The Small Council: What’s your pick for Best Performance As A Youth?

In this installment of The Small Council, we ask the advisers: who was your pick for the Best Performance As A Youth in Season 4? We also welcome new contributor Cameron White to the table.

Rebecca Pahle: Ah, Jack Gleeson. I’ll miss you. I haven’t missed your character, because, y’know, psychopathic jackass. The political situation in King’s Landing just gets so deliciously complicated when the obvious villain gets bumped off. But Jack—can I call you Jack? Jackie? Jackaroo?—you played King Joffrey with such a smarmy, shitheaded delightfulness that I just have to raise my glass (of non-poisoned wine) to you…. 

Most people who read the books were waiting for Joff to die with a song in their hearts and a smile on their faces—I know I was—but the horror with which Gleeson played his character’s death scene elevated “The Lion and the Rose” to something truly great. You weren’t just seeing an abusive, sadistic tyrant finally get his comeuppance. You were also seeing a teenage boy choke to death in agonizing pain as his terrified parents sat by his side, unable to save their child. Through your performance, Alex Graves’ directing, and George R.R. Martin’s script, even the death of Game Of Thrones‘ most hated character wasn’t entirely easy to watch. Because it’s death. It’s not easy. This is Game Of Thrones, and everything sucks.

Fuck the king. But you, Jack, are a treasure.

Ani Bundel: Sansa, Sansa, Sansa. When it comes to the Stark family drama, Sophie Turner’s Sansa Stark might not have had the worst of it (I believe that honor goes to anyone who attended the Red Wedding.) But don’t tell her that. The Stark’s clan’s elder teenage girl thinks that all of the unfair and all of the world’s pain and suffering is occurring right to her right now, as any girl her age would. On the page, this character can drive on up, down, through and over the wall. Which is why my pick for Best Youth Performance goes to Sophie Turner. She’s taken a whiny, shortsighted girl with her head in the clouds and made her a heroine I’m rooting for.

I’ve argued before that Sansa is one of those who improved most from page to screen, and though some of that comes from the nature of the show forcing the viewer out of the first person perspective, a lot of that goes to Sophie Turner. Her performance this season, as she finally takes the step from little girl in over her head to Littlefinger protege has been a site to behold. Other seasons, she still came off as a silly girl, unaware how those around her were willing to play her like a song. This season, even when she came off as a silly girl–think of that scene in the snow with Robyn–one could see the danger beneath.

How many of us expected, when she sat down with the Lords Declarant, for her to tell the truth about Lysa in such a close but with a twist manner? Certainly not us book readers, for whom she has stayed “Littlefinger’s niece Alayne Stone” for far too long. The choice to allow her to use who she was to gain the trust of her distant relatives, and Turner’s tour de force in that camber scene was a sight to behold. It cemented a character who I once found only tolerable and took her to new levels that I was sorry to not get a glimpse of her in the finale.

Shall we go?

Andrea Towers: If you had asked me which character I would care about this season that I didn’t really have any attachment to beforehand, I would not have said Kerry Ingram as Shireen Baratheon. And yet, the daughter of Stannis crept (and sang) her way into my heart during Season 4, and I’m quite happy that she did. Although Shireen is a princess, in the books, we see her described as less than pretty, with greyscale on her face and few friends, not to mention lingering nightmares. Despite the fact that her father has her locked away, that doesn’t stop her from showing her spirit, loyalty and compassion–and Kerry Ingram is a large reason of why my vote goes to a character who is mostly seen as another sad player in George R.R. Martin’s world.

Because of Ingram, Shireen is not just a lonely girl shut up with no one who cares for her. Ingram makes Shireen sharp. She makes her witty. She holds her own against Davos when he visits, and eventually forges a bond with him that’s almost as strangely close as the one that exists between Tyrion and Bronn. She sticks up for herself and doesn’t let her situation push her down. Throughout the show, we’ve had a chance to explore character arcs of most of the Stark children, and even someone like Joffrey. But we didn’t get much time with Shireen, who made her debut in Season 3’s fifth episode “Kissed By Fire,” until well into Season 4. Ingram had to convince us that Shireen was someone we should care about, and that she was more than just Stannis’ daughter, who was kept away from the world. She performed beautifully, emotionally, and became a standout that should be recognized.

Cameron White: I’m going to take a left turn here and talk about Thomas Brodie-Sangster’s Jojen Reed. Like several other Game Of Thrones characters, Jojen’s gained a few years of age in the adaptation process. Far from being a distraction, however, the casting of Thomas Brodie-Sangster emphasizes a key element of the character: wisdom beyond his years. It’s an element actors (especially child actors) sometimes struggle with, but Brodie-Sangster has perfected it over the course of his career, from Love Actually to an exquisite guest turn on Doctor Who.

More than that, Jojen’s mysticism — his green dreams and general anxiety about the state of affairs in Westeros–complements Bran’s character very well. Bran is given to impatience rather easily, moreso as he finds out what he’s truly capable of as a warg. Jojen helps temper Bran’s behavior, preparing him for his own journey even though Jojen knows his own journey is coming to a close. Not everyone is a fan of this particular character type, but I respond well to it, and I think the show could not have picked a better actor to play the part.

Check in Thursday to see who wins, and be sure to read this deciding on who might have won in Seasons 1-3.  And remember to vote here:

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• Published on 10/07/2014 at 4:27 PM CDT
• Last updated on 10/21/2016 at 12:40 PM CDT