#northcast

ASOIAF fancasting –> The North: Bailee Madison as Jeyne Poole

“The girl was slim, and taller than he remembered, but that was only to be expected. Girls grow fast at that age. Her dress was grey wool bordered with white satin; over it she wore an ermine cloak clasped with a silver wolf’s head. Dark brown hair fell halfway down her back. And her eyes . . .

That is not Lord Eddard’s daughter.

Arya had her father’s eyes, the grey eyes of the Starks. A girl her age might let her hair grow long, add inches to her height, see her chest fill out, but she could not change the color of her eyes. That’s Sansa’s little friend, the steward’s girl. Jeyne, that was her name. Jeyne Poole.”

The most important thing about Jeyne's appearance in the books is that she's still a child, barely young enough to comprehend the horror of what is about to happen to her. She's no daughter of Lord Eddard's, yet she cuts the adults around her to the heart.

ASOIAF fancasting –> House Stark: Sophie Skelton as Jocelyn Stark

‘Your father’s father had no siblings, but his father had a sister who married a younger son of Lord Raymar Royce, of the junior branch. They had three daughters, all of whom wed Vale lordlings.’

With all the confusing branches of the Royce clan, sorting out who has the best claim to Winterfell through Jocelyn will be some kind of feat. Luckily the enemies of House Stark seem to have it all figured out.

ASOIAF fancasting –> House Stark: James Purefoy as Alaric Stark

The longer the queen stayed, the more Lord Alaric warmed to her, and in time Alysanne came to realize that not everything that was said of him was true. He was careful with his coin, but not niggardly; he was not humorless at all, though his humor had an edge to it, sharp as a knife; his sons and daughter and the people of Winterfell seemed to love him well enough. Once the initial frost had thawed, his lordship took the queen hunting after elk and wild boar in the wolfswood, showed her the bones of a giant, and allowed her to rummage as she pleased through his modest castle library. He even deigned to approach Silverwing, though warily.

In one of the most fun episodes of Fire & Blood, Alysanne took a lot from the north home with her. This is one of the few passages in that book that really made me smile.

ASOIAF fancasting --> People of the North: Gracee O’Brien as Kyra

“Until Theon had sent for her, she had lived all of her eighteen years in the winter town without ever setting foot inside the walls of the castle. She came to him wet and eager and lithe as a weasel, and there had been a certain undeniable spice to fucking a common tavern wench in Lord Eddard Stark’s own bed.”

Since I’m fed up with the way Theon Greyjoy’s entire arc was handled in a certain adaptation, I’m going to cling to my idea of the characters in that arc, and how this girl lived and died, setting the stage for Theon’s transformation into the next Reek.

Fancasts of the North

ASOIAF fancasting --> House Stark: Lara Pulver as Branda, daughter of Rodrik the Wandering Wolf

“There have been many Brandons in the long reign of that family.”

This beautifully unique-looking actress exudes an air of stern authority, which I imagine Branda inherited from her father, the Wandering Wolf.

ASOIAF fancasting --> House Mormont: Poppy Drayton as Lyra // Dalila Bela as Jorelle

“ ‘Five, we were. All girls. Lyanna is back on Bear Island. Lyra and Jory are with our mother. Dacey was murdered.’ ”

It’s clear even from this short line how much the She-Bear Alysane loves her sisters. A big question is just what Maege is doing - and why her two young daughters need to be accompanying her instead of remaining safely on Bear Island.

ASOIAF fancasting --> House Mormont: Nicola Peltz as Lyanna

“The king frowned at him, and rattled the parchment angrily. ‘Rise. Tell me, who is Lyanna Mormont?’

‘One of Lady Maege’s daughters, Sire. The youngest. She was named for my lord father’s sister.’

‘To curry your lord father’s favor, I don’t doubt. I know how that game is played. How old is this wretched girl child?’

Jon had to think a moment. ‘Ten. Or near enough to make no matter. Might I know how she has offended Your Grace?’

Stannis read from the letter. ‘Bear Island knows no king but the King in the North, whose name is STARK. A girl of ten, you say, and she presumes to scold her lawful king.’ ”

I can imagine this young girl being cheeky as hell - although she is very definitely still a child. There’s a bit of a parallel between her and Bran being the Lord of Winterfell here.

ASOIAF fancasting --> House Mormont: Ray Winstone as Jorah

“The knight smiled. Ser Jorah was not a handsome man. He had a neck and shoulders like a bull, and coarse black hair covered his arms and chest so thickly that there was none left for his head. Yet his smiles gave Dany comfort.”

One of my favorite actors to feature on the historical-movie circuit, he combines all the aspects of Jorah except, possibly, being a little too fair of complexion. This is definitely the face of Dany’s “bear” and a man who has fought against fierce enemies in exile lands.

More northern fancasts