Happy Monday, everyone! It’s time for a long overdue follow-up on a Game of Thrones casting post from last fall. In November, a trio of fresh names popped up on our radar. Danielle Galligan and Emer McDaid were confirmed as new season 8 additions, with the two actresses posing on Instagram for a pic with a third actress: Alice Nokes.
At the time, it was unknown if Nokes would be appearing on Game of Thrones, but new info has cleared that up! Nokes’ agency CV confirms that she’ll be playing a character named “Willa.” She’ll be in a David Nutter episode this season. (Nutter is helming the first, second and fourth episodes of season 8.)
Nokes is best known for a recurring role as Courtney Mitchell on EastEnders. As for her GoT role, well that’s still a mystery. Willa is not a book character. There are a couple “Wylla”s in ASOIAF, but I suspect this Willa is not connected.
In other Season 8 casting news: Game of Thrones is currently casting for a Military Guard for the new season. The character is aged 25-35, and the role is open to any ethnicity. The part appears to be a small one, filming for one day- March 2nd- in Northern Ireland. The casting folk are searching for a “fit and agile excellent actor with a good distinctive face,” someone who feels like “he can handle himself in a fight.”
This particular role is probably not of any importance but it’s good to know casting has resumed, and the type of role could hint at what’s being filmed around N.I.’s studios next week and beyond. A military man could be a part of Dany’s Unsullied (especially since the part’s open to any ethnicity) or the guard could be a part of Cersei’s army. We’ll keep our eyes turned toward Belfast sightings over the next couple weeks and see what turns up!
who is Willa?
A “good, distinctive face.” – why does this crack me up? đ
Alice Nokes reminds me a little bit of Jenna Coleman. đ
Artemisia,
Perhaps Wylla Manderly? Jon and Dany are sailing to White Harbor after all
Hodor.
Pigeon,
Yes! That’s who she reminded me of as well!
Also, I recall Ned telling Robert that Jon’s mother was Wylla/Willa in season 1. Perhaps he told a lie by telling a truth and she was a real woman, but obviously not Jon’s mother. Maybe she’ll serve as a connection or some kind of witness to Jon’s birth or parentage? …. But also that could be a bit of a stretch đ
If there are going to be any more flashbacks via Bran to Jon’s infancy, I suppose that Willa could be Wylla the wet-nurse. It seems unlikely, though, that for such a role they would choose such a young actress, and one who bears a resemblance to Aisling Franciosi, for potential confusion’s sake.
I think she may be Jon’s nurse at Dorne and Tower of joy. Robert said this name and Ned stopped the conversation…She knows who are Jon’s parents.
Maybe it’s Wylla that Ned claims to be Jon Snow’s mother when confronted by Robert both in the book and in the TV series.
Nah, I think she’s Arya and Gendry’s daughter in a Branvision future scene. đ
That is what I was thinking.
There will be Bran with his vision of the past & Sam will have the marriage document but they would also need someone who knew/saw that Ned was there and took Rhaegar & Lyannaâs child to raise as his own to prove that Jon is Aegon Targaryen. Without someone who was there to see Ned take the boy there is no proof that Jon is in fact Aegon.
I wonder if she will be the only witness or if they also include Howland Reed?
VisceralVarys,
She looks way too young to play the role of Jon’s nurse during his birth. She should look older in my eyes, but ymmv.
VisceralVarys,
She is cery young
The possibility of not many people believing Bran & Sam’s word, to include Jon himself, was why I thought up my desired scene of people witnessing Jon walking through fire like Daenerys without burning, proving that he is a “dragon” (a dormant ability that didn’t ‘awaken’ until after his resurrection).
