It’s hard to fault the creators of Game of Thrones for introducing characters and storylines that went nowhere, as they never knew how long the show was going to run for.
Game of Thrones was a hit from the start, but it was also the most expensive TV show of all time, which meant that HBO could have decided to end the series at any time, with most of the early seasons only being commissioned one at a time in order to make it easier for HBO to can the show if it lost its audience.
George R.R. Martin is free to add as many characters as he wants into the A Song of Ice and Fire book series that Game of Thrones is based on, as the written word doesn’t require you to spend money on anything other than ink and paper, while a TV show has a limited amount of time for its story to be told and a finite amount of funds that can be spent on actors.
Game of Thrones went on to become one of the biggest shows in TV history and the creators were given as much time as they wanted to wrap things up, which allowed them to bring back some of the forgotten storylines from earlier seasons (like the Brotherhood Without Banners) and tie them into current events within the show.
It seems that there was only a limited amount of room for forgotten characters to return to Game of Thrones, as there are many who have yet to make a return and will exist only as a footnote on the show’s Wikipedia page.
We are here today to find out which characters on Game of Thrones were unduly forgotten by the producers of the show – from the high lord who lost the loyalty of his troops, to the child who needed to be retconned.
Here are Twenty Characters Game Of Thrones Wants Us To Forget!
Robin Arryn
There was a time when Robin Arryn had the potential to become the most powerful player in Westeros, as his kingdom still had an unspent army that could have conquered several of the Seven Kingdoms with ease.
The last time we saw Robin Arryn was in Season 6 when he gave Petyr Baelish permission to send the armies of the Vale to the North. Since then, the lords of the Vale have sworn allegiance to Jon Snow and have seemingly forgotten about their previous liege lord.
We have yet to hear Robin Arryn’s reaction to most of his lords declaring for a new ruler, nor have we be given an explanation for whether Robin now serves Jon Snow despite the fact that his army could easily take the North.
Daario Naharis
Daario Naharis was one of the few men that Daenerys Targaryen had ever loved, yet he has become a footnote in the story of her life.
Daenerys left Daario behind as her Regent in the Bay of Dragons, which means that he holds a great deal of control over the eastern part of her empire, yet that empire has seemingly been forgotten about.
Daario has the ability to send supplies and troops to Daenerys’ cause in Westeros, which would have been especially helpful in Season 7 when she needed additional forces to battle the Greyjoy & Lannister alliance, yet the idea of calling on her former lover never even entered her mind.
The Warlocks Of Qarth
When Daenerys’ dragons were captured by the Warlocks of Qarth, she was able to free them by incinerating Pyat Pree, the leader of the Warlocks. A member of the Warlocks of Qarth returned in Season 3 for a half-hearted assassination attempt at Daenerys, which was easily foiled by Barristan Selmy, and they haven’t been seen since.
One of the few released chapters of The Winds of Winter has offered an explanation for what happened to the Warlocks in the books, as they were captured by Euron Greyjoy after departing from Qarth, but we have yet to hear any kind of similar explanation in the show.
The Tyrell Cousins
One aspect of A Song of Ice and Fire that was trimmed for Game of Thrones was the size of many of the noble families, with the Greyjoy, Lannister, Martell, and Tyrell family all losing several members.
Lady Olenna Tyrell claims that the destruction of the Sept of Baelor wiped out the remaining members of her family and that she was last living Tyrell, even though she married into the family and was originally a Redwyne.
The problem with Olenna’s statement is that we saw several female Tyrell cousins in earlier seasons of the show, with one of them even directly addressing her as “Nana” confirming that she was one of Margaery’s cousins.
Olyvar
Game of Thrones is often accused of including fanservice and scantily clad women for no reason other than the fact that it’s an HBO show and they can get away with it. Olyvar was one of the few male characters whose main purpose was to undress for no other reason than to perform for the audience.
Olyvar did play a major role in Season 5, where it was his testimony that led to both Loras and Margaery being arrested by the Sparrows. We have yet to hear from Olyvar since, even though the Tyrells would want him silenced in case he was called on to provide more testimony in a public trial.
Quaithe
Qarth was a peculiar city and the most unusual of its denizens was a masked woman named Quaithe, who offered cryptic advice to Jorah Mormont about the plot to steal the dragons. Quaithe clearly possesses some kind of magical ability and her outfit was specifically designed to share similarities with Melisandre, but she never appeared in the story again.
