Game of Thrones season 3 is fast approaching, and the Hypable staff has put together a list of the events from A Storm of Swords we’re most looking forward to seeing adapted in the HBO series.
This list contains MAJOR SPOILERS for the third book in the ‘A Song of Ice and Fire’ saga. Proceed at your own risk!
There are a lot of great moments in A Storm of Swords (aside from the big one which everyone is of course dreading/anticipating), and it was tough picking just 10. In the end we got them narrowed down though – now do note that we can’t be sure they won’t save some of these for season 4, or maybe change the events around somewhat from the books (although we like to think that these are big enough developments that the writers can’t completely disregard them!).
Read our top 10, and share your own list in the comments!
10. Meeting the Reeds
Meera and Jojen Reed occupy a soft spot in the hearts of many fans, and there was no shortage of dismay when the siblings did not make the cut for season 2. But now that we know that Game of Thrones will not be Reed-less for long, it’s almost more exciting for us book readers to see how these mysterious friends will be introduced into the story.
Will it be harder for Bran to trust the Reeds out in the wild, rather than from the safety of Winterfell? What role will Jojen’s green dreams play? How will the intensity of their circumstances affect Bran’s fragile crush on Meera? And what might we learn of Howland Reed, the ultimate man of mystery, who seems to hold the keys to so many of the questions in A Song of Ice and Fire?
And seriously, Ellie Kendrick and Thomas Brodie-Sangster look like they’ve walked straight out of George R.R. Martin’s brain and onto our television screens, so we can’t wait to see how the show’s divergences introduce us to a slightly different, but still authentic version of such fascinating characters.
9. Catelyn and Robb Learn About Winterfell
A watershed moment in season 2 of Game of Thrones was the fall of Winterfell to the Ironborn forces, and the supposed murder of Bran and Rickon Stark. The season ended before the news reached Robb and Catelyn in the Riverlands, however, and so the rebelliously married young king and his lady mother were left on the precipice of the terrible, game-changing knowledge.
Though we’ve already seen the two respond to tragedy after Eddard’s death at the end of season 1, a compounded horror like this would call for exercising an even more profound set of emotional strings. Beyond the awful grief, Bran, Rickon, and Winterfell represent elements of Catelyn and Robb’s responsibilities, as well as integral aspects of their identities.
We hope we get to see the scene where these dark words arrive for the pure power of the acting, but either way, the emotional fallout will certainly be devastating, gripping, and a driving motivation for all of Catelyn and Robb’s subsequent decisions.
8. The Big Love Story
We are of course talking about Jon Snow and Ygritte (although Jaime and Brienne are still running around together hand in, er, stump), who go through a lot in A Storm of Swords before Ygritte is sadly killed off, presumably towards the end of season 3 (though we can’t help but hope they’ll prolong her story so Rose Leslie can come back for season 4).
We love Ygritte as a character, and the relationship that slowly develops between her and Jon is just a high point in the book in general – the one ray of sunshine in an otherwise very depressing snowstorm of storylines. The two share some intense moments, have some sex (hey, this is Game of Thrones, it happens), and this allows Jon to really develop as a character – it’s just great material which we can’t wait to see to see Kit Harington work with on screen.
7. Tyrion and Sansa: An Unexpected Wedding
The hero gets the pretty girl! Well, sort of. This being Game of Thrones, well-worn tropes are somersaulting all over the place and this one is no exception. In this case, though the hero (Tyrion) does in fact wind up with the pretty girl (Sansa), it’s in about as twisted a scenario as possible.
Not only is Sansa much younger than Tyrion, but their families are locked in a brutal war reeking havoc over the Seven Kingdoms. Then there’s the small issue of the marriage being forced upon them by Tywin and Cersei, and the cherry-on-the-top problem of where Shae, Tyrion’s beloved whore – who is simultaneously loyal to Sansa – fits into the madness.
Though it certainly won’t be happily ever after for Sansa and Tyrion, it will be fascinating to watch how Game of Thrones handles such complicated and emotionally fraught material. It will also be amazing to watch Peter Dinklage and Sophie Turner maneuver such meaty (and simultaneously delicate) territory – and watch the consequences of this uncomfortable union spread through both of their families.
6. Dany Owns the Slavers
It’s true that season 2 of Game of Thrones did not see Daenerys in her finest hour; her losses were many, her victories few, and her dialogue was unfortunately meme-worthy. But if A Storm of Swords is any indication at all, Dany’s fans will come roaring back in droves – and in no small part due to her spectacular ownage of Astapor’s slave trade. It is in Astapor that Dany confronts a unique dilemma; she meets a massive injustice that she can actually attempt to change, but if she chooses to do right, she might actually work against her goal of returning to Westeros.
It’s a tricky road, but Dany’s choices (and her cleverness, which is surprisingly easy to underestimate) ultimately lead her to a showdown that will have even the most skeptical of fans – and characters – screaming her name.
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