Game Of Thrones: 11 Most Unforgivable Cuts From The Books

6. Edric Storm

Speaking of innocents serving as plot devices, the many illegitimate children of Robert Baratheon have been instrumental in several large events over the course of the books. With between 8 and 16 blue-eyed and black-haired bastards running around the Seven Kingdoms, it's not surprising that a handful have crossed paths with our point-of-view characters. While the most prominent (and possibly eldest male) has been apprentice blacksmith Gendry, the bastard with the most political significance has been Edric Storm. Fathered by King Robert and born of a highborn maiden, Edric Storm is Robert's only acknowledged bastard. As such, Edric has long been considered by many readers as one of the candidates for the Iron Throne at the end. Originally fostered with Renly at Storm's End, Stannis seizes the boy to use as proof of Joffrey's illegitimacy. Although Edric is treated well at Dragonstone, Melisandre requests that he be sacrificed and his royal blood used for one of her spells, leading Ser Davos to smuggle him away. Edric Storm is a good - if somewhat minor - character, and his presence in the Free Cities gives him the potential to return with far greater significance in the future. In the books, that is. On the show, his absence subjected fans to the butchering of Gendry's character, the tainting of the Brotherhood Without Banners, Melisandre's random trip to the Riverlands in her off-screen time machine, and one of the most ridiculous scenes of the series thus far as Melisandre seduces and mounts Gendry in order to leech him.