Differences in adaptation/Game of Thrones: Season 5

A list of differences that can be found between the fourth season of the TV series and, roughly, A Feast for Crows and A Dance with Dragons, the fourth and fifth novels of the A Song of Ice and Fire book series. The two novels take place concurrently, with the fourth novel detailing events in the Seven Kingdoms, while the fifth novel follows events outside of them (at the Wall, Arya and Tyrion in the Free Cities, and Daenerys in Slaver's Bay). Originally the fourth and fifth novel were going to be one very long novel, but Martin had to split them apart because it had grown too large. The TV series chose to simply intercut material from the two - which, in a sense, is recreating the original effect that Martin intended.

1. The Wars to Come

• Cersei was accompanied by Melara Hetherspoon and Jeyne Farman, when she went to see Maggy. It was Jeyne, who was terrified of Maggy and she even escaped when Maggy woke up. Melara was described as being even more brave than Cersei and was more than eager to meet Maggy. TV Melara is a condensation of both girls from the novels. She retains Jeyne's cowardice but still accompanies Cersei as book Melara did.
• Maggy's prophecy has several differences in the books: Melara Hetherspoon is also interested in hearing her future so she also takes part, Maggy predicts that Robert Baratheon will have sixteen children rather than twenty and she predicts the deaths of both Cersei Lannister and Melara, but the former at the hands of the "valonquar", the Valyrian term for "little brother", whom Cersei believes to be Tyrion.
• Maggy's physical appearance is quite different in the show. In the books she is very old, wrinkled, and has no teeth left. She is also nicknamed "Maggy the Frog".
• Robin never did any strenuous physical activity, as the slightest physical exertion caused him to have seizures.
• Petyr Baelish never agreed to foster Robin Arryn at Runestone. In fact, lord Royce along with other lords declarants tried to forcibly take Lord Robin with them and Lord Baelish managed to prevent that from happening.
• Brienne never told Podrick to leave, she was in fact never less than polite to him.
• White Rat was named Stalwart Shield, and he was killed after leaving the brothel. It also took 6 Sons of the Harpy to kill him, though he was able to stab one before dying. His body was also bought to the throne room for everyone to see.
• The Sons of the Harpy did not leave a mask when they killed, they painted a Harpy in blood near the body. In fact, they were never seen in the books, and they were never described wearing masks.
• White Rat was described as being the Sons' first victim in TV series. In the books, the Sons have already killed before, but their victims were mostly homeless people. Stalwart Shield was the first Unsullied to be killed which indicated, that the Sons have become more daring.
• The request to open the fighting pits came from Hizdahr himself, not from Yunkish people. In fact, Hizdahr was never sent to negotiate with Yunkai.
• Daario was not present in Meereen at that time as he was sent to negotiate with Lhazareen.
• Cersei never thought Jaime had released Tyrion but suspected the Tyrells, because a golden coin of House Gardener was found in the possession of the missing galoer, who disappeared the same night Tyrion did.
• At that point in the books, Tywin's body was already in state of decomposition and a foul stench emanated from the body, so nobody wanted to come close to the body.
• According to the TV series, this was the first time Lancel appeared in public after the Battle of Blackwater but in the books, Lancel has already appeared at Joffrey's wedding. He was also much weaker at that time, being extremely thin and with white hair. He became very devout after he recovered, but he never joined the Sparrows. In fact, Sparrows were not present in King's Landing at that time.
• Varys never went to Pentos with Tyrion. It was Illyrio Mopatis who discussed Daenerys with Tyrion.
• Jon never went to see Mance, and Stannis never asked him to convince him to kneel.
  • Stannis in fact never gave Mance a choice between kneeling or burning, he simply burned him.
  • Sam, Gilly, Janos Slynt, Tormund, Selyse, Shireen and Davos were not present at the execution.
• Mance was not very calm during his execution, he was screaming and begging until his death. He was also burned in a wooden cage hanging over a pit of fire north of the Wall, in front of a thousand wildling prisoners.
• It was not Jon himself but several archers on his orders who shot Mance.
• Lancel Lannister never joined the Sparrows. Instead, he joined the Warrior's Sons, a division of highborn knights devoted to the Seven.

