Game Of Thrones: 8 Ways Season 6 Spoilt The Winds Of Winter (And 3 It Didn't)

Ways It Didn't...

3. Sam's Storyline Didn't Progress

Sam's story was a bit wasted this year. He left Castle Black for Oldtown at the end of Season 5, meaning he was almost caught up with his story in the books. However, he only appeared in three episodes during Season 6, and his story concluded with him just arriving at the Citadel (with a diversion to his family home, where he stole his father's Valyrian steel sword).

The show might be going 'off-book', but in terms of Sam's arc they're actually lagging behind A Feast For Crows, where Sam has already spent some time in Oldtown.

Indeed, there's a lot more intrigue currently in the books, and it's not clear how much of this will be transferred to the show. Meeting Archmaester Marwyn, who leaves the Citadel to find and become Maester to Daenerys, seems likely, but characters such as Pate, Alleras, and the Alchemist are less certain. Alleras is widely belived to be the Sand Snake Sarella, and given the unpopular response to those characters, the show may not want to introduce another once.

Meanwhile, it's theorised that the Alchemist, who transforms into page, is Jaqen H'ghar - but in the books, he doesn't appear with Arya in Braavos, where he has done in the show. It'd be a way of keeping the character around, but could end up being rather more confusing to viewers. It might be that the show plays things a little more straightforward, with Sam discovering some key knowledge about the White Walkers, although it'd be good to see signs of something bigger going on.