Beyond the Wall – Game of Thrones new cast in Season Four

It has been a long wait, boys and girls, but Game of Thrones is just about back. Have you recovered yet from the Red Wedding? Weddings are bad luck, and we’ve got at least one on the schedule for this season. As the show returns, so does Beyond the Wall, CliqueClack’s weekly column about one of our favorite shows. Clackers Ivey West and Bob Degon are back to discuss all things Westorsi — and across the Narrow Sea as well.

At the beginning of every season, we take a look at the new actors joining the cast. As the seasons wear on, there are understandably fewer additions, but you can always count on Game of Thrones to need fresh meat going into a new season. There are a couple of folks we’re going to focus on, including the recasting of a role that will become more and more important as the story evolves.

It’s been a long time, so it is time for our regular Spoiler Warning. Beyond the Wall is a column intended for those who have read George R. R. Martin’s A Song of Ice and Fire series that Game of Thrones is based on. So if you don’t understand just how badass the Red Viper is supposed to be, this post isn’t for you.

Ivey: So Bob, when looking at all of the new members of the cast, I think you’ve got to point to Pedro Pascal as Oberyn Martell — or The Red Viper as his closest “friends” know him — as the most important new character, no? Oberyn is a major part of the King’s Landing story this season, and is our first real introduction to anyone from Dorne. Sure, unless the story sees significant changes — and we all know that can happen — this will be his only season on the show, but it’s such an important one.

I’d assume that unless you watched USA’s Graceland last season, you won’t have heard of Pascal. I liked him on Graceland well enough, but when they announced his casting, I was scratching my head quite a bit. It doesn’t help that this role was the one I’d always hoped James Purefoy would be available — and willing — to take, but he’s not exactly what I pictured for the Red Viper. Seeing him in character in the trailers has helped quite a bit, but I’m still not so sure.

Bob: I don’t have any issue with the casting. I suppose Pascal was not what I imagined in my head exactly, but he’s a lot closer than James Purefoy. I think Purefoy would be a much better fit as a Greyjoy, but with that story veering further and further away from the books, who knows if any of those characters will actually show up. Anyway, Pascal looks good in the previews and I think the character is going to be a welcome addition to the never ending party that is King’s Landing.

Ivey: Never ending party, eh? I doubt Tyrion would consider this season a party in the capital.

Now, someone I am really looking forward to is Indira Varma as Ellaria Sand. The pipeline of Rome actors is alive and well, and while we probably won’t see Purefoy or Kevin McKidd (The perfect Jon Connington in my view), Varma is a great addition to the cast. I’m hoping that her casting here indicates a shift in how the collective Sand Snakes are portrayed in the show. I doubt all of them will make the transition from the page to the screen; the collective group will probably be compressed into one or two characters. I think Varma would be great as the catch-all Sand Snake.

Bob: My lack of Rome-watching puts me at a disadvantage for a lot of these casting discussions. I’m not sure why, but I’ll trust you on this one. One HBO show I have watched, however, is Treme, and I really enjoyed Michiel Huisman’s performance on the show, and I look forward to him stepping into the role of Daario Naharis. I didn’t think that Ed Skrein did a poor job in the role last season, but there wasn’t a lot asked of him. As Naharis takes on a bigger role moving forward, I’m glad to have an actor I trust in the role. I’m curious to see how noticeably different, if at all, the characterization of Daario is this year.

Ivey: Skrein didn’t do a bad job, but he wasn’t particularly impressive either. Not only is Daario’s role going to increase this year as a natural part of the story, the trailers indicate that he will be picking up a bit of Strong Belwas’ story. I’m not as familiar with Huisman as you are, but I welcome the change.

I don’t expect the role to be large in season four, but I think that the casting of Mark Gatiss is an inspired choice for the Braavosi banker Tycho Nestoris. He isn’t necessarily a name that everyone will recognize, but I can promise you that he’ll be recognized in the Comic-Con-esque circles. Sherlock fans will recognize him as Mycroft, the brother of the titular Holmes (and one of that show’s creators). Tycho might have completely changed the entire game in A Dance with Dragons without most of us even noticing it.

Bob: I agree, it is very good casting, and I like that we’re going to be seeing more of the character in the series. I think one of the best things about the television show is that we are able to see a bunch of scenes that happen “off page” in the books because a Point of View character isn’t present. Sure, sometimes that means we have to watch an entire season of Theon being cruelly and horribly tortured, but it’s usually a lot of fun.

Now, if you’ll excuse me, I have to go weep softly in the corner over the loss of Belwas.