For decades, George R. R. Martin has welcomed fantasy lovers into the rich world of his A Song of Ice and Fire series. Initially, the books were spread by word of mouth, but in 2011, HBO released its television adaptation, Game of Thrones, which dominated popular culture throughout the 2010s. Unfortunately, the show’s popularity declined in its later seasons when it overtook the books until it all came crashing down during the abysmal final season.
As fans continue to wait for Martin to release the next book, The Winds of Winter, they are left to speculate on which events that happened in the show’s final seasons will also be present in the books. Indeed, and for all their many flaws, the final seasons of Game of Thrones featured many events that will surely also happen in the books, and there is plenty of evidence to support them. If, or better yet, when any of these events come to pass, one can at least hope that they will be executed better than in the show and make more narrative sense.
Game Of Thrones
- Release Date
- April 17, 2011
- Creator
- David Benioff, D.B. Weiss
- Seasons
- 8
10 The Ironborn’s Alliance with Daenerys
Happens in Season 6
The Ironborn of the Iron Islands are one of Martin’s standout cultures. Due to their isolation from the rest of Westeros, they live a life of sailors and reavers, frequently engaging in hit-and-run raids to take treasure and women. They become major players during the endgame when they are united under Euron Greyjoy (Pilou Asbæk), who usurps control of the island from his niece, Yara (Gemma Whelan), or Asha in the books.
Following Euron’s ascension, a fleet of Ironborn seek out Queen Daenerys Targaryen (Emilia Clarke) with different motivations: in the show, Yara wants to join forces with her to defeat Euron, while in the book, Euron’s younger brother, Victarion, hopes to marry her and gain control of her dragons with a magic horn. More importantly, Victarion arrives at Mereen at a crucial time, as the battle for Mereen is about to happen, meaning he will likely play a major role. Regardless of how successful he will be in his marriage attempt, Victarion’s fleet is likely how Daenerys will bring her army to Westeros to fight for her birthright, thus cementing the Ironborn’s alliance with the Mother of Dragons.
9 The Knights of the Vale in the North
Happens in Season 6
The Vale of Arryn is probably the region of Westeros that weathered the War of the Five Kings the best because it remained neutral. However, thanks to the actions of Petyr Baelish (Aidan Gillen), Lysa Arryn (Kate Dickie) is killed, leaving her sickly and ill-prepared son, Robin (Lino Facioli), as the lord, while Baelish acts as lord protector. Though he claims to rule the Vale in the name of the Lannisters, Littlefinger’s real plan involves using them to help Sansa Stark (Sophie Turner) reclaim the North.
It’s fair to say that audiences weren’t too happy with Baelish’s plan as presented in the show, which involved giving Sansa away to House Bolton for no reason, which made her lose faith in him. However, she eventually accepted his help, and the Knights of the Vale effectively won the Battle of the Bastards for Jon Snow (Kit Harington). The books will treat the Knights of the Vale differently, but the result will be the same. Once Robin dies due to his sickly disposition, Littlefinger intends for Sansa to marry Robin’s heir, Harrold Hardyng, and invade the North to press her claim on Winterfell with the bulk of the Vale’s army.
8 Margaery’s Death
Happens in Season 6
One of the most interesting moments of political maneuvering was the uneasy alliance between House Lannister and House Tyrell, solidified by marrying Margaery Tyrell (Natalie Dormer) to King Joffrey Baratheon (Jack Gleeson), and later his brother, Tommen (Dean-Charles Chapman). The marriage earns the ire of Cersei Lannister (Lena Headey), who fears that Margaery is the prophesied young queen who will take everything from her. As such, Cersei does everything she can to ruin Margaery, eventually killing her and most of her family when she blows up the Sept of Baelor.
As unfortunate as it is, Margaerys is likely to also die in the books since the Lannister and Tyrell conflict keeps Westeros weak and ripe for invasion from outside forces. It also makes sense for Cersei to kill Margaery because the evidence for her imprisonment by the Sparrows in the book is very weak compared to the show. It will also be interesting to see how House Tyrell will react to Margaery’s demise. Unlike in the show, book Margaery has two older brothers, one of whom is not at King’s Landing and thus is fully capable of rallying The Reach from Highgarden.
7 The Deaths of Cersei’s Children
Happens in Seasons 4, 5, and 6
If there’s anything good that can be said about Cersei Lannister, it’s that she loves her three children: Joffrey, Myrcella (Aimee Richardson and Nell Tiger Free), and Tommen. While most of Westeros believes they are the children of her and King Robert Baratheon (Mark Addy), they are really the product of incest with her brother, Jaime (Nikolai Coster-Waldau). Cersei knew she would have three children after hearing a prophecy, but she was also told that gold would be their crowns and their shrouds, meaning they would die young.
As of the fifth book in the series, A Dance with Dragons, Myrcella and Tommen are still alive, but both are killed by the end of Season 6 of the show. Their chances of surviving in the books are slim to none since this fits in with one of Martin’s major themes: innocent lives are the ones who suffer the most when powerful people play politics. How they will die is still up in the air. The show took out Myrcella with poison, and Tommen committed suicide, but with so many factions converging on Westeros, anything could happen.
6 Arya Meeting Nymeria
Happens in Season 7
Lord Eddard Stark’s (Sean Bean) children were given six direwolf pups to raise at the beginning of the story. His youngest daughter, Arya (Maisie Williams), named her wolf Nymeria after the famous warrior-queen who battled against the Valyrian empire. Sadly, Arya had to drive Nymeria away after she bit Prince Joffrey, and they only see each other again once in season 7, albeit briefly and in a rather anti-climactic scene.
