Game Of Thrones: 5 Major Book Changes From "The House Of Black And White"

Game of Thrones is a remarkably popular show. Over the four seasons that have aired in entirety thus far, audiences everywhere have been sucked into the stories of Essos and Westeros and ice zombies to the extent that the nine months of hiatus have become positively agonizing. Fortunately for impatient viewers, the five published books of the intended seven of George R. R. Martin’s “A Song of Ice and Fire” saga have plenty of pages of plot to keep them busy between seasons. 

Nevertheless, the fifth season premiere was more than welcome for antsy fans, and this Sunday’s continuation – entitled “The House of Black and White” – took the characters further than ever before. With the show now beginning to overtake the source material, the differences between the novels and the adaptation have become far more significant than in seasons past. Executive producers David Benioff and D. B. Weiss have been clued in by Martin on the big events yet to come and even the very ending of the story. Soon, the show may be one massive cornucopia of spoilers for readers.

Of course, there’s every chance that the producers have chosen to rearrange the narrative for the small screen so as to pull a “Gotcha!” later in the series; assuming that Game of Thrones played it mostly straight in “The House of Black and White,” however, here are 5 major changes from the books that could be huge giveaways for the rest of the saga.

Warning: lots of book spoilers ahead. 

On The Show: After agreeing with Jaime Lannister that they owe it to Catelyn Stark to honor their vow, Brienne of Tarth and squire Podrick Payne have been traversing the riverlands in search of the Stark girls. Despite the setback of a happenstance meeting with Arya resulting in Catelyn’s youngest daughter refusing Brienne’s help, Brienne is thrilled to discover Sansa with Littlefinger at a tavern. Unfortunately, Sansa – like Arya – turns Brienne away. Nevertheless, Brienne and Podrick follow Sansa to protect her from afar.

In The Books: After agreeing with Jaime that they owe it to Catelyn to honor their vow, Brienne and Podrick leave the capital with a satchel full of gold and a letter of authority from King Tommen. Under the impression that Arya is long dead, Brienne traverses the riverlands in a seemingly hopeless quest to locate Sansa. As of the end of the fifth book, Brienne has been captured by the Brotherhood Without Banners and forced to bring Jaime before Lady Stoneheart for judgment to spare Podrick's life.

What It Could Mean: With Brienne able to confirm the survival of both Sansa and Arya, it is likely that the Maid of Tarth will survive her encounter with the Brotherhood Without Banners and interact with at least one of the Stark girls before the end of the final book.