Source: HBO

Anyone hoping for Ellaria Sand to make a neat escape is going to be disappointed. That’s according to actress Indira Varma herself, who revealed her character’s fate after that truly heartbreaking scene.


“I thought it was a brilliantly cruel end,” Varma told The Hollywood Reporter.

During last week’s episode, “The Queen’s Justice,” Ellaria Sand and her daughter Tyene were brought to Cersei Lannister by Euron Greyjoy as a gift. Cersei’s mode of torture was to keep Ellaria behind bars for life, doomed to helplessly watch her poisoned daughter die and rot in front of her. And even though she’s technically not dead, she won’t be emerging from Cersei’s dungeon anytime soon.


“I kid myself that Ellaria will be saved,” she mused in that interview, but another conversation with Entertainment Weekly made it abundantly clear that the leader of the Sand Snakes is finished— at least on the show.



“I stay alive,” Varma clarified. “I’m just not going to reappear.”

That’s bad news for any fans of Sand out there (though, seriously, did the Sand Snakes have any fans?), and it pretty much dashes the fan theory that Bronn or anyone else might save Ellaria or Tyene from their awful fates. After all, why would Bronn save Tyene but not her mom? That’s too shitty, even for him. Therefore, we won’t be seeing the treacherous leaders of Dorne again.

The fate of Dorne itself isn’t so clear cut, though. No Martells, no Snakes. Just who’s in charge over there? Dorne isn’t a fan of Cersei, but without strong leadership or the support of the Martell House’s army, it’s not clear if anyone will be able to stand against her. It’s also possible that the Lannisters or Ironborn have since occupied the territory, before heading over to Highgarden to continue Cersei’s rampage of doom against Daenerys Targaryen’s allies. We’ll see how Dany responds on the next episode of Game of Thrones, which airs this Sunday.

[The Hollywood Reporter]