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Myrcella Baratheon

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Myrcella Baratheon
A Song of Ice and Fire character
Game of Thrones character
Nell Tiger Free as Myrcella Baratheon
First appearance
Last appearance
  • Television:
  • "Home" (2016)
Created byGeorge R. R. Martin
Adapted byDavid Benioff
D. B. Weiss
Portrayed by
In-universe information
GenderFemale
Family
Relatives

Myrcella Baratheon is a fictional character in the A Song of Ice and Fire series of epic fantasy novels by American author George R. R. Martin, and its television adaptation Game of Thrones. Myrcella's character, development and her interactions and impact differ greatly between the two media.[1]

Introduced in 1996's A Game of Thrones, Myrcella is the only daughter of Cersei Lannister from the kingdom of Westeros. She subsequently appeared in Martin's A Clash of Kings (1998) and A Feast for Crows (2005).

Myrcella is portrayed by Irish actress Aimee Richardson in the first two seasons of the HBO television adaptation, while English actress Nell Tiger Free portrays her in the show's fifth and sixth seasons.

Character

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Since Myrcella Baratheon is not a point of view character in A Song of Ice and Fire, the reader learns about her through other characters' perspectives, such as her uncle Tyrion Lannister. She is a background character in the books.

Storylines

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A Game of Thrones

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A coat of arms showing a black stag on a yellow field.
Coat of arms of House Baratheon

Myrcella is introduced in A Game of Thrones (1996) as the only daughter of Queen Cersei Lannister and King Robert Baratheon. In her first appearance, she accompanies her parents, her two brothers (Joffrey and Tommen Baratheon), and her two "uncles" (Tyrion and Jaime Lannister) to Winterfell where Robert asks Eddard Stark to be appointed as Hand of the King. She is later shown attending the tournament to celebrate Eddard's inauguration into his position. While investigating Jon Arryn's death, Eddard discovers that Myrcella and her brothers are the products of an incestuous affair between Cersei and Jaime.

A Clash of Kings

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In 1998's A Clash of Kings, Myrcella attends Joffrey's nameday as King. She greets her uncle Tyrion and tells him that she is glad that the rumors of his death were false. During the War of the Five Kings, Tyrion makes plans to forge an alliance with House Martell of Dorne by having Myrcella wed to Trystane Martell, the son of the current ruler of Dorne, but part of the arrangement involved sending her to Dorne to live in the Martell household.

A Feast for Crows

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During A Storm of Swords (2000), Trystane's sister Arianne Martell plans to crown Myrcella as Robert's heir instead of Tommen, hoping to incite the Dornishmen to rebel against the Lannisters to seat her on the Iron Throne. However, Doran Martell has been tipped off to the conspiracy and his men ambush Arianne's party as they attempt to sail up the Greenblood. In the ensuing confrontation, one of Arianne's co-conspirators, Ser Gerold "Darkstar" Dayne, attempts to kill Myrcella; although unsuccessful, he cuts off one of her ears and leaves her scarred.

A Dance with Dragons

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In A Dance with Dragons (2011), Myrcella travels back to King's Landing with Nymeria Sand.

TV adaptation

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Overview

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Aimee Richardson (right) and Nell Tiger Free (left)

In the HBO television adaptation, Aimee Richardson portrayed Myrcella for the first two seasons.[2] Initially cast as a stand-in, Richardson impressed the crew enough to be kept as a full cast member; she appeared in eight episodes.[3] Nell Tiger Free played Myrcella for the seasons five and six.[2][3] Prior to her audition, Free had never seen the show; when talking about the role, she said: "I mean, it's every kids dream to play a princess and the dresses were fantastic."[4] Richardson learned about the recasting at San Diego Comic-Con;[3][5] in response, she posted a Vine video in which she wore a crown and held a sign saying "Princess for Hire".[6][7] An explanation was not given for the change in actors.[3]

Myrcella's fate was one of several differences between how the television show and the novels represented the Sand Snakes and Dorne.[1] Her death scene was originally longer with parallels to Joffrey's death; it would have involved her head exploding and gore splattered throughout the set. Discussing these changes, Free said: "[David Benioff and D. B. Weiss] wanted Myrcella's death to reflect her life, and wanted it to be sweet – which is rare for [Game of] Thrones."[8] Esquire's Matt Miller wrote that the final version was tamer in comparison to other characters' deaths.[9] Free appeared in six episodes of the show.[4]

Storylines

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Season 1 and 2

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Myrcella's storyline in the first two seasons follows the books. Myrcella makes her debut, looking "like a Disney Princess" as she arrives with the Lannisters at Winterfell in the series premiere.[10] She is later seen along with her brother Tommen at Joffrey's nameday. Tyrion later sends her off to Dorne to marry into House Martell, so that House Lannister can gain an alliance with them.

