Olly from ‘Game of Thrones’ is not sorry at all about betraying Jon Snow
It was quite possibly the most talked about (and tweeted, and Facebooked) moment of the season five finale of Game of Thrones. (In case you were, say, scaling the Himalayas or ensconced in a remote Hobbit hole since early this spring, this would be a great time to note that there are spoilers ahead.)
We’re talking, of course, about the stabbing of Jon Snow.
In fact, the betrayal of Snow, the recent Lord Commander of the Night’s Watch, by his brothers was one of the most compelling moments of television this year and caused quite a stir on the old Internets.
However, thinking objectively, it wasn’t necessarily that big of a surprise, because it had already happened in A Song of Ice and Fire by George R. R. Martin.
Additionally, even though Snow had his group of staunch supporters, he hadn’t been popular among a big chunk of the Night’s Watch for a while — especially with Alliser Thorne and those who had supported his bid for Lord Commander.
But it was the betrayal by Olly, the young boy taken under the wing of Snow that had us like, Et tu, Olly?
Okay, so, that analogy may be imperfect because it was Olly that lured Snow to the ambush and who stabbed him first, but his involvement did create quite a stir. Now, though, there’s an even more surprising revelation: Olly doesn’t feel one bit bad about it!
When we say “Olly” we mean actor Brenock O’Connor, who plays the orphaned boy that watched his whole village get viciously slaughtered by Wildlings. And, when you think about that and the subsequent pains Snow took to save the Wildlings from certain death, the betrayal makes all kinds of sense.
O’Connor told Express that he’s not sorry at all about his character’s doings. Having played someone who typically flew under the radar, this was Olly’s moment to shine in the (albeit blood-covered) spotlight: “I just enjoy the fact that I had that much of an impact. It’s very rare for my character to get noticed really, so I was quite happy with the reaction that I got.”
O’Connor said he was kept in the dark about his role in Jon Snow’s potential demise (in case the Himalayas/ Hobbit hole also caused you to miss the furor over that) until a couple weeks before filming, but was given some hints by crew members. He also shared that the atmosphere prior to filming the scene was “fun” and “jokey” but that the actors then buckled down to make sure the scene turned out well.
Though O’Connor was mum on whether he’d be staying on for season six, we have enough information to know that with or without Olly, Game of Thrones will continue to keep viewers at the edge of their seats.
(Image via HBO.)
