Out of all the dramas on television, there are none more consistently brutal at killing off main characters than The Walking Dead and Game of Thrones. Someone should really figure out which show kills off prominent characters at a more ferocious pace. Until then, we’ll just have to settle for former cast members grousing over the “unnecessary” deaths of their character.
In this edition of the aforementioned grousing — SPOILER ALERT — we have Ian McElhinney talking about Ser Barristan Selmy’s surprising death halfway through Game of Thrones season five. And he had a right to be shocked; in the books, Ser Barristan is alive and well, running things (poorly) in Meereen while Dany is who knows where with her dragon. But that job goes to Tyrion and Varys in the TV show, leaving little room for the old knight. Here’s McElhinney’s feelings, via The Express:
“As soon as I got the schedule I thought ‘there’s something not here’ because I thought I’d be doing more scenes, in fact I was doing less. So immediately I thought ‘they must be writing me out’,” he explained during a press conference at the MCM London Comic Con last weekend. “If I’m honest, I was a bit disapointed by that. I felt I should have known, it wouldn’t have made any difference but I felt that as a matter of just courtesy, I should have known.
“I was disappointed because I had enjoyed playing the part and I was looking forward to getting more meat in the part and I had to dared to presume that I would at least go into season six. I obviously shouldn’t have dared to presume. So be it. The deed is done and I’m on to other things and that’s that. But I do miss it. I would have happily stayed on.”
You would have happily continued to be a part of one of the biggest, most popular shows on TV? You don’t say. He’s right to say he shouldn’t have presumed… at this point, there are certain expectations the show needs to fulfill; gratuitous boobs, hunky butts, and main character deaths. The moment Tyrion showed up in Meereen, Ser Barristan’s fate was sealed. If Ian was a more adept player in the Game of Roles, he’d have seen this coming. Unfortunately, in the Game of Roles, your character has interesting story arc possibilities, or you die. Hey, at least it was a pretty epic death…
(via Express.co.uk)
