Game Of Thrones: 10 Things From The TV Show That WON'T Be In The Winds Of Winter

In The Show:

After rescuing Sansa from Ramsay’s clutches, Theon shows that he hadn’t really thought it through. He’s on the cusp of getting them both captured all over again, in fact, until they are saved in the nick of time by Brienne and Podrick, who take over Sansa's protection.

His job done, Theon returns to the Iron Islands, where he reunites with his sister Yara and pledges his allegiance to her. When Yara loses to their uncle Euron in an election for dominion over the Iron Islands, however, the two embark on a voyage to Meereen, forging an alliance with Daenerys Targaryen.

Why It WON’T Happen In Winds:

Leaving aside the fact that Yara technically doesn’t exist in the books (she is named Asha, after all), Theon’s prompt move to Essos and back seems to be the result of the show writers largely condensing the plot of future books.

In A Song of Ice and Fire, the Greyjoy family is considerably larger than portrayed in the TV series. In fact, the show omits one major Ironborn character altogether, in the form of the mighty seafarer Victarion. Introduced as a viewpoint character in A Dance With Dragons, it is Victarion who is ostensibly dispatched to Essos in order to ally with the Mother of Dragons.

Given the amount of time Martin spends on Victarion’s travels, then, it seems highly unlikely that The Winds of Winter will involve Theon and Asha making a similar journey to the far East, especially when that function of the story is already being served by another.