The Unresolved Plot Threads Game of Thrones Never Tied Up

One of the things that made Game of Thrones magical in its early seasons was the sense that every detail mattered. A throwaway line about someone’s past could come back chapters or episodes later with profound implications. George R.R. Martin weaves complexity and mystery throughout his narrative, planting seeds that take time to grow. And then… well, the show moved faster than the books, the timeline compressed, and some of those carefully planted mysteries just got abandoned.

There are dozens of plot threads that the show either resolved unsatisfyingly or left completely unresolved. Some of them are central to understanding character motivations. Others hint at larger mysteries about the world itself. And some are just bizarre loose ends that make you wonder what the writers were thinking. Let’s explore some of the biggest unresolved threads and consider what they might have meant if the show had actually bothered to pay them off.

The Prince That Was Promised: What Does It Even Mean?

This prophecy haunts the entire series, and the show never quite figures out what to do with it. According to the legend, when the world is enveloped in darkness, the Prince That Was Promised will be born to save humanity. Various characters are presented as potential candidates: Stannis Baratheon (who his followers believe is the Prince), Jon Snow (who is revealed to be a Targaryen), and Daenerys Targaryen (who seems to check all the boxes—she has fire and blood, she births dragons, she’s a powerful leader).

By the end of the series, the show has essentially said that the prophecy is meaningless. The Long Night is defeated not by any prophesied hero but by Arya Stark stabbing the Night King. Daenerys, who spent the entire series thinking herself this legendary figure, turns out to be just another character pursuing power. And Jon Snow, probably the most obvious candidate given his resurrection and his mysterious parentage, spends the final season knowing he’s a Targaryen but not really doing anything special with that identity.

The books hint that this prophecy might be a mistranslation or a misunderstanding. The Prince That Was Promised might not be a real thing at all, just something people want to believe in. That’s an interesting idea, but the show never explores it. Instead, it just ignores the prophecy whenever it becomes inconvenient, which makes you wonder why they spent so much time on it.

Quaithe’s Cryptic Prophecies: The Most Mysterious Prophecy-Giver

Quaithe, the mysterious figure in the House of the Undying, shows up in Daenerys’s storyline and delivers some of the most cryptic and interesting prophecies in the entire series. “The glass candles are burning,” she says, hinting at secret magical happenings. She warns Daenerys about treasons that she hasn’t yet faced. And she hints at broader cosmological events happening in the world.

And then Quaithe basically disappears from the show. After season two, she’s barely mentioned. In the books, she continues to be a presence in the story, appearing in Daenerys’s visions and providing mysterious guidance. But the show drops her entirely, which makes you wonder: was Quaithe important? Were those prophecies supposed to mean something? Or was she just flavor and the writers moved on because her storyline didn’t directly impact whether Daenerys sat on the throne?

This is frustrating because Quaithe represents what made Game of Thrones (and George R.R. Martin’s work) so compelling in the first place: the sense that there are larger mysteries in the world, that magic is returning, that the world is more complicated and strange than the characters realize. By dropping Quaithe, the show abandoned some of that sense of mystery.

The Three-Headed Dragon: Why Does It Matter?

Throughout the series, there are references to a prophecy about “the dragon has three heads.” This is interpreted as meaning Daenerys should have three dragons, which she does. But the prophecy in the books is more complex and suggests that the three heads might be different people, not just three dragons. Could the three heads be Daenerys, Jon Snow, and someone else? Could they be Daenerys, her two brothers, or some other combination?

The show seems to settle on the idea that the three heads are just dragons, which is a disappointment because it reduces a complex magical mystery to a simple inventory check. Daenerys gets three dragons, the prophecy is fulfilled, and there’s nothing more to think about. That’s not the way Martin’s mythology usually works in the books, where prophecies are almost always more complex than they initially appear.

The Faceless Men: Who Are They Really?

