5 ‘A Song of Ice and Fire’ Plotlines Fans Will Never See Adapted on HBO

It is the nature of the beast that any beloved fantasy series will have to cut some fat when it comes to the live-action adaptation. Peter Jackson‘s The Lord of the Rings made some controversial edits, and the grittier fantasy world of Westeros would be no different. The first few seasons of Game of Thrones were a gift, bringing many fan-favorite characters to life. Later seasons would have to get creative with how they adapted the material, but there is a big difference between altering storylines for a visual medium and gutting them completely.

George R.R. Martin‘s HBO fantasy series was notorious for removing many of the more fantastical plotlines, despite that it was, in fact, a fantasy series. Even with that in mind, some of the changes to the storylines of A Song of Ice and Fire were downright egregious. The Game of Thrones series finale aired close to a decade ago, and yet some of these omissions still hurt.

There Was a Reason Why Euron Greyjoy Was Called the Crow’s Eye

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Show fans may remember the swaggering pirate that was Euron Greyjoy, but that was far from his book persona when he first appears in A Feast for Crows. While Pilou Asbaeck‘s portrayal of the character is more comic relief, Euron in the books is not just fierce but legitimately terrifying. It is likely his character was changed to scale back the magical elements, of which there were many.

Euron “Crow’s Eye” Greyjoy is uncle to Theon and a cold killer. He is so named because of the eye patch that supposedly conceals a black eye that is unsettling to look upon. When he returns for the kingsmoot, he brings along with him warlocks and the infamous dragon horn that he claims he will use to tame Daenerys and her dragons. Most compelling, however, are the plotlines that have not yet come to fruition in the book. Euron is portrayed in a terrible vision as an Eldritch terror-type Kraken sitting on the Iron Throne. This concept was erased in Game of Thrones, which changed the Crow’s Eye’s entire character.

No One May Ever Learn the Identity of Young Griff

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With the pace that George R.R. Martin is going, it’s unlikely that readers will ever see the final product of many book stories. One of the most compelling is that of Jon Connington and his ward, first designated as Young Griff. Though there is no conclusion to this story in the book, Game of Thrones should have done its own spin, which, in all likelihood, may have provided a more satisfying series finale.

Introduced in A Dance With Dragons, Griff and Young Griff encounter Tyrion when he sails across the Narrow Sea. Griff eventually reveals himself to be Jon Connington, a close friend of the late Rhaegar Targaryen, exiled after the defeat at the Stoney Sept. It turns out that Young Griff is supposedly Rhaegar’s son, Aegon, who survived the sacking of King’s Landing, and Connington is devoted to seeing the boy take up his birthright. It is Connington who has greyscale instead of Jorah as in the series. It is unclear if Young Griff is actually Aegon or just an imposter, but his existence in the Game of Thrones timeline could have been a game-changer for the line of succession.

Game of Thrones Completely Erased Valonqar

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One of the biggest oversights in Game of Thrones would have had a direct impact on the conclusion of the series. Casual viewers may remember the Season 4 flashback that features young Cersei visiting a fortuneteller — a formative moment for the future queen, to say the least. Maggy the Frog tells Cersei the famous prophecy of “gold shall be their crowns and gold their shrouds” regarding her children’s deaths. However, in the book, the prophecy doesn’t end there.

Maggy goes on to tell Cersei about her own demise, which will come at the hands of “volanqar.” This is arguably the most straightforward part of the prophecy, which goes as follows: “And when your tears have drowned you, the valonqar shall wrap his hands about your pale white throat and choke the life from you.” Valonqar is the High Valyarian word for “little brother,” which Cersei quickly connects to Tyrion. However, A Song of Ice and Fire establishes that Jaime is also her little brother, as he was born holding onto Cersei’s foot. The most exciting prospect of this prophecy would be if Cersei’s end came at the hands of Jaime, who went through a near-impeccable character arc before the finale backpedaled on years of character development.

There Was No Justice for Arianne Martell

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One of the most baffling changes from the Song of Ice and Fire source material was the dilution of the Sand Snake narrative. The bastard daughters of the Red Viper, aka Oberyn Martell, were oversexualized, missing out on the bigger themes of the plotline. The most egregious was the complete erasure of Doran Martell’s eldest, Arianne Martell, who was in line to control Dorne. Her character was instead combined with Ellaria Sand, who went mad with revenge, eventually killing sweet Myrcella Lannister.

Arianne Martell was a far more compelling character who perhaps played the game better than most. She folded her cousins’ quest for vengeance for their father into her concerns that her father was passing her over for her inheritance. Ultimately, Doran is killed off even though he is also more intriguing in the book. He hides his rage at the Lannisters until the right time when he can finally get his revenge for his sister Elia’s death. The Sand Snake plot was tragically sidelined when they were some of the most intriguing characters of the later A Song of Ice and Fire books.

Lady Stoneheart Was the Biggest Game of Thrones Disappointment

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The Red Wedding was a collective cultural moment where fans came together to mourn. While book readers were well aware that Robb Stark was not long for this world, it was another thing altogether to see it come to fruition. The one moment of solace readers kept reminding themselves of was: “Just wait for Lady Stoneheart.” Catelyn Stark was among the dead at the Red Wedding, at least until Beric Dondarion brings her back from the dead.

Of course, she isn’t really Catelyn but closer to a zombie who vows revenge against all those who raised a hand against the Starks. Hair brittle and white with an unhealed wound from where her throat was slashed, Lady Stoneheart is a terrifying representation of vengeance. She is described in the book by one of the Brotherhood members, stating: “She don’t speak. You bloody bastards cut her throat too deep for that. But she remembers.” Removing her from the narrative was likely another way to remove magic from Game of Thrones, but it took away the much-needed revenge that the Starks were owed.