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 is 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 The Theory of Everything and the critically acclaimed Testament of Youth, alongside Thrones’ own Kit Harington, Hope is set to appear in British thriller North V South and the star-studded Miss You Already. One less Bolton sympathiser is great news for Westeros, but her character will certainly be missed!
If bringing 
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?
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?
Matt S,
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!)
Knight of Storm´s End,
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!
And one more thing, back atcha @ Myranda : “Not so pretty now”
http://img3.wikia.nocookie.net/__cb20150616203256/gameofthrones/images/f/fa/MyrandaDeath.jpg
and from Meryn F. Trant
“Too old”
I have to say Nell Tiger Free did whiny teenager really well. She made Jamie look like every parent does when their kid is ‘that age’…. Aimee did a wonderful job as sweet child, but Nell showed her at her ‘I want to be a grownup’ self. Well done to both.
Charlotte Hope did creepy girlfriend really well.
I’m glad all three actresses are doing well and hope for the best in the future.
Geoffery,
When will Kit’s be going up?
Hush you. Don’t jinx Kit’s return! 😉
By the time Myranda met her end, I cheered as much as I did when Joff and his grandpa met their ends. Therefore, I surely bought into Charlotte’s portrayal of nasty Myranda, lock, stock and barrel. Kudos to her and wishing her success in the future.
Unlike most others on this site, I did not feel the Dorne story sucked; I thought it lacked screentime, was barely introduced this season, and not well-developed. But Myrcella was the teenager who had Fallen In Love, defiant of her uncle at first, then sweetly accepting of his uncle/dad status, before dying. Her death evoked outrage that someone(s) should have killed an innocent young girl, and is sure to spark off some major changes. Congrats to Nell on tackling a difficult job and wish her future success.
Geoffery,
And here´s a “thank you” in return 🙂 . Looking forward to reading the new curtain call, I´m super excited for that one.
Really good job by both ladies in their respective roles.I was dissapointed with Myrcella’s death and fully expected Tommen to die in the finale.Patchface said something about it.It was really sad,and especially after their father/daughter talk.
Myranda was one nasty bi*ch,but I loved the way Charlotte made everything out of her small role.Especially her scenes with Sansa.Fun to watch.
We gonna get one of these for Kit?
She died like her brother, sadly.
I wish they had given more CLOSURE on the deaths in the finale…
We literally saw her start bleeding out and collapse… AND THATS IT. We got no resolution, no dead body, no last gasp, nothing.
Same with Stannis and JS. The only CONFIRMED dead are Myranda, Sylese and Trant. The other three, until Season 6, are UNKNOWN as of right now. Regardless of what the fucking show-runners “claim” AKA JS is dead Kit isn’t coming back ETC ETC *COUGH* BULLSHIT *COUGH*
Thought Myranda was the most attractive woman in the show outside of Dany, sorry to see her go but glad they turned what was probably intended as a one scene character into a much larger role.
Nothing against Free, but now that we know the full extent of her role in the story I question why they recasted.
Mr Fixit,
They did one for Rory Mccann too and we don’t know if his character is dead .
Ser Matt the Sullen,
Stannis and Myrcella are both dead 100%, that’s all you need to know . And with Myrcella,there is a still showing her dead and full of blood in Jaime’s arms that wasn’t in the episode,if that isn’t dead then i call serious bullshit,no one loses that much blood and lives especially not in a time like this,unless Jaime has some random red Priestess hidden somewhere,Myrcella is gone .
I thought that both did excellent jobs with small roles. It says a lot about the show’s status that they were able to get someone as good as Tiger Free to play the role. (I do find the idea that the prior performer “well beloved” odd: I mean, wasn’t she just a set extra rather than a true actress?)
One thing I will add about Tiger Free: she did a very good job of playing the daughter of a character enacted by Lena Headey. There were a lot of little Cerseisms in her mannerisms that sold the part very well.
“One less Bolton sympathiser is great news for Westeros”
*fewer
😛
Dandelion,
These articles are for positive recollections of the actors or characters,if you have nothing good to say then shut up and crawl back to your cave . Also i can name of the top of my head 10 characters from the books more pointless than Myranda,so please don’t go there .
