Curtain Call: Pedro Pascal 

Rarely do we, as book readers, have a role we are so conflicted about loving.

Oberyn Martell, the Red Viper of Dorne, was near and dear to the hearts of many ASoIaF fans. We eagerly awaited his casting yet dreaded his all-too-soon departure. We knew the Unsullied show-watchers would probably fall in love with him too, and would cry their anguish to the heavens as we once did with that fat, cruel book in our hands.

That is if they cast him correctly. They had to, right?

This shooting star was an important character to us. So we waited on pins and needles, waited to see…

Sure, there were some skeptics who cried out

(Racists, I call them, but you might have a different word.)

“I’ve seen him in American television shows! He won’t be able to do a Dornish accent!”

As though one of the requirements for the role should be having to have lived in Dorne at some point.

But the moment Pedro swaggered onto our television screens, all fire and quiet fury, even the skeptics shut their traps, some with a collective

Pedro was everything we wanted for the Red Viper and more; he made most book-readers sadder for being so good, and even gave rise to an unrequited

No, they did not keep him alive, for to do that would have been to rob the story of one of its crowning moments of sheer brutality, and George would be

miffed by that. Oberyn was made to be that star that shone too brightly–fated to die and to leave his mark forever.

Pedro knew his role going in, and he drank deep of the cup that was offered, and god, we loved him for it.

But though Oberyn is done, Pedro is not. I am very interested in this man’s career now; like Jamie Sives and Amrita Acharia and Michelle Fairley, I will now actively seek out anything this man is in, knowing that it will probably be pretty damned good.

(And if it sucks… well, it probably ain’t his fault!)

Pedro’s dance card seems pretty full. Not only is he currently (I believe, else it just ended) doing

. Through this princely man of Dorne, Pedro showed his skill, his grace, and his charm. I like to think we saw a little part of his soul in this too. I felt like he laid it all bare for us.

Speak, friends, Gatewatch advocates! Give him your love, and raise a glass to this man who became so very dear to us all.

Fire And Blood: We’ll miss you, Pedro! Gone but never, ever forgotten–welcome to epic television immortality.

Tagged Curtain Call, Oberyn Martell, Pedro Pascal

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Pictures from this Sunday’s new episode of Game of Thrones, "The Watchers on the Wall," have arrived early! This batch includes a whole lot of Jon Snow, and a bonus Ygritte taking …

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Yeah I thought he was great and he won me over but it’s not racist to complain about his white passing privilege in getting the role. Colorism is a real thing. I hope they take the opportunity to further diversify in their casting for Dorne.

Yeah I thought he was great and he won me over but it’s not racist to complain about his white passing privilege in getting the role. Colorism is a real thing. I hope they take the opportunity to further diversify in their casting for Dorne.

You can say it’s not racist to prejudge someone simply based on the color of their skin. I say it is. We can agree to disagree.

Pedro Pascal was fantastic, and I hope he goes on to have many successful projects in the future! Once again, they nailed the casting, and went and made a sad scene even sadder. Dammit, Nina Gold.

Very sad to see him go :( But at least we can go back and re-watch! I’m familiar with some of his pre-GoT roles so I already knew he was awesome, but I can’t wait to see what he does next now!

Thanks, Pedro, for the great and believable performance. Your Oberyn was nuanced, funny, bad-ass, and in the end, beautifully tragic. We could not have asked for better.

Casting Oberyn was great fun for us. I cannot wait until you guys hear of the casting we have for Season 4, there will lots of deviations that will surprise the book readers in a pleasant way!

Pedro provided what was easily one of the best performances this show has seen, and even though I knew what was coming it was heartbreaking to see him gone so soon.

As a book reader I like to think I’m emotionally prepared for what I know will occur on screen. Yet every season there’s something that hits me where it hurts and makes me relive all the same feelings I had when reading.

How am I supposed to enjoy the unsullied’s shock and horror when I’m right there next to them yelling at the old gods and the new. I’m supposed to be able to handle this!

Well done to Pedro, and everyone else involved with the show. You’re perfection is the best and worst part about the show.

