Wednesday, June 5, 2013
Now that this season of Game of Thrones is starting to come to an end, I thought it would be fun to write an article about characters from the series that are not as spotlighted in the books as they are in the show.
I feel that with any adaptation, some streamlining needs to be involved, so a lot of characters get cut, leading to other characters to gain importance. A lot of the characters on this list had the benefit of gaining scenes in the TV adaptation due to the exclusion of other, less important characters. These are the characters that were marginally important in the book, that got revamped and just all of their scenes in the show.
Bronn:
In the book, I feel like he is mentioned off hand here and there being Tyrion’s bodyguard for a while and later gaining a bigger role in Westeros. It seems like his involvement in the books is more of a plot device, to progress the story in some slight way, rather than being a tangible, relatable character. Conversely, in the TV show, (I think that most people would agree with me here) he is one of the best characters. He is hilarious with his quick comebacks to the Queen and overall badassery. You never really know where he stands in the show as far as who’s team he is going to be on. He is a sellsword, and this feels way more apparent in the show. Whoever is going to pay more is where his allegiance will lie.
Olenna Redwyne(Tyrell):
Otherwise known as Margaery Tyrell’s awesome grandma, Lady Olenna is as devious as she is old. In the books I am fairly certain she is mentioned for all of two seconds and the rest of her importance is all behind the scenes meddling. In season 3 of the show, this wonderfully hilarious old lady comes out of nowhere! She matches Tywin as far as stubbornness goes and she is super feisty. I love every single scene she is in, and love how well she seems to be able to manipulate anyone and any situation to be in her favor.
Petyr Baelish:
Yes I know that he is in the books quite a lot, but it always seems like he is just behind the scenes acting as a sort of puppet master. He secretly meddles in everything to make gains for himself. He is never really in the spotlight, but a lot happens with him. I love that in the show you get to see a lot more of his tricks and sneakery on screen. I also love the interactions between him and Varys, it is always funny and cool to see how these two meddlesome puppeteers work both together and against one another, always trying to screw the other over.
Tywin Lannister:
In the books, Tywin is almost never “on screen” he is talked about A LOT by his children, and by his enemies. He is just sort of this scary dude that you would hope never to meet. He doesn’t treat anyone as an equal and is feared by all. This is still true for the most part in the TV show. He is still a man you wouldn’t want to mess with and still treats everyone including his own kids like they are worthless. You do, however, get to see a more human side of him at times. I love the addition of all his scenes with Arya in season 2 and he sometimes can be funny while being a jerk especially with his grandson Joffrey.
Margaery Tyrell:
You may question why Margaery is included in this list, I certainly did when Alex suggested she be added, but then I thought more about it and I totally agree. In the books she is definitely not ignored like her grandmother, but she also is not as prominent as she is shown to be in the show. In season 3 of the show you actually get to see her develop relationships with everyone around her. She shows the same ability to manipulate situations and people as her grandmother (as seen with Joffrey) and she and Sansa get to become much closer as well. She makes me almost like Sansa in the show I think. I also really like her interactions with Cersei, it undoubtedly helps to show more of the extreme tension between the Queen Reagent and the Tyrell family.
Gendry:
So who is this goober you may ask? Thanks to the TV show you get to actually meet Gendry! He is no longer just Arya’s traveling companion. After he leaves Arya he is still a character he gets his own storyline taking Edric Storm’s place and he gets to develop relationships and grow as a character. I am very interested to see more of where his character goes next, and how the creators of the show are going to deal with any future roles he had originally in the books.
