In a jam-packed episode of Game of Thrones this past Sunday, Lyanna Mormont went out with her head held high. She always stood her ground and will surely go down as the youngest badass in Game of Thrones history.
Bella Ramsey, who’s played Lyanna since season 6, spoke at great length about her time on the series and what went into filming the epic battle sequence. After watching and re-watching, I’d believe anything.
Talking to The Hollywood Reporter, Ramsey recalls getting the scripts and her reaction to Lyanna’s death scene. Warning: It’s the cutest reaction ever.
When I first got the scripts. It was probably about two years ago. I just remember reading that bit. I did a mini-battle cry, I think. (Laughs.) I was so excited. I was so grateful to be given such a great death.
Is it possible to hear said mini-battle cry?
There were a bunch of deaths in “The Long Night,” but Lyanna’s was the most bombastic. She stabbed a WIGHT GIANT in the face, for R’hllor’s sake. And Ramsey is just as satisfied with her death as we are.
Oh, yes. Definitely. If you’re going to die on Game of Thrones, you have to die well, haven’t you? I was very pleased. She’s the littlest fighter taking out the biggest wight. It did feel fitting. She’s always been sticking up for what’s right, especially in a room filled with grown men and women. Here, she’s doing the same thing, just extended a bit. It was very fitting that little Lyanna came up against a giant and killed him.
As fans, we always have the luxury of getting to see the final product without putting in the work, apart from the agonizing time we endure waiting for the show to return. But the actors are operating on a different level. For example, Ramsey talked to Variety about what went in to Lyanna’s death scene, and it’s pretty damn cool:
I was in a big claw machine, it was like a robot, it was programmed to do certain moves, to shake me about and simulate being lifted up by a giant, so that was intense. I was very high, maybe 20 foot up in the air, and I had the dragon glass in my hand and the eye of the giant was actually a green polystyrene ball.
You can see a little of what Ramsey is talking about in HBO’s Game Revealed docuseries:
The episode left all of us floored when Arya took out the Night King in the most unexpected way. In fact, that scene kind of feels parallel to Lyanna Mormont killing the wight giant. After that, Ramsey wouldn’t be too disappointed if Arya ended up on the Throne, and I’m right there with her.
I think me, and Lyanna if she were still alive, would be rooting for Arya. She killed the Night King, and that’s what the whole eight seasons has been leading up to. She’s amazing. She has the right motives and everything. She would make a great ruler. I’m hoping she ends up on the throne.
I’ve often wondered how child actors tackle being in the spotlight. Fans fell in love with Lyanna Mormont from the get-go, so we can only imagine what it must have been like for Ramsey to talk about the show and her character. With fame comes attention from the media and even from strangers. As a kid, how do you even go about getting ready for it?
If you’re Bella Ramsey, you ask Kit Harington:
I was talking to him after filming, and I was asking him about interviews because they don’t come naturally to me, acting is what I do and they don’t come naturally. He said to me, ‘Just to be yourself and tell the truth,’ and that’s something I’ve found very useful and try and do in every interview.
Jon Snow does know something, after all.
Let’s close out with Ramsey telling telling HBO how she feels about Lyanna’s death. Take us home:
Love it. Absolutely love it. If you’re going to die on Game of Thrones, at least die well. That final scene took ages, lots of green screen, lots of long night shoots, but it’s all worth it. RIP Lyanna.
Lyanna Mormont, you will be missed.
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