'Sand' And Deliver: 'Game Of Thrones' Actress Almost Vanished From Season 7

While the fantasy epic that is Game of Thrones may get caught up in superb plots of frozen zombies, humungous dragons, and incest queens, let's take a moment to remember those arcs that don't fly quite so well. From Ayra's trip to Braavos, anything that involves Sam and Gilly, or that Dornish yawnfest from Season 5, HBO can sure drop some clangers when they want.

However, as we prepare our best battle armor for the final two seasons of the show, it looks like showrunners David Benioff and D.B. Weiss are trying their best to tie up any loose ends in Westeros. So, when one of your cast says they won't be back next season, it can sure throw a spanner in the works. This is nearly what happened to actress Jessica Henwick, who revealed that her character, Nymeria Sand, nearly did a Gendry and just rowed off into the distance ahead of Season 7.

The Kiss Of Death

We have all seen how being cast in another show can lead to an early grave for a character ( *cough* Star Trek Discovery), and speaking to Entertainment Weekly, Henwick revealed that her involvement in Netflix's Iron Fist almost cost her her role on #GameofThrones:

"I wasn’t able to do it. My schedule clashed. I was filming 'Iron Fist' for six-to-seven months and they wouldn’t give me the time off. ['GoT'] was so massive for me in terms of my career and building my profile and as an experience in itself, I wanted to return. [A 'GoT' producer explained], ‘It’s really important that you come back otherwise your character will just disappear.’"

Given the almost unanimous hatred of the Dorne plot, maybe some would've been happy with Henwick's departure from the show. Unlike their badass book counterparts, the Sand Snakes of the show aren't exactly a major parts of proceedings. After a very brief appearance in the Season 6 premiere, the Sand Snakes remained sunning themselves on the beach until the very end of the finale. However, producers persuaded Henwick to stick around for a little longer, presumably for some suitably gory demise at the hands of Cersei's zombie bodyguard.

Snakes In The Grass

Personally, I don't see Nymeria being that influential moving forward, and the show had no qualms in the past about recasting the likes of Tommen, Myrcella, Daario, and the Mountain (twice). While I think we might notice if Emilia Clarke or Kit Harington didn't return, but I don't think the lack of Henwick would've been that major.

If you remember, Season 6 closed with Cersei blowing up the Great Sept of Baelor, killing off the Tyrell bloodline, and leaving Dame Diana Rigg's Olenna Tyrell in a state of mourning revenge. We saw Olenna form a new alliance with the Sand Snakes and their mother, with Lord Varys declaring that they would defeat Cersei with "fire and blood" by proposing all sides join Daenerys. Leaving on something of a cliffhanger, Nymeria sounds like she has some more whip-cracking to do this year, and that something big could be coming her way:

“When we left Nymeria she was newly aligned with Olenna Tyrell and was going to start a war. We pick up right where we left off and get into the nitty gritty very quickly. There is no time wasted this season.”

So far, the Season 7 trailers have shown us fleeting glimpses of Indira Varma's Ellaria Sand (looking worse for wear), but little of her daughters or the Queen of Thorns. Could Henwick's comment about "nitty gritty very quickly" be a bad omen for the sisters, or will Rigg's solitary Tyrell lead a silver-tongued march on Cersei with her venomous new allies? There isn't too much longer to wait, but with Henwick playing a major part on Iron Fist alongside GoT alumnus Finn Jones, I wouldn't expect Nymeria to slither out of this season alive.

(Source: Entertainment Weekly)