There were some major plot twists on Sunday’s “Game of Thrones,” as the drama veered off on a suspenseful new storyline even readers of the George R.R. Martin novels weren’t expecting.
(SPOILER: This story contains an interview with Amrita Acharia, one of the actors who was featured in the shake-up from Sunday’s Season 2, Episode 6 — “The Old Gods and the New.”)
At the end of Sunday’s episode, producers shook up the drama with two big Daenerys Targaryen related plot twists – killing off her Dothraki handmaiden Irri, and members of her khalasar, and the theft of the Khaleesi’s dragons by an unidentified cloaked figure.
Like many fans, actress Amrita Acharia (who played Irri) wasn’t expecting her character’s exit.
“I wasn’t, because it doesn’t happen in the books. But then, you know, that’s not to say something different won’t happen just because it’s written one way in the books,” Amrita told AccessHollywood.com in a new interview. “So yeah, that was a shock, but I
In Irri’s final on-screen moments, fans saw Daenerys rush into her own bedroom in the city of Qarth, only to find the loyal Dothraki lifeless on the floor in front of an open cage that previously housed Dany’s dragons.
Amrita said she hopes the shake-up will keep the show exciting for viewers.
“I love the fact that there’s so many twists and turns and I think it’s gonna be good, because I think once there’s a book, people are like, ‘This is how it has to happen.’ But when it doesn’t, I think it puts people more on the edge of their seats and a bit more on their toes,” she said. “I think it’s a cool thing and I think there’ll be a lot of reactions to it.
“I think there’s probably going to be some people that are going to be a bit disappointed about some scenes that I’ve heard about in book 3,” Amrita laughed, no doubt referring to the moment in “A Storm of Swords,” where Daenerys and Irri get intimately acquainted.
With the drama heating up in the second half of Season 2, Amrita hinted that fans will see a new Daenerys begin to emerge following Irri’s death.
“I think it changes things in terms of — Irri is somebody she trusted and Irri is loyal to Daenerys as well, so that’s kind of gone.
“But I think having already lost Rakharo as well, Daenerys has to become even stronger and pull herself together even more than she already has had to do,” Amrita said. “So, it’s a lot for her to go through.”
Amrita wouldn’t divulge if the dragons will be recovered, or the cloaked figure will be revealed this season.
“They’re Dany’s babies, but also, they’re like her secret weapon kind of thing, so I guess you’ll have to wait and see,” she giggled.
Her arc now over, Amrita said she leaves the series thankful to have been involved.
“I’ll be missing being part of it,” she told Access. “It’s such an epic thing to be part of and it’s been such an honor to be part of it as well — and so early on in my career. So I think I’ve been extremely lucky and it’s been an amazing learning curve for me.”
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Not only did it give the actress experience on a massive production, but she even had to learn a new language for the role, something she takes pride in.
“I feel lucky to have got to play a Dothraki,” she said. “To me it feels like we [got] all the juicy, gristly drama bits, and then I’m biased as well, I’m like, ‘Yeah! Dothraki!’”
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