A bigger role for Alys Karstark
Early in season 7, Jon Snow — then newly King in the North — elects not to hold the young Alys Karstark responsible for her father’s crime. If you’ll recall, her dad sided with Ramsay Bolton during the Battle of the Bastards, but Jon is willing to forgive and forget. In the script for “A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms,” she tries to pay back his faith by volunteering to stand with Theon and defend Bran from the Night King in the godswood. “I’ll go with him,” Alys says to Jon in the script. “The Karstarks betrayed your House. Allow us to earn back your trust.” Jon “appreciates the girl’s sense of honor” and nods in approval.
Later, in “The Long Night,” when Alys and her men are in the godswood, they’re beset by child wights. “Alys is terrified but maintains her resolve. She motions to her men in the direction of the sound: follow me.” But it doesn’t last; the wights attack, and Alys “turns and runs.” And that’s the last we see of her.
Although we do see Alys walking off to the godswood with Theon before the Battle of Winterfell, she doesn’t get this little arc.
Image: Game of Thrones/HBO
Should it have been changed?
I think this was wisely cut. It kind of comes off as a half-hearted attempt by the writers to get us to care about a minor character just so they can kill her. What’s more, her death is pretty similar to how Karsi the wildling died in “Hardhome.” It doesn’t do much but call attention to how many more well-established characters didn’t die during this battle.