GRRM’s Original Game Of Thrones Plan Had A Jon Snow, Arya & Tyrion Love Triangle, And It Led To One Of The Best Relationships

Game of Thrones could have looked very different had George R.R. Martin stuck to his early plans – and, yes, that even includes a love triangle between Jon Snow, Arya Stark, and Tyrion Lannister. The show and the A Song of Ice and Fire books never shied away from some pretty f**ked-up romances, be it the brother and sister duo of Jaime and Cersei Lannister, or later on, the aunt/nephew love between Daenerys Targaryen and Jon, both of which even factored into Game of Thrones‘ ending.

House of the Dragon has further expanded upon the prevalence of incest in the Seven Kingdoms of Westeros, largely thanks to House Targaryen’s history. And yet even with all of that, the idea of Jon and Arya, in particular, is almost impossible to imagine – and that’s before you add Tyrion into the mix. It’s difficult, of course, to say whether it would have worked or not, but it’s fascinating that it was even part of George R.R. Martin’s plans to begin with.

GRRM’s Original Plan For Jon Snow, Arya Stark & Tyrion Lannister

Arya’s Storyline, In Particular, Was Very Different

In 1993, three years before the release of A Game of Thrones, Martin had an overall plan for A Song of Ice & Fire, which he then intended to be a trilogy of books. This would be epic, but not quite as expansive as it ended up becoming.

1. Book one, A Game of Thrones, would focus on the war between the Starks and the Lannisters.
2. Book two, A Dance with Dragons, would then see Daenerys Targaryen crossing the narrow sea, invading Westeros as its potential new ruler.
3. Book three, The Winds of Winter, would have all the stories coalescing around the true threat: the Others from the Far North.

There were, inevitably, lots of differences, and that included the storylines for Jon, Arya, and Tyrion. The former still went to the Wall, but he was joined, briefly, by Arya, who fled Winterfell alongside Catelyn and Bran Stark. They attempted to take refuge at Castle Black, but Jon, now a brother of the Night’s Watch, couldn’t help them, and they were forced beyond the Wall. Martin wrote:

“Jon Snow, the bastard, will remain in the far north. He will mature into a ranger of great daring, and ultimately will succeed his uncle as the commander of the Night’s Watch. When Winterfell burns, Catelyn Stark will be forced to flee north with her son Bran and her daughter Arya. Wounded by Lannister riders, they will seek refuge at the Wall, but the men of the Night’s Watch give up their families when they take the black, and Jon and Benjen will not be able to help, to Jon’s anguish.

“It will lead to a bitter estrangement between Jon and Bran. Arya will be more forgiving … until she realizes, with terror, that she has fallen in love with Jon, who is not only her half-brother but a man of the Night’s Watch, sworn to celibacy. Their passion will continue to torment Jon and Arya throughout the trilogy, until the secret of Jon’s true parentage is finally revealed in the last book.”

That alone is surprising enough. It suggests that Jon and Arya had romantic feelings for one another and, not only that, but even suggests Jon’s true parentage could be a reveal that allows them to be together. There’s no indication Martin planned for that to be anything other than Rhaegar Targaryen and Lyanna Stark (though no names are mentioned in the outline), so that could simply be a matter of phrasing, something he hadn’t fully figured out yet, or… Jon and Arya would have no problem being cousins who get together. That is, admittedly, more common and less taboo in Westeros.

However, there’s also a Tyrion piece to this, turning it into a truly wild love triangle. In this version of events, Tyrion is actually the one who burns down Winterfell… before later switching sides to ally with the Starks, and forming friendships with both Arya and Sansa. This leads to him developing feelings for the former, and a rivalry with Jon Snow:

“Exiled, Tyrion will change sides, making common cause with the surviving Starks to bring his brother down, and falling helplessly in love with Arya Stark while he’s at it. His passion is, alas, unreciprocated, but no less intense for that, and it will lead to a deadly rivalry between Tyrion and Jon Snow.”

Why Did GRRM Ditch The Jon, Arya & Tyrion Love Triangle?

The Plans Changed Considerably

Martin’s story changed a lot from that initial plan, even if the bones of it can still be seen throughout. For instance, it would’ve had Jaime Lannister murdering his way to becoming king, and Sansa having Joffrey Baratheon’s son (who was… then killed by Jaime). Those fell by the wayside, and so too did the Jon/Arya/Tyrion love triangle, and the biggest reason for that is in how Martin writes these books.

Though he had a structure, he isn’t someone who plans everything out meticulously. The author likes to see where the story and characters take him, pulling on different threads and going down different paths. So even with this outline, nothing was set in stone. Along with that is the sheer expansion of the story: it went from three books to seven, and so massive in scope that two of them still haven’t been finished, over thirty years after Martin planned the saga.

Jon’s story broadly remains intact, and so do parts of Tyrion’s: he does find common cause with the Lannisters’ enemy, he is blamed for Joffrey’s murder, he does enter into exile, and he even marries one of the Stark girls, albeit Sansa, not Arya. For her part, Arya’s story is quite different: there’s no Jon Snow romance, and no going beyond the Wall, instead being quickly separated from her family and going on a completely different adventure.

GRRM’s Plan Still Resulted In A Great Relationship

It Was A Lot Better Than A Romance

Though we don’t know exactly how things would’ve played out, I think it’s safe to say that a Jon/Arya/Tyrion love triangle not happening was for the best. But the closeness of Jon and Arya from Martin’s early ideas did carry through into the finished books. Whether he was still planning on it or not in the first couple of novels is unclear, but they have the strongest bond of all the Stark siblings.

Indeed, while Jon and Arya are actually only together for a handful of chapters in the entire series so far, they do frequently think of one another. Their relationship is among the truest, sweetest, and most loving in A Song of Ice and Fire, and that’s true in Game of Thrones as well. It may not get too much screen time, but what they do get is always meaningful, and that is, surprisingly, indebted to Martin’s romantic plans for them. It just worked out so much better, thankfully.