20 Things Wrong With Game Of Thrones Everyone Chooses To Ignore

The first season of Game of Thrones was released a few months before the fifth novel in the A Song of Ice and Fire book series of which it is based on.

The success of the TV show gave some fans the false hope that the increased interest would ignite a fire in George R.R. Martin that would allow him to quickly finish the series so that the later seasons of Game of Thrones could be faithful adaptations of his work.

These foolish hopes of the fanbase never came to pass, as The Winds of Winter still lacks a release date as of the time of writing.

Game of Thrones is approaching its final season and it’s safe to say that we are more likely to see the end of the show before the next book in the A Song of Ice and Fire series is released.

The lack of information regarding the future of the series has meant that Game of Thrones has sometimes struggled to make sense in regards to its own continuity. These problems have always existed within the show, but they were increased by a great amount when the events of the story passed the ones from the novels.

We are here today to reveal the times when the Game of Thrones TV show stopped making sense and ignored the events of previous episodes; from the revolving door policy of Moat Cailin to the vanishing member of the Kingsguard.

Here are the 20 Things Wrong With Game Of Thrones Everyone Chooses To Ignore!

Sam The Sword Thief

Sam Tarly tells Jon Snow the story of how his father threatened to arrange for a lethal “accident” if he didn’t join the Night’s Watch.

Lord Randyll Tarly first appeared in the sixth season of Game of Thrones, where he was just as vile as we imagined him to be. Sam visits his old home on his journey to the Citadel and decides to steal Heartsbane, the Valyrian steel sword of House Tarly before he departs.

Sam is somehow able to retain ownership of Heartsbane, even though he remained in the Reach for several months during his training and was able to travel to Winterfell without incident.

We are somehow meant to believe that the man who was so proud of his heritage that he threatened to dispose of his own son to prevent him from disgracing the family name was just fine with a precious family heirloom being stolen.

Lord Randyll Tarly could easily have sent a couple of men to retrieve the sword and Sam couldn’t have done anything about it, yet he never did.

The Long-Term Annulment

Game of Thrones finally confirmed the fan theory that Jon Snow is the son of Rhaegar Targaryen and Lyanna Stark. It wasn’t apparent how legitimate this union was, as Rhaegar was already married to Elia Martell and they had two children together, both of whom were older than Jon.

Gilly would go on to discover a document at the Citadel which proved that Rhaegar had his marriage to Elia Martell annulled and that his marriage to Lyanna Stark was official.

This means that Jon Snow is a legitimate Targaryen and has a better claim to the throne than Daenerys.

The problem with the idea of annulment is that they are meant to be used in situations where the marriage wasn’t consummated, as was stated with Sansa and Tyrion’s short-lived marriage.

The fact that Rhaegar had two children meant that an annulment should have been impossible.

The Part-Time Night’s Watch Employee

The vows of a member of the Night’s Watch prevent them from abandoning their duty, which includes leaving their post to go take up political positions south of the Wall.

Jon Snow managed to find a loophole by returning from the grave, with the aid of Melisandre’s magic. He would go on to reclaim the lands of his ancestors and is declared the new King in the North, despite his status as an illegitimate child of Eddard Stark.

The show never addresses the fact that the people of the North should consider Jon Snow to be a Night’s Watch deserter, which is something that is punishable by execution.

His excuse for abandoning the Night’s Watch is that he was resurrected, but how many people would actually believe that, especially as he has no proof?

The Empty Dragonstone

“Dragonstone” ends with a scene of Daenerys and her entourage arriving at the titular island, which represents the first time that she had truly stepped on the soil of Westeros.

There was an extended scene where she travels through the empty castle on the island and reclaims her birthright.

It’s never explained why the castle of Dragonstone is empty. Stannis Baratheon was the previous ruler of Dragonstone and likely would have left a garrison there.

It’s possible that Dragonstone was abandoned by Stannis’ men, which then raises the question of why Tommen or Cersei’s regime never reclaimed the island.

Dragonstone is significant because it is the seat of the heir of the kingdom, so reclaiming the castle would have helped cement the status of the current regime and brought a definitive end to Stannis’ campaign, yet it is left empty.

