15 Dead Game Of Thrones Characters (That Are Still Alive In The Books)

One of the many, many victims of the time constraints placed on the television series has been Mance Rayder, the King Beyond The Wall who leads the wildlings in rebellion against the Nights Watch, coming up short in both the books and the television series when the armies of Stannis Baratheon arrive.

Though arguably the biggest character to be cast for season three, Ciaran Hinds was never given much to do between his introduction and his demise, appearing in just five episodes all told. He develops a somewhat fatherly respect for Jon Snow, which is returned when Jon ends his suffering by putting an arrow through his chest rather than watching as he is burnt alive for refusing to bend the knee to Stannis.

Mance is also sentenced to death in the novels, but trickery from Melisandre ensures that Rattleshirt, enchanted to look the part, is killed in his stead. This frees up Mance to become an ally of Jon, albeit discreetly, as he infiltrates Winterfell in attempt to free 'Arya Stark' from the clutches of the barbaric Ramsay Bolton.

'Arya', actually Sansa Stark's friend Jeyne Poole, was cut from the series, where Sansa herself was (somewhat nonsensically) sent to Winterfell to marry Ramsay instead. The lack of Mance ensured that Theon Greyjoy was the only party involved in her rescue.

Nice as it would've seen to see more of Mance, he had arguably served his purpose, though one has to wonder if he a part to play in future books in the wake of both his own capture and torture at Ramsay's hand, as well as Jon's apparent assassination and the tension that will almost certainly arise between the Nights Watch and their new wildling partners as a result.