Summary
Fans of theGame Of Thronesbooks were probably severely disappointed when one of the more fascinating and darker figures from the books, Lady Stoneheart, was left out of the adaptation. It’s actually shocking that she was left out considering how much of an impact she has had on various characters and the way she’s been set up to be a major figure to the close of theGame Of Thronesstory in the novelization. The scorned and revived figure of death is ready to crush anyone who gets in the way of her ultimate quest.
Game Of Thronesis filled with tons of excellent villainous figures, both with and without redeeming qualities. The motivations of Lady Stoneheart are actually quite understandable, especially for those fans of the series who hated witnessing the Red Wedding. One of the most horrific moments in the series had a much larger fallout in the books than in the show, and that is all thanks to Lady Stoneheart.
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Who Is Lady Stoneheart?
While the name Lady Stoneheart may not be familiar to those who only watched the series, the name Catelyn Stark should be. Afterthe events of the Red Weddingin the novels, Catelyn Stark is actually granted another chance at life, although she has been changed quite a bit. Once alive again, she takes on the name Lady Stoneheart and makes it clear that anyone and everyone who had something to do with the murder of her beloved son was going to die by her hand. Obviously, Lady Stoneheart is more or less a twisted mirror image of what Catelyn Stark was in her first life. Where there was once warmth, empathy, and care, there is now only rage and anger.
Lady Stoneheart maintains the injury from the night she was killed, still having a damaged throat which makes it difficult for her to communicate with others. The Lady of Winterfell turned outlaw only takes pleasure in the death of her enemies and does everything she can to strike fear into the heart of the houses of Frey and Lannister as she draws ever closer to each other. While Catelyn Stark may never have seemed to be the most cunning character around,the sadly left-out Lady Stoneheartis calculated and expertly draws her enemies into traps that they are powerless to escape.
Considering Lady Stoneheart already believes she’s lost everything she cared about, and her own life, she acts with nothing to lose. It’s clear that she has no fear of being killed again, as her only goal is to send all of those who wronged her to death without any fear of repercussion from the powerful houses in question. There is zero reasoning with Lady Stoneheart, as she already has her qualifications for what makes someone guilty of an offense against her, and that’s having absolutely any connection to the Red Wedding, no matter how small that connection may be. Of all the figures Lady Stoneheart desires to kill,Jamie Lannister is right at the top of that list.
How Did Catelyn Stark Come Back To Life?
When she was killed, Catelyn Stark was humiliated just as her son was, though not to the same brutal extent. She was stripped naked and thrown in a nearby river, left to be forgotten to time as she was never of much consequence tothe enemies of the House Stark. The discarding of her corpse was her enemy’s biggest mistake as the dire wolf Nymeria ended up pulling her body from the river, leaving it to be found by the Brotherhood Without Banners. Differing greatly from the show, it isnone other than Beric Dondarrionthat the realm has to thank for the tyranny of Lady Stoneheart.
After some debate among the Brotherhood Without Banners, Beric ends up performing a ritual that transfers his life to her. This course of action is taken because it is initially believed that Catelyn Stark had been dead for too long for other revival magic to work. She would spring back to life, though she would forever be changed. Forever bearing the slash across her throat and the scratch marks that she inflicted upon herself at the death of her son, Catelyn Stark would take the name of Lady Stoneheart before beginning her quest for vengeance.
What Did Lady Stoneheart Do After Returning To Life?
Upon her return to life,the former member of House Tullytook the name of Lady Stoneheart, a name that would forever strike fear into the hearts of the Freys, Lannisters, and Boltons. She’d become the leader of the Brotherhood Without Banners and led them on her conquest for revenge against those who wronged her, using different tactics to draw members of the different houses out into the open. She quickly sees success against House Frey, though her early victories lead her to even greater ambition. The issue is that with Lady Stoneheart leading the Brothers Without Banners, the group has become nothing more than thugs ready to take advantage of the long list of people on Lady Stoneheart’s hit list.
In a major departure from the show, Brienne of Tarth actually finds herself at odds with Lady Stoneheart, though the revived ghoul of a woman gets the better of the fan-favorite character. Due to Brienne’s unfortunate circumstances, Lady Stoneheart ends up hanging her and her companions to death, though Brienne does manage to get out of the situation. The issue is that to do so, Brienne is implied to have agreed to either killthe ever-pompous Jaime Lannisterherself or at the very least lure him into a position where Lady Stoneheart can see him hanged. It’s also implied that Lady Stoneheart has killed far more people on her list than initially assumed as she is in possession of Robb Stark’s crown, something that was in Frey possession.
Only time will tell how big of a role she will play in the conclusion to the story, but if George R. R. Martin is to be believed, Lady Stoneheart is set to return eventually, and in a big way.
