Game of Thrones, spanning eight years and eight seasons, is remembered as one of the greatest fantasy shows of all time, if not one of the best shows of all time, period. Breaking records and sweeping awards categories year after year, it featured a huge ensemble cast of fantastic talents and carefully interwoven plot threads throughout the show.

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While some of the show's main plot lines are remembered fondly, others fell short for fans, especially some about the show's later seasons. A few less developed minor plot points grasped fans' interest, whether because of the characters they involved or mysterious elements that could potentially have significant impacts down the line. Some of these subplots, viewers believed, had more promise than many of the plot threads the writers chose to prioritize.

This article contains spoilers for 'Game of Thrones.'

Robert Baratheon's Bastards

Gendry Baratheon Game of Thrones

One of the few things we learn about the doomed King Robert Baratheon (Mark Addy) during his short tenure on the show is that he has fathered dozens of illegitimate children. When Robert's oldest and closest friend Ned Stark (Sean Bean) discovers the truth about the royal children Robert supposedly shares with his wife Cersei Lannister (Lena Headley): they were not fathered by Robert but rather were products of an incestuous relationship between Cersei and her twin brother Jaime (Nikolaj Coster-Waldau). Ned begins tracking down Robert's biological, illegitimate children. He first meets a young man called Gendry (Joe Dempsie), who works as a blacksmith's apprentice. Before Ned can expose the truth about the royal children, Cersei and her oldest son, the young King Joffrey (Jack Gleeson), have Ned and all of Robert's known bastards killed.

Gendry escapes this fate, leaving the city to join the Night's Watch before his siblings are massacred. But, aside from a brief tenure as Stannis Baratheon's (Stephen Dillane) prisoner and an eventual, underwhelming legitimization after fighting beside Jon Snow (Kit Harrington) in the final season, he is sidelined for much of the show's eight seasons. Gendry revealing his true identity to Jon against Davos Seaworth's (Liam Cunningham) advice teased a return of House Baratheon as a key player and possibly Gendry pursuing the Throne in his interest, but unfortunately, he faded into the background in favor of other character's stories.

Sansa Stark and Tyrion Lannister

In Season 3, Tywin Lannister (Charles Dance) orders a marriage between Sansa Stark (Sophie Turner) and his son Tyrion (Peter Dinklage) to thwart Sansa's hopes of marriage with Loras Tyrell (Finn Jones) that will allow her to escape to Highgarden. Joffrey, then the king, supports the idea, seeing it as an opportunity to humiliate both Sansa and his shrewd uncle Tyrion.

Despite their apprehension, Sansa and Tyrion form a reluctant alliance and are respectful of each other. Tyrion tries to protect Sansa throughout her time in King's Landing and shield her from Joffrey's cruelty. He is kind to her and sympathetic to the atrocities done to her and her family. The pair show a united front at events, finding comfort in their shared status as outcasts. After Joffrey's death, Sansa flees the city, leaving Tyrion behind. Apart from a few nostalgic moments in the final season, including a heartbreaking admission from Sansa that of the men she was attached to throughout the show, he "was the best of them," their partnership is rarely mentioned again. The brief scenes the pair did share earned rare smiles from Sansa, evidencing genuine, mischievous chemistry between them and showing Tyrion at his best. Many viewers believe they were among the show's best pairings and could've been even better if given more scenes together.

Cersei's Prophecy

Lena Headey as Cersei Lannister smiling wickedly in Game of Thrones.

A flashback at the start of Season 5 reveals the apparent motivation behind much of Cersei Lannister's scheming and mistrust: A prophecy told to her by a witch called Maggy the Frog (Jodhi May) when she was a girl. Maggy prophesized that Cersei would "marry the King," have three children, and become Queen, but that her children would die before her and eventually she would be "cast down" by a "younger, more beautiful" queen.

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This prophecy is what seems to drive the hateful mistrust Cersei shows towards various younger female characters she encounters, fearing they could be the young queen prophesied to replace her; first Sansa Stark, then Margaery Tyrell (Natalie Dormer), whom Cersei murders, and finally Daenerys Targaryen (Emilia Clarke). While the prophecy is at the forefront of the audience's mind throughout Cersei and Margaery's tug-of-war for power throughout Seasons 5 and 6, it is ultimately riddled with plot holes and oversights, being one of the show's prime examples of a secondary plot thread that could have been better if given the appropriate attention.

Cersei had told Catelyn Stark (Michelle Fairley) in Season 1 about a black-haired baby she had with Robert, who died young, and she is revealed to be pregnant before her death in season eight, bringing her total number of children to 5, not 3. And while Daenerys, a younger potential queen, eventually kills Cersei, she is killed before she can be crowned; the Iron Throne eventually goes to Bran Stark (Isaac Hempstead Wright), leaving the prophecy unfulfilled. Some viewers, especially those who spent time theorizing and discussing the possible outcomes of the prophecy only for it to be effectively abandoned at the show's end, wonder why it was introduced at all if the showrunners had no intention to carry it out properly and believe it had potential to be a far more significant part of the story.

