5 things from the Game of Thrones books we wish were in the show

3. Balon Greyjoy’s brothers and the dragon horn

While the Iron Islands first appeared earlier in Martin’s books than Dorne, they were similarly expanded a great deal during A Feast for Crows. That novel begins with the Iron Islands in a place of unrest following the death of its ruler, Balon Greyjoy. A Kingsmoot is declared, gathering all the powerful houses of the islands together to decide who will take Balon’s place.

The show kept this plotline, but it jettisoned one of the things that made it so intriguing in the first place: Balon Greyjoy has three brothers, and each of them have their own particular foothold on the power structure of the islands. Victarion is Balon’s right hand and arguably the most renowned sea captain in the Iron Islands; Aeron Damphair is a priest of the Drowned God whose words hold great sway with the more religious factions; and Euron is a rogue with a reputation for dark magic and darker deeds, who suspiciously returns from a years-long voyage just in time to stake a claim on the Seastone Chair. Then there’s Balon’s daughter, Asha (Yara in the show), who many believe is the most suitable heir to the Iron Islands of all and seems to be the frontrunner for the job, until Euron throws the Kingsmoot into disarray. The family dynamics are complex and fascinating.

Game of Thrones cut out Victarion completely, doling out some parts of his story, like going to find Daenerys Targaryen in Mereen, to Yara and Theon. Aeron is a prominent character in the books who we know will feature even more in The Winds of Winter thanks to a preview chapter Martin shared, yet in the show he appeared in little more than a cameo which never makes his relationship to Yara or Theon clear.

As for Euron, he’s just a totally different character. The Euron of the books is a quiet, menacing figure who has been to Asshai and returns with a level of gravitas that immediately draws attention. Show Euron has a boisterous rock star attitude, and while it’s plenty of fun, it’s also one of the few characters in the series who just feels like a totally alternate version of their book counterpart.

Setting aside the specifics of each brother, Euron also brings a mysterious horn back from his journeys in the novel which allows someone to take control of a dragon. We haven’t seen yet whether that will work in the books — when last we saw the horn, Victarion Greyjoy was bringing it with him to Meereen. But we want to know if it would work, making it an enduring mystery of the novels. The show sidestepped the horn and two of the Greyjoy brothers entirely.