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

6. Margaery Tyrell

Really, we could just leave it at that. Can there even be any doubt that Margaery Tyrell, as played by Natalie Dormer, is leagues more interesting than her book counterpart?

In Martin’s written works, Margaery is a much younger character, and while it’s certainly implied that the Tyrells have schemes aplenty, she’s just…not as threatening. Oh, Cersei Lannister believes she is of course…but the feeling is that Cersei’s own hunger for power and insecurity over this young new queen are running rampant, more than that Margaery is actively trying to sabotage her. Much of A Feast for Crows, the book which most features Margaery, revolves around Cersei trying to prove the new queen is in fact not a maiden and is having illicit affairs.

Of course, this backfires because Cersei has had quite a few rendezvous of her own, and the Faith Militant isn’t too picky when it comes to punishing sinners.

In the show, Margaery Tyrell is a major player in the game of thrones, and it’s not even really up for debate. To date, Margaery has never had her own chapters in a book, but the show gave her many scenes that showed some of the “off-page” actions right from her introduction in season 2. We got to see what Margaery and Renly Baratheon’s relationship was actually like, as well as how she conferred with her grandmother, Olenna Tyrell, behind closed doors. We also saw how Margaery interacted with Tommen; this relationship is very different in the books, where Tommen is only 9 years old.

In Game of Thrones, there is never any doubt that Margaery is a highly intelligent player completely capable of matching Cersei maneuver for maneuver…right up until the moment the High Sparrow decides he knows better.

And all that isn’t even touching on Natalie Dormer’s outstanding performance, which gave Margaery a level of depth well beyond what she had on the page.