Game of Thrones actress Nathalie Emmanuel has revealed the death of her character Missandei felt like a “gut punch”.
Missandei met a grizzly end in the last seconds of season eight, episode four – titled The Last of the Starks – when she was executed under Cersei Lannister’s orders.
Emmanuel said it felt like her “journey had been cut short” but admitted she knew her character’s fate as soon as she found out she was captured.
“We meet Missandei as an enslaved person in chains, and then she dies in chains. I really felt the weight and tragedy of that and what that meant - not just in the show, but in the world,” she told website Making Game of Thrones.
“It felt like a punch in the gut. I was devastated that that is what happened to her, but was happy with how strong and brave she was right up until the very end.”
The British actress, who hails from Southend, said that she had been “overwhelmed” by the response to Missandei’s death.
Emmanuel said: “What’s really hit home for me, more than anything, is how important my being in the show and the representation was to people. I was like: 'Wow people love her,' which made me miss her even more.
“I came up in this industry and didn’t think that I could ever be that representation for someone, somewhere; it makes me want to weep.”
Before Missandei was killed, she was asked by Lena Headey’s character if she had any final words. She uttered “dracarys”.
The word is, of course, a command Daenerys Targaryen – played by Emilia Clarke – uses to order Drogon to breathe fire.
A major fan theory speculates that Missandei is telling Daenerys to "burn them all" - as in, burn Cersei's palace to the ground and everything in it, including the thousands of innocent civilians in King's Landing.
Game of Thrones airs 2am and 9pm, Mondays on Sky Atlantic. Episodes are also available on NOW TV.
