Five Last-Minute Changes That Made Game of Thrones Even More Disappointing
It's well-documented that the final season of Game of Thrones was viewed by many fans as underwhelming, to say the least. Critics say the writing was rushed, the storytelling was lazy, and the ending… well, the less said about that is better.
But it wasn't only the latter seasons that saw some strange production decisions that might have harmed the show.
Here are 5 examples:
The memorable Purple Wedding episode brought to an end King Joffrey's reign of terror. But an earlier draft of it could have been even more impactful.
The original version, written by none other than George RR Martin included the revelation of Bran's assassin, evidence of a link between the Starks and the direwolves and proof that the Lord of Light was heavily involved in the punishment dished out to Stannis.
In the spirit of the show, which saw several relationships come to an abrupt halt, two of the actors were reported to have had a major break-up that impacted the filming of the show.
In the end, Lena Headey (Cersei) and Jerome Flynn (Bronn) couldn't stand to be in the same scene together.
So, the writers adapted things to accommodate the tension – at the expense of the story.
The Tourney of the Hand was a key scene in season one. But the version we saw was different from that originally written.
That iteration had Sansa attend the tournament along with a friend, Jeyne Poole.
In the end, Jeyne didn't feature in the show. And the dialogue was dropped from the scene that would, if included, have increased the level of creepiness already evident between Sansa and Petyr "Littlefinger" Baelish when Petyr said Sansa's hair reminded him of her mother's.
The Stark's direwolves were a big hit with fans, but nothing but trouble for the production crew.
Sadly, they proved too expensive to keep in the show beyond season 2 – particularly when they were supposed to appear in scenes with actors.
Jon's wolf, Ghost, should have featured heavily in his fight with Ramsay. But budgetary restrictions prevented it.
Margaery Tyrell's death was one that seemed a tad too convenient – and in many ways contrived.
And it was. Natalie Dormer, who played Margaery, asked to be released from the show midway through the production of season 5.
So, it came as no surprise to her when she received a call to inform her that her character was being written out in season 6. But did it really work as an ending? No.