Nathalie Emmanuel, the F9 actor, discusses her memories of the show with Vogue saying fans would feel a sense of loss when Missandei was killed off in Game of Thrones Season 8.
Nathalie Emmanuel was recently seen in Vogue’s Beauty Secrets video discussing her memories of how she felt about the news that her Game of Thrones character Missandei was going to be killed off in the final Season. She told Vogue during an interview about her beauty routine,
“When I learned that Missandei was going to die, I knew that, as the only woman of color on the show, I knew that people would feel her loss, like the loss of her, because she’s also just like a really kind, good character, I was not anticipating, I guess, the size of the reaction that happened.”
Nathalie Emmanuel, also known for her vital role in the Fast & Furious franchise, joined the HBO fantasy series in season 3, playing freed slave Missandei. Missandei is the most dramatically “aged-up” character to appear in the series: in the books, the character is 10 years old, while Nathalie Emmanuel was 23 when she was cast. She was one of the few genuinely goodhearted characters, and her romance with Unsullied leader Grey Worm (Jacob Anderson) was a fan favorite. Missandei was a loyal confidant for Daenerys Targaryen (Emilia Clarke) until the end.
Even after two years, Game of Thrones came to an end with Season 8, the series still sparks conversation on the divisive way it concluded. Game of Thrones became known as a series that killed off many beloved characters, including Hodor, Catelyn Stark, and Shireen Baratheon. In total, the series axed more than 110 characters throughout its eight seasons.
The show had long been criticized for its lack of diversity in the cast, production team, and for the roles eventually given to the few people of color on the series. Also, among the controversial moments was Missandei’s death, which arrived in episode 4, “The Last of the Starks.” Missandei was beheaded in front of Daenerys and Grey Worm in a heartbreaking scene that many felt was unnecessary and harmful, as she was one of the few characters of color on the show. Emmanuel added she was glad that Missandei’s death started some important conversations about how people of color are portrayed on television, and on Game of Thrones in particular.
Shortly after Missandei’s death scene aired on HBO, Emmanuel admitted she had been waiting for her character to be killed off for a long time, saying at the time,
“So many people die in that show, and I guess I didn’t think I was any safer than anybody else in that respect. But I am fully aware and engaged in the conversation of representation because I am the only woman of color in this show,” the actor continued. “…I understand people’s outrage, I understand people’s heartbreak because this is the conversation around representation. It’s safe to say that Game of Thrones has been under criticism for their lack of representation and the truth of it is that Missandei and Grey Worm have represented so many people because there’s only two of them.”
In her interview with Vogue, Emmanuel said that thankfully there was a positive side to her character’s death.
“I think that really sparked a conversation about when we make these shows in the future, when we are casting these shows, like, do we just have to have the one person, is there space for more of us?” She concluded with the answer as “Yes”.
