7 Game of Thrones Moments That Were Better Than the Books

Game of Thrones is not even in the same league as the book series it is based on, A Song of Ice and Fire, in terms of quality. However, the show obviously became a global sensation for a reason, and it’s the nature of adaptation that some moments simply played better on screen than on the page. Read on for seven of the isolated moments that landed better in Game of Thrones than they did in George R.R. Martin’s books.

To get one obvious choice out of the way, I’m not going to give Game of Thrones credit for having an ending as compared to A Song of Ice and Fire, which still has two long-awaited books to go. That’s because I still keep faith that Martin will finish his series and we’ll see the finale that this song truly deserves, and also because I still believe no ending is better than the ending Thrones gave us, frankly. You won’t be surprised to see all the victories below come from the early seasons of Game of Thrones. Read on for the show’s high points.

King Robert and Queen Cersei

In Season 1 and book one, King Robert Baratheon rules over Westeros thanks in part to his marriage to Queen Cersei Lannister, which sealed his alliance with the wealthiest House in the realm. The two characters obviously dislike each other, but seeing their disdain played out rather than reading it in descriptions makes it so much more human. There’s one particular scene that drives all this home — a private conversation between the king and queen in Season 1, Episode 5 that did not appear in the books at all.

[RELATED: The 7 Game of Thrones Episodes That Traumatized Everyone]

The two discuss Ned Stark’s resignation as Hand of the King and the issue that set it off — the planned assassination of Daenerys Targaryen. They speak with obvious dislike of each other, but also familiarity, almost as if they’ve tried to make this relationship work. They even seem wistful and reflective. Musing on Westeros’ chances in a war against the Dothraki, Robert says: “We haven’t had a proper fight in nine years. Backstabbing doesn’t prepare you for a fight, and that’s all the realm is now — backstabbing and scheming… Sometimes I don’t know what holds it together.”

“Our marriage, Cersei says sarcastically, and Robert lets out a genuine laugh. She matches it, then grabs a cup to drink wine along with him. The whole scene is so genuine, and it’s even more impactful in the context of the story where Cersei goes on to have Robert killed.

Time with Robb Stark

Game of Thrones gave us more time with King in the North Robb Stark than the books did because Martin did not want any of the kings in his series to be direct point-of-view characters. This meant we mostly saw Robb through the eyes of his mother Catelyn, and nearly as often we heard about Robb’s deeds through rumors spread all across the Seven Kingdoms. The show got to focus more on Robb in a way that even Martin praised.

Many fans point to Robb’s wife specifically as a point where the show got to do better. Robb pledges to marry a daughter of House Frey in order to secure them as allies, but he fails to live up to this promise. In the books, Robb is wounded in Westerlands — Lannister territory — and is nursed back to health in a conquered castle by the daughter of the local lord. He falls in love with her and feels honor-bound to marry her, due in part to his half-brother Jon Snow’s experience of bastardy. The books go on to imply that Robb may have been ensorcelled by some kind of love potion, and/or that House Westerling had intentionally set him up with the daughter under orders from Tywin Lannister in order to weaken his alliance with the Freys.

On the other hand, the show finds Robb simply falling in love with a healer because of her bold nature and practical skills. It’s easy to see why some fans like this better — especially in the context of the show where Robb is a more fleshed-out character. Personally, I actually prefer the version in the books, with more layers to examine and possibly even some mystical elements at play.

Tyrion and Shae

Again, Martin himself has said that he likes the show’s take on Tyrion and Shae much more than the version in the books. The books portray Shae as a materialistic, immature young woman with no concept of the danger she is in. In the end, she turns on Tyrion in earnest. The show adds a lot more nuance to their love story — and tragedy, in the end. It’s never clear if Shae really turned on Tyrion in the end, or whether she was forced into Tywin’s bed in her final scene.

However, many critics have pointed out that the show did not reckon with the ripple effects of this change. Tyrion murders Shae in both versions, but in the books this crime takes him down a dark path and he becomes far closer to a villain in many ways. The show went out of its way to keep Tyrion likable, and did not make him grapple with his crimes nearly as much. This compounded until the end, when Tyrion was hardly recognizable.

Varys and Littlefinger

This is a great example of how the show improved on the books simply by being a show rather than a book. The snide conversations between Varys and Littlefinger had no place in the novels, but they are so much fun on TV. These two schemers are constantly sizing each other up and undercutting each other, and to see how they speak in private is a joy.

Tyrion’s Trial

Returning to our favorite Lannister, his trial for the murder of King Joffrey is excellent both in the books and in Season 4, Episode 6, “The Laws of Gods and Men.” Again, this can only be called “better” than the book version because it is performed so spectacularly by the cast. Peter Dinklage delivers nearly the exact same lines as his book counterpart — “I wish I was the monster you think I am. I wish I had enough poison for the whole pack of you. I would gladly give my life to watch you all swallow it.” His performance is simply so great that it exceeds my imagination as a reader.

Tywin and Arya

During her long journey north through war-ravaged Westeros, Arya is held at Harrenhal for a time and put to work as a cup-bearer for a great lord. In the books, it’s Roose Bolton, but in the TV show it’s Tywin Lannister himself. Both choices have their merits, but overall her time with Tywin seems to do more for the story.

Putting Arya with Roose is interesting because she knows he is ostensibly her brother’s ally. However, she chooses not to reveal her identity to Roose because she still doesn’t trust him fully — an incredibly shrewd decision that shows Arya’s growth. Arya learns a lot about how evil men think by spending time with Roose, but this lesson hits even harder with Tywin.

Pairing Arya with Tywin during this time is like putting her in the eye of a storm — she is actually in less danger by sticking close to her family’s chief enemy. The two even have some interesting conversations and find some common ground, which is tense and fascinating in this generally brutal conflict. The show had plenty of other chances to show us the atrocities of House Bolton, but it took full advantage of this chance to humanize Tywin Lannister.

Brienne vs. The Hound

Finally, the showdown between Brienne of Tarth and Sandor “The Hound” Clegane might be the single best change the show made from the books. In Martin’s version, The Hound takes a mundane wound in a bar fight that slowly weakens him over over the course of days, until finally Arya is able to escape from him and get escape on a ship. Here, Brienne actually finds them and has a brutal duel for possession of the young Stark. It devolves into a gruesome fist fight that seems to leave Sandor nearly dead, while Arya slips away — unwilling to trust any strangers at this point.

One thing about this fight that is often overlooked is what it replaces for Brienne. Yes, it spares Sandor from going down over a mild infection, but it also spares Brienne from her gruesome fight against Rorge, Biter and the Brave Companions. That moment is all about Brienne facing the grisly truth of war and what it does to the men who fight in it, and the futility of knights’ oaths and honor against all that despair. However, The Hound is at least as good an avatar for those things as the Brave Companions are, and he’s a character that means more to the audience in this moment.

Game of Thrones is streaming now on Max, along with the prequel House of the Dragon. Another prequel, A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms: The Hedge Knight, premieres sometime this year. Martin’s books are available now in print, digital and audiobook formats.