George R.R. Martin promises book-only plot twist
If you're a Game of Thrones fan who's been meaning to read all of George R.R. Martin's Song of Ice and Fire books and just never quite gotten around to it, George R.R. Martin might have just provided the push you need.
When Martin blew his late-December deadline for the sixth book, The Winds of Winter's storyline was no longer hitched to that of the Emmy-winning HBO series, which returns for Season 6 on April 24.
5 ways George R.R. Martin could finish Book 6 faster
SPOILERS AHEAD.
So as the author told IGN Thursday, he's decided to pull the trigger on a story line that you'll never see on the show. He explained, "It's fairly obvious because it involves a couple of characters, one of whom is dead in the show but not dead in the books. They've killed a character I have not killed. But that doesn't narrow it much because at this point, there are like 15 characters who are dead in the show but still alive in the books."
That begs the question, who is it?
Let's consider the recently TV deceased:
Jon Snow. Doubtful. For starters, that wrenching "For the Watch" mutiny scene also happened in Book 5, A Dance With Dragons. And we know from grainy set photos that everyone's favorite brooding bastard will be back in some form — most likely resurrected by the red priestess, Melisandre. (The timing of her solo arrival at the Wall so soon after the Watch went all stabby on Jon Snow can't have been a coinkydink.)
Stannis Baratheon and daughter Shireen. This one's a possibility. While the book Stannis is almost as rigid as the TV version, at least that version didn't let his sorceress/minstress burn his daughter at the stake in what will go down as one of Season 5's most fan-riot-inducing moments. Nor did Book Stannis get put out of his misery by Brienne. We don't really care how Stannis goes out But we'd like to see Shireen get a proper ending that doesn't involve child sacrifice.
Barristan Selmy. We can get behind this idea. The former head of the Kingsguard-turned-military advisor to Daenerys met his onscreen end at the end of a Harpy's sword. But he's still around in print and she can still use him as she tries to keep the cities she's conquered under control.
Hizhar Zo Loraq. We're less enthused about Dany's second husband playing a bigger part in the final books. On TV, he was stabbed by a Harpy just before Dany's dragon ride but in the books, he's plotting to usurp her throne. Dany doesn't need that drama.
Myrcella Baratheon. In the Season 5 finale, Cersei and Jaime's only daughter was poisoned by Ellaria Sand (as revenge for the death of her paramour, Prince Oberyn Martell, who died defending Tyrion Lannister in a trial by battle) just before she boarded the boat back from Dorne. But in print, she's still alive and on the road with Oberyn's sister, Arianne.
The long-since deceased (but maybe not forgotten)
Mance Rayder. The Nights Watch member-turned-King Beyond the Wall was burned at the stake on TV for not recognizing Stannis as the one true king. But in the books, he was last seen trying to help Theon Greyjoy spirit Jeyne Pool (who ended up married to Ramsay Bolton instead of Sansa Stark) escape from Winterfell.
The Qarth crew. On TV, Dany exacted revenge on her former hosts for their attempts to steal her dragons by locking would-be-suitor Xaro Xhoan Daxos in a vault and having her fire-babies flambée creepy warlock Pyat Pree. But in the books, Xaro is still trying to get in her pants and Pyat wants to even the score after she burned his House of the Undying.
Rakharo and Irri. We mention Dany's long-forgotten servants because the Dothraki are back in play following the Mother of Dragons' ride on Drogon, who deposited her somewhere back in the Great Grass Sea. And in the books, Rakharo (an aide to Khal Drogo) still has his head and Irri (Dany's handmaiden) doesn't have any stab wounds.
Robb Stark's widow. His TV wife, a Volantene medic named Talisa Maegyr, was one of the other casualties of the Red Wedding. But in A Storm of Swords, Robb eloped with a girl named Jeyne Westerling, a minor house of Westeros after she offered him "comfort" (possibly the nekkid kind). And she was left behind when he headed off to the Twin Towers. Might she be carrying the heir to Winterfell?
Sandhor "The Hound" Clegane. After the mind games (and blinding) she's encountered in Braavos' House of Black and White, Arya might actually prefer the company of her one-time captor, who was seriously beat up and left for dead in both the show and the books. But they officially haven't stuck a fork in him.
The undead
Catelyn Stark. We hope it's not her. In the books, she was revived by Lord Beric Dondarrion (another follower of the Lord of Light) after getting her throat slashed at the Red Wedding. Let's just say she hasn't really been the same since. Plus, if Undead Catelyn runs into Undead Jon Snow, it will be awwwwwkward.
The beginning of the end
Martin told IGN, "I know the ending in broad strokes but broad strokes are just broad strokes and the devil's in the details. As I write these last two books, I'll be moving towards the endings that I've known since 1991. But many of the fine details might be moved around and changed."