The Lannister Age Issue

One of the biggest changes in the adaptation of A Song of Ice and Fire to the screen was increasing the age of almost every character in the show.

This meant that the actions of the younger cast members would be more believable and that the producers of the show wouldn’t be sent to jail, due to Daenerys only being thirteen years old on her wedding night in the books.

The ages of the three Lannister siblings have seen the most change, to the point where they have been retconned on several occasions.

Cersei tells Margaery that she remembers the Reyne Rebellion, even though it happened six years before she was born. The exact age of when Cersei and Jaime were born has changed on several occasions, which also clashes with the year when Robert Baratheon became king to the point where it is hard to say what either of their ages is.

These changes also extend to Joffrey, especially as the addition of another child before him makes it almost impossible for Joffrey to have been born when they say he was.

The Vale Doesn’t Care About Arya & The Hound

The Hound had plans to ransom Arya Stark off to a member of her family, but they kept perishing before he could get the chance.

His last chance at finding a good price was with Lysa Arryn, who is Arya’s aunt. This hope was squashed by the time that the duo reached the Bloody Gate of the Vale, as they learned that Lysa had been pushed out of the Moon Door.

Arya and the Hound are allowed to leave the Bloody Gate, even though she would be an incredibly valuable hostage and he is a man who is wanted by the Lannister regime.

It’s not as if there weren’t enough men around to take down the Hound, as the gate is one of the most well-defended points in the Vale.

The guards just let these two incredibly important people leave and go off on their way.

Maggy’s Incorrect Prophecy

In “The Wars To Come” it is revealed that Cersei encountered a witch, named Maggy the Frog, when she was a young girl.

Maggy prophecised that Cersei would marry the king, that she would one day be cast down by a younger and more beautiful queen, and that she would have three children of her own, all of which would wear golden crowns and golden shrouds.

The prophecy of Maggy the Frog comes from the A Song of Ice and Fire novels, but it doesn’t make much sense in relation to the story of Game of Thrones. 

It is revealed in the first season of Game of Thrones that Cersei and Robert Baratheon did have a child together who passed away as an infant.

This unnamed child is an invention of the TV show and it screws up Maggy’s prophecy, as it means that Cersei had four children.

Moat Cailin Is Empty

The North is protected from invasions from the south by an area called the Neck, which is a huge stretch of marshland that is almost impossible to traverse.

The only road that runs through the Neck is guarded by the three towers of Moat Cailin, which can allow a small defensive force to hold off an army.

Petyr Baelish mentions in “The Door” that the armies of the Vale were waiting at Moat Cailin. They were later able to pass through the area and catch Ramsay’s army by surprise, resulting in a victory for the revived Stark forces.

It’s never stated how the Vale armies were able to pass through one of the most highly defensive points in Westeros, nor how an entire army was able to make it through the North without being detected.

The Boltons would almost certainly have left a fighting force at Moat Cailin, as they were still wary of their Lannister allies and had previously committed open treason by allowing Ramsay to marry Sansa Stark.

Qarth Needs A Kingsguard

The storyline involving Daenery’s journey to Qarth in the second season of Game of Thrones was greatly expanded in the TV show.

This included adding a story where Xaro Xhoan Daxos teams up with Pyat Pree to dispose of the other ruling merchants of Qarth so that Daxos can declare himself the ruler of the city.

The last time we see Xaro Xhoan Daxos is when Daenerys and her men manage to infiltrate his home and lock him up in his own vault. This scene was an invention of the TV show, as Daxos is still alive in the books.

Daenery’s forces at this point consisted of a few Dothraki soldiers, three baby dragons, and Jorah Mormont, yet she was still able to invade the home of a sovereign ruler and assassinate him with very little trouble.

She was also able to escape the city without harm, with the only retaliation coming from a single (and poorly thought out) assassination attempt by the Warlocks of Qarth.

The Phantom Karstark Army

Robb Stark loses a large portion of his army when he executes Lord Rickard Karstark for treason. This event is far more significant in the show than the books, as Robb Stark claims that the Karstark host abandoned his army, which meant that he had lost half of his forces.

The Karstark army was nowhere near as big in the books, but Robb still lost a significant portion of his army.

We never learn exactly what happened to the Karstark host in the show. They likely could not have returned home, as the Ironborn still held Moat Cailin, which would have trapped them south of the Neck.

