10 ways Game of Thrones improved on A Song of Ice and Fire

3. Shae

When it comes to characters whose book and show counterparts are different, it’s hard to find a better example than Shae, the camp follower who falls in love with Tyrion Lannister.

Even that description doesn’t fit both versions. In A Song of Ice and Fire, Shae is clearly more concerned with the security Tyrion can give her than any actual emotional connection. Shae and Tyrion’s relationship ends up being more of a scathing commentary on how naïve Tyrion is to think they have anything resembling a real partnership. In the books, Shae is basically just in it for the money.

In the show, Shae is a completely different character. Actress Sibel Kekilli brought a ton of depth to her. As it turns out, Kekilli actually turned down the role at first because it was too close to the way Shae was portrayed in the books. Only after the showrunners called her back, saying they were taking the character in a different direction, did Kekelli sign on to portray her.

Which is fortunate for fans, because Shae and Tyrion’s relationship was so much more interesting in the show. They actually do care about each other…but in the world of Westeros there’s simply no way that they can end up happily ever after, due to their differences in standing. When it comes time for Tyrion to part ways with Shae, he does it in an agonizingly awful way that wouldn’t make any sense at all for his book counterpart, because there’s so much more emotion attached to the relationship for both characters.

And of course, all this emotion we’ve been talking about only makes the final tragic turn with Shae even more heartbreaking.