Curtain Call: Kerry Ingram

Shireen: I wouldn’t have chosen either. It’s all the choosing sides that made things so horrible.

The “Adorably Precocious Child” trope in popular culture is one found almost universally across all kinds of genres, from fantasy and science fiction to historical dramas, action movies, romantic comedies, and serious drama. Some child actors who find themselves cast in that role get lucky—take Emma Watson, who played Hermione Granger. The character may have started out precocious and irritating, but by three movies in was punching jerks in the face and getting cheered on by audiences. On the flip side, there are actors like Wil Wheton, whose acting career never recovered from Wesley Crusher.

One of the brilliant things about Kerry Ingram’s portrayal of Shireen is that even though her character was in some ways the very definition of the trope—right down to the problematic family situation and the educating (in this case actual tutoring) of the adults around her—is that you never felt like her character was a stereotype. Shireen was the child of unaffectionate religious fanatics who lost herself in books. Her response to her situation and her relationship with Davos Seaworth felt like they were only natural.

One of the hardest things about bringing Game of Thrones to life is that so many of the main characters in the books are so young. Though the show cheated somewhat by aging up Jon Snow, Robb Stark, and Daenerys, the bulk of that next generation, from Sansa and Joffrey to Arya and Shireen, all started out prepubescent when the series begins. That meant most of them, like Sophie Turner and Maisie Williams, had little to no experience before being cast. Ingram, on the other hand, had the lead role in the Royal Shakespeare Theater’s hit Matilda the Musical under her belt. Being cast in Game of Thrones prevented her from carrying the role all the way to Broadway, but before she was through she had received an Olivier Award for Best Actress in a Musical. (The Olivier Awards are the London equivalent of the Tonys.) So unlike most of her peers, she was already established when she arrived.

Shireen didn’t appear on screen until the third season of Game of Thrones. The only true Baratheon child to bear the last name, Ingram suffered her character’s childhood neglect and greyscale disfiguration with a determined cheerfulness. Though she only appeared twice that season, her relationship with Davos was always touching. Her determination to teach him to read, even from the far side of the bars of his cell, spoke volumes about her character, and it was no surprise that the show later added in a scene where she does the same for Gilly.

But as Davos pointed out, the battlefields are no place for a child, and from the beginning, Stannis’ choice to bring her (and her mother) along on this journey south struck people as suspicious. But with the books stalled out in the snow with Stannis, his sacrifice of Shireen to curry favor with the Red God and get his army moving was not something book-reading viewers were prepared for. Perhaps that’s why, despite the show telegraphing Shireen’s fate all season, even they doubted that Stannis would really make that choice.

I don’t think it’s an accident that all of Ingram’s best moments come from Season 5, whether it was bonding with her father earlier in the year, or her performance in “The Dance of Dragons,” when she provided the only voice of wisdom amidst the madness of Westeros’ endless wars. Like Aemon Targaryen, she had realized the best way to to handle the game of thrones was not to play. If only she could have been allowed to do so in peace. Ingram’s declaration to her father she would do anything to help him (even after she said she wouldn’t take sides given the choice) was heartbreaking. But it was her screams, and her incredible performance begging for her mother in her final moments, that will haunt my nightmares.

Good bye Shireen, and good bye Kerry. I will miss your tweets from the set and your mugging with Liam Cunningham. Here’s to the next stage of your career.

• Published on 06/10/2015 at 9:30 AM CDT
• Last updated on 06/10/2015 at 9:30 AM CDT