Among the many intriguing book characters missing from the show is Edric Dayne, the young heir to Starfall who is squire to Beric Dondarrion. Despite being Dornish, he has the coloration of a Targaryen: white/blonde hair and purplish eyes. Though it is possible that he (like pretty much any ASoIaF character) is an unreliable narrator, Edric tells Arya that he and Jon were “milk brothers,” both nursed by the same woman: a member of the Dayne household called Wylla. (This would not have been simultaneously, as he is about three years younger than Jon.) Also, Edric is known as Ned, which may or may not signify that House Dayne bore Ned Stark no grudge for having slain Edric’s uncle Ser Arthur. Mysteriouser and mysteriouser! There are, of course, many tinfoil theories…
By the Old Gods and the New, I hope this does not happen! We have already been subjected to one “fireproof Dany” scene too many. I would absolutely hate it if Jon did it too.
Not to derail with an OT, but thinking of Jon as direwolf and dragon… In the trailer for the Rampage movie there’s a giant flying wolf about which The Rock says, “Of course the wolf flies.” đ
Firannion,
Correction: Edric Dayne is four years younger than Jon Snow, per the official timeline.
I had wondered, what seems like eons ago, if his resurrection would bring on that ability too – but I had thought he would survive dragon fire ( you know, if Dany had tried to eliminate him). That would have been spectacular but I did rather like the whole petting Drogon thing so Iâll let them have that.
But I do think there will be some âthingâ that is specifically Targaryen like that will be shown in Jon. Perhaps no longer able to be burned after resurrection as he was befor (the lamp) or riding a dragon? Drogon giving him lovey eyes could also be put in this cataegory but I think there will be something else. It will be indisputable.
There isnât really time for an argument over is he or isnât he. We gotz White Walkers & the NK to kill and that whole Cersei being unreasonable and not to mention the end of the world thing to deal with. Much to do, so little time.
I loved Edric Dayne in the books and think it was a shame he was one of the characters we didn’t get to see. I think there are a lot of book connections between the Starks and Daynes that sadly may not get explored in the show.
I think at least some of the Daynes (other than Arthur) know who Ned’s bastard son truly is. For Wylla to have served at Starfall (Arthur Dayne’s home) I think that’s essentially a tell for readers who have figured out RLJ that the ToJ staff came from Starfall – geographically, it makes sense.
I tend to think the Dornish-looking woman we saw hand baby Aegon/Jon over to Ned in 610 was the show’s nod to that character.
I’m not sure who Willa could be in the show. The books have a number of women called Wylla. I like the idea of Wylla Manderly because I love her in ADwD. It wouldn’t be a massive name change.
As she looks so young, why not one of Qyburn’s little birds? Will Davos bring her to team Dany/Jon? đ
Could the military guard be from the Golden Company?
Only one I shipped for Sansa, though it won’t happen.
yep it could be that
VisceralVarys,
I think it is a guaranteed inevitability at this point that Jon will ride a dragon, most likely Rhaegal. But maybe some other Targ signifier will show up.
I too had theories of Jon gaining the ability to not get burned… but I thought it might show up at Castle Black after he was murdered. Forgetting that Melisandre had arrived in the season finale, I thought that maybe the Night’s Watch would burn Jon’s body like they do everyone’s, but Jon would rise from the funeral pyre alive.
That happening started to cross my mind when Melisandre appeared to fail with her beauty salon resurrection ritual. Thinking on it now I guess it would have been far too early to pop that off and there wouldn’t be anyone around to explain it for a long time. If he were to be Unburnt in Daenerys’ presence at least she has A reason to tell him and could walk in flames with him to demonstrate.
That’s what I’m seeing as well. đ
I was thinking it was you, but I’m not positive… Is it you that has mentioned you’re not that keen on magical fantasy or high fantasy elements in stories? If it was then I imagine a lot of the fire stuff would be too much. I’m on the opposite side of the fantasy fence. While reading the books the more magical, non-real things the more interested I became; warging, greenseeing, dragons, giants, warlocks, FM, etc. The show has actually downplayed the magical fantasy elements of the books considerably in my opinion, as well as eliminated some of it altogether. I’d prefer more actually.
