Game of Thrones Showrunners Reveal Why Lady Stoneheart was Cut from the Show

While Game of Thrones still had some characters faithful to A Song of Ice and Fire, there were some that didn't make the cut—one of them being the resurrected Catelyn Stark in the form of Lady Stoneheart. With the upcoming BTS tell-all Fire Cannot Kill a Dragon, showrunners David Benioff and D.B. Weiss reveal why they decided to cut a character that George R.R. Martin wanted in the show.

Talking to Entertainment Weekly, D&D revealed there were talks to include the character in the show, but they didn't feel it would serve the story they were trying to tell. Benioff said, "There was never really much debate about [including Lady Stoneheart… There is that one great scene." Weiss then adds, "That was the only debate… The scene where she first shows up is one of the best ‘holy s---' moments in the books. I think that scene is where the public response came from."

As it turns out, there are 3 main reasons why Lady Stoneheart was cut from the show:

• The duo didn't want to spoil Martin's plans for Lady Stoneheart in the books. D&D didn't reveal the original intent of Martin, but it's assumed that it will have something to do with Brienne and/or Jaime.
• They didn't want to take away the impact of Jon Snow's resurrection. Benioff explains, "We knew we had Jon Snow's resurrection coming up… Too many resurrections start to diminish the impact of characters dying. We wanted to keep our powder dry for that."
• They thought Catelyn's end in the Red Wedding was already perfect for the character. "Catelyn's last moment was so fantastic, and Michelle [Fairley] is such a great actress, to bring her back as a zombie who doesn't speak felt like diminishing returns," said Benioff.

As for Martin, he was said to have pushed for Lady Stoneheart in the show, as he had more plans for her in the upcoming books. He had told Esquire China:

"Whether it's sufficient or interesting enough. I think it is or I wouldn't have put her in. One of the things I wanted to show with her is that the death she suffered changes you…. In the sixth book, I still continue to write her. She is an important character in the set of books. [Keeping her character] is the change I most wish I could make in the [show]."

For now, we know that the fallout of Game of Thrones has been terrible, and now people are looking to Martin for the ‘proper' end of his story. While it's no use griping over what happened, it's interesting to get a teaser of what we could expect when it comes to Martin's intended ending for A Song of Ice and Fire.

Fire Cannot Kill a Dragon is now available.

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