This Game of Thrones character died gruesomely off screen, say showrunners
Ser Pounce, the bravest of Lannister cats, met a fate even worse than Oberyn Martell
From The Mountain crushing Prince Oberyn's skull into oblivion to Ayra hacking out Meryn Trant’s eyeballs, Game of Thrones has made us witness some truly horrible deaths. But apparently there was one character killed off in a way too gruesome for screen: Ser Pounce.
Yes, we sadly have to report that King Tommen’s furry cat – the one who greeted a flirtatious Margaery Tyrell in season four – was killed off in a way that was too grisly to put on camera.
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After [SPOILERS ARE COMING] Tommen’s suicide in season six’s finale, which followed Margaery’s death in the wildfire explosion of Sept of Baelor, Cersei Lannister (now queen of the seven kingdoms) killed the cat in brutal style.
“Cersei hated the name ‘Ser Pounce’ so much she could not allow him to survive,” showrunner David Benioff told EW. “So she came up with her most diabolical [execution]. Ser Pounce’s death was so horrible we couldn’t even put it on the air.”
Did Cersei set The Mountain to destroy any reminder of her son and his suicide? Or did she employ her old poisoning tactics? We don’t want to know. The pain is too much.
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However, Thrones creators Benioff and DB Weiss don’t seem to be too saddened by this tragedy, with Ser Pounce apparently not too co-operative on set.
“That cat was really not fun to work with,“ Benioff said. “There’s a reason the phrase ‘like herding cats’ came into existence.”
“Dogs generally do what you ask them to do if they’re smart and well trained,” Weiss added. “Cats have their own agenda.”
But however undisciplined Pounce may have been during filming, his impact on Westeros and our hearts is unmistakable. And we’ll still remember his unforgettable performance for years to come – we swear it by old gods and the mew.
