At eight seasons long, Game of Thrones is a big show. However, George R.R. Martin’s A Song of Ice and Fire books are even bigger, and a great many characters and storylines were left out of HBO’s adaptation. Others were changed and, in some cases, mishandled, at least if you ask me.
And I have examples. Let’s talk about two characters who will likely have a lot more importance in future A Song of Ice and Fire books than they had on Game of Thrones:
Barristan Selmy
When the story begins, Ser Baristan Selmy is the Lord Commander of Robert Baratheon’s Kingsguard. He is a celebrated knight, having participated in several wars and undertaken heroic acts like rescuing King Aerys II Targaryen from captivity and slaying the last Blackfyre pretender. Although he is regarded as one of the deadliest swordsman in the world, Barristan is dismissed by Joffrey Baratheon and Cersei Lannister to make room for Sandor “the Hound” Clegane and so Jaime Lannister could be elevated to Lord Commander.
Barristan is outraged at his unprecedented dismissal, since Kingsguard knights are supposed to serve for life. After fleeing the Red Keep and disguising himself as a lowborn old man, Barristan witnesses Ned Stark’s execution and vows to find a true king to serve. He then crosses the Narrow Sea in an attempt to find Viserys Targaryen. He learns from Illyrio Mopatis that Viserys is dead and is instead sent to find Daenerys, traveling alongside Strong Belwas, a eunuch pit fighter. They find her and he keeps his identity secret for a time.
After Jorah Mormont figures out Barristan’s true identity, Barristan explains why he kept the truth from her: he wanted to make sure Daenerys did not share her father’s predilection for madness. Having concluded that she does not, he swears fealty to her and informs her that Jorah had been spying on her to Robert Baratheon’s small council. Jorah is dismissed, and Daenerys eventually names Barristan the Lord Commander of her Queensguard. As in the show, Barristan frequently tells Daenerys stories about her family, as he served her father and grandfather for many years, and knew her brother Rhaegar.
It’s after Daenerys installs herself in Meereen that Barristan’s book and show storylines part ways. On the show, he is killed by the Sons of the Harpy, leaving Daenerys with one fewer advisor. In George R.R. Martin’s book A Dance With Dragons, he becomes a point of view character after Daenerys flies away from the city on Drogon.
With Daenerys gone, Barristan essentially rules Meereen in her stead, although he comes into conflict with her husband Hizdahr zo Loraq, who tries to seize authority for himself and begins to replace Daenerys’ people. Barristan conspires with Grey Worm and other Daenerys loyalists to take back the city, as he is convinced Hizdahr tried to kill Daenerys with poisoned locusts. Barristan assumes the position of Hand of the Queen and begins to make preparations for an attack by the other slave cities of Astapor and Yunkai. He also trains young men from the city in the ways of a Westerosi knight.
In a preview chapter from Martin’s upcoming book The Winds of Winter, Barristan plans to charge at the Yunkish army since they have begun flinging plague-ridden corpses into the city. The last time we see him, he gives a rousing speech to his men before ordering an attack.
Although being a point of view character does not mean you are immune to death, Barristan has a much meatier role in Martin’s books. Even if he dies during the charge outside Meereen in Winds, he will die a much richer character than he did on Game of Thrones.
Brynden “Blackfish” Tully
Brynden “Blackfish” Tully does not appear in Game of Thrones until season 3, and his character’s role is cut down compared to Martin’s series, where he appears in A Game of Thrones, the first novel. He’s there when Catelyn Stark brings Tyrion Lannister to the Vale for allegedly trying to have Bran killed. The Blackfish is a seasoned knight and the commander of the Bloody Gate, the Eyrie’s first line of defense. When they reunite, Blackfish instantly acts as a father figure to Catelyn and decides to join her when she leaves the Vale to meet up with Robb Stark and the Northern army.
After meeting his nephew, Blackfish’s combat experience in Robert’s Rebellion and the Greyjoy uprising proves valuable. He becomes one of Robb’s most trusted advisors, the leader of his scouting parties and the commander of his vanguard. He also leads the men who draw Jaime Lannister away from the siege at Riverrun, which results in the Kingslayer’s capture at the Battle of the Whispering Wood. Soon after, the Blackfish witnesses Robb proclaimed the King in the North by his lords.
Robb and the Blackfish continue to fight into the Westerlands in the second book, and return to Riverrun in Book 3 for the funeral of Hoster Tully, the Blackfish’s older brother and Catelyn’s father. Before Hoster died, he and the Blackfish buried a decades-long feud that began when the Blackfish refused to get married. After Hoster called him the black sheep of the family, Brynden remarked that he ought to be called a black fish instead, since their house sigil is a leaping trout. The name stuck. Hoster later disowned his brother after the Blackfish left the Riverlands to serve Lysa Arryn in the Vale.
In the TV show, Hoster’s funeral is the first time we see Blackfish, where he embarrasses his nephew Edmure by lighting Hoster’s funeral pyre with a single flaming arrow, something Edmure couldn’t manage with three. Unlike in the show, in the books the Blackfish is not present for the Red Wedding, and instead remains at Riverrun while Robb and Catelyn are murdered by the Freys. Before leaving, Robb tasks Blackfish with protecting his wife Jeyne Westerling and holding Riverrun for the North.
In Book 4, A Feast for Crows, Jaime Lannister is sent to Riverrun to end a Frey siege on the place, which the since Blackfish still holds in Robb’s name. In the books as on the show, Jaime is able to convince a captive Edmure to surrender the castle. However, in the books Edmure allows the Blackfish to escape Riverrun before the Lannisters take it. In the show, the Blackfish is killed offscreen by Lannister soldiers.
Although we do not see Blackfish in Book 5, A Dance With Dragons, he’s not dead, and readers have speculated about his role going forward. The Blackfish is one of the only people left that is still loyal to the Starks, and he is capable of rallying men behind him.
Some theorize that before escaping, Edmure told the Blackfish about Robb Stark’s will. There is a plot point in the books where Robb is deciding who to name his heir, and at the time, Sansa is a Lannister prisoner and he believes that Bran, Rickon and Arya are all dead. So it is heavily implied that he names Jon Snow his heir, and that he legitimizes him by signing a document while several lords stand in witness, including Edmure. Edmure could have passed this information along to the Blackfish, making him an extremely important character moving forward.
It should also be mentioned that, in the books, Catelyn is resurrected by the Lord of Light as Lady Stoneheart. She also witnessed the signing of Robb’s will. The last time we see her, she is in possession of Robb’s crown. Perhaps the undead Catelyn will reunite with her uncle Blackfish and they will proclaim Jon Snow the King in the North.
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