Specifically as this concerns Jon’s parentage, I’m close to expecting that we see him be “fireproof” in some manner. The main reason I think it’s somewhat probable is because of Daenerys stating that Viserys “was no dragon. Fire cannot kill a dragon.” That along with the SHOW essentially telling us that a truly powerful Targaryen is fireproof, unlike the ‘troubled’ Viserys type, by showing Daenerys to be so multiple times. I realize George has commented that his Targaryens aren’t necessarily fireproof. D&D seem to like the idea though so incorporating it into Jon’s acceptance that he is Aegon feels almost likely. *shrug*
Willa doesn’t sound like a high-born name to me.
Nope, not me. I’m fine with lots of sorcery, enchanted weapons, mythical beasts etc., as long as they’re not used as overly convenient shortcuts in place of plausible narrative development.
I just greatly dislike the Dany Sue elements of the story, both book and TV. The character forfeited my sympathy quite early on: as soon as she went from underdog to overpowered, simply because she has good genes. I could cope with her surviving the fire the first time, but twice just seemed cheap and cheesy to me. I will be rolling my eyes if they pull that hat trick yet again.
What others have said about Willa (WHY-la, not Will-uh) being Jonâs nurse. Or some other link to confirm his parentage. Since we donât seem to be getting my preferred exposition source: Howland Reed
Brilliant, Clob! I can see her face being their features combined. One other possibility–she looks a bit more like Aisling (Lyanna) than Maisie. Maybe she’s Jon’s daughter with Dany.
Stark Raven’ Rad,
Whoever she is, I hope she doesn’t have one line consisting of three words – “Now and always!'” – and then fade into the background.
Pigeon,
Reminds me of a young Tiffani Amber Thiessen
Clearly Ashildr and a young Clara are headed to Westeros. Hope they don’t run into Arya. Two Ponds flirt with each other. Two Aryas probably try to kill each other.
She’s very pretty
I think we’re most likely going to get another flashback that show’s Wylla as Jon’s wet-nurse just to show the audience that somebody else knows who Jon’s parents are. There are a few Wylla’s in asoiaf but it’s been fan-confirmed for a while that Wylla is the most likely candidate for Jon’s wet-nurse.
Iâm especially nervous about the way the show might treat the Golden company! Iâm the books they are a product of the blackfyre rebellion, and are most likely trying to reinstate aegon who might be a blackfyre.. and in the show they depict the Golden company like mindless mercenaries who fight for whoever gives them the most gold! Thoughts?
I haven’t watched “Eastenders” in ages – it just got very repetitive so I don’t really know this actress. Could she be one of the northern lasses being trained up for battle?
Golda,
Well technically the Golden Company have only been talked about and they haven’t been depicted yet. It will be interesting to see how D&D will portray them. And the fact that they stemmed from the Blackfyre rebellion is on the show as well, as they were the subject of one of the Histories and Lore featurettes in GoT S7 DVD.
I’ve actually written my speculation about the GC in another post … potential spoilers:
I think there’s a good chance of them switching sides.
Wow the actress looks really young, barely out of her teens (unless I am just getting old) so it makes me wonder what role she could perform. I’m assuming she will be a victim of a conflict in the North, or at the very least a migrant impacted by the conflict, I can’t see any other role which would fit at this stage of the story.
As for the guard given the ethnicity it can realistically only be either Golden Company or Unsullied so probably not too much to speculate on there.
Dark Sister,
Out of curiosity, but don’t the Blackfyres hate the main family Targaryens? Because if so, they have no reason to betray Cersei, don’t they?
On the other hand, it’s pretty funny how it’s pretty clear the Golden Company didn’t exist yet in the first books. If they did, they *would* have appeared in Dany’s storyline somehow, whether as enemies or allies. Right where she was helpless in the desert with the minidragons, for instance.
