Game Of Thrones: 10 Times Fans Totally Overreacted To Book Changes
6. Renly's Peach
In Season 2, there’s a scene where Renly and Stannis meet to the discuss their upcoming battle, with Stannis trying to get Renly to surrender. Stannis is being his usual stern self, whereas Renly is a bit more lighthearted about the whole thing.
In the book, Renly is eating a peach during this scene which he offers to Stannis, kind of in a joking way but also as a peace offering. Later, after Stannis has murdered Renly, on several occasions he reflects back on this. "I will go to my grave thinking of my brother's peach," he says. It kind of represents the difference between the two characters, and part of Stannis wishes he could be as jovial and as loved by the people as his brother.
This all worked in the books as a bit of symbolism, but it was cut from the show. Why? Well, probably just for time, but also because this kind of thing just works better in book form than on television, where it would be kind of awkward for Stannis to go on a monologue about what his brother’s peach represents to him.
In the show, viewers still fully understand the relationship between the two brothers and how different their personalities are. The peach thing is such a minor detail that is definitely not worth getting upset about.