The Faceless Men remain one of the most mysterious organizations in the Game of Thrones world, and the show never really explains them. Arya trains with them, learns their ways, and presumably becomes one of them. But what are the Faceless Men actually doing? Are they just assassins for hire, or are they part of a larger magical/religious movement? What’s their actual agenda?

In the books, there are hints that the Faceless Men might be connected to a death god, that they might have a larger purpose beyond just killing people. But the show treats them mostly as a convenient training ground for Arya, getting her the skills she needs to become a deadly fighter. That’s fine as far as it goes, but it means one of the most interesting organizations in the world remains fundamentally mysterious.

And when Arya leaves their service, supposedly having “become no one,” she immediately goes back to being Arya Stark, taking back her identity and her family name. So what did she actually learn from them, besides how to kill people? The show never explores this.

The Faceless Men Killer in King’s Landing: Who Was It?

Here’s a specific plot thread that gets genuinely abandoned. In season five, there’s a series of murders in King’s Landing, and Cersei becomes increasingly paranoid that someone has hired the Faceless Men to kill her. But then… nothing. The murders stop. The show moves on to other plots. We never find out who was killing people, who hired them, or why it mattered.

This is such a bizarre abandoned plot thread that it makes you wonder if there was a larger plan for this storyline that got cut due to time constraints. Was it supposed to be important? Was it just meant to make Cersei paranoid? The show never resolves it, and rewatching the series, you notice this thread just hanging there unresolved.

What’s With All the Magic Returning to the World?

The magic returning to the world is a crucial plot point in the series. We open with White Walkers that magic has awakened. Daenerys births dragons through ritual magic. Melisandre performs elaborate magical rituals. Bran develops magical powers. By season eight, magic and the old gods are supposedly back in the world.

And yet the show never really explores what this means or why it’s happening. Is magic returning because of some larger cosmological event? Is the Long Night’s approach causing it? Is someone deliberately bringing magic back? The show hints at these questions but never answers them. By the end of the series, magic still exists (we see it with Bran’s powers), but we never understand why it’s here or what its ultimate purpose is.

The Significance of the Children of the Forest

The Children of the Forest create the Night King in the distant past, establishing the entire conflict that drives the plot. And then they’re barely mentioned again. They show up to help save Bran, and that’s it. What’s their stake in the modern conflict? What’s their history? Why did they create the Night King in the first place, and have they learned anything from that mistake?

These are actually explored somewhat more in the books, but the show treats the Children as mysterious forest spirits rather than as characters with their own agency and motivations. They’re part of the set dressing of the world rather than actual participants in the conflict.

Brienne’s True Heritage and Potential Marriage

There are hints in both the show and books that Brienne might have noble heritage that she doesn’t know about. These hints never come to fruition in the show. Brienne remains mysterious about her background, but the show never explores whether her mysterious heritage matters or what it might mean for her character.

Additionally, there are multiple scenes where the show hints at romantic possibilities for Brienne—with Jaime, with Pod, with others. But by the end of the series, Brienne is alone, without explanation for why none of these potentialities developed. That’s not necessarily a problem (she doesn’t need a romantic ending), but the show sets up expectations and never addresses them.

What Happened to the Dothraki?

The Dothraki, one of the most distinctive peoples in the world, are handled inconsistently throughout the series. They’re presented as fierce warriors, but also as followers who can’t survive without a Khal. When Daenerys gains their loyalty, they become part of her army, but their unique culture and values never really impact her decisions or the show’s themes.

By the end of the series, the Dothraki are basically just hired swords in Daenerys’s army, indistinguishable from any other soldiers. Their eventual fate—being sent back to Essos when Daenerys falls—is handled in a single line. What happens to them? Do they survive? Are they stranded? The show doesn’t care enough to explain.

The Significance of Bastards

George R.R. Martin has talked extensively about how bastards are important to the themes of his books. They’re people born outside the system, with power but no legitimacy, forced to find their own place in the world. Multiple major characters are bastards: Jon Snow, Theon Greyjoy, Gendry, Daenerys (in a way, depending on prophecies), and others.

