The Game of Thrones and House of the Dragon TV shows have no shortage of iconic characters. But while the likes of Daenerys Targaryen and Jon Snow have cemented their status in the pop culture hall of fame, the Game of Thrones books are also home to an abundance of fantastic characters that sadly didn’t even make it onto the screen. Here are just a few of the best Game of Thrones characters that should have made the cut- book spoilers ahead.
10. Val
Considered by many other characters to be the princess of the Wildlings, Val is the fierce yet graceful key to bridging the gap between the Free Folk and the Northerners. Towards the end of A Storm of Swords, Stannis Baratheon attempts to name Jon Snow a Stark and marry him to Val. Jon refuses and later sends Val north in search of Tormund Giantsbane. She succeeds easily in this quest, and remains a key figure for the Wildlings at the end of A Dance With Dragons.
9. Strong Belwas
Belwas first meets Daenerys in A Clash of Kings, and is soon named to her Queensguard after saving her life during an assassination attempt. He has an unexpectedly deep backstory with roots in Daznak’s Pit as a fighter, and at first travels alongside a disguised Barristan Selmy at the behest of Magister Illyrio. After Daenerys departs from the fighting pits of Meereen on dragonback, he’s named to the city’s ruling council.
8. Jon Connington
Once the Hand of the King and Lord of Griffen’s Roost, the exiled Jon Connington is found by Tyrion in A Dance With Dragons in the company of a boy named Young Griff, who secretly has a claim to the Iron Throne. On their journey south to Volantis, Jon contracts greyscale, in similar to fashion to Jorah Mormont in the TV show. Jon goes on to assist in leading the Golden Company in the seizure of his former house seat. His loyalty to House Targaryen remains absolute, though his future fate is unknown.
7. Jeyne Westerling
Jeyne Westerling is the shy and beautiful wife of Robb Stark who for a short time becomes the Queen of the North. Her character is replaced entirely in the TV adaption by Talisa of Volantis, and unlike in the TV series, her marriage to Robb is sudden and unexpected. Also unlike the show, her character does not attend the Red Wedding, and survives to learn that her mother had been using poison to sabotage her and Robb’s attempts at conceiving a child.
6. Quentyn Martell
Quentyn Martell is the eldest son of Doran Martell, sent by his father to Slaver’s Bay in an attempt to claim Daenerys’s hand in marriage. His journey is greatly waylaid, and by the time he arrives in Meereen, Daenerys has already agreed to marry Hizdahr zo Loraq. Quentyn’s story ultimately ends in his demise when he attempts to claim one of Daenerys’s dragons. His death leaves Dorne’s relationship from House Targaryen in shambles. This differs greatly from the TV show, in which Varys is sent to Dorne as an envoy instead.
5. Victarion Greyjoy
After the death of Balon Greyjoy, his daughter Asha and two younger brothers Euron and Victarion gather together to put forth their claim to the Iron Islands in the Kingsmoot. Euron ultimately wins the favor of the masses, and Victarion, after seizing the Shield Isles, is instructed by Euron to bring his brother’s marriage proposal to Daenerys. Victarion, who hates his brother, departs from Slaver’s Bay, but intends to court Daenerys himself. Both Victarion and Euron add considerably more chaos to the Greyjoy’s quest for power than is found in the TV show.
4. Jeyne Poole
In A Game of Thrones, Jeyne is the daughter of Winterfell’s steward and Sansa’s best friend. She travels south with Sansa to King’s Landing, but later goes missing after Joffrey becomes king. In A Storm of Swords, Jaime encounters Jeyne while at Harrenhal, who pretends to be Arya Stark. Jeyne continues north and marries Ramsey under the guise of Arya, all while enduring terrible cruelty at his hands. Jeyne’s story is so essential to the larger narrative that Sansa effectively has to step into her place in the TV show.
3. Arianne Martell
Arianne is the eldest child of Doran Martell, and first appears in A Feast for Crows. Believing that her claim to Dorne is being passed over by her father, she plots against him, attempting to crown Myrcella Baratheon with the aid of Tyene Sand. She soon learns that she has been foolish, and was once to be the queen of Seven Kingdoms in a marriage with Viserys. Arianne is a fiery, brash young woman who along with her brother gives the Dorne storylines in the books a level of complexity that is absent in the on-screen adaption.
2. Lady Stoneheart
After the Red Wedding in A Storm of Swords, the Lady Catelyn does not stay dead for long. When her remains are pulled from the river by Arya’s direwolf Nymeria, Beric Dondarrion gives his life for hers in a fire ritual, and she returns to the world of the living as Lady Stoneheart to command the Brotherhood Without Banners. Her quest for vengeance against the Freys and Lannisters along with her terrifying visage make her an ominous presence in the later books that’s sorely missed in the TV show.
1. Young Griff
On his way to Volantis in A Dance With Dragons, Tyrion meets a young man on his way to join the Golden Company who claims to be the son of the sellsword Griff. However, Tyrion soon discovers that there is more to ‘Young Griff’ than meets the eye, and confronts the youth about his identity. Young Griff then reveals himself to be Aegon Targaryen, the lost son of Prince Rhaegar Targaryen, and claims that he was secreted away from the Red Keep as an infant.
Aegon’s claimed right to the Iron Throne is stronger than that of Daenerys, and unlike Daenerys, Aegon chooses a more direct path to his supposed birthright by taking the Golden Company to Westeros and seizing Griffin’s Roost. Whether Young Griff has a truthful claim is unknown, but his character is sure to shake up the core narrative of A Song of Ice and Fire in the (hopefully) upcoming Winds of Winter.
