A Clash of Kings

With Joffrey on the throne, Stannis and Renly Baratheon both claim the crown, Robb remains King in the North and Balon Greyjoy declares himself king of the Iron Islands. Tyrion takes over as Hand in King's Landing. Renly is killed by a shadow conjured by the priestess Melisandre, and Stannis attacks the capital. Tyrion defends the city with wildfire at the Battle of the Blackwater and is wounded; the arrival of Tywin and the Tyrells defeats Stannis. In the North, Theon betrays Robb, seizes Winterfell and fakes the deaths of Bran and Rickon; the castle ends up sacked and burned. Arya escapes Harrenhal. Beyond the Wall, Jon pretends to desert to get in with the wildlings. Daenerys survives the House of the Undying in Qarth. Left open: the wildling army is on the march.

1. ChangeArya serves Tywin on the show

   On the show, Tywin figures out Arya is a girl and makes her his cupbearer at Harrenhal, and the two have long talks. In the book she's put to work in the kitchens, and those scenes don't exist.

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2. ChangeNobody steals the dragons

   On the show, Daenerys's dragons are stolen in Qarth, and she goes into the House of the Undying to get them back. In the book they never go missing: she visits the warlocks on her own.

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3. ChangeXaro doesn't end up in the vault

   On the show, Xaro Xhoan Daxos stages a coup in Qarth and Daenerys locks him in his own empty vault. In the book, he just proposes and, once refused, tells her to leave the city.

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4. ChangeTyrion kept his nose

   In the book, a sword stroke at the Battle of the Blackwater takes off most of Tyrion's nose. On the show he just gets a scar; Martin explained that erasing the nose in every scene would cost too much time and money.

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5. ChangeAsha became Yara

   Theon's sister is named Asha in the books. The show renamed her Yara so viewers wouldn't mix her up with Osha, the wildling already in the story.

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