I don't know about you guys, but I actually thought Kerry Ingram's Twitter post parodying her Game of Thrones character's death was pretty funny. Ingram plays — or played, I guess, RIP — Princess Shireen, survivor of greyscale and daughter of Stannis Baratheon, who was talked into burning his daughter alive near the end of Season 5 by none other than Melisandre. Because, of course. Girl has really made a name for herself for being thirsty for that kingsblood. The episode itself was extremely hard to watch, with Shireen screaming for help from her mother and father even as she's consumed by the flames. The camera cut away for her actual death, thank goodness, but it was still really traumatizing, even for those viewers who had read the books.
That's mainly because it didn't go down that way when George R.R. Martin wrote it. Instead, the person that Melisandre was trying to get her hands on was Mance Rayder's baby (who doesn't even die, by the way!), but, since that character doesn't exist in the show, someone else had to get swapped in. It was a brutal scene, and I don't know anyone who liked the carnage, so I guess it's understandable that there were people on Twitter who didn't appreciate Kerry Ingram joking about it so soon. And they're totally welcome to think that! I, however, was definitely amused by Ingram posting a photo of herself making a scared face with fire in the foreground, and captioning the whole thing "oh ffs not again...":
I think it's a fun way to celebrate the sad fact that her character is gone from the show forever and ever, and she never gets to play Shireen again, but, whether or not you agree with me, this is far from the first time that a Game of Thrones actor has poked fun at either their own death, or the death of another character on the show. Just check out these examples.
King Joffrey Baratheon
After King Joffrey was poisoned at his own wedding feast, actor Jack Gleason photobombed an airing of his own GoT death scene. Such conflicting emotions of affection for Gleason and utter revulsion for Joffrey.
Prince Oberyn Martell
The Red Viper was killed by Gregor "The Mountain" Clegane in single combat, but Pedro Pascal and Hafþór Júlíus Björnsson, his murderer, seemed to be getting along fine in this photo that Pascal posted to Instagram after the episode aired.
Cersei Lannister
And Pedro Pascal wasn't the only one poking fun at his character's untimely death; Lena Headey, who portrays Cersei Lannister, did the same thing by Instagramming a photo of herself and Pascal from a magazine shoot, with her pretending to dig her thumbs into his eyes. (Which is how Prince Oberyn was killed on the show, in case you've forgotten.)
Arya Stark
Arya Stark was devastated by the death of her mother, Catelyn Stark, and her brother, Robb Stark at the Red Wedding, but actress Maisie Williams had a very different response on Vine to the murders of her family after the Season 3 episode aired. The goings-on in Westeros might be horrific, but at least we can laugh about them IRL.
Image: Helen Sloan/HBO
