Game of Thrones season 8 episode 5 gives Euron and Jamie a major scene. George R. Martin’s A Song of Ice and Fire books give Euron Greyjoy a terrifying, magic-seeking quest to own dragons and beat Daenerys. Who dies? GoT’s second to last episode reminds us of what could have been.
Game of Thrones has always had great villains. Petyr “Littlefinger” Baelish’s clever manipulation and subterfuge was slowly revealed to have a hand in almost every major moment of the early seasons. Cersei Lannister seized onto power at every chance she could get no matter the cost. The Night King slaughtered with an air of mystery until his final moments.
In the books, Euron Greyjoy is right up there — terrifying, fascinating, and power hungry. But the show version of Euron never quite compared to the other villains, and in this pivotal moment for the character in Game of Thrones penultimate episode, we know he won’t amount to what George R. Martin put on the page.
[Ed. note: this post contains major spoilers for Game of Thrones season 8, episode 5]
Even at his most meaningful moments on Game of Thrones, Euron Greyjoy was effectively just a living plot device. He appeared out of nowhere to shoot a dragon or destroy a fleet or get tricked by Cersei then disappeared until the next time the story demanded him. Most consequentially, he is the great army equalizer. Does Daenerys have too many men? does Cersei’s battle seem hopeless? No problem! Euron levels the playing field.
But now that Euron is finally dead, killed at the hand of an enraged Jaime Lannister, it’s worth looking at what his character could have been in Game of Thrones if the show had used a version of the character that was a little closer to the books.
