We're going to say something controversial here: Game of Thrones has too many characters.
Now, we're not talking about the books, which use thousands of pages to give everyone something to do, but the show, which has introduced so many people – then almost instantly forgotten about them – that we have literally no idea how they're going to tie off all these plotlines in the six episodes we have left in season eight (yes, it will be just six episodes long – SOB).
Here's a selection of our favourite characters we'll probably never hear from again.
1. Ser Ilyn Payne
There's a sad reason we haven't seen the royal executioner since season two (where he only appeared in one episode), even if he has been mentioned on the show since. In 2013, actor (and legendary guitarist) Wilko Johnson announced that he had been diagnosed with terminal pancreatic cancer, and was quietly (and respectfully) written out of the show.
However, following an operation, Johnson made a full recovery and has since talked about returning to the show. Partly because we'd love to see that happen because of the real-life story, and partly because he constitutes a dangling plotline – both Sansa and Arya (who had him on her kill-list) saw him kill their dad, and he's still in King's Landing, so we imagine they'll probably want to get their revenge at some point before the show ends, maybe?
2. Salladhor Saan
One of the coolest characters in the book, winner of Westeros' best-dressed pirate award 10 years in a row (probably), Salladhor Saan has been introduced on the show and given plenty to do… before being swiftly forgotten about. The last time we saw him, he was having a row with his mate Ser Davos in season four.
That's after doing a bunch of good deeds for Jon Snow's right-hand man, including rescuing Davos after the Battle of Blackwater and convincing him to not kill Melisandre (which paid off big time when she brought back Snow). Is there room for Saan to pop up to save the day one last time?
3. Ghost
Where's Ghost? Has the audience been ghosted by Ghost? Seriously, where's Ghost? Jon Snow's beloved direwolf has been missing pretty much since Jon came back to life, with absolutely no reference to where he's gone since. Seeing as the creature has been set up as a fairly major supplementary character, there's no excuse for his absence.
Well, actually, there is – even Game of Thrones has to stick to a budget, and it turns out there's not enough money to cover all the giants, white walkers and ice dragons the series currently needs.
Still, Ghost has to appear in season eight at least once, right? Right?
4. Nymeria
Ghost isn't the only missing direwolf on the show, but at least Nymeria has had something that could function as a farewell scene if we never see her again – the season seven scene in which Nymeria decided to stay with her pack instead of heading off with Arya. But that doesn't mean we don't want to see her again.
The Starks are intrinsically connected to their direwolves, as much as Dany is to her dragons, and it will feel very weird if neither Nymeria or Ghost show up during the final battle.
5. Illyrio Mopatis
Who's Illyrio Mopatis? Oh, only the dude that set one of the show's most important plotlines into motion, don't worry about it. Mopatis is the Pentos merchant who gave Dany the dragon eggs and married her off to Khal Drago with the intention of putting her on the Iron Throne (after it became clear her brother wasn't up to the job) – but why?
Outside of the fact he's mates with Varys, we have no idea why he gave (and risked) so much to see a then-naive young girl replace King Robert Baratheon (and everyone that would follow him) as ruler of Westeros.
It's an unresolved plotline, but considering everything else season eight has to squeeze in we'll probably have to wait for the final books to find out what was going on with Mopatis.
6. Catelyn Stark
Yeah, yeah we know – Catelyn Stark's dead, but in the world of Game of Thrones, that doesn't mean diddly. In the books, Lady Stark goes from being dead to being this weird combination of a zombie and The Punisher, named Lady Stoneheart, who goes round killing anyone who had anything to do with the Red Wedding.
She's basically one of the most badass characters in George RR Martin's books series, but she hasn't turned up on the show. Okay, so it's probably too late to incorporate her properly, but how about a bit of fan service? Have Catelyn show up as an undead white walker, who sends her regards to Jaime Lannister.
7. Ser Pounce
Easily the most significant character currently not on the show, we last saw the cat Ser Pounce way back in season four when he pussy-blocked Margaery's attempts to seduce King Tommen. It was in this scene that Pounce revealed the devious machinations at the heart of the character.
Clearly Pounce wasn't happy with this union, as it messed with his own plans to achieve ultimate power. We haven't seen him since, but he's probably still skulking around behind the scenes somewhere, manipulating every single event we witness on the show, leading to Game of Thrones' big final reveal – a cat on the Iron Throne. Arise, King Pounce.
Freelancer writer
Sam is an entertainment writer with NCTJ accreditation and a twenty-year career as a film journalist.
Starting out as a staff writer at Total Film, moving up to Deputy Online Editor, Sam was responsible for Total Film’s YouTube channel, where he revolutionised the magazine’s approach to video junkets, creating influential formats that spread to other outlets.
He’s interviewed a wide range of film icons, including directors such as David Lynch, Quentin Tarantino, Paul Thomas Anderson, Sofia Coppola, Ridley Scott, Michael Bay and Sam Raimi, as well as actors such as Meryl Streep, Nic Cage, Brad Pitt, George Clooney, Anne Hathaway, Margot Robbie, Natalie Portman, Kermit the Frog, all of the Avengers and many more.
Sam has also interviewed several comic creators, including Stan Lee, Alan Moore, Grant Morrison, and he has a zombie cameo in The Walking Dead comic.
In 2014, Sam went freelance, working directly for film studios including Warner Brothers, 20th Century Fox and Disney, as well as covering red carpet events for film marketing company PMA Productions.
Sam is the co-host, producer and editor of the Arrow Video podcast, which has seen year-on-year growth since its creation in 2017, gaining over half a million listens in that time.
His byline has appeared in outlets such as Yahoo, MTV, Dazed, Esquire, Harper’s Bazaar, Cosmopolitan, Elle, and Good Housekeeping among others.
In 2012, Sam made it to the final of the Leicester Square Theatre New Comedian of the Year competition, and went on to become a filmmaker himself, directing three features that have all played major festivals, and secured distribution – starring in two of them.
Jim Carrey once mistook Sam for Johnny Cash, and John Carpenter told him to ‘Keep up the good work.’ He promises to try his best.
