The Rains of Castamere and the faith of Talisa Stark
The Rains of Castamere have been song and the slaughter began. Now we know how they dealt with their version, especially about the faith of Talisa Stark, born Maegyr.
Just as many novels to movies (or series), Game of Thrones introduces some great differences. Even if the rewriting may disappoint the readers of the books, most of them are necessary.The story need to stay consistent even trough the media difference. So, some parts need to be rewritten, some characters changed. Robb Stark did fall in love with a girl he married, breaking his pact to House Frey. But that wasn’t Talisa Maegyr.
Since the 9th episode of the 3rd season of Games of Thrones, The Rains of Castamere, was aired last Sunday, many of you may not have seen it yet, so be warned that this post contains major Spoiler !
Talisa Stark, promotional still.
In the books, Robb Stark met a girl named Jeyne Westerling, daughter of Lord Gawen Westerling, a bannerman to Casterly Rock. She never became pregnant as her mother gave her in secret potion against pregnancy under the pretense of a fertility potion. Jane remained at Riverrun when the Red Wedding event occurred, to avoid extra tension between Lord Frey and Robb Stark. All those events are related in A Storm of Swords
In the TV show, Robb met Talisa Maegyr, who is from the Free City of Volantis. Shortly before the Red Wedding, we learn that she is pregnant. She is present at the Twins and thus, is killed during the Red Wedding.
Games of Thrones is a really harsh story. There is no mercy against anyone. Only plots. Jeyne Westerling survived because she was the daughter of a Lanister’s bannerman. There was no reason to spare Talisa Maegyr who has no support in Westeros, especially if she is the Queen. The faith of her child was also sealed. For the Lannisters, House Stark must disappear (Arya, Bran and Rickon are supposed to be dead). Heirs must be slaughtered no matter if they are soldiers or babies.
Robb and Talisa at the Red Wedding.
So, unfortunately for Talisa Maegyr, her faith was expected. If she would have survived like Jeyne Westerling, this would have opened a new plot, diverging from the books.
But why did they changed this character ? As I wrote earlier, a Novel and a TV show are two different medias. You don’t tell a story the same way. So most of the scenes involving Robb and Jeyne/Talisa are not shown in the books. In that purpose, the character have been rewritten, so, George R.R. Martin suggested that she would be a new character.
Besides, there are a lot of speculations about Jeyne Westerling. The most interesting is how, in the books, Jeyne’s mother, Sybell Westerling, took part in the fall of Robb Stark. In the book A Feast for Crows
As this is an awesome plot, we have to keep in mind that a season of the TV Show contains 10 episodes and each episode is one hour long. This is too short to explore all the plots of the books. Choices must have been made, and this lead to this character. Somehow, the presence and death of Talisa Stark at the Twins made this Red Wedding more dramatic as she is a kind innocent and altruistic character.
This interpretation also shows how the books are more complex than the TV show, so don’t hesitate to read the collection of A Song of Ice and Fire (you can also get it from The iBook store).
Now, what main character will die next ?
Note : the images in this post are from the HBO television Serie Game of Thrones Wiki.
About Darko Stankovski
Darko Stankovski is the founder and editor of Dad 3.0. You can find more about him trough the following links.
