Robb Stark (played by Richard Madden) had arguably the most unexpected and shocking death on HBO’s Game of Thrones. Now globally referred to as the Red Wedding, Robb, his mother Catelyn (Michelle Fairley) and wife Talisa (Oona Chaplin) were slaughtered at the hands of the Freys and Boltons thanks to orders from the Lannisters. In original letters by GOT author George RR Martin, however, he details how Robb’s demise, in particular, was supposed to be very different.
Dated back to 1993, Waterstones once tweeted three photos of letters from Martin detailing plans for his novel series.
The photos were spotted by Game of Thrones fan and Reddit user TheNextRobin.
In the letters, Martin set out what he hoped to achieve with his A Song of Ice and Fire books.
Several details didn’t quite make it to the Game of Thrones books or the series but there were a number storylines which would’ve undoubtedly made a major difference.
Not only was there a potential Arya Stark (Maisie Williams) and Jon Snow (Kit Harrington) incest plot, but he also revealed who he thought would survive the entire story.
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According to the letters both Arya and Jon survive to the end.
They were supposed to be joined by Bran Stark (Isaac Hempstead-Wright), Daenerys Targaryen (Emilia Clarke) and Tyrion Lannister (Peter Dinklage).
Robb was never supposed to survive but Martin had first planned for Tyrion to be the man responsible.
He wrote in the letters: “When his father Eddard Stark (Sean Bean) is executed [by Lannisters], Bran will see the shape of doom descending on all of them,
“Nothing he can say will stop his brother Robb from calling the banners in rebellion.
READ MORE: Game of Thrones: Did the Starks ever commit incest?
“All the north will be inflamed by war. Robb will win several splendid victories, and maim Joffrey Baratheon (Jack Gleeson) on the battlefield,
“In the end, he will not be able to stand against Jaime (Nikolaj Coster-Waldau) and Tyrion Lannister and their allies.
“Robb Stark will die in battle, and Tyrion Lannister will besiege and burn Winterfell.”
While Tyrion orchestrated the Battle of Blackwater in Game of Thrones, a battle with Robb never materialised.
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In fact, Tyrion came out at the end of the series as somewhat of a hero.
His relationship with the Stark family was also rather strong, especially compared to other Lannisters.
He helped with queen Daenerys and the Starks for the battle of Winterfell against the Night King (Vladimir Furdik).
Tyrion also comforted Sansa Stark (Sophie Turner) in the crypts while the battle was taking place.
The Lannister man did reveal the secret of Jon Snow’s identity to Lord Varys (Conleth Hill) however, which ultimately led to his death.
Whether or not the killing of Robb Stark would have made the character as popular with fans as he is today is debatable.
Game of Thrones season 8 is available to buy and stream on Amazon Prime now.
