#GameOfThrones' characters are looking less and less like those from the original pitch

HBO

It’s been 24 years since George R.R. Martin pitched his Song of Ice and Fire series. What was originally set to be a trilogy of novels has ballooned into an ongoing saga with so many moving parts it takes the author nearly a decade to get the pieces in place for each new installment. But even when Game of Throneswas a mere 13 chapters of a fantasy spec, Martin vaguely knew where his story was going. Every author is different; some write extensive outlines they follow to the letter while others prefer to merely see their first major plot point in the distance and then fling themselves into the mists of the unknown to find it. In a now deleted tweet fromWaterstones Booksellers, a query letter from Martin outlines his plan for Game of Thronesover three short pages, including the five characters who will make it to the end.

WARNING: SPOILERS BEYOND THIS POINT.

Unfortunately for Waterstones, the internet is forever and Business Insider caught the query letter for posterity. For the sake of transparency, this is not the first time Martin’s letter has made the internet rounds. It first came to attention in 2015. But as the HBO adaptation comes to a close, it’s interesting to look back at what Martin originally planned versus how events and characters panned out. It may even give a clue or two as to how this saga will end.

#1 – Daenerys was never supposed to be the revered Khaleesi.

Danerys [sic] will bide her time, but she will not forget. When the moment is right, she will kill her husband to avenge her brother, and then flee with a trusted friend into the wilderness beyond Vaes Dothrak. There, hunted by Dothraki horseriders [unclear] of her life, she stumbles on a cache of dragon eggs [unclear] a young dragon will give Daenerys the power to bend the Dothraki to her will. Then she begins to plan for her invasion of the Seven Kingdoms.

This description of Daenerys is fascinating because it’s almost completely at odds with the characterization Martin ended up going with. At the time of this query letter, only one Dany chapter was included so anyone reading it wouldn’t have gotten to the wedding yet. I have to wonder at what point Martin decided to have Illyrio Mopatis gift Dany the dragon eggs instead of her finding them after Drogo’s death. Originally, Dany was much more her father’s daughter from the beginning, using the dragons to subjugate the Dothraki into following her lead instead of earning their respect. Having Dany flee into the wilderness with a friend (Jorah?) only to find the dragon eggs may have been satisfying if only to know where the heck those eggs came from, but sacrificing Dany’s trauma at losing her husband and child and the visual of her sitting in the funeral pyre unharmed wouldn’t have been worth it.

#2 – Arya Stark was far more of a direct parallel to her Aunt Lyanna Stark

Arya will be more forgiving [of Jon] … until she realizes, with terror, that she has fallen in love with Jon, who is not only her half-brother but a man of the Night’s Watch, sworn to celibacy. Their passion will continue to torment Jon and Arya throughout the trilogy, until the secret of Jon’s true parentage is finally revealed in the last book.

Tyrion will change sides, making common cause with the surviving Starks to bring his brother down, and falling helplessly in love with Arya Stark while he’s at it. His passion is, alas, unreciprocated, but no less intense for that, and it will lead to a deadly rivalry between Tyrion and Jon Snow.