Game of Thrones has largely been loyal to the source material from which its based but creator George R.R. Martin says there’s one change that never sat well with him…
George R.R. Martin has said for years that there are two separate stories when it comes to his creations spawned from the A Song of Ice and Fire book series that started all the way back in the 1990’s.
There are his books and then there’s Game of Thrones, which has become the most popular television series in the history of HBO.
While Game of Thrones has largely stayed loyal to Martin’s source material, the show has diverted in a few places while omitting certain characters for the sake of continuity or just to help with how the story flowed over the past seven seasons.
For instance, in Martin’s books Sansa Stark never marries Ramsay Bolton but rather it’s a girl named Jeyne Poole, who the Bolton’s pass off as Arya Stark. Those sorts of changes have been made several times throughout the course of the show as Game of Thrones made minor changes with hopes of always ending in the same manner that Martin always intended.
But for all the ways Game of Thrones has stayed close to Martin’s original vision, there was one major character change that never went over well with him, especially considering the importance he says this particular role will have in his books going forward.
“In the book, characters can be resurrected. After Catelyn [Stark] is resurrected as Lady Stoneheart, she becomes a vengeful, heartless killer,” Martin told Esquire. “In the sixth book, I still continue to write her. She is an important character in the set of books. [Keeping her character] is the change I most wish I could make in the [show].”
Catelyn Stark (played by Michelle Fairley) died at the Red Wedding alongside her son Robb Stark. In the books after he body is dumped at the base of a river, she is resurrected by the Brotherhood Without Banners and she becomes their new leader. From then on out, her name is Lady Stoneheart and she seeks revenge for anybody who was involved with the massacre at the Red Wedding.
While there was some hope that perhaps Game of Thrones might introduce Lady Stoneheart during season 4 of the show, the character was left off the canvas all together.
By all accounts, Martin has major plans for Lady Stoneheart in his upcoming book ‘The Winds of Winter’ but how that could tie back into what the show is doing will be unknown for quite some time.
The final season of Game of Thrones will debut at some point in 2019 while there is still no release date for Martin’s ‘The Winds of Winter’, which is the sixth book in his A Song of Ice and Fire series.
