George R.R. Martin has left fans hanging for over a decade on The Winds of Winter, the sixth instalment in his epic A Song of Ice and Fire series, and speculation is rife that ten beloved characters from earlier books Tywin Lannister, Robb Stark, Joffrey Baratheon, Khal Drogo, Oberyn Martell, Renly Baratheon, Ygritte, Robert Baratheon, Eddard Stark, and Viserys Targaryen will stay firmly in the grave when it finally drops.
The HBO adaptation Game of Thrones raced ahead and wrapped up in 2019, killing off some figures who linger in Martin's published novels up to A Dance with Dragons, while speeding others to the chopping block much sooner. Readers who devoured the books first often recoiled at the show's divergences, like Catelyn Stark's resurrection as the vengeful Lady Stoneheart, absent from the screen.
