When it comes to Game of Thrones, there is no doubt that the source material — George R.R. Martin's A Song of Ice and Fire books — are better. They are packed with a lot more detail, character development, and intersecting arcs. The TV series tried, and for the first few seasons did a pretty good job of condensing all that materials, but there were some characters it did dirty.
Some of those were main characters who lost a lot in translation, and some were smaller characters whose stories had to be cut. These are the top six Game of Thrones book characters who were done dirty by the show, and if there was ever a reboot, the flaws would need to be fixed.
1. Jon Snow
From the very beginning of A Song of Ice and Fire, Jon Snow was an intriguing character. He was angry at the way the world had failed him, at his world, and at his stepmother for denying him. This anger certainly got him in some trouble when he joined the Night’s Watch.
In the TV series, he was more of a sulky wet rag. Just look at the way he took the taunting from Theon Greyjoy in the first episode when they find the direwolf pups. Book Jon wouldn’t have taken any of that. Jon has sympathy for other outcasts, which meant that his connection to people like Sam and Pyp made more sense. The show didn’t highlight that aspect of his character.
Of course, we don’t know yet what happens when (and we’re assuming it's when) Jon is brought back from the dead in the books. Maybe his character will lose his purpose and drive like he did in the TV series, but I don’t see that happening with George R.R. Martin writing. Here's hoping The Winds of Winter finally comes out and we can see for ourselves.
2. Euron Greyjoy
In the books, there is much more mystery surrounding Euron Greyjoy, an Ironborn pirate with a love for cruelty. He is far more cunning and willing to take his time to get what he wants. After all, he waited years in exile to build a following and (allegedly) kill his brother to take over Pyke. A lot of legends followed Euron, making many fear him based on reputation alone.
When Euron was introduced in Game of Thrones, we knew that he had traveled the world, but nobody really feared him all that much. The Ironborn elected him their leader more because they didn't want his neice Yara ruling, not because he whipped them into a greedy frenzy like he does on the page. He could have been a much scarier and tougher villain that he became.
3. Catelyn Stark
As much as I dislike Catelyn for the way she treated Jon all his life, I still think the TV series did her dirty. This is more about her ending, and while I understand the reason for Game of Thrones skipping over Catelyn’s after-death storyline, it was still a disappointment for fans of the books.
In A Song of Ice and Fire, Catelyn is killed at the Red Wedding as she is in the show, and her body is thrown into the river. Three days later, her corpse is retrieved by Arya's direwolf Nymeria, but Nymeria runs away when humans appear. One of those humans is Lord Beric Dondarrion, who brings Catelyn back from the dead at the cost of his own unlife. However, she's been dead too long and comes back a haggard, vengeful wight named Lady Stoneheart, who then takes over command of Beric’s Brotherhood Without Banners.
Stoneheart still remembers everything that happened to her, even though she can’t speak. This takes her and the Brotherhood Without Banners on a journey to kill anyone potentially connected to the Lannisters and Freys. The TV series didn’t include Stoneheart's revival because, at least in the books so far, it hasn't had a huge effect on the plot, but there still should have been a way to bring in this intriguing storyline.
4. Lord Varys
At the start of Game of Thrones, Lord Varys was one of the most intriguing and intelligent characters around. He made it clear that he would always do what was best for Westeros, never really showing loyalty to the person on the throne. But in Game of Thrones season 4, he helped Tyrion escape and then suddenly he was loyal to Daenerys, who he had tried to kill before this point. It was only in the final moments that he turned against her.
It was like after season 4, Game of Thrones didn’t know what to do with Varys. The book version of the character wouldn’t have blindly followed a leader. He would have always had his own spiders feeding him information wherever he went, and he would have always thought of the people. And it's hard to believe that someone as crafty as him wouldn't have an exit plan or know that Daenerys was planning to execute him before it happened.
5. Petyr Baelish, aka Littlefinger
Like Varys, Petyr Baelish was one of the most intriguing and smartest characters in the series. He always had some sort of scheme, never allowing himself to be loyal to one person. Unlike Varys, he wasn’t acting to help Westeros but to help himself, and that’s what made him unpredictable and interesting.
Game of Thrones turned Littfinger into a bit of an idiot later on when he married Sansa Stark to Ramsey Bolton. In the books, Sansa's friend Jeyne Poole ends up marrying Ramsey, as Littlefinger would never put Sansa at risk. He would have heard stories of what Ramsey was really like, and he wouldn’t have even considered putting the heir to Winterfell he hoped to marry one day in danger.
Littlefinger wanted power, but he also wanted Sansa. While Littlefinger would have still likely died in the end, there could have been more conflict as Sansa turned against the man.
6. Jeyne Poole
While Jeyne was mentioned by Sansa in Game of Thrones, she was never developed as her own character. Throughout the first novel, Jeyne is someone that Sansa can speak honestly with and simply be a teenage girl with. In the third book, we learn that she is being passed off as Arya Stark and married to Ramsey Bolton to help cement an alliance between the Boltons and the Lannisters, turning her into a pawn in the game of thrones.
Jeyne's storyline hasn’t been finished in the books yet, as we’re only up to where Jon is killed by the men of the Night's Watch. Jeyne hasn’t made it up to the Wall yet, but she has escaped Winterfell with Theon, like Sansa does in the show. With Jon's resurrection likely around the corner, he may see through Jeyne’s story and use it to his advantage to get Winterfell back in Stark hands. Jeyne could have a big role to play and get revenge for her torture at Ramsey's hands. Now if only Game of Thrones hadn't written Jeyne out.
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