2. The House of Black and White

• Petyr and Sansa never leave the Vale and they never meet Brienne and Podrick.
• Arya does not knock on the door to the Temple of Black and White, she opens the door and walks right in and no one wanted to prevent her from entering. The Faceless Man she encountered had a different appearance. Instead of being an old man with wrinkled and sickly face, he is described as a cloaked figure with only a skull for a face. When Arya told him her name, he changed into kindly old man, not into Jaqen H'gharr. The books made clear the Kindly Man is not Jaqen H'gharr while in TV series, the person is apparently the same.
• Ellaria did not wish for war with the Lannisters to avenge Oberyn's death. Quite the contrary, she is firmly opposed to any further bloodshed. This role is filled by Arianne Martell, Doran's daughter, eldest child and heir, who has been cut from the TV series so far.
• It was not Ellaria but Obara, who encountered prince Doran in the Water Gardens. Doran was not watching Myrcella and Trystane, but children swimming in the pools. Myrcella and Trystane were in fact not present at the Water Gardens as they were both at Sunspear.
• Jaime never goes to Dorne to rescue Myrcella, since the Martells never send Cersei a threat. In the books, Jaime leaves the capital on Cersei's orders to lead the Lannister armies in putting down the last few Riverlords loyal to Robb Stark who are still at arms.
• Bronn does indeed marry Lollys Stokeworth, and never goes to Dorne with Jaime.
• Mace Tyrell never serves as Master of Coin; in the novels, he puts himself forward for the position of Hand of the King and offers one of his uncles to serve as Master of Coin during Tywin's funeral, but Cersei (not wanting any Tyrells in a position of power close to the crown) brusquely refuses him and appoints two of her own cronies to the posts. Kevan later rebukes her for this, saying that while Mace would make a poor Hand, it is unwise to make him an enemy. Cersei laters dispatches Mace to lay siege to Storm's End and another of his vassals to besiege Dragonstone to rob Stannis of his last holdings in the south.
• Kevan does deny Cersei, but not for Master of War (a title which never exists in the books), but as Hand of the King.
  • He also refuses for a different reason. Before he died, it had been Tywin's intent that Cersei return to Casterly Rock and have no further say in the governance of the realm or Tommen's upbringing (as Tommen is 9 at this point in the books). Kevan demands Cersei name him Regent, to rule until Tommen comes of age, and that she leave King's Landing. Cersei responds by throwing her wine in his face. In response, Kevan makes it plain he thinks her an unfit mother and is aware that Tommen and his siblings are the product of incest between Cersei and Jaime. Kevan then retires to Casterly Rock; to spite him, Cersei gives the positions of Warden of the West and Castellan of Casterly Rock (both positions Keven would be best suited for) to lesser members of House Lannister. Jaime also fears Cersei might try to assassinate Kevan (both for his defiance and his awareness of their affair).
• Although Areo's skin color is never described in the books, it's most likely white, as he is from Norvos. He is also described as having white hair and a beard.
• Varys does not accompany Tyrion on his journey to meet Daenerys. Rather, he is accompanied by Griff and his ward, Young Griff, as well as Ser Rolly Duckfield, Septa Lemore and Haldon Halfmaester, all of whom have been cut from the TV series.
• Daenerys never sees Drogon atop the pyramid. In fact, the last time she saw him was when they wanted to capture him.
• Mossador does not kill a Son of the Harpy against Daenerys's wishes. In fact, he is killed by the Sons of the Harpy. Also, he is Missandei's brother in the books and his death devastates Missandei.
• Jon refuses Stannis's offer of legitimization as a Stark for several reasons, including Melisandre demanding he burn down the Godswood of Winterfell and convert to the Lord of Light.
• Sam and Gilly never met Selyse and Shireen as they were both at Eastwatch and arrived at Castle Black much later. Thus nobody taught Gilly to read.
• The election for Lord Commander of the Night's Watch has several differences:
  • There are several elections held, as a Lord Commander is only elected when he has 2/3s of the vote or more.
  • It is at first a very close vote between Janos Slynt (Ser Alliser withdraws early on due to barely any votes), Denys Mallister and Cotter Pyke, with Janos gaining votes each time.
  • There were also more candidates such as Bowen Marsh, Othell Yarwyck, Hobb and Edd
  • Sam lies to Denys and Cotter (who each loathe the other), convincing Denys that Stannis will force Cotter to be elected and Cotter that Stannis will force Denys to be elected. He then convinces each to support Jon instead.
  • Jon wins by a huge margin, not a single vote.

