an arc where he's getting sick, and everyone expects him to get better, and then he dies, and that can be another shocking thing
It's also an issue of internal consistency. GoT has made it clear early on that people will be killed off in difficult situations. That makes it all the harder to excuse plot armor later on. If you're watching a show like Dr Who, then plot armor takes you out of the immersion way less because that's kind of what you signed up for.
Yeah, that's also a really good point