Game of Thrones almost established romantic feelings between Davos Seaworth (Liam Cunningham) and Missandei (Nathalie Emmanuel), but thankfully, that idea was abandoned. After debuting in 2011, the epic fantasy series officially came to an end in May 2019, airing a total of 73 episodes. The series created by David Benioff and D.B. Weiss actually surpassed the books in which the subject material was based. George R.R. Martin's A Song of Ice and Fire series is still ongoing, and it will be interesting to see how much the author's ending matches the show's conclusion. Now that Game of Thrones has ended, new details regarding scrapped storylines continue to emerge.
Ser Davos, also known as the Onion Knight, made his Game of Thrones debut in season 2. After serving Stannis Baratheon, the former smuggler found himself at Castle Black during the Night's Watch mutiny against Lord Commander Jon Snow. Davos remained by Jon's side following his resurrection at the hands of Melisandre as well as his overtaking of Winterfell from Ramsay Bolton. He was then named as one of the advisors when Jon aligned with Daenerys Targaryen ahead of the Battle of Winterfell. Missandei, on the other hand, arrived in season 3 as one of the slaves freed by Daenerys. In time, Missandei became Daenerys' handmaiden and advisor. More importantly, she served as Daenerys' closest and most loyal friend.
Davos first met Missandei when the latter greeted Jon's group when he arrived at the shores of Dragonstone to meet with Daenerys in season 7. While there, Davos attempted to get to know Missandei by gathering insight into her homeland, Naath. He also questioned why Missandei continued serving Daenerys despite being free to do whatever she pleases. According to James Hibberd's recent book, Fire Cannot Kill A Dragon: Game of Thrones and the Official Untold Story of the Epic Series, Benioff wanted to take Davos' interest in Missandei a step further by making him have a crush on the young woman. Cunningham, however, was forced to squash that idea.
Liam Cunningham Was Completely Against A Davos-Missandei Romance For A Good Reason
Benioff had the idea to stir up romantic feelings between Davos and Missandei when the two first met at Dragonstone. Director Mark Mylod supported the idea, but Cunningham fought them on it for an understandable reason. The actor stated in the book that he understood the appeal of Missandei but "with Davos’s history with Lyanna Mormont and Shireen [Baratheon], you can’t have him getting the hots for a young woman." The character had a fatherly demeanor when it came to encountering the young female figures on the show. He worried that having a crush on Missandei would tarnish his image. Cunningham put his foot down with Benioff by saying "you’re not undoing my hard work engendering the sympathy of the audience to have him be a perv."
Cunningham's argument worked since there was no romanticism between Davos and Missandei in the final two seasons of Game of Thrones. Whereas Missandei remained in love with Grey Worm up until her tragic death, Davos kept his focus on serving Jon before becoming the Master of Ships on Tyrion Lannister's small council. While Davos and Missandei both had admirable qualities, a relationship for the pair would have felt forced. Even if it was just a one-sided crush, Cunningham's worries of portraying a stereotypical creep would have been justified. Game of Thrones made questionable decisions down the stretch, but this ditched storyline wasn't one of them.
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