The show seems to forget that bastard status is supposed to be significant. Jon Snow is revealed to be a legitimate Targaryen, which suddenly erases his bastard status. Theon’s status as a bastard (well, a ward, but he’s treated as lower status) drives his early character work, but then it becomes irrelevant. Gendry is legitimized. By the end, the show has basically said that bastard status doesn’t really matter, which undermines one of Martin’s central thematic concerns.

The Three Sacred Oaths: Do They Matter?

The show establishes that the three sacred oaths of the Night’s Watch are important. But when Jon Snow becomes a ghost (sort of—he was resurrected, depending on whether he came back as himself or as a ghost), does that release him from his oaths? The show never explores this. Jon is released from his vows in a simple scene but doesn’t grapple with the implications or the magic that might be involved.

Similarly, Jaime Lannister’s oath as a Kingsguard comes in conflict with his loyalty to his family and his personal desires. The show sets this up as an interesting conflict but never really resolves it in a satisfying way.

The Lannisters’ Wealth and Power Structure

The Lannisters’ wealth is stated to be the foundation of Lannister power, yet the show never really explores where this wealth comes from or how it’s maintained. The gold mines are mentioned, but we never see them or understand the logistics of how Lannister wealth actually works. By the final seasons, the Lannisters are basically one dysfunctional family, and their power base is forgotten.

Littlefinger’s Long Game: What Was It Actually About?

Littlefinger is described as having a grand master plan that drives the entire conflict. But when Sansa confronts him in season seven, his plan seems to be… he wanted to sleep with Sansa? He wanted to be warden of the North? It’s unclear what Littlefinger was actually trying to accomplish, and the show never clearly explains his end game.

In the books, there are hints that Littlefinger has a more elaborate plan involving the Vale, the Eyrie, and complex political maneuvering. But the show simplifies him into just a creep who wanted power and got executed. His story doesn’t feel complete.

The Significance of Symbols and Prophecies in Heraldry

Every house in the Game of Thrones world has symbols and mottos that are often prophetic or symbolic in nature. “The north remembers.” “Fire and blood.” “Winter is coming.” These aren’t just cool slogans; they’re thematic statements about each house. But the show rarely explores what these symbols mean or how they relate to each house’s destiny. By the end, they’re just flavor text rather than meaningful representations of each house’s values and future.

The Ultimate Mystery: What Was the Point?

Perhaps the biggest unresolved thread is the question of what the entire story was actually about. In the books, there are hints that the conflict between ice and fire, between the living and the dead, between magic and mundane reality, is the fundamental conflict of the world. But in the show, once the Long Night is resolved in a single episode, that cosmic conflict doesn’t matter anymore. The remaining conflict is just political squabbling, which is fine, but it makes the eight seasons of buildup feel disproportionate.

The show never answers the fundamental question: Is this a story about magic returning to the world? A story about climate change (eternal winter)? A story about how human political ambitions distract us from real existential threats? A story about the corrupting nature of power? It could be any of these, but the show never commits to a thematic answer, which leaves many threads feeling unresolved.

In Conclusion: The Tragedy of Loose Threads

These unresolved plot threads are not just continuity errors. They represent moments where the show had the potential to explore deeper truths about the world, the characters, and the themes it was trying to explore. Some of these threads might have been meant to matter more but got simplified as the show raced toward its conclusion. Others might have been red herrings all along, designed to mislead readers and viewers about what the story was really about.

But the accumulation of these unresolved threads does damage the show’s narrative coherence, especially on rewatch. It makes it harder to believe that the show had a clear plan or that the storytellers understood what they were building toward. It suggests that sometimes the show was more interested in moving forward than in paying off the investments it had made. And that’s a shame, because Game of Thrones could have been a more satisfying experience if it had taken the time to resolve even a few of these threads more thoughtfully.