Season 5 and 6

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Myrcella (now much older) is seen walking through the Water Gardens with Trystane, with whom she has fallen in love, while being watched by Ellaria Sand and Prince Doran Martell. Ellaria, furious about Oberyn's death, offers to torture Myrcella and send pieces of her back to take revenge on Cersei, whom she feels is responsible for orchestrating Tyrion's show trial which led to the trial by combat that took Oberyn's life, but Doran refuses to harm her. Myrcella is surprised when her "uncle" Jaime Lannister and Bronn finally meet her as she is with Trystane in the gardens. She is upset after Bronn is forced to knock Trystane unconscious, and resists Jaime's urging to leave with him. The Sand Snakes make a sudden ambush in order to kidnap her. She is nearly taken hostage by Nymeria, but the conflict is interrupted after Areo Hotah arrives with a dozen Dornish guards, imprisoning Jaime, Bronn, the Sand Snakes and Ellaria. Myrcella visits Jaime while he is in custody. Jaime tells her that about the situation with Ellaria. He tells her that he needs to take her home to King's Landing. Myrcella, failing to understand, assures him that Dorne is her home now, and that she will stay and marry Trystane. However, her marriage to Trystane never happens as she is poisoned by Ellaria and the Sand Snakes just before she leaves Dorne with Jamie and Bronn. As she is sailing away towards King's Landing, she dies in Jaime's arms moments after acknowledging him as her father.[A][14][15][16]

In Season 6, Episode 2, her body returns home to King's Landing shortly after her death, and her corpse, complete with stones over her eyes, is later seen in the Great Sept of Baelor.[10] Myrcella is later avenged by Euron Greyjoy, who kills Obara and Nymeria in combat, and delivers Ellaria and Tyene to Cersei to exact her revenge.

Family tree of House Lannister

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References

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Notes

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  1. ^ At least one writer opines that Myrcella's relationship with Jaime abruptly failed, like so many other match-ups in the television series, was because of a lack of good writing.[11] Others say that in Game of Thrones, Myrcella's loving relationship, like many others, seem doomed to fall victim to political grudges of other characters.[12] Although her "star crossed" dalliance with Trystane is viewed as "passionate" but "boring", both are murdered "to keep the plot moving."[13]

Citations

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  1. ^ a b Wigler, Josh (April 26, 2016). "'Game of Thrones': How Dorne Story Completely Diverges From the Books". The Hollywood Reporter.
  2. ^ a b Renfro, Kim (October 25, 2015). "These 5 'Game of Thrones' characters were recast — and you probably didn't even notice". Business Insider.
  3. ^ a b c d Hedash, Kara (July 2, 2019). "Game Of Thrones: Why Myrcella Baratheon Was Recast". Screen Rant. Retrieved July 17, 2019.
  4. ^ a b Comita, Jenny (June 14, 2019). "Nell Tiger Free, Game of Thrones Princess, Rises to Be Crowned in Hollywood". W. Retrieved July 18, 2019.
  5. ^ Sue the Fury (25 July 2014). "Game of Thrones season five cast announced at Comic Con!". Watchers on the Wall. Retrieved 15 April 2019.
  6. ^ Richardson, Aimee; Day, Patrick Kevin (July 31, 2014). "Former 'Game of Thrones' actress makes 'Princess for Hire' video" (Video). Los Angeles Times. The actress who played Myrcella Baratheon on the HBO series "Game of Thrones" makes a joke out of her character's recent recasting.
  7. ^ Hooton, Christopher (31 July 2014). "Game of Thrones actress Aimee Richardson begs for 'other princess work' after Myrcella Baratheon part is re-cast". The Independent. Archived from the original on 2022-06-18. Retrieved 1 August 2014.
  8. ^ Griffiths, Emmy (June 13, 2017). "This Game of Thrones death was meant to be MUCH more gruesome". Hello Magazine. Myrcella Baratheon's death originally involved mashed up bananas!
  9. ^ Miller, Matt (June 12, 2017). "Why Game of Thrones Actually Made This Key Death Less Violent". Esquire. Retrieved July 20, 2019.
  10. ^ a b Alter, Rebecca; Polk, Milan (May 22, 2010). "WHAT IS DEAD MAY NEVER DIE: The First and Last Appearances of Game of Thrones' Most Memorable Characters". New York. vulture.com. Retrieved July 19, 2019.
  11. ^ Lange, Jeva (April 22, 2019). "Why Game of Thrones' lovers are so hard to love". The Week. Retrieved July 18, 2019.
  12. ^ Rastogi, Nina Shen (May 8, 2019). "The Essential Question for Game of Thrones' Endgame". New York. vulture.com. Retrieved July 19, 2019.
  13. ^ "Ranking 'Game Of Thrones' Romances From Worst To Best". Zimbio. Retrieved July 19, 2019.
  14. ^ Telegraph staff (June 12, 2017). "The gruesome Game of Thrones death viewers were never shown". The Telegraph. Telegraph Media Group Limited. Retrieved July 17, 2019.
  15. ^ Prahl, Amanda (April 13, 2019). "Game of Thrones: How, When, and Why Each 1 of Cersei's Children Died". PopSugar. Retrieved July 17, 2019.
  16. ^ Thomas, Leah Marilla (April 24, 2016). "How Did Myrcella Die On 'Game of Thrones'? Cersei Is Due For A Rude Awakening When Jaime Returns". Bustle. Retrieved July 17, 2019.
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