The Red Wedding is the most iconic event in Game of Thrones, but it differs significantly in the novels. The HBO series is based on George R.R. Martin’s A Song of Ice & Fire novels, which are among the most prolific titles in fantasy.
While the TV show did a fairly decent job adapting the books in its early seasons, even providing Game of Thrones with an ending (which the books don’t have), there are numerous differences between the two.
Catelyn Stark’s Perspective
Not only do we witness the Red Wedding from Catelyn’s perspective, but she also has an arc after the fact. Both are worth breaking down in detail. During the event, Catelyn has some fascinating thoughts, including a complete breakdown after she watches Robb’s death.
After seeing her first son’s death, Catelyn goes into shock and begins to tear at her face with her nails before she’s killed. This makes for an even more gruesome visual and is actually one of the areas where the TV show toned things down. Here are some pieces of her inner monologue during that sequence:
“It hurts so much, she thought. Our children, Ned, all our sweet babes. Rickon, Bran, Arya, Sansa, Robb… Robb… please, Ned, please, make it stop, make it stop hurting…”
“And she thought, ‘No, don’t, don’t cut my hair, Ned loves my hair.’ Then the steel was at her throat, and its bite was red and cold.”
There’s also a critical difference earlier in the event where she discusses the bedding ceremony with Roose Bolton. In the show, she claims she never had one as Ned would have punched someone. In the book, Catelyn recounts her bedding ceremony, recalling how she felt terrified and embarrassed.
Catelyn Stark’s Fate
Many chapters after the Red Wedding, the novel’s epilogue sees a group of Freys captured by the Brotherhood without Banners. It’s revealed that the Brotherhood now serves under a woman with grey skin and a scar across her neck, who is evidently a reanimated version of Catelyn Stark.
Catelyn was brought back to life in the same way Beric was, with him giving his life to return hers. A Feast for Crows reveals that this was done by Beric performing the “last kiss,” or the “kiss of life,” to bring Cat back. The Lord of Light seemingly returned Catelyn to life, although her scar left her unable to speak.
Future novels include mentions of Catelyn, now known as Lady Stoneheart, traveling around the Riverlands seeking vengeance for the Red Wedding. When we last heard of her, she demanded that Brienne of Tarth kill Jaime Lannister, leaving readers on a now 20-year cliffhanger.
The epilogue of A Storm of Swords is one of the most fascinating chapters in George R.R. Martin’s novels that sadly never made it into the TV series. While the show was looking to trim down its cast at this point and prepare for the endgame, Martin was still expanding his plot.
Jaime Lannister Sends His Regards
“The Lannisters send their regards” is a famous phrase from Game of Thrones, and it sends a chilling effect in its own right. However, Roose Bolton’s line before stabbing Robb Stark through the heart is just a few words off and makes quite a notable difference.
In the novel, Roose Bolton says, “Jaime Lannister sends his regards,” which importantly calls back to Jaime and Roose’s dialogue exchange from earlier on. Roose says, “You will give my warm regards to your father?” to which Jaime replies, “So long as you give mine to Robb Stark.
This line might have been effective in Game of Thrones as well given the face-off that Jaime and Robb shared in season 2. It could be that they changed it due to Jaime’s impending redemption arc and wanting to pin the incident on Tywin rather than making it seem like Jaime Lannister was explicitly involved.
It’s important to note that Jaime Lannister also has something of a redemption arc in A Song of Ice &&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&'s fate is still uncertain.'s fate is still uncertain.'s fate is still uncertain.'s fate is still uncertain.'s fate is still uncertain.'s fate is still uncertain.'s fate is still uncertain.'s fate is still uncertain.'s fate is still uncertain.'s fate is still uncertain.'s fate is still uncertain.'s fate is still uncertain.'s fate is still uncertain.'s fate is still uncertain.'s fate is still uncertain.'s fate is still uncertain.
