Curtain Call: Ian Beattie
Meryn Trant: You’re an up-jumped cutthroat. Nothing more.
Bronn: That’s exactly who I am. And you’re a grub in fancy armor who’s better at beating little girls than fighting men.
When talking about the life of Meryn Trant, there’s no exchange more appropriate than the one above. It puts the rest of Trant’s actions, particularly what he did in Episodes 9 and 10 of Game of Thrones’ fifth season, into context. Viewers knew there was something off with this Knight of the Kingsguard as far back as Season 1, when he attacked and killed (off screen, of course) Syrio Forel, Arya Stark’s Water Dancing teacher. But the moment when he really crystallized into an irredeemable villain came when he struck Sansa Stark at the behest of her sadistic fiance Joffrey Baratheon. He did it without the slightest bit of hesitation or regret. Clearly, this was not a man any of us were expected to like.
In Season 2, Ser Meryn continued to behave contemptibly when, once again, Joffrey ordered him to punish Sansa. This time, the beating was much more severe, as he punched the young girl in her stomach, knocked her down with the flat of his sword, and finally ripped the dress from her shoulders. His actions were so despicable that even gruff, tough Sandor Clegane was disgusted by them…and that’s saying a lot.
Beyond being a witness for the prosecution at Tyrion’s trial for regicide, Meryn Trant did little of consequence in Seasons 3 and 4. However, other characters made some juicy comments about him. For example, here’s the Hound’s opinion of Trant’s fighting abilities: “Any boy whore with a sword could beat three Meryn Trants.” Also, when Tyrion is pondering who Cersei will choose as her champion in his upcoming trial by combat, he hopes it will be Ser Meryn, as he’d enjoy watching Bronn disembowel the pompous child beater.
It wasn’t until the final two episodes of Season 5 that we saw just how terrible a person Meryn Trant was. In Episode 9, Trant orders a brothel keeper to find him a young girl. Several girls were brought before him, but he pronounced each one “Too old.” Finally, when what appeared to be a girl of no older than 12 was presented to him, Ser Meryn took her into a backroom to do gods’ know what to her. In Episode 10, we see him beating a trio of young girls supplied by that same brothel with a stick, an act that puts his earlier willingness to beat Sansa into a disturbing new light. Arya, who’s posing as one of the girls, removes her disguise and kills Trant. It was one of the rare moments on Game of Thrones when a Stark got some sweet revenge. According to some fans, it was more than justified.
As disgusting as Ser Meryn Trant was, the man who played him doesn’t seem like he could be more gracious. By all accounts, Ian Beattie has a soft, emotional side that he didn’t get to display while wearing his Kingsguard armor. In an interview with Vulture, Beattie described the moment he was killed on screen by Arya, and claimed that he was glad for the prosthetics covering his eyes, as he didn’t want the rest of the cast and crew to see him cry.
Ian Beattie seems like a wonderful guy with a good heart, and I’m sure his fellow Game of Thrones actors will miss him greatly. As for Meryn Trant…good riddance.
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