Jon Snow's death at the hands of his brothers was Game of Thrones' biggest Night's Watch twist, but another shocking book moment, which concerned Mance Rayder, was cut. For viewers not familiar with George R.R. Martin's A Song of Ice and Fire books, Jon Snow's death was one of Game of Thrones' biggest twists. But while Jon somewhat inevitably came back, there was already another character "killed" at the Wall who had made a surprising return in the books: the King-Beyond-the-Wall, Mance Rayder.

In both Game of Thrones and A Dance with Dragons, Stannis orders Mance to be killed after his arrival at the Wall, due to Mance refusing to bend the knee. Similarly, in both versions Mance is to be burned alive, only to be given a swifter, more merciful death thanks to Jon Snow. That's where the story diverges though, because it's the end of Mance Rayder in Game of Thrones, but not A Song of Ice and Fire. Later in A Dance with Dragons, it's revealed the man actually killed was Rattleshirt, aka the Lord of Bones, who had been glamored by Melisandre's magic to appear as Mance, and vice versa. Game of Thrones did no such thing: Rattleshirt was just himself, eventually killed (and presumably re-animated) at Hardhome, while Mance Rayder truly was dead, and that fits with how the show made big changes (and cuts) to the plot at this point.