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Are Dorne & The Sand Snakes Different In 'Game Of Thrones'? They Stray From The Books

by Zakiya Jamal

On the Game of Thrones show, Ellaria and the Sand Snakes are pretty fierce. They kill without remorse and the Sand Snakes wield their weapons with ease. When it comes to revenge, they're pros and can be sneaky and conniving to achieve their goals. Ellaria didn't hesitate to kill Myrcella with a poisonous kiss and then killing Prince Doran when he found out about it. Nor did the Sand Snakes hold back when they killed their cousin, Prince Trystane, thereby ending the House Martell line. These women take revenge to the extreme and there is no telling what they'll do now that they have control over Dorne. For readers of the books, Dorne and the Sand Snakes differ quite a bit on Game of Thrones.

For readers of the Game of Thrones book series, Dorne isn't all it's cracked up to be on the show. In the books, Ellaria and the Sand Snakes were much different, their storylines more fleshed out. Many fans feel like the show version of Dorne and the women there are so different, that Game of Thrones should just stop visiting Dorne in the show entirely. But what is it exactly that makes the book version of the characters so much different than the TV show versions? Well, here's just a few key differences between the book version of Dorne and the Sand Snakes and the TV version.

Ellaria Isn't Vindictive

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As Oberyn's paramour, all TV Ellaria wants is to get revenage against the Lannisters. Book Ellaria, however, doesn't feel the same way. Once the major players involved in Oberyn's death die Ellarie wants to end the feud against the Lannisters. In the books, Prince Doran actually has a daughter, Arianne Martell, and she is the one that leads the charge against Prince Doran.

Myrcella Doesn't Die

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In the books, rather than getting their revenge on the Lannisters by killing Myrcella, Princess Arianne actually want her to be on the Iron Throne, instead of Tommen. Although the plot doesn't go as planned, Myrcella survives with just a disfiguring scar (kind of like her uncle Tyrion) and returns to King's Landing very much alive.

Prince Doran Doesn't Die

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Book Ellaria would never kill Doran, and no one else in the books did, either. That's probably because in the books, Doran wasn't as forgiving as he is on the show. In the books, Doran was actually making quiet moves against the Lannisters, hoping to work with House Targaryen to return them to the Iron Throne.

There Are More Sand Snakes & Another Martell

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Although the show includes the most important Sand Snakes, in the books there were actually seven. However, it would've been difficult to include all seven so for that the show can be forgiven. What some are having trouble accepting (amongst other things) is the removal of Doran's other children. Besides Arianne, Doran also had another son, Quentyn. Doran sent Quentyn to find and marry Daenerys as part of his ploy to align the two houses against the Lannisters. The plan backfires mainly because Daenerys isn't interested and Quentyn ultimately dies when two of Dany's dragons burn him to a crisp.