Jaime's Promise to Catelyn Stark

Nikolaj Coster-Waldau as Jaime Lannister imprisoned in Game of Thrones.
Image via HBO Max

Catelyn makes a risky decision to free Jaime Lannister from captivity behind her son Robb Stark's (Richard Madden) in season 2. Desperate to keep her daughters Sansa and Arya (Maisie Williams) safe, she does so with the promise that Jaime will safely return the girls to her. Although the saying goes, "a Lannister always pays his debts," Jaime seems to forget about this particular debt altogether, showing little intention to ensure he keeps up his end of the deal.

When Jaime reaches King's Landing with Brienne of Tarth (Gwendoline Christie), Arya is long missing and presumed dead, and Sansa has fled the city. His promise to Catelyn is soon abandoned in favor of serving Cersei. He does eventually gift Brienne a sword, aptly called "Oathkeeper," directing her to use it to find Sansa and keep her safe, but other than that, the oath to Catelyn goes largely ignored and forgotten. Though Jaime does have something of a redemption, temporarily forsaking his sister to travel to Winterfell and fight alongside Jon Snow against the Army of the Dead, the subplot of his debt to the Starks might've presented the opportunity for a more meaningful character journey, especially given he was already haunted with a reputation for breaking oaths.

Craster's Sons

Introduced in Season 2, Craster (Robert Pugh) is a wildling living North of the Wall in a fortified homestead called Craster's Keep. He is one of the few sources of shelter and information Beyond the Wall for the Night's Watch, so they consider him an uneasy ally. The members of the Night's Watch think of him as sordid and unsavory because of his conduct with his daughters, whom he marries once they're old enough to father more children incestuously.

Jon Snow discovers that whenever a male child is born, Craster leaves them in the woods as offerings to the White Walkers. The show suggests, through a quick shot of a baby with vivid blue eyes, that the babies are turned into Others, but though it is a fascinating plot point, it is never given the space to be explored or adequately explained. Audiences are left guessing: Do the white walkers tend to these babies? Do they grow at an accelerated rate? Do the White Walkers keep the children, or do they kill them?

The Prince That Was Promised

One of the most frequently mentioned prophecies in Game of Thrones was "The Prince That Was Promised" — a savior foreseen five thousand years before the show takes place, who was supposed to emerge, "born amidst salt and smoke," to save the world from the "Long Night." According to the prophecy, this Prince would be a reincarnation of Azor Ahai, a legendary figure who held back eternal darkness with a mythical sword called "Lightbringer."

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Just like Cersei's prophecy, this subplot gave fans a lot of fuel for speculation and discussion; theories were thrown around as to who the Prince might be, but Jon Snow generally remained the strongest contender, especially after his resurrection by Melisandre (Carice van Houten), a priestess of the Lord of Light. This was thrown into doubt in Season 8 after Arya killed the Night King, causing viewers to question whether she was the Promised one. By the show's end, the prophecy remains unaddressed and open-ended, despite having been such a massive part of Stannis, Jon, and even Daenerys' storylines. Always speculating, fans still discuss the prophecy today, wondering who, after all that, was supposed to be the Promised one and wishing this subplot had been given a little more attention.

The Children of the Forest

The Children of the Forest are a mysterious, non-human race and the original inhabitants of Westeros before the arrival of the First Men. By the time the show takes place, they are believed to be extinct, if they ever existed. However, in Season 4, Bran Stark and his companions are attacked while on an expedition Beyond the Wall; a Child of the Forest called Leaf (Octavia Alexandru) rescues them and leads them into an underground cave to a Greenseer called the Three Eyed-Raven (Struan Rodger).

The subplot is ignored until Season 6, when, under the tutelage of the Three-Eyed Raven, Bran learns that it was the Children of the Forest who created the Night King and the White Walkers in an attempt to defend themselves against the violent First Men. Bran accidentally alerts the Night King to their location, and the Children sacrifice themselves so he can escape. They are never seen again, presumably having perished at the hands of the White Walkers. They offered an interesting insight into the history of the show's fictional world, which is often left ambiguous, and it might've been a nice full-circle moment for them to re-emerge and help destroy the threat they created.

Renly's Uprising

Image via HBO

Renly Baratheon (Gethin Anthony) — the younger brother of Robert and Stannis — was one of the show's shorter-lived characters and the least focused-on contender in the War of the Five Kings. During his brief time on the show, Renly is shown to be very popular at court; he is young and fashionable, with a friendly manner that wins people over. His secret lover Loras Tyrell is the one to make him consider claiming the throne for himself upon Robert's death despite being fourth in line behind his nephews and older brother; Loras insists they are all unfit to rule, Joffrey "a monster," Tommen too young and Stannis having the "personality of a lobster."

Loras' assessment proves fairly astute; during the War of the Five Kings, Renly finds himself in a favorable condition, with a large force and the support of the powerful House of Tyrell behind him. His main rival, House Lannister, is stretched thin, trying to contend with potential invasions from Renly and Stannis and Robb Stark's armies. The power of Renly's charismatic nature and diplomatic talent is enough to scare Stannis, who, despite having a stronger claim by birthright, is rigid and charmless, as the popular Renly remarks to his older brother, a man without friends is a man without power. In the face of this threat, Stannis quickly has Renly assassinated, thus ending his brief fight for the Throne.

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