This means that half of Robb Stark’s army is still out there somewhere.

If the Karstark host had somehow managed to return to the North, then they would have had the military might to prevent the Boltons from returning North and could declare themselves the ruling family.

This is because they had Stark blood and could conceivably be considered the heirs in a situation where no Starks were present, yet they allowed the Boltons to return unharmed and joined their cause.

The Map Painter Should Have Checked The Wiki

In season seven of Game of Thrones, we see that Cersei has a large map of Westeros painted on the floor within one of the chambers of the Red Keep. This room is used for several meetings throughout the season.

It seems that Queen Cersei must have cheaped out when hiring an artist to paint a map of Westeros, as it has several mistakes that would be instantly recognizable to someone familiar with the geography of the world.

Cersei’s map first appears in the episode “Dragonstone” and there is no sign of Gulltown, despite the fact that it is one of the biggest cities in Westeros.

The town of Rook’s Rest in the Crownlands is incorrectly named Rook’s Nest, while Dyre Den in The Vale is named Dire Den.

The map is also missing the islands of Old Wyk and Orkmont, which are meant to be part of the Iron Islands.

Theon’s Teleporter

In the episode called “Home”, Theon Greyjoy separates from Sansa Stark and her allies in order to return to the Iron Islands. Theon is still wracked with guilt from his actions since betraying the Starks and decides to journey home, instead of accompanying her to Castle Black.

It’s never explained how Theon was able to return to the Iron Islands. He took a horse from the Bolton men who pursued them from Winterfell, but he has no supplies for the long journey.

Theon is in the Wolfswood when he departs from Sansa, which is an area near Winterfell. This means that Theon somehow evaded capture from the Boltons throughout a journey across half the width of the North.

It’s also never explained how Theon found a ship to the Iron Islands, as this was the same episode where it was revealed that all of the Northern strongholds that were taken by the Ironborn had been reclaimed.

The two countries were also still at war, so it’s not like he could buy passage on a merchant ship.

Khal Drogo Can Melt Gold

Viserys Targaryen drew his weapon in Vaes Dothrak, which was a capital crime to the Dothraki, due to how sacred the city is.

Vaes Dothrak is the place where the various Khals meet under a banner of peace and trade with each other, so no one is allowed to bare steel without bringing ruin upon themselves.

In order to exact punishment against Viserys without committing a crime himself, Khal Drogo melts his golden belt and pours it over Visery’s head.

This is one of the coolest scenes in the first season of Game of Thrones, but it’s also impossible.

It would take a much hotter fire than a campfire to melt gold and it would take a lot longer. We saw that the campfire was being used to cook meat and stew before it was used for the gold, so it would have scorched and ruined the meat if it was at the correct heat to melt metal.

The Long Walk To Castle Black

Jon Snow manages to save some of the wildlings at Hardhome before fleeing from the White Walkers. Jon and the wildlings manage to escape by ship, as the zombie army was unwilling to try and follow them over water.

The next time we see Jon Snow and the wildlings, they have reached Castle Black. This leads to a tense moment where we are unsure whether Alliser Thorne will allow them through.

The problem with this scene is that it makes no sense for Jon Snow to try and return to Castle Black.

His ships were on the east coast, which means that it would have been much faster to enter the Wall through Eastwatch-by-the-Sea, as it is also on the east coast.

The journey to Castle Black would have taken much longer and would have been far more dangerous, as the zombie host could have been right behind them.

The Ironborn Don’t Care About Kinslaying

In the A Song of Ice and Fire novels, it’s hinted that Euron Greyjoy hired a Faceless Man to dispose of his brother. In Game of Thrones, he performed the deed himself, by pushing Balon Greyjoy from a rope bridge.

Euron Greyjoy later admits to his crime during the Kingsmoot, where he justifies his actions by slandering Balon and his doomed campaign against the North.

Euron wins the kingship despite the fact that he admitted to kinslaying.

In Westeros, the act of kinslaying (being responsible for the demise of a relative) is one of the worst crimes you can commit. A kinslayer is considered to be cursed by the gods themselves, which means that even the most vicious of person would abstain from trying to off a family member.

