Top 10 Game of Thrones Storylines That Never Made It Into The Show
#10: Ellaria Sand
At first, Oberyn Martell’s partner seemed to be stepping up as a major character. The show didn’t necessarily adapt the book series’ Dorne storyline well, but it does show Ellaria taking control of the mighty kingdom and becoming an ally to Daenerys Targaryen when she arrives in Westeros. Unfortunately, that alliance wouldn’t last long. Ellaria and her daughter Tyene are captured by Cersei in Season 7 and suffer a pretty terrible fate. Although Tyene is doomed, Cersei’s plan is to keep Ellaria alive. But we’re still wondering what happened to her years after the show ended. Was she killed like many others when Daenerys sacked King’s Landing? Or did she survive to be taken back to Dorne and face punishment for usurping the previous prince?
#9: Thorne’s Wight Hand
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Season 1 was pretty light on White Walker activity, building towards bigger confrontations down the line. Jon Snow’s first brush with the terrors beyond the wall comes when the bodies of missing Night’s Watchmen are discovered. When one of them rises as a Wight to attack Lord Commander Jeor Mormont, Jon saves the man’s life. This event causes Mormont to send Alliser Thorne, Castle Black’s master-at-arms, to King’s Landing in order to present the Wight’s hand to King Joffrey as a warning. However, we never got this scene, nor was it ever mentioned again. While Thorne was likely met with skepticism as he was in the books, this still feels like a narrative thread the show just dropped.
#8: Robin Arryn
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It was pretty easy to dislike Robin Arryn when we first met him, but there’s no denying that he ruled over one of the most important castles in the show. Though his young age and extremely sheltered upbringing meant he was never really in charge, he still lends his army to Sansa Stark during a crucial battle in Season 6. This army also helps during the Long Night and the sack of King’s Landing, but Robin Arryn himself isn’t seen again until the show’s finale. We never got to see him react to Littlefinger’s death or the fact that Littlefinger had been responsible for the death of Robin’s parents. Considering how much Robin trusted Littlefinger, this was a definite missed opportunity.
#7: Ser Ilyn Payne
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Arya Stark had many names on her special list, most of which got crossed off by her or someone else’s hand. But there’s one name that was seemingly forgotten about by her: Ser Ilyn Payne. The royal executioner was the one who chopped Arya’s father’s head off. Although he was under Joffrey’s orders, that was more than enough to earn her wrath. However, the character disappeared after the show’s second season. It’s possible that Ilyn was written out due to his actor Wilko Johnson undergoing cancer treatment. Thankfully, Johnson pulled through, but Ilyn's presence was relegated only to passing mentions from that point forward.
#6: Wight Babies
“Game of Thrones” is home to a lot of despicable characters, though Craster makes an excellent case for the worst. The Wildling has multiple daughter-wives, though he sacrifices each son to the White Walkers to earn safety, a chilling fact learned by Jon in the show’s second season. However, what happens to these babies wasn’t shown until Season 4, when we saw one of them turned by the Night King. It was a great WTF moment but it ultimately went nowhere. Are we meant to believe the Night King’s generals in Season 8 are Craster’s sacrificed children? How did all of them grow so quickly? Sadly, it was in the nature of the White Walkers to be mysterious so we never got answers.
#5: Quaithe
Dany and company met many odd characters during the Qarth storyline of Season 2, though none of them captivated us as much as Quaithe. While she only appeared in two episodes, she piqued our interest through her always-masked face and prophecies about Daenerys. We couldn’t help but want to see more of her so that we could unravel her mystery. Her mystical abilities and the fact that she hailed from Asshai, Melisandre’s birthplace and the location Dany’s dragon eggs came from, made us think she might play a pivotal role. But that wasn’t the case. When the Qarth storyline came to an end, we never heard from her again. And we still want to know more.
#4: Essos
Westeros’s neighboring continent played a vital part for a majority of the show. Bringing peace and ending slavery in its cities was a driving force of Daenerys’s character development. And she was, by far, at her most interesting when she was enacting vengeance against its rulers. But as soon as she was able to return home, the so-called Breaker of Chains apparently forgot about all her good work there. We know there were more important conflicts for the show to focus on, but they still could have given us a few scenes there to show what happened to Meereen, Astapor, and Yunkai in Dany’s absence. We would’ve even taken a scene of Dany receiving news via raven, but nothing was ever given.
#3: The Faceless Men in Westeros
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First appearing fully in Season 2, the enigmatic Jaqen H’ghar immediately drew us in with hints of his assassination organization. So we were delighted to see the character again in Season 5 along with the headquarters of the Faceless Men, the House of Black and White. However, there’s still so much we don’t know. For instance, how did the skillful Jaqen get captured in King’s Landing? And why did the Faceless Men send him to Westeros in the first place? We can’t even be sure that Season 2 Jaqen and Season 5 Jaqen are the same person, or if he even exists! Hell, they could be different characters using the same face. But when Arya left Braavos, we had to say goodbye to those questions.
#2: Dorne
The show’s handling of the Dorne storyline in Season 5 was justifiably criticized, but that doesn’t mean we wanted it to disappear. But that’s basically what happened. In Season 7, Ellaria is captured while on the way to collect the rest of her army for Daenerys. After that, no further attempts are made to bring the army into the fold. By anyone. And they would have been very useful when, ya know, a MASSIVE ARMY OF THE DEAD SHOWED UP. Following Ellaria’s capture, the only news we hear is of an unnamed Dornish prince supporting Dany, who’s then present at Tyrion’s trial in the series finale. A sad end to what should’ve been the most unique of the Seven Kingdoms.
#1: Daario Naharis
We talked about Essos, but Daario Naharis deserves his own entry. Originally a lieutenant for the sellswords the Second Sons, Daario kills the group’s leaders to join Daenerys’s cause. We love a mercenary with a soft spot and Daario quickly becomes one of Dany’s most interesting allies, as well as her romantic interest. But when Dany leaves Essos, she doesn't take Daario with her. And one of the biggest disappointments of Essos’s absence in the show’s later seasons was not seeing how Daario temporarily ruled Meereen in her stead. There’s an alternate reality where Dany never left and we got to see them rule the city, bringing positive change to the rest of Essos. But we guess that’s what fanfiction is for.
