One or more aspects relate to an article that includes a glass substrate having a first average strain-to-failure; and a crack mitigating layer disposed on a first major surface of the substrate forming a first interface. The article also includes a film disposed on the crack mitigating layer forming a second interface and having a second average strain-to-failure that is less than the first average strain-to-failure. Further, at least one of the first and second interfaces exhibits a moderate adhesion such that at least a portion of the crack mitigating layer experiences one or more of a cohesive failure and an adhesive failure at the interfaces when the article is strained to a strain level between the first average strain-to-failure and the second average strain-to-failure. In addition, the refractive index of the crack mitigating layer is between or the same as the refractive indices of the substrate and the film.