Game of Thrones is a pretty epic show with such a fantastic story and a huge fan base. But, being a true fan of the series isn’t an easy task. While the series is full of violence, nudity, and deaths – some become quite hard to digest.
Talking about the deaths – Ned Stark in Season 1, Catelyn and Robb Stark in the Red Wedding in Season 3, and all thanks to Cersei in the finale of Season 6 – a bunch of characters whom we loved died too… But, recently the showrunners have truly taken it to the next level by revealing that Ser Pounce is actually dead in the show!
Ser Pounce – who was Tommen Baratheon’s favourite pet cat, has now been revealed to be dead by showrunners David Benioff and Dan Weiss who recently spoke to Entertainment Weekly about this. According to Benioff,
“Cersei hated the name ‘Ser Pounce’ so much she could not allow him to survive…So she came up with her most diabolical [execution]. Ser Pounce’s death was so horrible we couldn’t even put it on the air.”
While we only got to see a few seconds of the poor cat in the show, hearing about the gruesome death makes me feel sad. But, why did the Mad Queen did such a cruel act? I too agree with what Hibberd said in his article of Cersei not wanting ‘Ser Pounce prowling around the Red Keep as a reminder of a son she drove to suicide.’ This has also made me take my hatred towards Cersei’s character to a new level.
Though the cat only made a brief appearance in the episode ‘Oathkeeper’ from Season 4, still fans have a chance to meet it in an extended cut of the series. According to Dan Weiss,
“If you buy the super-extended, super-charged Game of Thrones box set that comes out, the death of Ser Pounce will be in there…Just one whole episode devoted to the death of Ser Pounce.”
Yet, as the showrunners describe, filming with Ser Pounce was a difficult task. According to Benioff:
“That cat was really not fun to work with…There’s a reason the phrase ‘like herding cats’ came into existence.”
Dan Weiss, too adds: “Dogs generally do what you ask them to do if they’re smart and well trained…Cats have their own agenda.”
Let’s take a minute to watch the only scene Ser Pounce was a part of. This was a scene from Season 4 when Margaery Tyrell after Joffrey’s death goes to visit Tommen at Night – as her Grandmother Olenna suggests her.
Yet, the cat’s owner – Dean Charles Chapman who played Tommen in the show had his own way of describing the cat’s sudden disappearance. He had earlier revealed to Huffington Post:
‘I don’t know…I suppose there’s a lot of staff around the kingdom to look after him. Hopefully, he didn’t get caught up in the blast. That’d be a tragedy. I like to think he’d also move on with his life and get a girlfriend maybe.”
While we await Game of Thrones Season 8 coming out on April 14, this news may leave some fans heartbroken. Yet, we will soon get over it like other major tragedies in the series. What were your thoughts on Ser Pounce’s death? Share your condolences in the comments.
