Game of Thrones is back, and this week's episode saw a lot of set-up, character reunions and hints over what's to come. There was some definite gore in one particular scene, but for a Game of Thrones episode it was actually light on the fighting, pain, and death.
However, we did find out the fate of one small character, and not one of the fans' favourites.
The musician turned up in season seven premiere 'Dragonstone', where he played a Lannister soldier. He's sitting around the campfire with his fellow soldiers when they bump into Arya, who overhears him singing and eventually accepts his invitation to join them around the fire.
It was a polarising came for Game of Thrones fans. There were those who love Ed Sheeran's music who thought it was a nice small moment for Arya, and there were others who thought it was a cringe-inducing cameo best left on the cutting room floor. Maisie Williams, who plays Arya in the hit fantasy series, is apparently a big fan of Sheeran's work - but there was another castmember who was less of a fan of the inclusion.
In an interview with the Huffington Post, Kristian Nairn, who plays Hodor in the show, said that he wasn't a fan of any of the cameos - especially Sheeran's. Speaking last June, he said:
"I’m not a fan of the cameos in Game of Thrones. I don’t like them. I think it’s stupid. I don’t mind going on the record on that. I just think it takes you right out of the world.
"Especially Ed Sheeran. I was like, ‘Why is Ed Sheeran here?’ I mean, Ed Sheeran’s great. He’s a great guy, great musician, but why is he in Game of Thrones?"
Those who, like Nairn, weren't a fan of Sheeran's appearance, might be happy to know of the character's fate in season eight's premiere episode. Much of the recent instalment focused on the distrust in the North over Daenerys and her dragons, which wasn't helped by some of the men her dragons killed last season.
In one scene set in a King's Landing brothel, sellsword Bronn is frustrated as the women he's hired can't stop talking about the dragons - going into gruesome detail over what happened to one Lannister soldier. According to them, one of the men in the attack was "that boy Eddie," who they say was notable for his striking ginger hair.
According to them, he ended the battle with "his face burned clean off".
Oof, sorry Ed.
“It was fun being in Game of Thrones, but I definitely think they should’ve killed me off in the episode,” Sheeran said last year in an interview with BuzzFeed. “I know what Game of Thrones fans hoped happened to my character, I’m sure they think my character got brutally, brutally murdered, but I think my character is still out there. I think he’s chilling.”
Well, he still might be alive and "chilling" - but if he is, he's doing it with half a face.
