Uh-oh, Game Of Thrones Might Be Omitting A Very Important Character 

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Uh-oh, Game Of Thrones Might Be Omitting A Very Important Character

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season means heaps of new characters, so I can\'t blame people for getting excited when new cast members are revealed—even with season five almost a year out. One very important book character was conspicuously absent from the announcement, however, and I\'m worried. It\'s not just me, either.

Before we go any further, let it be known that this post will contain SPOILERS. I\'ve tried to denote where the worst of them are, but if you want to stay completely untainted—pure as the driven Stark snow—I\'d recommend steering clear. You\'ve been warned.

As ever, the new crop of characters harvested from author George R.R. Martin\'s none-too-sunny killing field is quite large, especially with next season set to introduce the ongoing struggles of Dorne, home country of season four fan favorite Oberyn Martell. Many of his relatives and countrymen were among the new cast members listed during

\' big Comic-Con bash. So basically, that storyline is a lock for season five.

Strangely, however, one of the most pivotal characters in that whole plotline (at least, as the books tell it), Arianne Martell, was nowhere to be found.

For the uninitiated/SPOILER immune, Arianne is the daughter of Dorne\'s ruling prince, Doran Martell, who also happens to be Oberyn\'s brother. So as not to lose our boots in the massively political morass of this thing, I\'ll cut to the quick: Arianne is the rightful heiress of Dorne. She is, in the books, set to take her father\'s place after he passes.

Plot, drama, scheming, and—of course—grim, shocking twists arise from this connection, as they do from Arianne\'s relation to other announced show characters like Obara Sand, Nymeria Sand, and Tyene Sand—aka "The Sand Snakes," Oberyn\'s bastard daughters.

She\'s not some side character, in other words. In fact, it\'s arguable that for a time she\'s the

character of the whole Dorne plot in book four. However, in the casting announcements for the show her brother, Trystane (to be played by actor Toby Sebastian), was listed as "the heir to Dorne," among other things. Huh. Moreover, Arianne\'s main love interest (and a character who really only exists to fill out her plot), Aerys Oakheart, also missed the announcement train. Huh again.

Yes, I think there is. Most importantly I must note that

that Arianne has been written out of the season. And who knows? Even if she\'s six feet under, dead as a Dorne nail for all intents and purposes

A few other tremendously important characters in the Greyjoy family and a certain Lady Stoneheart also didn\'t show up in the casting, so maybe they\'ll all appear in a later season. Given that season five will be jumping between a million-billion different storylines from books four and five (they take place in roughly the same timespan, just with different characters), it\'s possible that these plots will progress

that the non-cast characters simply won\'t show up.

I\'m worried, though. It doesn\'t really make sense to announce Arianne\'s co-stars and supporting cast without her name up in lights as well.

Assuming she\'s out, we lose a really interesting character, another tough, intelligent woman in an inherently sexist (on purpose, mind you) fantasy world. Yet she\'s vulnerable too, and she\'s forced to learn

over time. She is, in other words, a well-rounded, smartly written character.

While I\'ll admit her chapters weren\'t always my favorites, they did drive the plot and offer great insight into the social norms of Dorne, a land and people very far removed from King\'s Landing and the surrounding locations that we\'re all so familiar with. Arianne acts as the fiery, change-hungry contrast to her seemingly meek, methodical ruler of a father. But she\'s also immature in a very real, believable way. She feels coddled and lied to by Doran, so she\'s coiled and ready to lash out at his every word and deed.

Oberyn\'s influence is powerful in her plot, too. She thinks to herself about how everybody\'s favorite Red Viper raised his daughters, openly empowered them to make their own life choices and fight back when they didn\'t work out. Arianne is still her own person with her own goals, drives, loves, and lusts, but she doesn\'t

It\'s all just... interesting. And pretty good! Her chapters do hit some pretty languid lulls, though, with a lot of her progression happening entirely through internal monologues. Maybe that\'s a reason for the show to leave her out? I hope not. I feel like it\'s still very possible to present that character development in other ways.

Oh yes. I\'m fretting a bit, but I\'m still holding out hope for something good. Other people, however, are flat-out upset. Enraged even. Have a look for yourself:

I mean, the new cast looks great, but in a world that\'s pretty heavily sexist, Arianne Martell was an inch of balance (in theory). #GoT

“YOU KILLED HER. YOU REPLACED HER. YOU KILLED HER CHARACTER. SAY HER NAME! ARIANNE MARTELL!”

I won\'t begrudge anyone who loved Arianne Martell in the books, who quits watching GAME OF THRONES (if she has been cut from the show).

ARIANNE MARTELL IS THE ZEUS OF GREEK MYTHOLOGY IN DORNE SHE IS THE CORE

@GameOfThrones WHY ISN\'T ARIANNE MARTELL CAST? HOW ISN\'T A MAJOR CHARACTER WITH CHAPTERS NOT CAST. Valar Morghulis on your asses

We are devastated that Arianne Martell was not cast. Game of Thrones has officially become a fan fiction. No more #GoT30DayChallenge.

Arianne is important not only because she is a POV character but since she symbolises Dornish culture, different with the other regions.

"Trystane Martell is Prince Doran’s son and heir to Dorne." uhhh arianne martell is heir to dorne what the hell is this

\' Facebook page hasn\'t fared much better.

Meanwhile, this particular piece of information doesn\'t bode well for the whole "but maybe they\'ll reveal the rest later" theory.

So yeah, worrisome. In addition to digging Arianne, I\'m also a pretty big fan of the Greyjoys (even if they are royal greyjerks; they\'re still fun to read), so I\'m really hoping the show just won\'t get around to them or Arianne or any of these conspicuously absent characters until next-

season. It\'s entirely possible. Probable, even.

That said, declaring Arianne\'s brother the heir to Dorne is a pretty big red flag. Who knows, though? Maybe she\'ll get a dramatic reveal later on. "The true heir!" or something. It\'d be a big change from the books, but like \'em or not we\'ve seen a lot of those lately, and I imagine plenty more are on the way.

To contact the author of this post, write to nathan.grayson@kotaku.com or find him on Twitter at @vahn16.

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