3. High Sparrow

• Medger Cerwyn died in Harrenhal as a prisoner during the War of the Five Kings and his son Cley Cerwyn was killed when Ramsay sacked Winterfell.
• Due to Tommen Baratheon being nine years old, he and Margaery Tyrell have currently not consummated their marriage.
• It is not the High Septon (who has died by this point in the books) but a Septon vying for the position who is dragged out of a brothel and publicly humiliated by the Sparrows.
• It is not Davos but Melisandre who speaks to Jon and advises him on how he can best act in dealing with Stannis.
• Jon's steward is an Oldtown boy named Satin, who was raised as a whore.
• Jon Snow did not appoint Ser Alliser to be First Ranger.
• Jon's execution of Janos Slynt differs in several ways:
  • He gives him the position the day before executing him. He lets Janos think about it overnight, though he did immediately refuse.
  • Jon orders him to go during breakfast, not during several other announcements.
  • Jon is initially going to hang Janos, but changes his mind. Janos smiles, thinking he's being spared. Jon then orders a block to be brought for beheading and Slynt's confidence evaporates as he realises Jon's threat to behead him is real.
• Littlefinger does not intend to marry Sansa to Ramsay Bolton, he instead plans to marry her to Robin's heir Harrold Hardyng. Littlefinger also disguises Sansa's childhood friend Jeyne Poole as Arya Stark and marries her to Ramsay instead.

• Petyr and Sansa also never go to Winterfell.

• Tyrion does have sex with the whore in the brothel, but only picks her because all the others are quite old.
• The whore, while Westerosi in looks, does not speak a word of Westerosi.
• Tyrion is not captured by Jorah in Volantis, but in a Volantene-aligned city called Selhorys.
• Tyrion is not with Varys when he's captured, but with a man aiding Ilyrio named Haldon Halfmaester.
• Jorah kidnaps Tyrion not stealthily, but in full view of everyone in the brothel. When the brothel owner tries to stop him, Jorah draws his sword and the owner relents.

• Jorah had the Daenerys lookalike whore on his lap when he noticed Tyrion.

• When Arya disposes of her possessions in the canal, she returns to the House of Black and White completely naked. (Since actress Maisie Williams was 17 at time of filming, she remained clothed.)

• Arya hides Needle in a hole under the steps leading up the House of Black and White.

4. The Sons of the Harpy

• Barristan Selmy is not slain by the Sons of the Harpy, he is still alive and also a POV character in the latest novel.
• Sansa Stark is never promised to Ramsay Snow, never in Winterfell, and thus, does not visit the crypts.
• Jaime and Bronn never intend to, nor do they sail to or set foot on Dorne to rescue Myrcella. In the books, Bronn is wed to Lollys Stokeworth whilst Jaime is in the Riverlands trying to get Brynden Tully to surrender Riverrun without bloodshed. Cersei sends another Kingsguard, Balon Swann, to take Myrcella back.
• Cersei never sends Mace Tyrell away to Braavos with Meryn Trant. Instead, she sends him to besiege Storm's End, Harys Swyft and Rafford "the Sweetling" are sent to Braavos instead.
• Littlefinger does not intend to return to King's Landing.
• Loras Tyrell is never arrested for his sexuality. Instead, Cersei forces him to lay siege to Dragonstone, hoping he will die, and in fact he is reported to have been wounded.
• The Faith Militant did not carve the seven pointed stars onto their foreheads.

