Game of Thrones is known for its violence, brutality, betrayal...and incest.
What if I told you George R. R. Martin's original plot outline for the series was actually even more extreme?
In his original pitch letter from 1993, GRRM outlined his plans for what at the time was intended to be a trilogy (!!!).
The letter has been floating around the internet for awhile, but it's worth a look if you've never seen it before...
Although the overarching themes are the same, the plot details are rather different to the final series.
Here’s what we can learn from the original outline:
• While the first book/first third of the story is the same, focused on the Starks vs Lannisters, the second part was supposed to see Daenerys and her Dothraki invade Westeros. The third book/third part was supposed to focus on the war with the White Walkers. The show has kinda smashed these latter parts together, while the books haven’t even reached them yet.
• Tyrion, Daenerys, Arya, Bran and Jon Snow were listed as the “five key players” who would make it to the end of the series. But Sansa was intended to be married to Joffrey and bear him a son. She would then turn against the Starks to side with the Lannisters.
• Joffrey was going to fight Robb in battle and be seriously injured, while Robb himself was meant to die in battle.
• Tyrion was intended to besiege and burn Winterfell, with Catelyn escaping with Bran and Arya and seeking refuge with Jon at the Wall. Jon would refuse to help them because of his Night’s Watch vows, causing a rift between him and Bran.
• Arya and Jon were supposed to fall in love, with their “passion” for each other tormenting them, “until the secret of Jon’s true parentage is finally revealed in the last book”.
• Catelyn, Bran and Arya were going to head beyond the Wall and meet up with Mance Rayder, and Catelyn was intended to die at the hands of the White Walkers.
• Dany was going to kill Drogo in an act of vengeance for the murder of her brother. Rather than being gifted the dragon eggs, she was going to find them in the wilderness. • Tyrion would have dethroned Joffrey, with Jaime taking the throne after him (it sounds like much of his plot went to Cersei instead). Tyrion would then side with the Starks against Jaime, and ALSO fall in love with Arya, leading to a “deadly rivalry” between him and Jon. This could still happen before the end of the show, actually – only with Daenerys instead of Arya.
And y'all thought Arya boning Gendry was weird.