I most enjoyed that Nina Gold was not aware that season 4 had already been cast, shot, and (mostly) televised.

Fire And Blood: You can say it’s not racist to prejudge someone simply based on the color of their skin. I say it is. We can agree to disagree.

You’re not prejudging the actor though, your assessment is already made on the character of the books that these people live in a hot climate and so would be tanned. The criticism also seems to stack up fairly well considering that they applied makeup to his skin to make him appear darker.

I don’t think anyone was ever suggesting that he couldn’t act the part because he was white, rather that it would look odd for a pale man to act the role of someone who has lived in a hot desert climate all their life.

They were obviously wrong, but it isn’t racist. For you to suggest that it is dilutes the word.

I assume you meant season 5. So when is that likely to be? *smiles sweetly*

Oberyn, gone from our screens but not from our <3's x omg it's Nina Gold!

Now I don’t know if you are the real Nina Gold or someone “having a larf” but there are some book readers who will NEVER be happy about changes to the books’ story in adaptation. If you are the real Nina, why oh why the heck was the story in season 2 changed to introduce the cheesy Robb-Talisa romance, though I appreciate NG does the casting not the writing? It was like something out of a Barbara Cartland novelette, (except that the late Dame Babs would never have had them frolicking in the thistles before the camera). I did like PP’s depiction of the Red Viper though and was saddened even though I knew what was going to happen.

My comment didn’t register, so I’ll keep it short.

He was a perfect Oberyn! I just wish they’d have given him some more screen time before the big fight…

Pedro did an amazing job. I loved every one of his scenes. The story had to be what it was, but he makes me wish even more that it hadn’t turned out that way.

Hello. My name is Inigo Montoya. You used my catchphrase. Prepare to come back as a wraith and die.

Pedro Pascal… Thank you so much for making me smile at your swagger, laugh at your non-chalant behavior, cheer at your fighting despite knowing the outcome and even all goosebumps that I felt when you delivered those elia martell chants. I even came back to watch The Mentalist again this season just so I could see a glimpse of your another acting. I’m pretty sure this will be your breakthrough role just like most of amazing actors in this series. So many gems that Nina Gold found in this series and you are one of the shiniest one. Thank you!

SilverStormm: When is that likely to be? *smiles sweetly*

The phrase “you guys” is very American, which I don’t think is Nina Gold’s nationality. Having said that “you guys” has crept into British English among younger people. One of my personal nitpicks is people saying “you guys” when they are talking about women (in Britain anyway). Of course I don’t tell people not to use the phrase, I judge keep my face blank and cringe inwardly. So I can’t make up my mind whether the post referred is by the real Nina or not.

Valyrian Plastic Posted June 5, 2014 at 5:44 am

If only they’d cast him to appear halfway through season 3 and built up his character even more, but I can understand why the didn’t & even if they had, they might not have got hold of Pedro.

I wonder what his overall screentime was for this season? Right now I’m guessing somewhere between 30 & 40 minutes.

Can’t agree more about the mix of joy and dread I felt, every time this guy was on screen, doing or saying something awesome. As a book reader, I knew how short lived it would all be, and how brutal an end it would come to…..or at least I THOUGHT I did. It was WORSE on the show, and that was because of Pascal. He brought that character to life and made him even more likeable and badass than even Martin had managed to do on the page

I knew when Joffrey died there would be a multitude of Red Wedding like reaction videos on youtube. But I didn’t forsee it happening as much with THIS, but I really should have. The way they made you feel not only that he could or would win….but that he HAD and then the way it all got swept away in an instant, was such a peek and valley moment for people’s emotions that it’s made for some GREAT reaction videos on youtube. I recommend seeking those out

And there is at least one more of those kinds of moments coming in episode 10 and it relates to this….and it ain’t necessarily bad. I’ll say no more

I enjoyed talisa more than the one dimensional character in the books and it made for an even worst gut-punch come the RW

Tyrion kills Tywin reaction videos. They’ll be shitting themselves when that happens.

