"Game of Thrones" Season 5, Episode 2 is a proof that the hit HBO fantasy series is slowly diverging from George RR Martin's A Song of Ice and Fire novels. On GoT's Sunday episode, entitled "The House of Black and White," there are some scenes shown that are different from the original storylines of Martin's bestselling epic fantasy series.
While "Game of Thrones" showrunners David Benioff and D.B. Weiss have mostly stayed true to Martin's first three novels - A Game of Thrones, A Clash of Kings, and A Storm of Swords - for the past four seasons, the current season has reached the point of divergence.
According to Den of Geek this is because Game of Thrones Season 5 is adapting the next two novels - A Feast for Crows and A Dance with Dragons - simultaneously. This proves to be a challenging task as one novel mainly focuses on the Southron characters while the other's primary focus is on characters from the North and Meereen.
One of the notable changes in the latest episode, for instance, is that of Brienne of Tarth and Podrick running into Sansa Stark and Littlefinger in an inn. Brienne tried to convince Sansa to allow her to protect her, but the elder Stark girl refused. In the books, however, Brienne has never had a chance to meet Sansa. In fact, Brienne has spent the entire fourth book looking for Sansa, who, unknown to her, has been living with Littlefinger in the Vale.
The re-appearance of Jaqen H'ghar is also a welcome change on the hit HBO show. When Arya Stark landed in Braavos, she arrived at the House of Black and White where she was turned away by a mysterious man in a hood, who was later revealed as her old friend Jaqen. In Martin's latest installments, it's not Jaqen who opened the door for Arya but a man with a skull-like face.
Another big departure from George RR Martin's books is that of Dany's army capturing a Son of the Harpy, and a representative of the slaves wanting to kill the captive. Before facing the trial, the Harpy was brutally murdered by the said representative. In return, Dany opted to have the killer publicly executed to demonstrate her fairness and justice, sparking a rebellion among the former slaves of Meereen.
In Martin's books, however, this event did not occur at all. According to observers, the story was added to add more dramatic action into the current plotline.
Join the Conversation