Quaithe has had more of a role in the books, where she has appeared to Daenerys in visions and offered warnings about the perils she will face in Essos, as well as suggesting that she travel to the land of Asshai.
The recently released Fire & Blood has also offered some suggestions as to Quaithe’s true identity and why she is so fixated on Daenerys.
Ilyn Payne
Ser Ilyn Payne was a servant of the Lannister family who had his tongue removed by the Mad King. Payne was also the executioner of Ned Stark. Arya Stark used to include Ilyn Payne on her list, but he was removed over time with no explanation as to why.
The real reason why Ilyn Payne was removed from the show was due to actor Wilko Johnson struggled with health issues. It turned out that things weren’t as sever as originally believed and he was able to receive treatment, meaning that it’s still possible for him to return to Game of Thrones.
Kinvara
Melisandre is one of the most powerful sorceresses in the world of Game of Thrones, with her ability to create indestructible shadow assassins being chief among them. There are other red priests/priestesses in the world of Game of Thrones, yet they rarely use their powers in the same way as Melisandre.
In Season 6 of Game of Thrones, Tyrion and Varys call on the help of Kinvara, who is the High Priestess of the Red Temple in Volantis. Kinvara renders Varys speechless with her knowledge of his origins, promises to help, but never appears again.
A character with such a high standing should be a major player in Game of Thrones, yet she only shows up for a single scene.
The Remaining Sand Snakes
Oberyn Martell tells Cersei Lannister that he has eight bastard daughters and has acknowledged them all. The eight daughters of Oberyn are known as the Sand Snakes and we see the three eldest of them in the following seasons.
The remaining Sand Snakes have yet to make any kind of impact on the show, even though the eldest living one (Sarella Sand) is technically the heir to Dorne and could mobilize the country’s army against Cersei.
The fact that the Greyjoys were responsible for slaying Obara and Nymeria Sand and that the Lannisters were responsible for capturing Ellaria Sand & Tyene Sand would have prompted an armed response from Dorne, yet they have made no move against their enemy.
Anguy
Anguy was the resident archer of the Brotherhood Without Banners and helped to teach Arya Stark how to fire a bow. He was last seen looking for an escaped Arya in Season 3 and has yet to return to the show, even though other prominent members of the Brotherhood returned in later seasons.
Anguy abandoned the Brotherhood in A Song of Ice and Fire after a change of leadership, but Beric is still the leader of the group in the show and it’s unlikely that Anguy would have abandoned him. It’s possible that Anguy fell in battle, but that could have been explained with a single throwaway line in the show, which we never got.
Edmure Tully
Edmure Tully was the groom at the Red Wedding. He was spared the unfortunate fate of his allies and family members and has spent most of his time locked up in a cell. Edmure was instrumental in ensuring that Riverrun surrendered to the Freys/Lannisters in a peaceful manner, before being locked up once more.
Arya Stark would go on to slay every major member of House Frey, while the Westerlands were taken by Daenerys’ forces. Edmure Tully should have been freed by now and could have rallied his people, but we still don’t know where he is or who is keeping him imprisoned.
Aeron Greyjoy
In A Song of Ice and Fire, Theon Greyjoy has three uncles who become main characters in the story. The TV show has chosen to keep Euron Greyjoy, while drastically changing his character and motivations. Aeron Greyjoy also appeared in Game of Thrones, but you would only know this by reading the credits. He was the priest of the Drowned God who anointed Euron after he won the Kingsmoot.
Aeron Greyjoy holds a great deal of sway over the Ironborn due to his relation to the royal family and his position among the religion of the Drowned God, yet his role in the story has been minor (especially compared to the books) and the creators didn’t even see fit to reveal his name on the show.
Kovarro
When the three dragons were born at the end of the first season of Game of Thrones, Daenerys only had a handful of Dothraki allies remaining. One of Daenerys’ bloodriders was a Dothraki warrior named Kovarro, who was one of the three men who was dispatched in different directions in order to find shelter from the Red Waste.
Kovarro was the one who discovered Qarth and guided Daenerys to the city. He would go on to fight alongside her during her time in the city and was last seen plundering Xaro Xhoan Daxos’ palace. Kovarro was not seen among Daenerys allies at the start of Season 3, even though they had not long left Qarth and he has not been seen since.