This rule seems to have been forgotten by the Ironborn, who have no problem voting for a kinslayer who also admitted to committing regicide when they should have shunned him.

Bronn The Olympian

Jaime Lannister must have thought that he was actually a character in a Dungeons & Dragons game during the events of “The Spoils of War”, as he decided to charge a queen while her pet dragon was right behind her.

This went about as well as it does in D&D and Jaime was almost on the receiving end of a blast of dragon fire.

Bronn manages to save Jaime’s life by dragging him into the river.

We see Jaime plunge to the bottom of the water, as he is dressed in plate mail armor, which is so heavy that it should prevent him from rising to the surface.

Luckily for Jaime, he is pushed far enough downstream that he manages to avoid notice by Daenerys’ entire army, even though he just tried to assassinate her and wasn’t pushed that far away, meaning that he could still be close enough to be considered a threat.

It was also fortunate that Bronn was strong enough to carry a fully-grown man in a suit of plate mail armor to the surface of the water before Jaime ran out of air.

Stannis The Target

The Battle of the Blackwater was the moment when Game of Thrones proved that it could create huge battles on a Hollywood movie scale despite the limited budget.

There was a limit to how much the producers of Game of Thrones could spend, though, which meant that they had to rely on several scenes involving smaller conflicts between groups of soldiers.

These included scenes where Stannis Baratheon leads his army into battle and fights the Lannister forces on his own.

In A Clash of Kings, Stannis directs the battle from afar. The reason he does this is that his entire campaign relies on his continued existence and his claim to the throne.

The fact that Stannis ran headfirst into battle (without even wearing a helmet) was an incredibly risky and stupid move, which is something that a man like Stannis wouldn’t do.

All it would take is one errant arrow to put an end to his entire campaign.

The Lords Of Dorne Will Follow Anyone

The kingdom of Dorne was ruled by House Martell for many years. This reign was ended by Ellaria Sand and her baseborn daughters, who managed to slay all of the remaining Martell’s and take control over the entire country, to the point where they were able to declare the armies of Dorne for Daenerys’ cause.

The idea that Ellaria and the Sand Snakes were able to take over Dorne so easily makes no sense.

There are numerous noble families in Dorne with the military might and political power to oust them, as neither Ellaria nor her daughters hold any legal claim to the rulership of Dorne.

It would have been in the interest of the other noble families of Dorne to try and take power, as they could have stayed out of the costly war that was threatening to destroy Westeros.

However, they decided to side with the kingslaying assassins who took power by force, even though they lacked any kind of army to back it up.

The Retconned Tyrell Cousins

House Tyrell is much bigger in the books than in the show. They have managed to secure their position through numerous marriage alliances, which helped to fight off opposing claims from the other noble families of the Reach, many of which had a better claim to rulership.

Olenna Tyrell tells Ellaria Sand that she desires vengeance and not survival, which suggests that she is the last surviving member of House Tyrell.

This is due to the destruction of the Sept of Baelor, which had the three heirs to the family inside.

The problem with this situation is that the TV show had already established the fact that there were several Tyrell cousins. This means that there are Tyrell heirs still out there, each with the possibility of reviving the family.

The White Book Retcon

The deeds of every member of the Kingsguard are written in The Book of Brothers, which is also referred to as The White Book. It’s the duty of the current Lord Commander of the Kingsguard to write the new entries within the book.

We are given a brief look at the White Book in “Two Swords” when Joffrey is talking to Jaime about the achievements of Ser Duncan the Tall.

Those who closely watch the footage of the book can make out several entries, which detail the deeds of several previous members of the Kingsguard.

The events of the later seasons would retcon the page in the White Book talking about Ser Gerold Hightower. The page mentions that he perished alongside Ser Arthur Dayne and Ser Oswell Whent while fighting Lord Eddard Stark and his allies in front of the Tower of Joy.

Ser Oswell Whent didn’t appear in the show, as the fight at the Tower of Joy was changed so that it only featured the two other members of the Kingsguard battling Eddard Stark and his friends. This was likely to make the fight scene easier to film.

The removal of Ser Oswell Whent from the Tower of Joy flashbacks contradicts what was written in The White Book.

Can you think of any other parts of Game of Thrones that everyone chooses to ignore? Sound off in the comments!