Ygritte
| Ygritte | |
|---|---|
| A Song of Ice and Fire character | |
 Rose Leslie as Ygritte | |
| First appearance |
Novel: A Clash of Kings (1998) Television: "The Old Gods and the New" (2012) |
| Last appearance |
Novel: |
| Created by | George R. R. Martin |
| Portrayed by |
Rose Leslie Game of Thrones |
| Information | |
| Significant other(s) | Jon Snow (lover) |
| Nationality | Westerosi |
Ygritte is a fictional character in the A Song of Ice and Fire series of fantasy novels by American author George R. R. Martin, and its television adaptation Game of Thrones.
Introduced in 1998's A Clash of Kings, she is a wildling from the fictional kingdom of Westeros. She subsequently appeared in Martin's A Storm of Swords.[1]
Ygritte is portrayed by Rose Leslie in the HBO television adaptation.[2][3][4]
Character description
Ygritte is a wildling woman known for her red hair. She is fierce and headstrong. In wildling culture she is known as a spearwife: a woman who is also a warrior.
Overview
Ygritte is not a point of view character in the novels, so her actions are witnessed and interpreted through the eyes of other people, such as Jon Snow.[5]
Storylines
In the books
Because wildlings practice marriage by capture, she is considered Jon's wife because he takes her captive upon their first meeting in A Clash of Kings. The two soon begin a sexual relationship, but he ultimately leaves her to return to the Night's Watch. Ygritte is later killed in the Battle at the Wall.[6]
In the show
A Wildling girl with red hair ("kissed by fire", a sign of luck among the Wildlings) and a follower of Mance Rayder. In Season 2, she is captured in the Skirling Pass by Jon Snow and Qhorin Halfhand. She manages to escape, but is recaptured by Jon, separating him from his brothers in the process. Later she leads him into Rattleshirt's ambush. After this they lead Jon to Mance Rayder's wildling camp, where he pretends to defect to the Wildlings to discover their plans. She then travels with him to the wall, and during this journey she seduces him. However, when confronted with killing an innocent horse farmer for the watch who scaled the wall, Jon escapes the wildling's clutches on horseback. But while resting, Ygritte manages to catch up with Jon at which point she confesses her love for him and then, blinded by tears, shoots him multiple times while he escapes towards the wall. In Season 4, Ygritte starts raiding villages south of the wall with her group, clearly thirsting for vengeance against Jon, although Tormund suspects she let him go. When the wildlings attack Mole's Town, Ygritte slaughters all the women present, but notices Gilly hiding with her baby son, and spares her life. When the wildlings finally reach Castle Black and attack, Ygritte kills many Night's Watch brothers with her archery skills, among them Pyp. When confronted by Jon, however, she cannot bring herself to shoot him, and is shot in the back by Olly, a boy whose father Ygritte previously killed. Ygritte subsequently dies in Jon's arms, and her body is later burned by Jon himself, north of the Wall.[7]
TV adaptation
Ygritte is played by Rose Leslie in the television adaption of the series of books.[8]
References
- ↑ "Game of Thrones Viewer's Guide".
- ↑ "Game of Thrones Cast and Crew: Ygritte played by Rose Leslie". HBO. Retrieved December 25, 2015.
- ↑ "The Official Website for the HBO Series Game of Thrones - Season 4". HBO.
- ↑ "From HBO".
- ↑ "Game of Thrones Viewer's Guide". HBO.
- ↑ "A Read of Ice and Fire: A Storm of Swords, Part 9". Tor.
- ↑ "Game of Thrones star Rose Leslie talks Ygritte’s death scene: ‘I was crying profusely’". Metro.
- ↑ "Rose Leslie On Game Of Thrones Season 5". Esquire.
