Nathalie Emmanuel recently discussed her memories of how she reacted to the news that her Game of Thrones character Missandei was going to be killed off in the final season.
“When I learned that Missandei was going to die, I knew that, as the only woman of color on the show, I knew that people would feel her loss, like the loss of her, because she’s also just like a really kind, good character,” Emmanuel told Vogue during a new interview about her beauty routine. “I was not anticipating, I guess, the size of the reaction that happened.”
The actor added she was glad that Missandei’s death started some important conversations about how people of color are portrayed on television, and on Game of Thrones in particular.
“I think that really sparked a conversation about, when we make these shows in the future, when we are casting these shows, like, do we just have to have the one person — is there space for more of us?” Emmanuel explained. “And I think the answer is yes. And I know the answer is yes.”
Missandei, who fans knew as the loyal attendant and scribe to Daenerys Targaryen, met her untimely death in Season 8, Episode 4 (“The Last of the Starks”) of Game of Thrones. In the episode, the former slave was put in chains by Cersei Lannister and brutally beheaded by the Mountain. The death scene was met with a great deal of backlash, with critics connecting it to the series’ long-running lack of diversity.
Shortly after Missandei’s death scene aired on HBO, F9 actor Emmanuel admitted she had been waiting for her character to be killed off for a long time, saying at the time, “So many people die in that show and I guess I didn’t think I was any safer than anybody else in that respect.”
“But I am fully aware and engaged in the conversation of representation because I am the only woman of color in this show,” the actor continued. “…I understand people’s outrage, I understand people’s heartbreak because this is the conversation around representation. It’s safe to say that Game of Thrones has been under criticism for their lack of representation and the truth of it is that Missandei and Grey Worm have represented so many people because there’s only two of them.”
Game of Thrones stars Peter Dinklage, Nikolaj Coster-Waldau, Lena Headey, Emilia Clarke, Sophie Turner, Maisie Williams and Kit Harington. All eight seasons are streaming on HBO Max.
About The Author
