On Sunday’s (April 28) Game of Thrones episode titled “The Long Night,” the journeys of six major characters came to their ends. Some deaths were expected but still devastating. Others were unexpected and devastating. Others were just devastating.
If you think the fans were hit in the gut watching their favorite characters die, you can imagine how the actors felt acting out their characters’ deaths. After all, actors — good ones, anyway — actually inhabit their characters to the point that their death signifies a part of them dying. That’s especially true for actors who have played a character for a decade, like Ian Glen/Jorah Mormont. But even actors who only played a character for a few scenes can be hit hard by a character’s death.
Here’s how the six actors who played the six Game of Thrones characters who died in Season 8, Episode 3, reacted to their characters’ deaths.
WARNING: The remainder of this article contains open spoilers for Game of Thrones and the most recent episode in particular.
Bella Ramsey (Lyanna Mormont)
Though she plays a character who’s a pre-adolescent, Bella Ramsey is actually 15-years-old. Speaking to Entertainment Weekly , the teen said that she was glad to see her character go heroically.
“Her story maybe had the potential to grow but she was going to go at some point because everyone does and this way she went was the best way she could have.”
Unpopular opinion: Lyanna Mormont was more useful than Jon and Dany on dragons combined. #GameOfThrones #BattleOfWinterfell pic.twitter.com/0v8PnTpBDR
— lovely lady love (@misshannahHhHh) April 29, 2019
Ian Glen (Jorah Mormont)
The 57-year-old Scottish actor, speaking via Yahoo Entertainment , says that his heroic death defending the life of his beloved Khaleesi was the only way Jorah could have gone out.
“[My reaction was] just that the [writers] nailed it… I think the expectations are so high and I just think they managed all the story lines incredibly well.”
jorah mormont deserves a thank you tweet. no one has fought for daenerys as hard as he did. he is brave, he is loyal, and he was a friend to dany during all the times she had no one. rip ? pic.twitter.com/xBaKfL2NKs
— ?? (@danyskylo) April 29, 2019
Richard Dormer (Beric)
Dormer says that he was emotionally affected by the way his character met his end — as a human shield between Arya and The Hound and the approaching white walkers.
“I had goosebumps. Goosebumps on goosebumps.”
Lord Beric Dondarrion, the hero who saved Arya Stark to be the real hero!! #GameOfThrones pic.twitter.com/YBDtYdcHcJ
— D.A (@_Dten) April 29, 2019
Carice Van Houten (Melisandre)
Melisandre’s appearance in Episode 3 caught a lot of viewers by surprise, considering that she’d left Westeros several episodes earlier and had no real reason to be there. And though she didn’t exactly save the day, her actions in the episode did bide some time for the true heroes of Winterfell. Once her part was done, she simply walked away and died. Van Houten wasn’t effusive in her praise for the way the writers wrote her death like the way Ian Glen was, but she was still satisfied with her character’s denouement.
“I was really happy and pleased.”
I’d like to thank Melisandre for increasing the lighting in this episode so i could see. #GameOfThrones #Melisandre pic.twitter.com/qVVURfEYiT
— I’m Just A Musical Prostitute My Dear. (@RobertaMoshe_) April 29, 2019
Ben Crompton (Dolorous Edd)
As of this writing, Ben hasn’t given any interviews about his character’s heroic death in Episode 3.
If nobody wants to honor Edd, I will
And now his watch has ended #GameofThrones pic.twitter.com/9jAxU9Tmof
— Hito hito no mi, model: Nigga (@iam_stache) April 29, 2019
Alfie Allen (Theon Greyjoy)
Like Ben Crompton, Alfie Allen so far hasn’t said anything on the record about his character’s death. He did, however, spoil it for UK viewers, posting on Instagram a dead (no pun intended) giveaway that Theon would be dying several hours before UK viewers were able to see for themselves.