5. Kill the Boy

• Daenerys did not intimidate the head of each family of Meereen using her dragons. Instead she took hostages (children) from each of the noble families to serve as her "cupbearers". She also demanded blood money from each family for each of her followers or soldiers killed by the Sons of the Harpy.
  • She incidentally never threw Hizdahr in jail.
• Jon sent Val, a wildling girl who was a companion of Mance's wife Dalla, north of the wall to find the Wildlings after the battle. The remaining Wildlings were led by Tormund himself, as he was not captured during the battle.
• Jon wanted the Wildlings to come south of the Wall not to settle it (that was Stannis' idea), but to occupy the empty castles along the Wall to hold them for when the White Walkers attacked.
• Sansa never sees Theon, because in the novels, it is her friend Jeyne Poole, masquerading as Arya Stark, who is betrothed to Ramsay. Jeyne does indeed see Theon, who immediately recognizes her but remains silent in order to protect her.
• Walda Bolton is not believed to be pregnant, although Roose does mention to Reek that if they had any children he suspects Ramsay would kill them.
• Although Ramsay's mother took him to the Dreadfort when he was a baby he did not stay there, Roose instead arranged for them to stay at the mill once owned by his mother's deceased husband and Ramsay did not move to the Dreadfort until two years before the The War of Five Kings, also the current status of Ramsay's mother is uncertain.
• Shireen and Selyse were indeed left at Castle Black when Stannis marched, along with a dozen knights and guards, and Melisandre.
• Davos did not march with Stannis, he was sent to negotiate with Lord Manderly at White Harbor, hoping to get him to side with Stannis.
• Jorah and Tyrion never went near Valyria, as in the books anyone who sails within hundreds of miles of it vanishes without a trace. Sailors never go through the Smoking Sea. Tyrion, however, did encounter Stone Men, but in The Sorrows region of the river north of Volantis. Later, with Jorah, they sailed around Valyria instead of through it.
  • Having not encountered Stone Men, Jorah was never infected with Greyscale. Tyrion's companion who saved him from the Stone Men and ended up infected was actually Jon Connington.

6. Unbowed, Unbent, Unbroken

• Jorah is not believed to be aware of his father's death.
• Tyrion and Jorah are captured when slavers board a ship they are traveling on rather than on land.
• Littlefinger has not returned to Kings Landing.
• Cersei does not know where Sansa is and has no intention of attacking House Bolton.
• While Myrcella Baratheon and Trystane Martell get on well it's not known if they have romantic feelings for each other.
• The Sand Snakes planned to make Myrcella Queen of Westeros as their puppet rather than harm her.
• Olenna Tyrell has not returned to King's Landing since the High Sparrow became High Septon. It is Mace Tyrell and Randyll Tarly who arrive in the capitol, with the entire Tyrell army, to free Margaery by threat of force.
• Margaery Tyrell was arrested due to rumors that she was unfaithful to Tommen, rumors that were mostly invented by Cersei.
• Theon was forced to participate in Ramsay and his bride's wedding night by stripping her clothes and performing oral sex on her to "warm her up", before he is made to watch.

Unknown

Official trailers for Season 5 have confirmed that Sansa Stark will arrive at Bolton-controlled Winterfell at some point, escorted by Arryn soldiers. This change is difficult to judge because it is a condensation with plot elements from the as-yet unreleased sixth novel.

