7 things from the books we wish Game of Thrones would have kept

Jeyne Poole

Sansa wasn’t alone in her musings of the glorious royal life as a child, her best friend Jeyne Poole supported her views as well as encouraged her crush on Joffrey Baratheon. When Ned Stark took the position of Hand of the King, Poole followed her father to Kings Landing reuniting with Sansa and allowing her to witness life at the Red keep all the way to the moment that Ned Stark is executed. Having also lost her father during the Battle of Blackwater, Jeyne is Sansa’s support when she mourns the death of her father.

Jeyne, having lost her father, was given to Petyr Baelish who placed her in one of his brothels until he found a more useful purpose for the girl. In Arya’s absence, Baelish came up with the idea to use Poole as a replacement. Not many knew what Arya looked like and Poole was familiar with life at Winterfell and could surely pass any test to prove legitimacy.

It is Poole, not Sansa, who marries and is abused by Ramsey Snow and ends up escaping with Theon. Sansa’s story in the still unfinished ASOIAF series remains at the Vale posing as Baelish’s bastard daughter Alayne Stone. Undoubtedly, Sansa inheriting Poole’s story makes her character more interesting as her development has turned her into a woman who is not afraid to fight back, having survived Ramsey’s antics.

On the other hand, had Poole’s character been added to the show, it would have led to a wild goose chase for everyone willing to save the last Stark girl. Since Ramsey is a monster by reputation, Jon Snow and others will surely try to rescue her. Just imagine the surprise when they discover that Arya is still missing and they had been chasing an imposter the entire time.