OldeCrone: The phrase “you guys” is very American, which I don’t think is Nina Gold’s nationality.Having said that “you guys” has crept into British English among younger people.One of my personal nitpicks is people saying “you guys” when they are talking about women (in Britain anyway).Of course I don’t tell people not to use the phrase, I judge keep my face blank and cringe inwardly.So I can’t make up my mind whether the post referred is by the real Nina or not.

I’m English and hear ‘you guys’ alot nowadays, even use it myself at times and I’m a grown woman. So that isn’t an indicator of nationality imo. I’m going to assume it is ‘the real’ NG for the sake of argument & fun. If it isn’t, so be it.

Is it even possible that book readers could be pleasantly suprised by changes xD ?!?

I’m not ready to say goodbye to Pedro – age him up a bit, throw him in a chair, and have him play Doran!

Seriously though, Pedro was brilliant from the moment he stepped up on screen. That swagger as he walked in the room to confront the Lannister soldiers said it all.

Thank you for bringing to life one of my favourite ASoIaF characters, Pedro – you were fantastic from start to finish. I was one (of many, no doubt) who kinda hoped they would change the outcome so Oberyn lived; but I’ve got through the pain once and I’ll do so again!

I followed the casting and the (minor) shitstorm that followed. These were essentially a bunch of people unhappy their favorite ASoIaF character wouldn’t be played by their favorite actor, be it Naveen Andrews, Idris Elba, or whomever. They screamed “white passing,” went and found the whitest possible picture of Pedro, and tried to lambast the man. Of course as soon as he stepped onscreen, they shut their mouths. Because he owned the role.

Either way, this thread isn’t here to discuss views on racism. I mentioned it in the post because of the crap I know he took, and wanted to laud him for rising above it all. He won 99.9% of our hearts–even most of the hardened ones.

This whole ‘reverse racism’ thing doesn’t really apply to the real world. I absolutely understand people’s complaints about his casting, especially given this shows history of either erasing or whitewashing POC characters from the novels. This isn’t a personal complaint about the actor – I wasn’t as enamoured by his performance as some others but he pulled it off. I don’t want to derail this thread but suffice it to say I hope they are open to more diversity in their Dornish casting.

I realised my comment didn’t submit earlier! You did an amazing job. I remember when there was rioting on here saying how you weren’t good for the part. You shut them up right away. *whispers* Farewell Pedro my sweet prince.

That’s a very dismissive condescending view of the pushback on this specific casting. I think Fat Pink Cast explains it well. I don’t think anyone was personally attacking the actor in their discussion about this casting. It’s part of a frustrating pattern that they have the opportunity to rectify next season.

Pedro seems like a really awesome sweet cool dude and he did a great job with what he was given even if I have issues with some of the writing. I’m sure this will be a breakout role for him.

We’ll have to agree to disagree on that one……….

Fire And Blood Posted June 5, 2014 at 6:11 am

Fat Pink Cast serves their purpose, and I laud them for it and their Social Justice yoke, which, I know, can be trying even in the best of times. Even though I don’t have a personal relationship with any of them, I do respect them. I think they, in general, have been pretty positive about Pedro at least (though I have not followed

I don’t think anyone was ever suggesting that he couldn’t act the part because he was white, rather that it would look odd for a pale man to act the role of someone who has lived in a hot desert climate all their life.

Funnily enough, there are tons of “white” people in South America, who have lived there their whole lives.

So If they had cast a black actor as Ned Stark, you would call it racist to suggest it a miscast due to his color?

First things first: Pedro Pascal was a great Oberyn and I really think his career can only go up from here. I will miss him in the show.

I couple of unsullied friends and I have GoT partys where we watch the show together and get tipsy on cocktails while doing it. I’m the one responsible for the tipsiness and I have made it my mission that every cocktail I make is somewhat related to GoT. For instance I have combined Green Frog with a fiery habanero lollipop to create Wildfire. The request for next time is Caipirinha and I can’t think of any (ideally optional incidence) that would make that into a GoT drink. I was thinking towards Dorne, because House Martell is properly introduced this season and Caipirinha can be associated with hotter regions like Dorne.

The fact is that the Martells aren’t black in the books. It’s a moot point.

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