2. Jaime, Brienne, and Thapphireth
There was a rumor buzzing around Comic Con last year that Mackenzie Crook, who was in the British version of the Office would be playing Vargo Hoat, our favorite speech impaired leader of the sellsword group, The Brave Companions. It turns out that Crook is actually playing Orell, a skinchanger who is part of Mance Rayder's wilding army. That leaves us with no one cast as Hoat, which indicates that he won't have anything to do with the unfortunate event that surrounds Jaime and his sword hand. If it so happens that this mishap isn't included in the show, I have a feeling a lot of book readers would be very unhappy. We already know we have a great Brienne/Jaime dynamic to look forward to if the tail end of season 2 is anything to go by, and messing with that dynamic by not including the single most important thing that contributes to Jaime Lannister's magnificent character arc would be disappointing, to say the least. Rage inducing, actually. Who doesn't want to see Nikolaj Coster Waldau with a golden hand? Most likely, they'll shift around the events leading up to this event. Winter is Coming confirmed a while back that actor Noah Taylor was cast as Locke, a character described as filling a similar function to Hoat (but without the memorable lisp). Although I'll begrudgingly admit that 'thapphireth' may just look better on paper, and would run the risk of being a bit ridiculous if Hoat had such a lisp on screen. But I would prefer if we did get a leader like Vargo and we did get a glimpse into the Bloody Mummers through Jaime and Brienne's adventures. The Mummers were a group of unsavory and somewhat barbaric sellswords who all had strange quirks and backgrounds that would make them perfect for professions such as fools and entertainers in Westeros. Except it's this mad, manic show that hides what's brutal and evil about the group - and Vargo's lisp, as silly as it is, kind of accentuates that ruthless ridiculousness. It really sets apart Hoat and the Mummers from the other sadistic characters that show up throughout the books, and even in the show - and this special group of psycho dudes is something the show would benefit from.