GAME OF THRONES Characters That Were Completely Forgotten

Years have passed since the finale of Game of Thrones, yet it remains a hot topic. After all, we are talking about one of the most popular series in television history. Fans voice their opinions on individual plotlines and characters, analyze and wonder whether everything could have been shown differently, better. They point out that the production left many important questions unanswered, list characters who vanished without a trace and never returned to the screen. Indeed, there were quite a few. Have you also debated with friends about what happened to Jaqen H’ghar or Ilyn Payne? Which other characters did the creators forget?

Salladhor Saan

Do you still remember this character? He was a pirate-lord, commander of a fleet of thirty ships, and a friend of Ser Davos from the days when Davos was considered the best smuggler in the Seven Kingdoms. He was recruited to help Stannis Baratheon’s army seize the Iron Throne. He left after the battle at Blackwater Rush, only to return when Stannis, having secured a loan, could pay him the agreed sum. This character is mentioned as early as the first season, when one of Daenerys’s handmaidens tells Viserys during his bath about a gold-bearing pirate whose ships had colorful sails.

We see Saan again in seasons two and three; after a fourth-season recruitment paid in a sack of gold coins—he disappears from the story. The creators brought him back after a hiatus only to forget about him immediately.

Illyrio Mopatis

When the series began, he seemed destined to be one of its major players, someone who, alongside Varys, would pull the strings in the game for the Iron Throne. After all, he arranged Daenerys’s marriage to Khal Drogo, meant to be the first step toward restoring the Targaryen dynasty in the Seven Kingdoms. He navigated brilliantly between both sides of the conflict and almost always got what he wanted. Yet we last see him in episode five of season one. Even when Varys and Tyrion arrive in Pentos—Mopatis’s home—in season five, he is merely mentioned and never appears again. Fans speculated that Roger Allam, who portrays him, is a prominent television actor in the United Kingdom and may have been unable to commit to the series long-term, or perhaps he demanded too high a fee.

Daario Naharis

Daario Naharis joined Daenerys’s army as an advisor, an officer, and later as the Stormborn’s lover. He accompanied her in the conquest of Yunkai and Meereen and urged her to liberate the dragons. Naharis is a brave, intelligent man who truly seemed to love his queen. In my opinion, he was one of the more interesting characters of the middle seasons. The creators, however, showed him no mercy. Not only did they abruptly recast him, giving him two completely different faces, but they also sent him off rather brutally.

Daenerys declares that she cares more for the Iron Throne than for him and orders him to remain in Dragonstone Bay when she departs for Westeros. Although various characters returned after long absences, this was not the case for Naharis.

Jaqen H’ghar

I really liked this character and held out hope that he would appear in the final season. Tom Wlaschiha, who plays H’ghar, was even spotted by fans at one of the filming locations for the final episodes, but the creators likely wanted to toy with our expectations.

The Faceless Man last appeared at the end of season six, after Arya defeated the Waif. Theories abounded that Arya had also killed him, or that H’ghar was actually Ned Stark, Syrio Forel, Rhaegar Targaryen, or… the Night King. His storyline, however, concluded with Arya’s departure for Westeros. Or perhaps we saw him later with another face? Who knows…

Quaithe

I bet most of you have already forgotten this character.

Over the course of the series, she proved utterly inconsequential. Like Melisandre, Quaithe hailed from Asshai. Her distinctive mask gave her a disturbing appearance, and although she tried to convey something important to Daenerys, everything she said remained a riddle. As befits such a mysterious figure, her fate after season two is unknown—seemingly, the creators simply had no further use for Quaithe. Perhaps George R. R. Martin’s planned books will reveal more about her?

Kinvara

Speaking of Daenerys’s mysterious advisors, Kinvara disappeared from the series as abruptly as Quaithe.

The Red Priestess from Volantis appeared in season six—Tyrion and Varys enlisted her help to win the people of Meereen over to their new queen. Yet we saw her in only two episodes. Another unused character.

Ser Pounce

Have you also wondered what happened to this sweet kitten after Tommen’s suicide? Did Cersei adopt him (she may have felt lonely without children), or did she cast him out onto the streets of King’s Landing?

Ilyn Payne

The mute knight who executed Eddard Stark long appeared on Arya’s infamous kill list, but even she forgot him, and so did the viewers. We saw him frequently in seasons one and two as Joffrey’s ruthless enforcer. Later, he was mentioned once in season four and never appeared again. This omission was especially odd since Queen Cersei would surely have wanted someone like Payne at her side. Actor and musician Wilko Johnson received a grim diagnosis in January 2013—advanced pancreatic cancer—and was given nine to ten months to live, so the series understandably ceased to matter.

Johnson embarked on a farewell concert tour, wishing to spend his remaining days recording as much music as possible. In the meantime, his cancer proved more treatable than initially feared: surgeons removed a three-kilogram tumor, his pancreas, spleen, and part of his stomach. He finally lost his battle with illness in 2022.