Ciarán Hinds (Mance Rayder) on the final scene from “The Wars to Come”
[DO NOT READ IF YOU HAVEN’T SEEN “THE WARS TO COME”]
If you’ve seen the Season 5 premiere of Game of Thrones, then you know about the horrific death of Mance Rayder, The King Beyond the Wall, at the hands of Melisandre and her best friend fire. Although he didn’t get a ton of screentime, Ciarán Hinds expertly portrayed the Night’s Watch-deserter-turned-wildling leader, arguably turning in one of the more textured performances of the series.
Hinds sat down with Entertainment Weekly to discuss Mance’s death, and talked about how he found out he was exiting Game of Thrones for good.
“I had an idea when Stannis and Davos turned up [last season], that it meant something serious for me and my future.”
Mance’s wildling army was thwarted in Season 4 during the battle at the Wall. Having turned his cloak and deserted the Night’s Watch, Mance had to know that he would be sentenced to death if caught. However, Mance had a chance to save his life if he would just bend his knee to Stannis Baratheon. Was it pride that sealed his fate? Hines provides some insight into Mance’s decision.
“To me, it was something beyond stubbornness, it was a deep-seated belief in what he was trying to do. That if he bend the knee, he may as well not have taken his people to where he had brought them, and that was his personal choice.”
That’s how I felt, watching the show. Knowing what happens in the books, I watched Mance’s death scene with a little apprehension. However, Hinds pulled it off with the same excellence we have come to see from him.
Hinds continued to talk about how he found out his character was going to die this season.
“I got a very lovely email from [showrunners David Benioff and Dan Weiss]. They said basically, “Hi, you know about this show, you know All Men Must Die, and now you’re going to be on your way”—not quite like that, but it was very lovely. They said we’ll see you in August for a good ‘ol barbecue.”
Too soon, Ciarán, too soon. Hinds also discussed the final discussion Mance had with Jon Snow (Kit Harington), which had some of the best lines of episode.
“Well, it’s pretty high stakes, I guess, there’s never going to be much higher words.”
That last scene will not be soon forgotten. Mance left us with a line that shines a light on what it meant to be a wilding. And now his watch is ended.
“The freedom to make my own mistakes was all I ever wanted”
You can read Ciaran Hinds’ interview in its entirety at Entertainment Weekly.
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