It’s been 24 years since George R.R. Martin pitched his Song of Ice and Fire series. What was originally set to be a trilogy of novels has ballooned into an ongoing saga with so many moving parts it takes the author nearly a decade to get the pieces in place for each new installment. But even when Game of Thrones was a mere 13 chapters of a fantasy spec, Martin vaguely knew where his story was going. Every author is different; some write extensive outlines they follow to the letter while others prefer to merely see their first major plot point in the distance and then fling themselves into the mists of the unknown to find it. In a now deleted tweet from Waterstones Booksellers, a query letter from Martin outlines his plan for Game of Thrones over three short pages, including the five characters who will make it to the end.
WARNING: SPOILERS BEYOND THIS POINT.
Unfortunately for Waterstones, the internet is forever and Business Insider caught the query letter for posterity. For the sake of transparency, this is not the first time Martin’s letter has made the internet rounds. It first came to attention in 2015. But as the HBO adaptation comes to a close, it’s interesting to look back at what Martin originally planned versus how events and characters panned out. It may even give a clue or two as to how this saga will end.
#1 – Daenerys was never supposed to be the revered Khaleesi.
Danerys [sic] will bide her time, but she will not forget. When the moment is right, she will kill her husband to avenge her brother, and then flee with a trusted friend into the wilderness beyond Vaes Dothrak. There, hunted by Dothraki horseriders [unclear] of her life, she stumbles on a cache of dragon eggs [unclear] a young dragon will give Daenerys the power to bend the Dothraki to her will. Then she begins to plan for her invasion of the Seven Kingdoms.
This description of Daenerys is fascinating because it’s almost completely at odds with the characterization Martin ended up going with. At the time of this query letter, only one Dany chapter was included so anyone reading it wouldn’t have gotten to the wedding yet. I have to wonder at what point Martin decided to have Illyrio Mopatis gift Dany the dragon eggs instead of her finding them after Drogo’s death. Originally, Dany was much more her father’s daughter from the beginning, using the dragons to subjugate the Dothraki into following her lead instead of earning their respect. Having Dany flee into the wilderness with a friend (Jorah?) only to find the dragon eggs may have been satisfying if only to know where the heck those eggs came from, but sacrificing Dany’s trauma at losing her husband and child and the visual of her sitting in the funeral pyre unharmed wouldn’t have been worth it.
#2 – Arya Stark was far more of a direct parallel to her Aunt Lyanna Stark
Arya will be more forgiving [of Jon] … until she realizes, with terror, that she has fallen in love with Jon, who is not only her half-brother but a man of the Night’s Watch, sworn to celibacy. Their passion will continue to torment Jon and Arya throughout the trilogy, until the secret of Jon’s true parentage is finally revealed in the last book.
Tyrion will change sides, making common cause with the surviving Starks to bring his brother down, and falling helplessly in love with Arya Stark while he’s at it. His passion is, alas, unreciprocated, but no less intense for that, and it will lead to a deadly rivalry between Tyrion and Jon Snow.
I don’t know whether to begin by laughing or cringing at the thought of Arya locked into a love triangle with Jon Snow and Tyrion Lannister. First off, I will assume Arya was originally much older than she is in the final version of the novels, as no one should be falling in passionate love with a pre-teen. Moving past that, either Martin had hoped to have history repeat itself with these subplots or, as the story evolved in other directions, he pasted the excised love triangle onto Lyanna Stark’s tragic past. Assuming Lyanna always had the love of both Robert and Rhaegar, if this version had made it to the final product, Jon would’ve been the parallel for Rhaegar Targaryen while Tyrion represented Robert Baratheon. The former the forbidden but true lover while the latter a whoring noble with delusions of courtly love. There is also a chance Sansa has been swapped in for Arya, as the books have yet to have Jon reunite with either sister and Sansa is currently legally married to Tyrion. Say what you will, but Sansa and Jon have a chemistry on-screen that isn’t exactly sibling love.
#3 – Jaime Lannister was the villain
Jaime Lannister will follow Joffrey on the throne of the Seven Kingdoms, by the simple expedient of killing everyone ahead of him in the line of succession and blaming his brother Tyrion for the murders.