Dark Sister,
Wylla was Jon’s wetnurse.
Anon,
Wylla Manderley is the granddaughter of Wyman Manderley, pretty highborn
Ha ha! Very good! đ
Me vs. No One
#WiggleRoom
Yaga,
Historically, yes totally, but with the Targaryen line dwindling, I feel like it’s up in the air. Their could potentially be Blackfyre descendants within the GC but I think I read in A World of Ice and Fire (??) that the remaining Blackfyres died. I guess, the GC will fight for whoever they think will be in a position that could provide these former knights with homes, which I think was a recurring theme whenever the GC was discussed. My speculation also stems, in part, from my tinfoiliest of tinfoils regarding Book!Dany.
+1 on this, my thoughts exactly. I really like Dany as a character through the early phase but she became overpowed and in my opinion annoying, for her story I hope she dies without ever claiming the throne and certainly no survival during fire again.
According to the internet she was born in January of 1998, so she just turned 20 last month. Indeed she is ‘barely out of her teens.’ đ
I can’t see that they need to bring in more proof of Jon’s birth line. Bran’s word with evidence from Sam should be enough for everyone.
I just can’t agree with this being a negative. The series is A Song of Ice and Fire, which as I read became clear TO ME that it mainly means ‘the story of Jon and Daenerys’ (with show dialogue backing that up by Melisandre directly referring to them as Ice & Fire). With that in mind it makes sense to me that Daenerys would, step-by-step, begin to climb her way back to the top, to something great. Whether it’s to become the queen of Westeros or to be a considerable force to turn back the NK, it’s necessary for her to have a lot of strength and strength behind her. I think she needed/needs to be shown as something special for what she accomplishes to be believable, and that includes overcoming obstacles to dig out of her underdog position.
As GoT has shown us, even in what appears to be an overpowered state, it has been and will be a struggle (due to convenient mishaps to make it ‘fair’). Once an underdog wins something big a lot of the time it’s not by mistake but by people underestimating them. Afterward they aren’t the underdog anymore, they’re top dog. We’ve just gotten to the point when Daenerys is strong enough to accomplish her goals and win. Of course… the ending is still up in the air so it could be winning, losing or neither…
Jon can’t be left out of the topic either. He may not appear ‘overpowered’ in the same manner but he has risen to a powerful position without a whole lot of trying. If the show wasn’t so reluctant to show direwolves he may have had Ghost hanging around him a lot more. That might have added a lot to him feeling overpowered as well.
Now that Jon and Daenerys are fighting together it’s really less about one or the other being seen as overpowered anyway. It’s about them as a team being powerful enough to do what needs to be done. In the current state even the two together don’t appear to have a clear advantage against the NK.
Firannion,
I’m still clinging to the faint possibility that there’s something deeper behind Dany’s magical qualities, possibly meant to position her as the yin to the Night King’s yang, and that they aren’t just meaningless stunts included to make the character appear cool.
The way she walks out of the burning Dothraki temple is framed very similarly to the way the White Walker enters the burning hut in Hardhome.
And that act of supernatural theatre won her an army of devoted converts, ready to go to war for her, similar to how the Night King’s magic has rallied him an army.
That’s why I don’t think we’ll see Jon suddenly developing any magical Targaryen traits, since I think he’s more likely to represent humanity trapped between these opposing magical forces.
Hence his conversation with Beric about fighting for “life”, defending those who can’t defend themselves and being “the shield that guards the realms of men”.
I’m guessing we’re going to have a new thread soon… as I’m seeing some new photos of the big parking lot set…
This ist a very interesting consideration and sounds absolutly compelling to me. Good man!
_______________
As an aside, I hadn’t realized that “overpowered” has now become one of those handful of words that can also mean its opposite.
I had always read, heard and used “overpowered” to mean overcome by a superior force or stronger adversary, as when an outnumbered or underequipped band of resistance fighters is crushed by a huge army.
