With HBO and the world of Westeros' next major fantasy installment, House of the Dragon, releasing later this year, it seemed fitting to revisit one aspect that made Game of Thrones so good in its early seasons. Just like some of the other shows that made HBO what it is today like The Sopranos or The Wire, Game of Thrones had an immense depth of well-developed and unique characters. But with such a vast cast and only 10 episodes per season, finding time for each individual can be difficult, and some have to be benched.
LearnHumility began a thread with a series of photos of characters they believed to be underutilized. Fans replied to share their opinions. These are the ten most underutilized characters, based on the quality of their minimal on-screen performances and their decline in quality from books to the show.
Greatjon Umber
The Greatjon had some good scenes in season one in his troubled relationship with Robb Stark. He's the first to condescend his age when Robb calls the banners, but later is the first to declare him King in the North once Robb has earned respect after his first victory. Fans don't see the Greatjon after season one.
The character had the potential for a season 6 return when the Red Wedding is avenged, as in the books he's held captive by the Freys. Redditor Underrated_Fish says "Jon Umber is another character that had so much potential... [he is an] amazing character in the Books and they didn’t do anything in the show." The Red Wedding was one of the show's best unexpected moments, but the Greatjon's significant role in the event was completely omitted.
Kinvara
A plotline of much mystery and intrigue for the books and previously in the show was the religious sect of the Lord of Light and the Red Priestesses. Kinvara is introduced briefly in season 6 with a prophecy for Daenerys Targaryen.
Redditor theje1 says "I thought she and the other priests of the lord of light had something going on in secret, but the main characters ended up doing nothing." This was one of the many frustrating plot threads that just seemed to dissolve in the later seasons, and fans had hoped to see more of Melisandre, Kinvara, and other followers of R'hllor. Melisandre did have some of the show's best cliffhangers.
Anguy
There's just something cool about bow and arrow wielding bandits that steal from the rich to give to the poor. Unfortunately, that's about all we got to know about the member of The Brotherhood Without Banners in his brief appearance on the show. Reddit user ProofEngineering9436 says "The Archery Guy…I think he could have been really cool to maybe train Arya in archery or play some part in the battles."
The character is a bit more developed, when last he was seen in the books. After Beric dies and The Brotherhood is left to Lady Stoneheart, Anguy and many others abandon the group, not liking her tact for vengeance.
Doran Martell
To many fans of A Song of Ice and Fire and Game of Thrones, the words "underutilized" and "Dorne" go hand in hand. Commenter Arisdoodlesaurus says "the second I saw Tyrion waiting on the Kingroad to receive the Dornish Lords and I saw OBERYN I was so happy. I was waiting to see Doran and Arianne but no."
Doran had a small appearance before his demise to the infamous show versions of the Sand Snakes, and his daughter and heir Arianne never made an appearance. Their omission resulted in the cancellation of one of the books' most complex and intriguing political plotlines.
Benjen Stark
Benjen has a brief run in the show's first season, then disappears for a long time. He returns for a brief "save the heroes at the last second" moment, then disappears once again.
Redditor The810kid says "Benjen is the only character here I expected more from." And rightfully so. With the amount of emotional weight surrounding the character, in particular for Jon, he could've made a great consistent member of the cast, particularly in the war against the White Walkers.
Barristan Selmy
Barristan Selmy was so underutilized, even the actor, Ian McElhinney took issue with it. Though he probably had more screen time than the other characters on this list, Season 5 was beginning to set up something great for the wayward Knight, before killing him off in a back alley street fight with ultimately unimportant enemies.
A Redditor said "I feel bad for the actor who portrayed him. He had read the books and was excited as his character was very important and had a lot to do but unfortunately they killed him off."
Illyrio Mopatis
Illyrio, who is a recurring character throughout the books, only makes small appearances in the show's first season. User thicci_cheeze says "Varys and Tyrion were at Illyrio's Palace back in season 5 and literally nothing came of it."
Fans complained often that Varys had taken on some of Illyrio's role from the books, and they insist that the character could have added more flavor to the Daenerys plotline, or even more so if the show had decided to include the Aegon Targaryen (AKA Young Griff, the supposed long lost son of Elia Martell and Rhaegar Targaryen) storyline.
Quaithe
One of the more mysterious characters in the show who only appeared briefly in season two was Quaithe. User Fictional_Apologist explains her purpose well, saying "Quaithe for her potential to make sense of the supernatural elements."
Daenerys' plotline in season two is one of the first experiences fans had with the light magic fantasy setting of Game of Thrones, and the character could have been a huge help to Daenerys in later seasons. Quaithe also has considerably more influence over Daenerys in the books, and reappears to her a few times to cryptically set her on her path.
Brynden Tully
The Blackfish appeared frequently in season three, then retreated back to Riverrun following the Red Wedding, where he remained unmentioned until the sixth season. Fans were outraged when the great warrior, whose limited screen time was packed with great moments, was killed off-screen in a battle.
User _Scabbers_ questions it, saying "Why didn’t they have him die an episode later in the Battle of the Bastards? Would have added some stakes AND gave this badass a proper on screen send off." Had Brynden retreated from the battle with Brienne and later reunited with his Stark family, he could've had a great death.
Areo Hotah
The legendary Dornish warrior is another character that is just simply too cool to have been limited the way that he was. Another victim of the failed Dornish plotline in the show, Areo Hotah fails to live up to his book expectations by a mile.
Redditor ElCaballeroJax says "Areo Hotah and the whole of Dorne were done no justice…" Perhaps it was his death at the hands of the Sand Snakes that viewers found most frustrating about the show's portrayal.