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Lady Stoneheart does not appear in the show, despite being in the recent novels of A Song of Ice and Fire.

Have the writers or the producers of the show explained this choice?

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    They tend to be quite reticent about potential spoilers. Who's to say she's not in the last 2 seasons? maybe also John Connington... time will tell...
    – Tetsujin
    Jun 16, 2017 at 12:52
  • Lady Stoneheart's identity was hidden for a while, before she was revealed to be Zombie Cat. You can hide something like that in a book (no visuals or even voice recognition), but it's considerably harder to do in a TV show. Similarly, Reek was immediately revealed to be Theon in the show (not the books), and Tyrions disfigurements are downplayed in the show because they would be a constant eyesore (whereas in the books, you only need to mention it once and then move on with the story unhindered). IIRC Euron also has a large scar according to the books, but not the show.
    – Flater
    Jul 19, 2017 at 15:41

1 Answer 1

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This is what Alex Graves said :

After being asked if the show even shot a Lady Stoneheart scene — since so many book-reading fans assumed she would appear at the episode’s end– Graves replied, “It’s a great question, because it’s all I asked about last year when I was doing [the episode with Brotherhood Without Banners leader] Beric Dondarrion — who ultimately is the person who finds Catelyn and turns her into Lady Stoneheart. But no, they didn’t do it. It was never on the docket to do this season — ever.”

Graves continued: “They [showrunners David Benioff and Dan Weiss] have such a challenge adapting the books into a really focused television experience. It’s very hard, it’s very complicated, it’s much harder then they’ve been given credit for, I think — and they do a brilliant job.

"But to bring back Michelle Fairley, one of the greatest actresses around, to be a zombie for a little while — and just kill people? It is really sort of, what are we doing with that? How does it play into the whole story in a way that we’re really going to like? It just didn’t end up being a part of what was going to happen this season.

"And finally one [more] reason: In case you didn’t notice, a lot happens this season … To add that in is something they opted out of. But what’s funny is that it was never going to be in the season, yet it took off on the Internet like it was going to happen.”

We then asked Graves if there’s any chance of the Lady appearing next season. “As somebody who’s worked deep inside the show, begged to have an answer and wants more than anybody, I have no idea,” he said. “They won’t tell me. They’re very good at being secretive.”

Even if they are keeping it secret from Alex how can we expect them to reveal it in a interview to general public. And if you don't know Alex Graves directed six episodes of GoT.

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    It's worth noting that this interview was in regards to the ending of season 4 about 3 years ago. I think it's fair to assume that she's not going to happen in GOT.
    – Virusbomb
    Jun 16, 2017 at 14:36
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    +1 on your answer, but I really like the way Mr. Graves handles the question. Golf clap sir.
    – Pete B.
    Jun 16, 2017 at 16:26

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