Illyrio Mopatis
Illyrio Mopatis is one of the characters who was instrumental for setting the events of the series in motion, as he was the one who arranged the marriage between Daenerys and Khal Drogo. Illyrio would go on to give Daenerys three dragon eggs as a wedding gift, which would all eventually hatch into the real thing.
It was later revealed that Illyrio and Varys were conspiring against the Iron Throne by starting a war between Khal Drogo and the Seven Kingdoms. Tyrion and Varys spend time at Illyrio’s palace in Season 5, yet he never makes an appearance.
Illyrio is a much more important character in the A Song of Ice and Fire novels and it seemed as if he would share a similar role in the show, yet he was abandoned along the way.
Marya Seaworth
Marya Seaworth has only been mentioned in Game of Thrones and a picture of her was shown during one of the animated sections on the home releases of the show, yet her husband, Davos, seems to have forgotten her existence. When Davos is found by Salladhor Saan in Season 3, he is advised to return home to his wife. Davos is still loyal to Stannis, however, and chooses to return to his side.
When Stannis’ cause is over, Davos has no reason to hang around in the North, yet he chooses to do so rather than return to his wife. Marya must be really bad about nagging if Davos would rather face a noble family known for skinning their enemies and an army of zombies rather than going home to her.
Aggo
When Daenerys’ forces were struggling to cross the Red Waste, she sent three of her bloodriders on the last remaining horses in order to find somewhere safe for them to travel to. Kovarro discovered the city of Qarth, Rakharo was slain by the soldiers of a rival Khal, while Aggo was sent to find something in the southeast, yet he never returned.
We never learn of Aggo’s fate, as he was not seen among Daenerys’ forces when they arrived at Qarth. It’s possible that he perished in the Red Waste, or maybe he did find something but Daenerys had already left for Qarth by the time he had come back.
The Other Half Of Robb Stark’s Army
It might be easy for the creators of Game of Thrones to forget about a minor character and phase them out of the story, but they somehow managed to forget thousands of characters at once. After Robb Stark executes Rickard Karstark, he says that half of his forces abandoned his army and returned home, prompting him to seek help from the Freys.
We never learn what happened to the thousands of Karstark soldiers who defected. They wouldn’t have been able to return North due to the Ironborn holding Moat Cailin and they could have easily outnumbered the Bolton forces and taken leadership over the North when the Bolton army tried to return, but they are never mentioned again.
The Hill Tribes
In Season 1 of Game of Thrones, Tyrion forms an allegiance with the hill tribes that live in the Vale. Tyrion convinces them to join the Lannister cause, where they engage in combat with the Stark Forces. The warriors of the different hill tribes travel with Tyrion to King’s Landing, where they act as his soldiers during his tenure as Hand of the King.
It is revealed that the hill tribes left King’s Landing when Tyrion was comatose following the Battle of Blackwater Bay. The hill tribes now had gold and proper weaponry, which meant that they now posed a legitimate threat to the lords of the Vale, yet they are never mentioned again.
The Original Jaqen H’ghar
Jaqen H’ghar left a huge impact on Arya Stark in Season 2 of Game of Thrones and was the one who gave her the coin that allowed her to become a student of the Faceless Men.
The character we see presiding over the House of Black and White in the later seasons of Game of Thrones has the same face as Jaqen, but that was mainly due to the producers wanting to bring back Tom Wlaschiha, which was possible due to the shapeshifting power of the Faceless Men.
The original Jaqen is still active in the A Song of Ice and Fire novels and is set to play a huge role in Sam’s storyline at the Citadel. Now that Sam has left the Citadel in the show, it seems that the original Jaqen may not be returning to the story.
Cersei’s First Child
There is a scene in Season 1 of Game of Thrones where Cersei tells Catelyn about her first child with Robert, who passed away as a baby. Robert later confirms that Cersei is telling the truth during a private conversation that they have.
The problem with Cersei having a child before Joffrey is that it messes up the prophecy of Maggy the Frog, who claims that Cersei will have three children.
Maggy’s prophecies were an important factor in Cersei’s dislike of Tyrion and they shaped her attitude as she grew up, but the prophecies were incorrect if Cersei had a child with Robert before Joffrey was born, as it meant that she had four children.
Cersei’s original child seems to be another symptom of the showrunners not knowing if they would reach the Maggy the Frog storyline before the show was canceled.