Charlotte Hope won all my love this season. Book Myranda is (obviously) my favorite and I would still be salty about the TV adaptation had she not absolutely sold it. Her performance pulled her far from the top spot of my Most Hated TV GoT character…well…her and Olly.
For those of you asking, Jon did die on the show and when a character dies on the show, we give them their Curtain Call. Whether or not he comes back next series is moot, if he does he’ll be coming back from the DEAD anyway 😉 So watch this space for more CCs…
I read an interview with Free at Vulture and she seemed like a really funny person. I don’t see why people are harping on it being a recast part (except every minutiae of GoT gets over analyzed). Most people don’t even remember Myrcella from early in S1.
I thought Hope did the best she could with a fairly one note character. Now I’m trying to think who she was in Theory of Everything.
Ser Florian,
NEVER!!!!!!
I liked both performances very much. Playing a psycho lover with similar interests as Ramsay was really done very nicely.
Also for Nell’s performance, I agree with Wimsey that she clearly studied her show-mother very well. Because of these details it was not just another teenage love-bird in my eyes.
Very well done, both of them.
Nell was just starting to grow on me. I was fully expecting Myrcella’s time to come in S6, as a victim of the mess in King’s Landing. Not in the S5 finale, in that manner! Myrcella, we barely got to know you, and then you’re gone.
Myranda, I won’t miss you though! 🙂
As in the previous curtain call, all I’ll say is thank you to Charlotte and Nell for their performances.
Still waiting for Sophie Turner and Alfie Allen’s curtain calls 😛
The biggest catharsis moment was when Theon killed that evil b word. Doing what she did to Theon made her the most hateful, horrible person and it’s important that it was Theon who got to finish her.
Thank you Dees!! Ser Florian, no curtain call for Jon/Kit. He’s coming back
StandOzone,
You may have longer to wait. They’ve bounced. Next time, where will we see them?
Myranda, courageously and deftly played by Ms. Hope, was such a tragic and endearing character, beloved by few and envied by many. As the only daughter of the Dreadfort’s Kennelmaster, she had high ambitions with the Boltons. Through hard work, dexterity and superb flexibility, she quickly rose through the rank and file to become a skilled standout on Ramsay’s formidable team. Her naked and disarming performance during Theon’s gelding was mesmerizing…it was awful but I simply couldn’t take my eyes off the screen. She was a convincing torturer and archer and her wit provided charismatic banter with both Ramsay and Sansa. Not an easy task by any means! Such range of deranged emotions that Ms. Hope demonstrated! What a horribly ironic surprise it was when, in the end, it would be the emasculated Theon who would end her stunning ascent in this unforgiving, unrelenting game of thrones by tossing her off a Winterfell ledge like a rag doll. Oh, what could have been! RIP, oh dreamy vixen of the north!
🙂
Loved your thoughts on Myranda, Geoffrey! Seriously, I loved what Ms. Hope and Ms. Free brought to the story. May they succeed on many levels in the future.
What Charlotte Hope did well with Myranda was convey her sense of resentment – that someone could be prettier than her, more valuable than her, to matter more than her. So for as much as she could torment Sansa about what Ramsey might do with her “lady parts,” Ramsay’s threshold for doing the same to Myranda would be even lower. It’s not that she was just psychotic, but that she was jealous and resentful, too, which is what made her interesting. Seeing her head go “thwack” on the stone floor in Winterfell is a pretty satisfying moment – it’s rare that the deaths of the really awful people in Westeros are turned into cheering moments; the ones that do are often people who are in the midst of committing some kind of terrible act – Craster, Karl, Myranda, Kraznys.
I liked Nell Tiger Free in the role. What worked for her was that she actually looked like the actress who played Young Cersei (who also resembled Jack Gleeson). Her material wasn’t the strongest, though. For that, she suffered. She did fine, though.
Bye Myranda, you had a nice butt.
Nell Tiger Free had a such a brief appearance in season 5 , I have wondered why they didn’t use Aimee Richardson? Seems she could have handled what rather brief dialog there was.