Kind of strange how mainstream gamers look at this mechanic and cringe about how its not fair. Things weren't fair back in the day, because it was a game about going out and being an adventurer, not being superheroes.
anyhow, take a listen:
https://anchor.fm/theevildm/episodes/The-Evil-DM-Podcast-Episode-4---Talking-about-a-Save-vs----or-die-mechanic-eaum0c