This is pretty in line with the Jaime Lannister readers met in Game of Thrones. It wasn’t until he got point-of-view chapters in A Storm of Swords that we began to see Jaime has his own version of morality. This also implies Martin did not originally have Myrcella and Tommen as Cersei’s children with her brother, unless Jaime was truly a monster. What man would eliminate his own children in order to take the throne? And what claim could Jaime have possible had? The Lannisters have little if any royal Targaryen blood in their veins, hence why Tywin pushed Robert onto the Iron Throne. Of course, it’s always possible Martin originally intended for the Lannisters to have intermarried with the Targaryens, giving Jaime a better claim. However, in the end it was Tywin and Cersei who took on the Machiavellian aspects of their House while Jaime joins Tyrion in becoming disillusioned with the Great Game™.
#4 – Tyrion joined Team Stark but only after making a huge mistake
Robb Stark will die in battle, and Tyrion Lannister will besiege and burn Winterfell.
Tyrion Lannister, meanwhile, will befriend both Sansa and her sister Arya, while growing more and more disenchanted with his own family.
It looks like Tyrion originally inhabited the space that’s since been occupied by Theon Greyjoy. Theon has an extremely complex relationship with the Starks, being both friend and foe by turns. Theon was the one who burned Winterfell, but also the one who befriended Sansa during their shared captivity (on the show). Originally, Tyrion was never destined to cross the Narrow Sea and find Dany, but instead his exile took him North to the Starks. How much different would Daenerys’ battle strategy for Westeros have changed without Tyrion there to plant the idea of peaceful-ish transition?
#5 – Catelyn Stark did not die at the Red Wedding because there wasn’t one
When Winterfell burns, Catelyn Stark will be forced to flee north with her son Bran and her daughter Arya. Wounded by Lannister riders, they will seek refuge at the Wall, but the men of the Night’s Watch give up their families when they take the black, and Jon and Benjen will not be able to help, to Jon’s anguish.
Abandoned by the Night’s Watch, Catelyn and her children will find their only hope of safety lies even further north, beyond the Wall […] Catelyn will die at the hands of the others.
Another massive change. The original plan saw Arya going beyond the Wall with Bran and her mother instead of to Braavos to learn to be an assassin. Captured by Mance Rayder, there’s a good chance Arya would’ve still learned to fight, but like a wilding instead of like a Faceless Man. It would stand to reason that Meera and Jojen Reed did not exist at this point, and once Cat sacrificed herself to save her children, Arya would be the one to trek to the Three-Eyed Raven with Bran. With Robb dying by Lannister hands on the field of battle, the whole Frey subplot would’ve been excised. In fact, most of the changes seem to come from Martin expanding his world instead of contracting it. Lesser Houses have popped up like mushrooms after a storm since this query letter, giving the author scores of minor characters to throw into the spokes of his plot.
Other interesting points of note:
– Sansa not only married Joffrey, she also bore him a son and sided with the Baratheons in the rebellion over House Stark. It’s a decision Martin said she would come to regret.
– Robb Stark originally maimed Joffrey on the field of battle before falling to Lannister forces.
– Instead of Jeor Mormont, Benjen Stark was the Commander of the Night’s Watch. Changing this helps keep the semblance that the Night’s Watch is a democracy, instead of inheritance-based, alive. It also allowed for Uncle Benjen to become Coldhands.
– Martin refers to the White Walkers as the “neverborn” so take that as you will.
– Before his death, Ned Stark originally saw sense and helped his family (Cat and Arya) escape King’s Landing for Winterfell. One can only imagine this is the moment when Sansa chose her loyalties and opted not to flee.
– Bran’s visions had him begging Robb not to sound the drums of war, an unenviable task that was eventually relegated to Greywind.
But perhaps the biggest takeaway from Martin’s letter was that, even back in 1993, he knew who would survive at least until the final battle. These five characters have never truly been in danger, if GRRM’s plan hasn’t deviated in any major way.
Five central characters will make it through all three volumes, however, growing from children to adults and changing the world and themselves in the process. In a sense, my trilogy is almost a generational saga, telling the life stories of these five characters, three men and two women. The five key players are Tyrion Lannister, Daenerys Targaryen, and three of the children of Winterfell, Arya, Bran, and the bastard Jon Snow. All of them are introduced at some length in the chapters you have to hand.
Note that neither Sansa Stark nor Jaime Lannister are on this list. Of course, that doesn’t preclude them from survival. Both characters have changed significantly from Martin’s original plans for them. Sansa is not a traitor to House Stark and Jaime is not a merciless kingslayer. It’s entirely possible one, or both, will live to see A Dream of Spring, but even if they don’t fans can rest assured that plot armor will keep Dany and Jon alive until the bitter end.
