George R.R. Martin on the upcoming death of an unidentified female character
George R.R. Martin recently visited Hamburg, Germany, and held court during an open forum Q&A at the Congress Centrum Hamburg, where he also read a chapter from the unpublished sixth book in his A Song of Ice and Fire series, The Winds of Winter. German website Spiegel Online was there to interview the author, and although some of his words are a little garbled following the German-to-English translation, it seems that Martin discussed a character he would sooner (or later) be killing off in his books.
In the interview, Martin described how the an idea came to him while he was in his Hamburg hotel room.
There’s this character, which I always knew that she will die, from the moment of their introduction to them was doomed to die. But I did not know how she was going to die. Since last night, I know it. Maybe it was Hamburg, no idea.
Now, you have to understand that this is translated from German, so the language is a little garbled, but you get the drift: a female character will die very soon, possibly in The Winds of Winter, and Martin figured out the means of her death while sitting in his hotel room in Germany. So who could this doomed female character be?
UPDATE: After running the article by someone who speaks German fluently, we’ve learned that the pronoun at issue is gender-neutral, so the person Martin was talking about isn’t necessarily a woman. Still, we’re going to speculate as though it is, because…we already wrote it that way.
Melisandre is at the Wall in both the books and the show, and it would appear as if she is about to play a pivotal role in the possible resurrection of a certain luxuriously haired bastard. Could Melisandre be the one to fall to Martin’s deathly inclinations? There is a saying regarding the type of blood magic used to bring someone back to life, “Only death pays for life,” which could mean Melisandre may sacrifice herself to bring Jon from back from the other side.
Arya Stark is currently in Braavos training to become the perfect acolyte for the Many Faced God. Maybe she’ll run into trouble during an assassination missions and die at the hands of one of her intended targets. I don’t think this is likely, as I feel Arya has too much to do before A Song of Ice and Fire wraps up.
Sansa Stark‘s path is different in the books than on the show. In the books, she’s still happy and safe in the Vale, content to flirt her way into the arms of a potential suitor and possible heir to House Arryn…if Littlefinger has his way. On the show, as you well know, Sansa has just jumped off the walls of Winterfell, hand in hand with Theon, and into an uncertain future. Sansa would be the easy choice, but I don’t think Martin is talking about her, either.
In the books, Brienne of Tarth has found herself in quite the pickle. Without going into any spoilers, I will just say that her path on the show has been vastly different. Sure, it would be easy to kill Brienne at this point, but I think Martin has already decided her fate—it just hasn’t been shown.
Daenerys Targaryen is currently far from Meereen in the clutches of a Dothraki Khalasar. We don’t know their intention toward her, but we do know that Drogon is near, and if the events of Daznak’s Pit are any indication, he won’t let anything bad happen to his mother. I honestly think that Dany will sit the Iron Throne, when it’s all said and done, so I do not think Martin is talking about her.
Our German speaking friend did mention there is a local legend in Hamburg, Germany, of the execution of the pirate Klaus Störtebecker. If Hamburg was in fact Martin’s inspiration for killing a possible female character, then Asha (Yara) Greyjoy would fit the “pirate” moniker perfectly. Störtebecker along with his crew was beheaded for their crimes. Could Balon Greyjoy’s only daughter suffer a similar fate?
Is Margaery Tyrell a large enough target to warrant George R.R. Martin’s maniacal machinations? The wife of King Tommen is currently under lock and key (on the show) in the High Sparrow’s dungeons. Might we see the sweet rose of House Tyrell suffer a religious type death? I’m inclined to say no, as I believe she is the younger more beautiful queen to take Cersei’s place, in the Prophecy of the Valonqar.
Cersei Lannister is reeling after her public humiliation. As a lioness of House Lannister, her strength was taken from her by the symbolic cutting of her hair. Think of it as a lion’s mane being shorn. She already knows of the Prophecy of the Valonqar, which predicted her demise at the hands of the her younger brother. I believe Martin is talking about the Queen Mother. He always knew she would die, and the Prophecy of the Valonqar demands she be killed by her younger brother, either Tyrion or Jaime could do her in.
Tyrion is the obvious choice here, as there is an ocean of bad blood between Cersei and him. However, we can’t ignore George R.R. Martin’s fondness for chaos. Just when you think you have it all figured out, George turns you upside down and rips out your heart, or blows your mind…and that’s why I believe Jaime will kill Cersei. Although they are twins, Jaime was born after his sister, making him a valonqar.
Of course, this is all speculation at this point, but if George got the idea recently, then I would bet on one of these women dying. But then again, like I said, this is George R.R. Martin we’re discussing, so nothing is certain. In fact, I could see him killing all these women in one fell stroke of his mighty pen.
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