• In the novels, following the Red Wedding the Boltons want to solidify their claim over the North by announcing that Ramsay Bolton will marry Arya Stark at Winterfell. After the Bolton soldier Steelshanks delivers Jaime Lannister and Brienne of Tarth back to King's Landing (after the Red Wedding, and only after Joffrey's death in the novels) they hear that Steelshanks is leaving to escort Arya Stark back to the Boltons at Winterfell. Before Brienne can mount a rescue attempt, Jaime pulls Brienne aside and explains that she actually isn't the real Arya Stark - he'd have recognized her because he saw her before at Winterfell (and when her father was Hand of the King). He deduces that his father Tywin just found some similar-looking Northern girl, and they're just passing her off as Arya so the Boltons can make some token claim to ruling the North. This occurred near the end of A Storm of Swords, the third novel, but the identity of "Fake Arya" was not yet revealed.
• Fake Arya's real identity is later revealed in the fifth novel, A Dance with Dragons: she is actually Jeyne Poole, Sansa Stark's best friend and handmaiden, who secretly survived the massacre of Eddard Stark's household when he was arrested (during which her own father, Eddard's steward Vayon Poole, was killed). No direct hint was given that Jeyne Poole had survived during the intervening three novels. A young noblewoman from the minor House Poole in service to the Starks, Jeyne grew up at Winterfell alongside Sansa Stark and was her constant companion, as well as a member of her sewing circle with Septa Mordane. Jeyne is roughly Sansa's age so she was roughly 11 or 12 years old in the novels when she was taken prisoner (Sansa is 13 going on 14 by the end of Season 1 in the TV version, Jeyne would be of the same age). As a young girl from a minor House in service to the Starks, Jeyne was somehow spared but taken prisoner. Even so she wasn't particularly valuable as a political hostage because her family are just minor retainers for the Stark household.
• A Dance with Dragons retroactively reveals what happened to Jeyne during the intervening three novels: the Lanninsters gave her over to Petyr "Littlefinger" Baelish to hang on to, in case they had future need of her, and instead of simply imprisoning her he had the 12 year old girl sexually enslaved in one of his brothels, where she spent the next two years. She was forced to become proficient in "pleasing" men, though they made sure to keep her maidenhead (virginity) intact because that gave her more value for a forced marriage prospect. After the Boltons betray the Starks, Littlefinger presented Jeyne to the Lannisters as the perfect substitute for Arya: with classic dark Northerner features she looks reasonably like what an older Arya might look like after several years, and more importantly, as a member of the Stark household she could pass inspection tests about her identity (i.e. later a Northern lord tries to confirm her identity by asking what the name of Winterfell's blacksmith was, and she accurately answers "Mikken" because she grew up alongside Sansa and Arya). "Reek" - formerly known as Theon Greyjoy - also needs to be present for the wedding at Winterfell, because he was a Stark retainer from their household, and thus walking the fake Arya (Jeyne) down the aisle at the ceremony would be seen as confirmation that she actually was Arya (though even Reek recognized that she was actually Jeyne). The Boltons are aware that Jeyne isn't the real Arya, but agree with the Lannisters' plan to pass her off as a real Stark heir. Littlefinger also knew what kind of monster Ramsay Bolton was when he gave Jeyne away to the Boltons as part of his political schemes. The already traumatized and now 14 year old Jeyne is subsequently subjected to horrific abuse by Ramsay (he animalistically bites her on her genitals and breasts hard enough that he draws blood, and Jeyne makes comments that imply that he forced her to have sex his hunting dogs under the threat that he would cut off her feet if she didn't).
  • Even book readers have not been provided with a clear explanation of simply why Littlefinger had young Jeyne sexually enslaved in one of his brothels immediately after betraying Eddard Stark. He had no way of anticipating that the Boltons would later have need of a replacement for Arya, or even for Sansa (had Sansa not escaped after Joffrey's assassination there is some chance they would have sent her instead). Moreover, it would have been more profitable to ransom her back to her family. It is possible that he anticipated having need of a stand-in for one of the Stark girls at some point in the future, given that he hoped their rebellion would eventually fail and they would somehow be replaced as rulers of the North. Even so, sexually enslaving Jeyne seems to have served little if any clear purpose, compared to simply keeping her in gentle imprisonment as a noblewoman. One possible suggestion is that Littlefinger saw it as an extension of his overall "revenge" against the Starks and Tullys after they shunned him from marrying Catelyn, and Eddard's older