It's hard to fault the creators of Game of Thrones for introducing characters and storylines that went nowhere, as they never knew how long the show was going to run for.
Game of Thrones was a hit from the start, but it was also the most expensive TV show of all time, which meant that HBO could have decided to end the series at any time, with most of the early seasons only being commissioned one at a time in order to make it easier for HBO to can the show if it lost its audience.
George R.R. Martin is free to add as many characters as he wants into the A Song of Ice and Fire book series that Game of Thrones is based on, as the written word doesn't require you to spend money on anything other than ink and paper, while a TV show has a limited amount of time for its story to be told and a finite amount of funds that can be spent on actors.
Game of Thrones went on to become one of the biggest shows in TV history and the creators were given as much time as they wanted to wrap things up, which allowed them to bring back some of the forgotten storylines from earlier seasons (like the Brotherhood Without Banners) and tie them into current events within the show.
It seems that there was only a limited amount of room for forgotten characters to return to Game of Thrones, as there are many who have yet to make a return and will exist only as a footnote on the show's Wikipedia page.
We are here today to find out which characters on Game of Thrones were unduly forgotten by the producers of the show – from the high lord who lost the loyalty of his troops, to the child who needed to be retconned.
Here are Twenty Characters Game Of Thrones Wants Us To Forget!
Robin Arryn
There was a time when Robin Arryn had the potential to become the most powerful player in Westeros, as his kingdom still had an unspent army that could have conquered several of the Seven Kingdoms with ease.
The last time we saw Robin Arryn was in Season 6 when he gave Petyr Baelish permission to send the armies of the Vale to the North. Since then, the lords of the Vale have sworn allegiance to Jon Snow and have seemingly forgotten about their previous liege lord.
We have yet to hear Robin Arryn's reaction to most of his lords declaring for a new ruler, nor have we be given an explanation for whether Robin now serves Jon Snow despite the fact that his army could easily take the North.
Daario Naharis
Daario Naharis was one of the few men that Daenerys Targaryen had ever loved, yet he has become a footnote in the story of her life.
Daenerys left Daario behind as her Regent in the Bay of Dragons, which means that he holds a great deal of control over the eastern part of her empire, yet that empire has seemingly been forgotten about.
Daario has the ability to send supplies and troops to Daenerys' cause in Westeros, which would have been especially helpful in Season 7 when she needed additional forces to battle the Greyjoy & Lannister alliance, yet the idea of calling on her former lover never even entered her mind.
The Warlocks Of Qarth
When Daenerys' dragons were captured by the Warlocks of Qarth, she was able to free them by incinerating Pyat Pree, the leader of the Warlocks. A member of the Warlocks of Qarth returned in Season 3 for a half-hearted assassination attempt at Daenerys, which was easily foiled by Barristan Selmy, and they haven't been seen since.
One of the few released chapters of The Winds of Winter has offered an explanation for what happened to the Warlocks in the books, as they were captured by Euron Greyjoy after departing from Qarth, but we have yet to hear any kind of similar explanation in the show.
The Tyrell Cousins
One aspect of A Song of Ice and Fire that was trimmed for Game of Thrones was the size of many of the noble families, with the Greyjoy, Lannister, Martell, and Tyrell family all losing several .
Lady Olenna Tyrell claims that the destruction of the Sept of Baelor wiped out the remaining of her family and that she was last living Tyrell, even though she married into the family and was originally a Redwyne.
The problem with Olenna's statement is that we saw several female Tyrell cousins in earlier seasons of the show, with one of them even directly addressing her as "Nana" confirming that she was one of Margaery's cousins.
Olyvar
Game of Thrones is often accused of including fanservice and scantily clad women for no reason other than the fact that it's an HBO show and they can get away with it. Olyvar was one of the few male characters whose main purpose was to undress for no other reason than to perform for the audience.
Olyvar did play a major role in Season 5, where it was his testimony that led to both Loras and Margaery being arrested by the Sparrows. We have yet to hear from Olyvar since, even though the Tyrells would want him silenced in case he was called on to provide more testimony in a public trial.
Quaithe
Qarth was a peculiar city and the most unusual of its denizens was a masked woman named Quaithe, who offered cryptic advice to Jorah Mormont about the plot to steal the dragons. Quaithe clearly possesses some kind of magical ability and her outfit was specifically designed to share similarities with Melisandre, but she never appeared in the story again.
Quaithe has had more of a role in the books, where she has appeared to Daenerys in visions and offered warnings about the perils she will face in Essos, as well as suggesting that she travel to the land of Asshai.
The recently released Fire & Blood has also offered some suggestions as to Quaithe's true identity and why she is so fixated on Daenerys.
Ilyn Payne
Ser Ilyn Payne was a servant of the Lannister family who had his tongue removed by the Mad King. Payne was also the executioner of Ned Stark. Arya Stark used to include Ilyn Payne on her list, but he was removed over time with no explanation as to why.
The real reason why Ilyn Payne was removed from the show was due to actor Wilko Johnson struggled with health issues. It turned out that things weren't as sever as originally believed and he was able to receive treatment, meaning that it's still possible for him to return to Game of Thrones.
Kinvara
Melisandre is one of the most powerful sorceresses in the world of Game of Thrones, with her ability to create indestructible shadow assassins being chief among them. There are other red priests/priestesses in the world of Game of Thrones, yet they rarely use their powers in the same way as Melisandre.
In Season 6 of Game of Thrones, Tyrion and Varys call on the help of Kinvara, who is the High Priestess of the Red Temple in Volantis. Kinvara renders Varys speechless with her knowledge of his origins, promises to help, but never appears again.
A character with such a high standing should be a major player in Game of Thrones, yet she only shows up for a single scene.
The Remaining Sand Snakes
Oberyn Martell tells Cersei Lannister that he has eight bastard daughters and has acknowledged them all. The eight daughters of Oberyn are known as the Sand Snakes and we see the three eldest of them in the following seasons.
The remaining Sand Snakes have yet to make any kind of impact on the show, even though the eldest living one (Sarella Sand) is technically the heir to Dorne and could mobilize the country's army against Cersei.
The fact that the Greyjoys were responsible for slaying Obara and Nymeria Sand and that the Lannisters were responsible for capturing Ellaria Sand & Tyene Sand would have prompted an armed response from Dorne, yet they have made no move against their enemy.
Anguy
Anguy was the resident archer of the Brotherhood Without Banners and helped to teach Arya Stark how to fire a bow. He was last seen looking for an escaped Arya in Season 3 and has yet to return to the show, even though other prominent of the Brotherhood returned in later seasons.
Anguy abandoned the Brotherhood in A Song of Ice and Fire after a change of leadership, but Beric is still the leader of the group in the show and it's unlikely that Anguy would have abandoned him. It's possible that Anguy fell in battle, but that could have been explained with a single throwaway line in the show, which we never got.