The book series “A Song of Ice and Fire” and the series “Game of Thrones” by HBO differ in many ways. Now, one of the authors has finally explained why a favorite character of creator George R.R. Martin does not appear at all in the eight seasons. Warning: Spoiler alert!
Which character from “A Song of Ice and Fire” is it about? Years ago, George R.R. Martin, the creative mind behind the popular fantasy book series, stated that Lady Stoneheart is one of his favorite characters from Westeros. However, she never appears in the HBO series.
Years ago, there were speculations and statements from the authors about this. In a major “Game of Thrones” special by Polygon, showrunner Rafe Judkins explained what reason was given to him at the time by author Bryan Cogman (who wrote a total of eleven episodes of the series) for the omission of Lady Stoneheart.
So, what was the reason according to Bryan Cogman? The author reportedly told Judkins that they wanted to think carefully about which characters they would bring back from the dead throughout the story, and they chose the character who was most important to the overall story.
Of course, this refers to Jon Snow. His surprising resurrection would have lost its impact if other characters had already returned from the dead beforehand.
Hardly any other series has generated such hype as Game of Thrones.
A Stark as a Walking Zombie Lady
Who was Lady Stoneheart? The “Red Wedding” is one of the most significant, moving, and surprising scenes from the book series and the show. At the fateful wedding, Catelyn Stark, among others, loses her life.
What happens immediately after the bloody celebration, however, differs in the books and the series. In Martin’s books, Catelyn’s corpse is found and resurrected a few days later by Beric Dondarrion, the leader of the Brotherhood Without Banners.
However, the resurrected Catelyn has little in common with the old Catelyn Stark. Her body is disfigured from the fatal attack and the days the corpse has spent floating in the water. She can only speak if she holds her slit throat, and even then, her rasping and croaking are barely understandable.
Catelyn becomes more of the vengeful Lady Stoneheart, who starts collecting nicknames like other people collect stamps (the Silent Sister, Mother Merciless, the Executioner). She targets all families involved in the betrayal during the “Red Wedding.”
What other reasons could there be for the omission of Lady Stoneheart? Years ago, David Benioff and D.B. Weiss dropped a few info nuggets on the subject (via Filmstarts). They wanted to preserve the “Red Wedding” as a powerful climax on its own and not devalue Catelyn’s last appearance by transforming her into a zombie.
Additionally, the showrunners explained that they did not want to spoil the events surrounding Lady Stoneheart, which will occur in the unpublished books by George R.R. Martin. For this very reason, several other characters from the books may not have appeared in the series either.
How do you evaluate the decision to omit Lady Stoneheart in the series? Let us know in the comments! By the way, George R.R. Martin had a hard time with the “Red Wedding” for a long time: The author of Game of Thrones reflects on the worst scene after 13 years: ‘I skipped the chapter while writing’
