‘Game of Thrones’ showrunners explain why Lady Stoneheart wasn’t in the show

Game of Thrones showrunners David Benioff and Dan Weiss have explained why Lady Stoneheart was left out of the HBO series.

The character, a resurrected Catelyn Stark who was murdered at the Red Wedding in season three, was a fan favourite in George R. R. Martin’s books. But the showrunners gave three reasons why she didn’t make it to the screen in James Hibberd’s upcoming book Fire Cannot Kill a Dragon.

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“There was never really much debate about [including Lady Stoneheart],” Benioff explained. “There is that one great scene [in the book].”

“That was the only debate,” Weiss added. “The scene where she first shows up is one of the best ‘holy s—’ moments in the books. I think that scene is where the public response came from. But then…”

The showrunners went on to detail several reasons as to why Lady Stoneheart. “We knew we had Jon Snow’s resurrection coming up,” Benioff said of a season five and six plotline, even while writing season three.

“Too many resurrections start to diminish the impact of characters dying. We wanted to keep our powder dry for that.”

They also added that a potential resurrection might spoil the power of the Red Wedding scene. “Catelyn’s last moment was so fantastic, and Michelle [Fairley] is such a great actress, to bring her back as a zombie who doesn’t speak felt like diminishing returns,” Benioff explained.