Dean-Charles Chapman on Tommen’s final moments, Cersei’s rule, and the fate of Ser Pounce

The King’s Landing sequence in the finale was full of striking moments, from the opening sequence of everyone dressing for the event, to Margaery’s moment of intuition that things were about to go very sideways, to Lancel looking into the green flames just before he was blown to bits. But one that stood out was right before Tommen committed suicide after seeing the Sept explode: his final act was to take off his crown and walk just out of frame and put it down on a shelf. Then, and only then, did he step out the window and give the name “King’s Landing” a whole knew meaning.

So perhaps it wasn’t such a surprise that Dean-Charles Chapman, who has been playing the young monarch since Season 4, singled that moment out as well. Speaking to HBO’s Making Game of Thrones blog, he said, “We tried a few different versions. The one that made the edit was more shell shock instead of Tommen bawling his eyes out and feeling sadness, anger or revenge. His number one priority – his wife – was in that Sept. He knows that it is game over for him. I think taking off the crown is Tommen giving up.”

"I think Tommen knew his mom was trying to figure a way out, but I don’t think he imagined that it was going to go down like that. I don’t think he imagined for two seconds that Margaery was going to die. No way…. Tommen literally gets manipulated by everyone, but I think his main loyalty was with both Cersei and Margaery. He loves his mom to pieces, but on the other hand, Margaery’s his wife – she’s gorgeous and he loves her. He can’t choose between them."

As for his relationship with the High Sparrow, he says that he believes that’s Tommen was trying to make everyone happy.

"At the start of the relationship, Tommen knows that the High Sparrow isn’t someone he should trust. But as I said, Tommen gets manipulated by everyone, so unfortunately he gets wrapped around the High Sparrow’s finger. I don’t think he necessarily likes the High Sparrow, but he assumes that if he goes along with what the High Sparrow says, everything will resolve happily. There’ll be no more death or blood and everyone can just get along. If you can’t beat them, then you might as well join them."

Still—and perhaps this is borne from the actor’s own wish that his character could have been stronger—Chapman says his main regret from the show is that Tommen never got to stab someone. “Maybe if Tommen had done battle in the Sept, he’d have killed the High Sparrow. I’ve never killed someone in a show or film, so that’s on my list. It would have been pretty cool to do on Game of Thrones.”

Chapman is very Tommen-like when asked about his mother’s chances of being a good ruler. “I think she’ll be a strong queen, maybe a bit too strong. It will be interesting to see how she plays out now that she’s lost all her children.” And when asked who his favorite Lannister is, it turns out the answer to that isn’t Cersei either. It’s Jaime. But his true favorite?

Ser Pounce. That was his favorite scene to film.

"That was my first day, so that meant a lot to me. It’s an iconic scene for Tommen with Ser Pounce and Margaery. It was a long, hard day, because the cat was a bit of a diva."

And we shouldn’t worry about Ser Pounce’s fate. He was probably collateral damage in the blast. “He probably got a girlfriend and got married… And probably got caught up in the Sept blast, unfortunately.”

RIP Tommen. RIP Ser Pounce.