I put A Song of Fire and Ice and not Game of Thrones because I think the child may have different fates in the books and series. It has been a few years since I watched the TV show and even more years since I’ve read the books. There are conflicting reports in my head. He was switched and that’s the last we hear about him. He died. He ends up with Gilly and Sam. Which is it?
P.S. I JUST noticed! Samwell – Samwise. Same character, practically!
It’s been a couple years since the finale, but I’m pretty sure Gilly and her son were survivors of the group that had gathered in the crypt.
Gilly’s son in the books is alive, but remains in Castle Black, I am not sure who exactly is taking care of him. Gilly was last heard of being in Oldtown with Samwise/well looking after her, but does not have her son with him. She has the other child, the son of Dalla/Mance Rayder, which was why she was crying most of the voyage. That son was given to her because it had kings blood and thus was under threat by Stannis.
That’s the last known position as far as ASOIAF goes. Obviously a lot more than the TV Series which simplified and removed a lot.
Thank you! In the TV series do they even follow this (dead end) plot thread? I think I’ll make a thread of dead end plot threads in ASOIAF. This one, the switching of Sansa, the last minute pretender to the throne from the last book with that interminable boat ride. . …
I know this in my heart but “Fire and Ice” sounds SO much better.
There is a lot of dead end stories, basically half of season 5 and then onwards very little is based on anything but fan fiction, and not very good ones. But they are not dead end stories in the book, assuming they were going to go somewhere in the end with someone who hadn’t retired from writing circa 2005.
So yes, it was dropped. And sooo much was. Mance was killed off, so his bard and spearwives plot wasn’t in there. A whole battle was lost (Ice, dropped from the end of Book 5, between Stannis and the Bolton’s allies, which Stannis was likely to win). Arguably the best twist in the book: LSH was wasted, and all that entailed (it never really got much further in the books).
A bunch were kind of expanded in excerpt chapters post book 5. Sansa attending a ball in order to get married to a minor lord in line for a major throne. Dorne was in play with Arianne trying to meet up with the Aegon who’d invaded Westeros south with the Golden company.
Further were just thrown away: Varys, Tyrion and Littlefinger became idiots. Howland Reed. The direwolves (pretty much dropped due to cost of CGI). White Harbour/House Manderly. Brynden Tully.
And that’s not even going into the mess which was Meeren, with the Ironborn and Tyrion enslaved.