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

5. Lady Stoneheart

Of all the things that Game of Thrones chose to exclude from George R.R. Martin’s books, Lady Stoneheart was easily the most talked about. Stoneheart is the resurrected persona of Lady Catelyn Stark, a wraith of vengeance who indiscriminately murders anyone she thinks was even remotely link to the massacre at the Red Wedding.

In the novels, Catelyn still dies in exactly the same manner during the Red Wedding. But afterward, her body is pitched into the river below the Twins, House Frey’s stronghold. A wolf drags her body from the water — and not just any wolf, but Arya’s lost wolf Nymeria, who was last seen disappearing into the Riverlands. Arya wargs primarily in her sleep in A Song of Ice and Fire, and her wolf dream as Nymeria where she pulls Catelyn’s body out of the river is one of the earliest instances of her warging.

Afterward, Catelyn’s corpse is found by the Brotherhood Without Banners. Lord Beric Dondarrion gives his life, transferring his gift of rebirth over to Catelyn. As Berric dies, Catelyn rises and assumes the mantle of leadership over the bandits. She’s greatly changed by her death however, with sallow skin and a horrid gash across her neck where her throat was slit which she needs to hold shut in order to speak.

As of the end of A Dance with Dragons, we’ve only seen Lady Stoneheart in a mere two chapters. How major of a player she’ll be in the greater tale is a huge question, enough so that there were plenty of people who thought it was the right call to cut Stoneheart.

I’ve always loved the Lady Stoneheart plotline though — it’s a terrifying dose of horror injected into the heart of Westeros, and a stark reminder of how terrible the drive to avenge your family can become. Lady Stoneheart deserved better. Fortunately, we’ll almost certainly be seeing more of her in The Winds of Winter whenever it’s released.

And so concludes this rumination on things we wish Game of Thrones had kept from the Song of Ice and Fire novels. Did we miss any big ones that you wish had made the cut? Let us know in the comments!

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