Curtain Call: 夏洛特 Hope and Nell Tiger Free 

There is only one god, as they say, and his name is Death.  And this Season Finale, he took two very different ladies with him, Myranda, and Myrcella Baratheon. Viewers were first introduced to Myranda back in Season Three, as one of Ramsay Snow’s, sorry, Bolton’s servants who, along with fellow bed-warmer Violet, seduced Theon Greyjoy before the poor lad was castrated.  Myranda was allegedly in training to become a Septa, but her sexual urges prevented her from taking her vows.

It’s apparent by Season Four that her lustful urges aren’t the only thing keeping Myranda by Ramsay’s side; she’s just as blood-thirsty as he is, joining him on a hunt and even shooting an unfortunate Tansy through the leg before watching her being mauled to death by dogs.  But it was Season Five when Myranda really started to make herself felt as a character.  Side-lined by Ramsay in favour of his new bride, Myranda became an enjoyably nutty and nasty presence around Winterfell.  Whether she was tormenting Sansa with the discovery of a now thoroughly broken Theon, or regaling her with twisted tales of Ramsay’s former lovers before their wedding night, Myranda was a dangerous live wire who could have exploded with jealousy at any moment.  But in the end, no-one gets away with attempting to shoot off Sansa’s limbs and it’s safe to say there were a fair few viewers cheering when she finally met her demise at Theon’s hands. 

It’s always a tough job to bring a character to life on-screen that wasn’t in the original source material (there

a Myranda of course but that’s a book-spoilery story for another day) but Charlotte Hope managed to breathe ferocious being into Ramsay’s jealous mistress.  Having racked up screen appearances in last year’s Oscar winning 

One less Bolton sympathiser is great news for Westeros, but her character will certainly be missed!

a composite character to screen is tough task, taking over a character from an actress well-loved by the fandom must be an even harder job.  Such was the task set before Nell Tiger Free when she was cast as Myrcella Baratheon for Season Five, replacing Aimee Richardson who had previously played the role.  Luckily, the young actress rose to the task with aplomb.  With the character having been sequestered in Dorne since Season Two, she brought Myrcella back to the fore of the show as a genteel princess who had found happiness with her handsome prince.  Alas the course of true love never does run smooth, and poor Myrcella is just about to be dragged home by father/uncle Jaime before she’s subjected to an attempted kidnapping by the Sand Snakes.  And when everything seems to be going all right again, she’s poisoned by Ellaria Sand and dies in Jaime’s arms.

Myrcella may not have had as much screen time as her Lannister relations, but Nell Tiger Free brought a graceful, delicate touch to the show that will be missed.  Her final scene, in which she assured Jaime she knew and understood the nature of her true parentage, was deeply touching and made her sudden death all the more poignant.  While Nell does not appear to have any immediate productions in the pipeline, it can’t be long before a rising star like her is on our screens again! Myrcella may be gone, but this adorable Twitter exchange between the two actresses who played her is giving me an idea. Princesses for Hire anyone?

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Do we truly know Myrcella is deceased? Could not Bronn have been given a spare vial of the antidote by the flirty Sand Snake or even pickpocketed from her at a point when they were close together?

Yes. Besides the fact of her looking very dead, it’s been confirmed in multiple interviews and in the HBO Viewer’s Guide. Myrcella is dead.

Very impressive the way Hope went from the one-off bit part as one of Ramsay’s torture assistants to a long-running role. Kudos to her to making the jump and making the most of it!

Nell had a rough gig, taking over from someone else. But she did well in her season on the show and her career will go places after Game of Thrones. After she finishes school, I would imagine.

Hmm well, Nell Tiger Free didn’t have the best material to work with so I don’t think we should judge too harshly but it is a bit hard to find much to say about her really other than the fact that she’s very pretty and did the teenager in love bit well enough…. Bit of a thankless task to come in on a recast and a storyline that was let’s say, unappreciated. It would be good to see her in a more fulfilling role somewhere. Myrcella was always a character in the books that things just happened to so at least they tried to make her a little more interesting. At least she did get a good scene with Jaime to go out with ( assuming she is gone ), which we can hope renders the Dorne story with a worthwhile pay off next season.

Myranda, as the kind of girl your mother always warned you about – well let’s face it the character probably won’t be missed and when the best moment is a spectacular death it says a lot! … Charlotte no doubt did the best she could in a role which was a bit one dimensional at first (and often called for being unclothed). That reads back a bit harsh but she certainly played the psychovamp well enough, with a creepy relationship with Sansa that kept you waiting for the worst and she and Iwan Rheon did have a chemistry albeit very warped! One couldn’t help thinking Spike and Drusilla…

Both played their roles well. While the Dornish story sucked the actors and actresses all did well. As for the North, Myranda made things scary without Ramsay, which truly is a testament to ehr character.

Nicely written curtain calls once again, thank you Geoff.

Off-topic: Is the Stephen Dillane curtain call already under way, if I may ask? Would be very exciting to read how both Stannis´ negative and positive side could be boiled down into one fitting epitaph.

Oh, I was hoping Myrcella might be alive – if Tyene had passed an antidote when she got kissy-kissy with Bronn in the finale but it seems not. I did like Aimee but I thought Nell Tiger Free did well for the short time we saw her. I apologise if this has been mentioned before but Flicks and the City has an interview with Charlotte Hope and it seems like another case where somebody playing a despicable character is nice in real life.

Ah, Nell’s last scene was so well done! Gone too soon, Myrcella.

Charlotte played crazy quite deliciously. Goodbye, Myranda! (and good job, Theon!)

Thank you very much! And not worry, Dillane’s one will be along before too long!

Congrats to these young ladies, they’ve done a very good job!

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