A Song of Ice and Fire was only four books in when Game of Thrones started airing, but A Dance with Dragons’ release ended up neatly coinciding with the first season’s run. Game of Thrones got off to a great start, with the promise of more books in the future. But those books still haven't come out.
Worse than the absence of The Winds of Winter and A Dream of Spring nearly a decade after Game of Thrones first started airing, the show ended up cutting quite a bit of material from the novel. In truth, Game of Thrones really only adapts three full books and some changes. Had Game of Thrones not cut so much from A Dance with Dragons, seasons 7 and 8 might have had substantially different legacies.
Davos To Skagos
For whatever reason, Game of Thrones condenses its Northern storylines considerably. For what it’s worth, everything surrounding Jon Snow is high quality content until around the end of season 7, but it’s at the expense of so much other story. Davos in the show becomes Jon Snow’s right hand man– a role that suits him well– but he has different duties in the books.
Last we saw Davos, he was being courted by Wyman Manderly to go rescue Rickon Stark from Skagos, an island of cannibals that supposedly also has unicorns. It’s here when readers also learn that the Manderly House is actively plotting against the Bolton & Frey Houses, a detail GoT cuts.
Jon Connington
Jon Connington is one of the most fascinating characters in A Song of Ice and Fire, so his absence was sorely felt. Introduced as “Griff” during a Tyrion chapter, Jon Connington goes on to become a point of view character, and it’s very likely he’ll play a crucial role moving into The Winds of Winter.
It should be pointed out that Jorah ends up taking Jon Connginton’s greyscale arc, but that’s not the meat of his plot. Rather, Jon Connington was a Targaryen loyalist in love with Rhaegar who was exiled after Robert won the Battle of the Bells. Jon Connington is mentioned in passing as likely dead in both Storm and Feast, making his sudden appearance in Dance all the more meaningful.
Young Griff
Like Jon Connington, Young Griff stands out as one of the series’ better late in life additions– in no small part because he may very well be Rhaegar’s son, Aegon Targaryen. Jon Connington comes to learn of Aegon’s survival during his exile, choosing to dedicate his life to raising Rhaegar’s son as the one true king of Westeros.
Aegon is being set up as a major power player, and his absence in Game of Thrones was frankly glaring by season 8. He’s a thematic foil for both Jon Snow & Daenerys Targaryen, and his arc in Winds will very likely see him briefly becoming king. Before Daenerys puts an end to that, of course.
Quentyn Martell’s Journey
Quentyn Martell is one of the most controversial characters in A Dance with Dragons, and not without good reason. After A Feast for Crows hyped him up as a key part of Doran’s plan, Quentyn spends the entire book traveling to Daenerys only to arrive late, unable to propose to her. He then attempts to tame one of her dragons and dies.
Considering how little narrative consequence Quentyn’s life and death has on the book, it’s easy to see why he was cut. At the same time, Quentyn’s inclusion is a reminder that A Song of Ice and Fire makes no distinction when it comes to “heroes.” Quentyn fancies himself the main character of his journey and is burned alive for it.
Tyrion’s Darker Qualities
All the cuts made to Tyrion’s story arc in A Dance with Dragons stem from a cut made in season 4. In A Storm of Swords, Jaime reveals that Tysha’s love for Tyrion was genuine. Tyrion doesn’t see this as a kindness, but instead a betrayal, warping him. By the time the firth book kicks off, Tyrion has killed his father and now hates his brother & himself.
Tyrion’s depression follows him throughout all of A Dance with Dragons, causing him to act out considerably. Tyrion is meaner than before, crueler than before, and he even sleeps with a slave who’s visually very reminiscent of Sansa, his young wife. It perhaps goes without saying why all this was cut, but it was ultimately at the expense of Tyrion’s nuance.
Penny
Tyrion’s arc in A Dance with Dragons is hard to swallow in general, but it’s made all the rougher by the inclusion of Penny– a female dwarf whose brother was mistaken for Tyrion and killed on his behalf. Tyrion treats Penny with an extreme cruelty that’s evocative of how everyone else treats him.
Penny actually appears in both A Storm of Swords and A Feast for Crows, but it’s not until Dance where her character is given substance. In spite of how poorly Tyrion treats her, Penny stands by him. She suffers for it, complete with Tyrion slapping her and cruelly informing Penny that her beloved animals are dead, but it’s possible Penny will be used as a means to soften Tyrion, ensuring his book and show personalities can at least be reconciled by the end of the story.
Stannis’ Northern Campaign
Season 5 manages to tell a rather Shakespearean story arc for Stannis that makes full use of Stephen Dillane’s range as an actor, but it’s at the expense of his Northern campaign as depicted in A Dance with Dragons. Upon leaving Castle Black, Stannis doesn’t go directly to Winterfell, instead rallying the Northern mountain clans to his cause in the name of the Starks.
It’s possible Stannis might still lose to the Boltons in the The Winds of Winter, but given how much time has been spent building up Stannis’ army from a logistical point of view– along with Wyman Manderly betraying the Freys in the shadows– Roose & Ramsay might not even make it halfway into book 6.
The Assassination Of Kevan Lannister
It should be pointed out that Kevan Lannister does still die in Game of Thrones, but the circumstances surrounding his death are quite different. In season 6, Kevan is simply among one of the casualties during the Destruction of the Great Sept of Baelor. In A Dance with Dragons, however, he’s the point of view character in the Epilogue.
In A Song of Ice and Fire, focal characters in prologue and epilogues are always destined for death. Kevan has been doing too competent a job as Hand of the King, and with Winter coming, he’s assassinated by Varys’ little birds in order to seq dissent in the realm. Pycelle suffers this fate in the show, but the impact isn’t as grand.
Arya Bolton
One of the most controversial changes Game of Thrones makes is removing Sansa from her plot in the Vale and instead making her a part of Theon & Ramsay’s arc in Winterfell. In A Dance with Dragons, Sansa and Theon have yet to intersect. Instead, Ramsay marries Jeyne Poole– Sansa’s childhood best friend– under the guise of Arya Stark.
The torture Ramsay puts Jeyne through is arguably worse than what Sansa experiences in Game of Thrones, but the difference here is that “Arya” Bolton’s character serves a specific role in this regard whereas Sansa’s arc was uprooted for Theon’s development in season 5.
The Pink Letter
The Pink Letter doesn’t make it into Game of Thrones, instead replaced by the Night’s Watch lying to Jon about Benjen’s return. In the books, Jon Snow receives a letter from Ramsay Bolton claiming that: Stannis was defeated, Lightbringer was stolen, and Mance Rayder was captured with his spearwives skinned.
With Ramsay threatening Jon directly, he rallies who he can to fight back only to be assassinated on the spot. Jon will likely return as in the show, but the existence of the Pink Letter naturally brings with it some narrative consequences– especially since it’s not clear that Ramsay actually wrote it. The most obvious piece of evidence being that Ramsay writes his letters in blood, something Jon explicitly does not point out.