We’ve known for a while now that Season 5 of Game of Thrones would go even further off-book than ever before. But some show watchers might be surprised at exactly how far away from the book’s plot many of the main characters have already strayed. One prime motivator for HBO is efficiency. Series creators Dan Weiss and David Benioff appreciate that they already have an enormous cast and many, many plotlines to track. By condensing the story, or having already-familiar characters take the place of new ones introduced in books four and five, Game of Thrones is making it much easier on their viewers. Speaking specifically about Jaqen H’ghar taking the place of the Kindly Man in Braavos, Weiss and Benioff recently told Vulture:
We’re going to see a lot more of those character-swaps this season and, ultimately, that’s good news for the show. Just because George R.R. Martin's sprawling yarns make for bestselling books, it doesn’t mean every single bend in his story will make for the most compelling television. So here are the six main characters who have already left the book’s plot in the dust this season and moved on to more adventurous pastures.
Sansa and Littlefinger
You’ll want to thank your lucky stars Weiss and Benioff took it upon themselves to make major changes to Sansa’s original story line. If not, you’d be subjected to a lot of boring (from a TV perspective) scenes of Sansa, under the secret identity of Alayne, and her little cousin Robin wandering around the Eyrie. A recently released chapter of George R.R. Martin’s next book, The Winds of Winter, finds Sansa still hanging at the Vale with Littlefinger and includes descriptions that are inline with the little girl of the book (e.g., “her tummy gave a little flutter”) but not at all in keeping with the young woman Sophie Turner has become. Thankfully, the show decided to send Sansa to Winterfell in place of another character, Jeyne Poole (don’t worry, you’ll never meet her). Now things are way more interesting for Sansa and completely unpredictable for book readers. Will Sansa follow Jeyne Poole’s path, or is another, (spoiler alert!) even more dramatic arc in her future? We have no real way of knowing, but as long as the older Stark girl continues to grow more empowered (and not, as some fear, headed for a repeat of her role as victim), we’ll be watching enthusiastically.
Brienne and Pod
In the show, Brienne and Pod are hot on the trail of Sansa and Littlefinger. But, as I've already mentioned above, Sansa and Littlefinger aren’t on any kind of trail in the books. So, what should Brienne and her squire be doing right now, instead? According to the books, still looking for Sansa and killing a bunch of low-level bad guys along the way. In the novels, Brienne has yet to find neither Sansa nor Arya, meaning even that badass fight with the Hound from last season was a show invention. The basics of Brienne’s plot in the book (which is kind of an aimless one) are still in effect here, and her fireside chats with Pod and stirring monologue about King Renly fit the spirit, if not always the letter, of her story line in the books. But if Brienne happens to run into a (spoiler alert!) familiar face or kill some bad guys that stand between her and Sansa, then why would book readers complain? The real question for book readers is whether Winterfell-bound Brienne (spoiler alert!) will take the place of another book character who has been taken out of the running. And, more importantly, will she finally meet that person (spoiler alert!) we’ve all been waiting for?
Jaime and Bronn
In the books, Cersei sends Jaime to Catelyn’s family home of Riverrun to take on Brynden “Blackfish” Tully –– Catelyn’s uncle –– who is still holding the castle in Robb Stark’s name. Jaime’s traveling companion? The mute Lannister executioner Ser Ilyn Payne. That doesn’t sound like compelling television, does it? Brynden hasn’t been on the show since Season 3, Episode 9, and, anyway, we’d much rather see Jaime paired with Bronn and off on a swashbuckling adventure to rescue his daughter/niece Myrcella from Dorne. Bronn, for what it’s worth, is absent from the books entirely at this point—and what a loss that would be. Jaime is sort of taking the place of a different Kingsguard character named Arys Oakheart. (Jeyne Poole! Arys Oakheart! Aren’t Weiss and Benioff kind for not making you memorize so many new names?) So, no, we book readers have no idea what’s going to happen to Jaime and Bronn once they get to Dorne, (spoiler alert!) but we might have some suspicions.
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