Entertainment

Is This Photo a Major 'Game of Thrones' Spoiler?

by Alicia Lutes

So Game of Thrones fans are known to be, well, a little bit on the obsessive side. With thousands of pages of information (and a plentiful back history to boot), there are lots of things to known and see and dissect with geeky abandon. Like this Instagram photo from Cersei Lannister/actress Lena Headey, which some are calling a major spoiler for the end of season four. Now, if you're a casual fan of the George R.R. Martin fantasy novel series or your love lies only with HBO, this might be a bit confounding. Fear not, we're here to explain — and yes, there are some major, major spoilers ahoy so if you're not ready, take this as your warning to turn away now.

Headey's photo is simple enough: a series of stones arranged in such a way that they create a wee little heart. Certainly nothing out of the ordinary out of context: tween girl Instagrams the world over are filled with such cutesy-ness. The caption? "My stone heart." Simple, right? Well...only if you don't know about Lady Stoneheart, a character many book readers are expecting will make an appearance at the end of season four (In our mind it's literally the last shot in the finale, but I digress). You see Lady Stoneheart is actually a character we all know quite well!

Fans of the TV series will instantly recognize her as (last chance to avoid the spoilers because ahhhhhh the Internet is so afraid of them!) Catelyn Stark, reanimated and brought back to life. (Dun, dun, DUN! TWIST!) What happened is this. Three days after the Red Wedding, when Catelyn's body was thrown into the river and left to rot, she was resurrected by Lord Beric Dondarrion, whom we all know as the leader of the Brothers Without Banners and the Lightning Lord — a man who, thanks to the Lord of Light, can return from the dead.

In order to bring Catelyn back to life he must give up his own lifeforce. Forever. Assuming the name Lady Stoneheart because of her unrelenting desire to bring vengeance upon those who have betrayed and murdered her family, Catelyn as Lady Stoneheart is a haunting figure, with her wounds from the Red Wedding only partially healed (like that slash across her throat), making it impossible for her to speak. And yes — there's plenty more of Lady Stoneheart where that came from.

Image: @IamLenaHeadey/Instagram