Now I suspect that to be “overpowered” has also come to mean given more power than is fair or necessary, such that an “overpowered” character has such a huge army or well-stocked arsenal that he or she can roll over his or her enemies in a cakewalk (instead of getting his or her ass kicked by them, or at least engaging in a fair fight).
I must relay this news to Stannis, King of the Exegetes and First Men, Grammar Nazi and Protector of the Realm! He may want to add “overpowered” to the short list of words that can be their own antonyms (like “cleave”: to adhere firmly to…or to split into distinct parts).
Ten Bears,
I haven’t done much (or any) multiplayer gaming an a few years… I used to do way too much about ten years ago. Still, whenever I hear “overpowered” or “OP” my mind still goes to gaming. In that genre it’s generally used negatively; that boss/creature/player is OP, that skill or skill set is OP, etc. Negatively of course unless you’re a person able to use the OP skill(s). In that case it’s positive and awesome, and then you can bitch when they nerfed it and it becomes useless. đ
Ramsay’s 20th Good Man,
I think I mentioned this in a thread a couple of weeks back (not the exact comparison of Dany’s walk out of the Dothraki temple to the White Walker’s walk into the hut at Hardhome, but just that the White Walkers and Dany have some similar connections). I don’t know yet why D&D are doing this, but I do think they are showing us similarities on purpose for some bigger reason. Especially because neither Dany nor the White Walkers can be burned.
I am speculating that the White Walkers (or maybe just the Night King) were actually Targs at one point in time, or maybe that they/he just came from Old Valyria. Not sure if the timeline really adds up because I’m pretty sure the first Long Night predated the rise of Valyria by a couple of thousand years, but I do think D&D are showing us comparisons between them and Dany for a reason.
But the White Walkers are the “sacrified” incest-sons of Craster, aren’t they?
Shall we suppose, Craster was Targ?!
cos alpha,
It’s a possibility I suppose since all we know is that Craster was a bastard of an unknown Night’s Watch brother.
Jaehaerys,
Yeah, the timing is off by 2,500-3,000 years but who knows once all the pieces are laid out. The First Men also had to come from somewhere…
Ooops! I didn’t get this! Thank You.
Clob,
Yeah, I looked around and saw that in a “gaming” context “overpowered” means someone’s got too many advantages, weapons or whatever.
It just makes it confusing for me when I read statements like “Dany was overpowered”, and I ask myself: “When??? By whom? What’d I miss?”
In German there is a word (> “Ăźbermächtig”), that would be in English “overpowered” literally/word-for-word, and it means, that someone has more power/force/mastery as to be appopriate. Someone f. ex. who has that much money, that he/she can buy a Golden Company to fullfill his/her wishes, or an autocrat/dictator, Cercei f.ex.
But for “overpowered” as it means in English (beared down) there is another word (> “Ăźberwältigt”).
May be in other languages there are comparable differences also, in Danish or other scandinavian languages…
I like the cut of your jib! đ
Clob,
I was just thinking…how futile it is (though entertaining) to speculate about the character Alice Nokes will play.
Before S6, there was no indication Aisling Franciosi had been cast, let alone that she’d play the iconic role of Lyanna Stark.
There was the casting notice for “young stunner”, and most of us (including me) thought that was for Lyanna, but it turned out to be for the serving girl whose face Arya was wearing when Walder Frey asked where his damn moron sons were, and she answered “Heeeyuh….My Lord.”
Also, I thought they’d cast the striking redhead Meg Parkinson for a meaty role (we know how Jonny likes gingers); she wound up with three words: “Now and always!”
So who knows? Maybe Alice Nokes will have one line in one scene. (I hope not. As the threadbare “Guest Actress” category in this past season’s WotW Awards illustrated, the show could use some more substantial guest actress roles.)
Artemisia,
Eddard names her as the mother of Jon Snow when he spoke with Robert Baratheon at the Kingsroad