Back in 1993, a little-known author named George R.R. Martin wrote a three-page letter to his publisher outlining a planned trilogy (Ha!) entitled A Song of Ice and Fire.
Twenty-two years later, those books have captivated millions of fans, inspired the most-watched show in HBO history, and swelled into a seven-part series that might not be completed before the sun explodes and engulfs the earth.
Recently, a British bookseller tweeted and deleted Martin's letter, which includes some major differences between the original outline and the eventual completed books, but also some clues as to where the story might be headed from here.
Of course, Game of Thrones spoilers pop up online every day and they often turn out to be bogus, but this latest round comes straight from the raven's mouth.
The outline mainly describes events that have already taken place (or have been drastically changed), but there's a major reveal in the letter that could answer the question of which characters will survive until the end of the story.
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First the major differences between the outline and this final drafts:
Robb Stark and King Joffrey do battle, and Joffrey is severely disfigured. He marries Sansa and she gives birth to his evil spawn.
Jon Snow falls in love with Arya Stark (!), but he must compete with a lovestruck Tyrion for her affections (!!!)
Speaking of Tyrion, he removes Joffrey from the throne, and the crown is then handed to Jamie Lannister. Jamie double-crosses his brother and has Tyrion exiled after blaming him for Joffrey's crimes.
Daenerys kills her husband Khal Drogo to avenge the death of her douchey brother, Viserys, becomes the Khaleesi only after stumbling upon some dragon's eggs while fleeing from the Dothraki
The big reveal, of course, is the five characters who will supposedly survive the events of ASOIAF/GoT. They are: Tyrion, Daenerys, Jon Snow, Arya Stark, and Bran Stark - fan favorites, all. So maybe Martin doesn't hate his readers?
Ultimately, much of this could prove meaningless, as the last two books are not yet completed and the GoT showrunners have already demonstrated a willingness to stray from their source material.
Plus, the last paragraph of the letter is blacked out, so you can rest assured GRRM still has a few Red Wedding-esque shockers in store.
Khal Drogo was another good guy we were sure would be in it for the long haul. Instead, we all learned a valuable lesson about disinfecting cuts and scrapes.
This is another one where we'd prefer not to go into detail: Theon gets his junk cut off and we hit fast forward when this scene comes up in reruns. Granted, he's not the greatest guy, but what happened to him reeks.
Not only did Oberyn get himself killed while trying to avenge his sister, he also got Tyrion sentenced to death for a crime he didn't commit! Justice is hard to come by in Westeros, yet we keep hoping for a hapopy ending.
The End.
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