Oona Chaplin had a difficult time filming Talisa Maegyr’s death in Game of Thrones during the iconic Red Wedding scene.
“All men must die” as the saying goes in the world of Game of Thrones, so the majority of the characters, both big and small roles, ended up six feet under. The only survivors were, let’s say, the most unexpected ones, but truthfully, not the most satisfying and unforgettable spectacle.
Credits: David Bradley in Game of Thrones / HBO
What’s memorable was the infamous Red Wedding scene that not only killed one, but three major figures in the show: Catelyn Stark, Robb Stark, and Talisa Maegyr along with her unborn child. If this was devastating enough for the audience, it was even worse for the actors.
Oona Chaplin Had A Difficult Time Filming The Red Wedding Scene
The Red Wedding occurred during Season 3 Episode 9: The Rains of Castamere. It was orchestrated by David Bradley’s Lord Walder Frey after Richard Madden’s Robb Stark broke a marriage pact he made with House Frey because he fell in love with Oona Chaplin’s Talisa Maegyr.
When a friend of the Starks, Edmure Tully, decided to marry one of Frey’s daughters, Robb, Talisa, and Michelle Fairley’s Catelyn Stark attended the wedding believing everything was cool with House Frey despite the broken pact.
Credits: Richard Madden and Oona Chaplin in Game of Thrones / HBO
And so they feasted on and celebrated the night, but when the guards closed the doors and the melancholy song started to play, Catelyn knew – like a mother’s instinct – that something was amiss. Frey finally delivered his wedding gift by murdering the Starks and their bannermen. The first to die was Talisa and her unborn child after she was stabbed in the belly. Robb also got speared and Catelyn’s throat was slit.
As a viewer, it was difficult to watch that harrowing scene, but can you imagine how challenging it was to film it? Chaplin revealed in an interview with Entertainment Weekly back in 2019 that she was actually crying while her character was already dead. The director would approach her to give a reminder: “Oona, you need to stop crying, dead people don’t cry. You’re dead, just be dead.”
It wasn’t only the actors who wept for that scene but the crew members as well. Showrunner David Benioff said that filming The Red Wedding was a “bittersweet thing” and that if nobody felt emotional watching it then it’s a complete failure.
Why The Red Wedding Is The Best Game of Thrones Episode
Credits: Michelle Fairley in Game of Thrones / HBO
The Rains of Castamere, more popularly known as The Red Wedding, was hailed as one of the most critically acclaimed episodes of Game of Thrones. It has an almost perfect IMDb score of 9.9/10 and a staggering 100% approval rating on Rotten Tomatoes.
The episode was every Game of Thrones fan’s biggest nightmare – to witness the death of the characters they loved and rooted for since the beginning. It has the perfect recipe for disaster, revenge, and despair.
The execution was well thought out and done masterfully. There was no music as the credits rolled in so the audience was left staring at a black screen in utter shock while trying to process every single death in that episode.
Game of Thrones is available to watch on HBO as of August 18, 2024.
