Last week, the Internet was in its latest version of a Game Of Thrones-related uproar after a certain expected character failed to make an appearance in the season four finale, and then certain others posted about that certain expected character without using the words “spoiler alert” in bold font, as agreed upon in the Anti-Spoiler Act Of 2010 that so many fought and died for. As it turns out, all of that may have been pointless.


According to an Entertainment Weekly interview with Michelle Fairley, that certain character—whom we’ll just stop being coy about and call “Lady Stoneheart,” because you’ve made your choice—won’t be appearing on the show. “Yeah, the character’s dead. She’s dead,” Fairley said not only of Catelyn Stark, but also of her revived, undead Lady Stoneheart alter ego that factors into George R.R. Martin’s novels, but won’t be seen on your TV.

There was a lot of online conversation. I heard third-hand that you were basically told that it’s not likely to ever happen. Is that accurate?

Yeah, the character’s dead. She’s dead. Do you have a preference at all—do you think Catelyn’s arc should end where it ended, or would you be into the resurrection idea?

You respect the writers’ decision. I knew the arc, and that was it. They can’t stick to the books 100 percent. It’s impossible—they only have 10 hours per season. They have got to keep it dramatic and exciting, and extraneous stuff along the way gets lost in order to maintain the quality of brilliant show.


Of course, you’ll notice that Fairley doesn’t answer directly whether she’d be into being resurrected; she just demurs to “the writers’ decision,” which places it entirely on them. “The character’s dead” also allows for some semantic wiggle room when it comes to zombies, meaning there’s still a chance this is all a smokescreen intended to preserve some modicum of surprise in a show where that’s so often imperiled. But it does seem to suggest that everyone involved wants us to stop talking about it for now, a decision we can support fully.