In Game Of Thrones Season 8, Euron Greyjoy Is Going To Be A Huge Problem

With Joffrey and Ramsay gone, Game of Thrones needed a new villain. Enter Euron Greyjoy, played by Pilou Asbæk. The actor recently told Fox News that he and the showrunners wanted Euron to be a different Game of Thrones villain to avoid the outright comparisons to Ramsay and Joffrey.

"I'm walking in the footsteps of some very, very evil people," Asbæk said. "I wanted to do something else with [showrunners] Dan [Weiss] and David [Benioff] and what they wanted. We wanted to do a more seductive, more charming choice. A little more like… You wouldn’t know if he’s going to kiss you or kill you, you know?"

In that way, the TV adaptation of Euron is a lot different than the book version, who is just straight-up evil. Before the season 8 premiere, here's what you need to know about Euron in the show and in the books.

In season 6, after murdering his brother Balon, Euron claimed the Iron Islands throne over his niece Yara (even though she'd actually been holding down the fort in the Iron Islands.) He announced his wish to travel to meet Daenerys Targaryen, marry her, and claim the Seven Kingdoms for themselves. He then set out to murder Yara and her brother Theon, since they didn't agree with his being king. Before he could, they fled.

Yara and Theon fled to Daenerys before Euron could get there. Daenerys pledged troops to support Yara's claim to the Salt Throne, and she promised not to trust Euron if he ever arrived.

With Daenerys out of the picture for him, Euron showed up in King's Landing to propose to Cersei. She declined, but Euron would not be deterred. He showed up later in the season with a gift for Cersei — Ellaria and Tyene Sand.

Ellaria poisoned Cersei's daughter Myrcella in season 5, so Cersei poisoned Ellaria's daughter Tyene and forced Ellaria to watch her die. The "gift" was such a good one that Cersei agreed to marry Euron, only after the war is over. That gives her plenty of time to back out, since fans all know she only has eyes for her brother Jaime.

In the show, Euron wants the Seven Kingdoms and the Iron Throne, and he'll do whatever it takes to get that. He thought allying with Daenerys was a sure way to win, but was able to quickly pivot to Cersei when he needed to. His only true allegiance is to himself and his goal of running the kingdoms.

The decision to make Euron a little more charming (even if slimily so) is a big change from the books where he rapes and pillages his way around. He captains a ship called Silence, named for the fact that he cuts out the tongues of all who board. In the book A Feast For Crows, like in the show, he returns to the Iron Islands, kills his brother, and claims the throne. He also wishes to court Daenerys, but sends a crew to do so in his name — which is like the ultimate in laziness. He knows she has dragons and foolishly thinks he will be able to control them with his dragon horn.

The Winds of Winter sample chapter has Euron admitting to killing several of his family members and it alludes that he molested his brothers as children. His lover Falia also thinks that Dany will simply be another wife for Euron but that Falia will stay in the picture. However, Euron has different plans. He slices out the tongues of his brother and of Falia and ties them to the bow of his ship. He then encourages his fleet to do the same with all the priests and septons they've captured as well. Quite the arrival he'll have if and when he meets Dany. She's sure to hate it.

The books don't offer much in the way of Euron's TV fate, since he's still sailing for Daenerys in the books but he's moved on to serving Cersei in the show. In any case, he's bad news, so Cersei should be careful lest she end up like Falia.