5 Hated Game of Thrones Twists That’ll Actually Make Sense in the Books

As disappointing as Game of Thrones' worst twists are, they actually make sense when you take the books into consideration. From Jon Snow's revival to Daenerys' downfall into madness in Season 8, the books will almost certainly handle these twists better without production constraints like budget, filming schedules, and actors wanting out. Assuming George R.R. Martin ever gets to writing them, The Winds of Winter and A Dream of Spring will fix Game of Thrones' worst plot twists.

Read A Song of Ice and Fire

Stannis Burns Shireen

It's already been confirmed that Stannis burning his daughter Shireen came directly from George R.R. Martin himself, but the issue has never been that Stannis does it. While many fans believe Stannis in the books wouldn't, this is a fatal misunderstanding of his character arc and what sacrifice means to him. Stannis will burn Shireen in the books, but the circumstances will be different. Game of Thrones' flaw was not properly establishing the danger of winter in the North, which made the sacrifice fall flat for many fans. At the end of A Dance with Dragons, Stannis is set to do battle with the Boltons outside Winterfell, but the weather is absolutely dire.

It's snowing so much, that barely anything can be seen outside the walls of Winterfell. Stannis is destined to lose this fight and become desperate. He'll either backtrack to Castle Black, or Selyse will escape after Jon's assassination with Shireen and meet him halfway, reuniting the Baratheons for Shireen's tragic fate. Stannis will be disillusioned enough that he'll sacrifice Shireen, but just like the show, nothing will come of it, and he'll die shortly after. The difference is that The Winds of Winter will make it painfully clear why Stannis feels like he has no choice but to break the snowfall with blood magic.

Melisandre Revives Jon Snow

A Dance with Dragons foreshadows Jon's death and revival very heavily. The issue with Jon Snow coming back to life in Game of Thrones Season 6 is how it happens. It makes absolutely zero sense that Davos would care enough about Jon Snow to want to bring him back to life, let alone ask Melisandra to use blood magic to revive him. Not only does Davos not respect Melisandre's magic, he has no way to know that she can bring the dead back to life.

Davos essentially forcing Melisandre's hand to revive Jon just doesn't work with either character's internal logic. It's a contrivance meant to bring Jon Snow back to life simply because George R.R. Martin told the writers Jon needs to come back to life. In the books, Jon will instead warg into Ghost after death, and spend a few chapters as a Direwolf before Melisandre herself decides to bring Jon back, especially once she realizes that Stannis has failed in defeating the Boltons and is not the Prince That Was Promised.

Jon Snow's Parentage Amounts to Nothing

One of the biggest disappointments in the last season of Game of Thrones is that Jon Snow's parentage has absolutely no political or personal consequences whatsoever. Jon is clearly bothered by the reveal that Ned Stark isn't his father, but we never get real insight into what he's feeling or thinking. The one scene that could have described Jon's thoughts on the matter – telling Sansa and Arya – is outright skipped over in the show, for some maddening reason.

Since the books show the readers what each point-of-view character is thinking, we'll actually get to see the effect learning that Rhaegar and Lyanna are his parents will have on Jon Snow. Just like in the show, Jon's parentage will realistically cause friction between him and Daenerys, but George's commitment to politics will mean that it'll play a much bigger role in the plot, especially if Tyrion still has to deal with Varys' scheming to get Jon on the Throne (though that likely won't happen since Varys in the books is invested in Young Griff's reign, not Jon Snow).

Daenerys Burns Down King's Landing

There are many fans who believe Daenerys won't burn down King's Landing in the books and that her story will ultimately be the antithesis of the average Targaryen, but this feels like wishful thinking. Narratively, King's Landing's destruction only has emotional weight if it comes from a character we know, and Dany's last chapter in A Dance with Dragons ends with her realizing she needs to embrace Fire and Blood above all else.

The problem with Dany going mad in the show is that there just isn't enough time to explore her motivations in Seasons 7 and 8. The Winds of Winter and A Dream of Spring won't have this problem, largely since we'll be able to see what she's thinking and the fact George is much more meticulous with his plotting. Daenerys burning down King's Landing in the books will also likely be more complicated than in the show, since the person sitting the Iron Throne at the time realistically won't be Cersei, but Aegon Targaryen.

In A Dance with Dragons, Tyrion meets Aegon Targaryen – the secret son of Rhaegar Targaryen and Elia Martell – on his way to Meereen. By the end of the book, Aegon has already landed in Westeros and is storming Storm's End. By the time Daenerys reaches Westeros in either Winds or Dream, she'll be met with a Targaryen who not only beat her to the punch, but ousted the Lannisters, earning the love of the smallfolk. All this will culminate in Daenerys developing a hatred for Westeros' people, which will end in her burning down King's Landing in a fit of rage.

Bran Becomes King

Credit where credit is due, King Bran is going to be a hard sell in the books, too. Bran will have to have more chapters than any other character in both The Winds of Winter and A Dream of Spring to make up for his lack of character development since A Clash of Kings, all while tying him into the series' political storyline, something Game of Thrones never really bothered to do.

That said, there are signs Bran will actually be king in the books, from him being the first real main character introduced in the story to A Clash of King spending a significant amount of time on teaching him the inner workings of being a Lord. If nothing else, absolutely nothing in the books can be worse than Tyrion asking a council of his peers, "Who has a better story than Bran the Broken?" Everyone, Tyrion. Literally everyone.