Last night’s finale of Game of Thrones season 4 was undeniably shocking – but one major element was missing. Beware of book spoilers!
Fans of George R.R. Martin’s A Song of Ice and Fire series were expecting one major reveal from the Game of Thrones season 4 finale – but that reveal never came. Though the appearance of the magically reanimated corpse of Catelyn Stark (now known as Lady Stoneheart) provides a truly heart-stopping conclusion to the third book in Martin’s series, Game of Thrones decided not to include that shocking moment.
Book readers have been in something of a tizzy over this omission, bemoaning both the wasted shock value and what the lack of Lady Stoneheart may mean for the story. In the book series, Stoneheart takes the helm of the Brotherhood Without Banners. Hell-bent on killing those her murdered her family, she serves as an avatar of vengeance for the fallen House Stark.
But while Lady Stoneheart is an undeniably powerful element of A Song of Ice and Fire, it’s fair to say that her purpose still remains unclear. So far, Stoneheart’s vengeance is ancillary to most major story lines; the impact she does have is brief, frustrating, and tragic, its outcome deeply uncertain.
From this perspective, it is understandable that Game of Thrones showrunners David Benioff and Dan Weiss have set Lady Stoneheart aside. Though fans persist in hoping that “un-Catelyn” may appear in later seasons, Alex Graves (who directed the Game of Thrones season 4 finale) casts some shade on this tantalizing possibility.
“It was never on the docket to do this season — ever,” Graves told Entertainment Weekly.
In fact, the director apparently feels that an appearance by Stoneheart may have done more harm than good. “To bring back Michelle Fairley, one of the greatest actresses around, to be a zombie for a little while — and just kill people?” he mused. “What are we doing with that? How does it play into the whole story in a way that we’re really going to like?”
Still, Graves admitted that anything is possible in the world of Game of Thrones. “As somebody who’s worked deep inside the show, begged to have an answer and wants more than anybody, I have no idea,” he said. “They won’t tell me. They’re very good at being secretive.”
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