While Arya and Nymeria’s meeting in the show felt arbitrary and was quickly forgotten, their reunion in the book will likely be much more impactful. Book Arya has been experiencing a series of wolf dreams, allowing her to see through Nymeria’s eyes as she rallies a massive pack of regular wolves that have been plaguing the Riverlands. Nymeria is also a reminder of Arya’s Stark heritage, which helps her retain her sense of self while going through the training at the House of Black and White. Whether Nymeria and her pack help in the eventual battle against the White Walkers is uncertain, but the direwolf will surely reunite with her former owner sooner or later.
5 House Frey Dying
Happens in Season 7
The Freys have cemented themselves as one of the most hated houses among fans of the books and show. Ruled over by Lord Walder Frey (David Bradley), they are known for being fickle with their bridge tolls and in fulfilling their requirements to their allies. They took part in the bloody Red Wedding, where they murdered Robb Stark (Richard Madden) and his army for breaking his marriage pact. However, for breaking the right of hospitality, the Freys suddenly have a lot of targets on their backs.
In the show, Arya Stark kills Walder in the season 6 finale before poisoning the rest of his family in the first episode of season 7. Despite the death of an entire noble house, nobody in Westeros bats an eye, making it feel like the writers just wanted to wrap up the storyline as quickly as possible. Meanwhile, the books are taking their time building up to House Frey’s downfall. Members are being killed slowly by numerous factions, and a civil war is brewing between living Freys upon Walder’s eventual passing. Whether they are offed by another house or kill each other, the Freys are not long for the World of Ice and Fire.
4 Tyrion as Daenerys’ Hand
Happens in Season 5
Tyrion Lannister (Peter Dinklage) quickly established himself as one of the show’s most popular characters thanks to his underdog status, sharp wit, and skill at playing the political game. Unfortunately, he was made a scapegoat by his family for the death of King Joffrey and had to flee Westeros after killing his father, Tywin (Charles Dance). Once on the continent of Essos, Tyrion is convinced to head further east and offer his services to Queen Daenerys.
Game of Thrones introduces Tyrion and Daenerys before she flies away from Mereen on her dragon, Drogon, while in the book, Tyrion arrives in Mereen after Daenerys leaves. Still, the outcome will be the same; as they did in the show, Tyrion and Dany will inevitably join forces since he is invaluable to her with his information about Westeros and because Martin needs to link his characters for the endgame. However, Tyrion’s advice will be very different, as in the books, he is going down a much darker path than his show counterpart.
3 Shireen’s death
Happens in Season 5
Princess Shireen Baratheon is one of the most innocent characters in the series. The only child of King Stannis Baratheon (Stephen Dillane) and Queen Selyse Baratheon (Tara Fitzgerald), Shireen was infected with Greyscale in her infancy but survived and grew up to be a studious child starved for affection from her emotionally distant parents. Her tragic background makes it all the more heartbreaking when she is sacrificed for better weather in the penultimate episode of season 5, only for Stannis to lose the war anyway.
Shireen’s death in Game of Thrones is among the most criticized moments, but it is sadly also going to happen in the books. She has King’s Blood, vital for Melisandre’s (Carice van Houten) magic. Eerily, she mentions being eaten by dragons during her introduction in A Clash of Kings, a metaphor for being burned at the stake if ever there was one. Still, hopefully, her death will make more sense on paper, especially since a sample chapter from Winds of Winter has Stannis tell his men to fight for Shireen’s claim should he die. More than likely, it will be Selyse who oversees her daughter’s death since she and Shireen remain at Castle Black while Stannis goes to war.
2 Jon Snow Comes Back from the Dead
Happens in Season 6
Jon Snow is the closest thing Westeros has to a proper hero. A man who judged others by their quality rather than their station, Jon lived his life by a strong code of honor and fought tooth and nail to defend the Seven Kingdoms from the coming invasion of the White Walkers. Unfortunately, Jon’s policies proved unpopular among the Night’s Watch when he became Lord Commander, and he was stabbed to death by mutineers.
Jon is quickly resurrected by Melisandre, and there is no doubt among fans that the same will happen in The Winds of Winter. While Martin likes to tease that anyone can die in his stories, the fact of the matter is that some characters are just too essential to the plot, especially since the books still haven’t revealed the truth of Jon’s parentage. Fans are excited to see if Jon’s spirit might be inside of his direwolf, Ghost, before his eventual resurrection and how this will affect him since, in the book, Jon struggles with budding warg powers.
1 “Evil” Daenerys
Happens in Season 8
Daenerys Targaryen had one of the most compelling storylines in Game of Thrones. Beginning the series as a scared girl sold to a warlord so her brother could use his army to reclaim the Iron Throne, Daenerys’ journey had her discover her courage and independence, allowing her to hatch the first three dragons in over a hundred years. As they grew, Daenerys delayed going to Westeros to liberate Slavers Bay and learn how to be a ruler worthy of her family legacy. Suffice it to say, audiences were not happy when, in season 8, Daenerys burned King’s Landing to the ground even after the city had surrendered to her army. She then became a power-hungry and self-righteous dictator who planned to continue her war of conquest across the world.
The plot point that Daenerys is not a noble hero but rather a ruthless conqueror willing to sacrifice innocent lives to get what she wants has been well-documented in the novels. Her literary counterpart is far more trigger-happy — or, in this case, sword-and-dragon-happy. Given that season 8 was based on Martin’s notes, Daenerys’ descent into cruelty is not only possible but actually pretty obvious, especially considering it’s the attitude most Targaryens with dragons always took. Martin will undoubtedly put more time into showing her corruption and will likely not oversimplify it as her going “mad.” The fact remains that Dany won’t be a hero by the story’s end — in fact, it’s safe to say she’ll have her fair share of innocent blood on her hands.