brother Brandon nearly killed him in a duel years ago - even though House Poole are only minor servants of the Starks, were utterly uninvolved with these events, and Jeyne Poole wasn't even alive when any of this happened to him, making her a very tangential target. The other possibility is that House Poole's connection to the Starks had nothing to do with Littlefinger's treatment of Jeyne - that he simply subjected her to torment with no more thought than he would give to squashing a fly. Considering that Littlefinger is actually the secret instigator of the entire War of the Five Kings, in which thousands of people have died, and a major reason for starting the war was simply what he perceived as petty personal revenge against the Starks and Tullys, this would not be out of keeping with his sociopathic behavior in the past. Unlike Varys, Littlefinger doesn't just do the things that he does to obtain more power - he outright enjoys being needlessly cruel to innocent people because it makes him feel powerful.
• Jeyne Poole does exist within the TV continuity, but was never identified by name, nor had any speaking lines. In the first episode of Season 1, the girl sitting next to Sansa Stark during the feast at Winterfell is supposed to be her best friend Jeyne Poole, which the writers confirmed in the Blu-ray commentary. She only briefly appeared for a few seconds, was not identified at the time, and has not been referred to at all ever since.
• Meanwhile, Sansa Stark's storyline nearly caught up with its current material from the books by the end of Season 4. After Littlefinger kills Lysa at the end of the third novel, Littlefinger spends much of the fourth novel A Feast for Crows solidifying his control over the Vale lords, with his alleged bastard daughter "Alayne Stone" by his side - secretly, Sansa Stark (in the TV version he claimed that "Alayne" was his niece). Littlefinger's position is at first somewhat tentative but over time he gradually manages to wear down the opposing lords, through a combination of adroit diplomacy, bribery, and tacitly promising the younger brothers of current lords that he won't intervene if they assassinate their brothers. Sansa doesn't appear in the fifth novel. Only by the end of the fourth novel does Littlefinger reveal something of his future plans to Sansa: he intends for her to marry Harrold Hardying, the son of one of old Jon Arryn's nieces (and currently living as a ward of Anya Waynwood). While he is the first cousin once removed of the current lord, Jon's son "Sweetrobin Arryn", through a series of random tragedies over the years and deaths in battle, he is Sweetrobin's closest living relative (leading to him being nicknamed "Harry the Heir"). The Vale's armies are still at full strength because Littlefinger and Lysa made sure to keep them out of the war, while all of the armies in the rest of Westeros have been half-exhausted. Littlefinger's long-term plan is to have "Alayne" marry Harry in a major ceremony of assembled Vale lords, at which she will publicly reveal her identity wearing a gown with a large Stark direwolf sigil on it, and make a stirring plea for them to help her retake the North (given that the Valemen once followed her father during Robert's Rebellion and greatly respect his memory). While Littlefinger helped the Lannisters defeat the Starks, he is now turning on them to set himself up in power, as seen when he helped assassinate Joffrey. Littlefinger's complete long-term plans are unclear, but he intends to use the Vale's armies to defeat the Lannister-backed Boltons, making him the functional ruler of both the Vale and the North (through his "alliance" with Sansa). He also does not expect the sickly young Sweetrobin Arryn to live much longer, due to the boy's frequent seizures.
• The TV series already seems to have addressed at least some of this in condensed form by the end of Season 4, when Sansa actually reveals her true identity to three major Vale lords (Yohn Royce, Anya Waynwood, and Vance Corbray), though she then swears them to secrecy. Littlefinger in the TV version is still laying the groundwork for his future plans and hasn't revealed Sansa's true identity to all of the Vale lords.
• Therefore, the last published novel intimated that in the as-yet-unpublished The Winds of Winter, at Littlefinger's behest Sansa is going to enter into a marriage-alliance to get the lords of the Vale to retake the North from the Boltons. Much is still not known about Season 5, but it seems that in some fashion, a condensation of this will occur in which Vale armies are received at Winterfell but later turn on the Boltons. While this seems like a drastic condensation compared to the events which occurred in the fifth novel at Winterfell, we have no way of comparing them with Sansa's storyline from the unpublished sixth novel - meaning it is very difficult to judge how "accurate" of a condensation it is, or if it is still fundamentally "in the spirit of" Sansa's storyline. Sansa Stark has simply reached the point long-feared by viewers, when her plotlines are outright going beyond where her current book material ended.