Curtain Call: Owen Teale

“I had a choice, Lord Commander. Betray you or betray the Night’s Watch. You brought an army of wildlings into our lands, an army of murderers and raiders. If I had to do it all over knowing where I’d end up, I pray I’d make the right choice again. I fought, I lost, now I rest. But you, Lord Snow, you’ll be fighting their battles forever.” —Ser Alliser Thorne, First Ranger of the Night’s Watch

Actor Owen Teale has been on Game of Thrones since Season 1. He made his debut in Episode 3, aptly titled “Lord Snow.” Teale had the unenviable task of portraying one of the most hated characters from George R.R. Martin’s books, A Song of Ice and Fire. He did so with an iron jaw and a steely-eyed determination that would bring even the most cocksure man to his knees.

Throughout the show, Teale’s portrayal of Alliser Thorne won him the hatred of non-book readers, too, which meant he was doing something right. And then, in Season 4’s “The Watchers on the Wall,” Teale did something that no fan expected: he made the character of Alliser Thorne vulnerable. I will never forget the rousing speech he gave to the undermanned Night’s Watch before the Thenns and wildlings broke through the gates of Castle Black:

"Brothers! A hundred generations have defended this castle. She has never fallen before and she will not fall tonight. Those are Thenns on our walls, they eat the flesh of the men they kill! Do you want to fill the belly of a Thenn tonight? Tonight we fight! And when the sun rises, I promise you, Castle Black will stand! The Night’s Watch will stand! With me now, now with me!"

What was happening to me? Was I actually hoping that Thorne would live through the fight? Yes, yes I was. And it was all because of Owen Teale. He has been as much a fixture of the cast since the beginning, and it’s almost unbelievable that we won’t be seeing his scowling visage in coming episodes. I must admit, there was a part of me that hoped Ser Alliser would set aside his grudge against Lord Snow and stand with him in the wars to come. Alas, that was not to be.

So allow me to send off Owen Teale (and his Game of Thrones character) in a way befitting a man of the Night’s Watch:

“Owen Teale brought an extra dimension to a character that was universally hated. He came to us from… Where did he come from, Edd? Never mind… He never failed in his duty as Master at Arms and First Ranger. He kept his vows as best he could until he murdered his Lord Commander. He rode far, fought fiercely, and I’m pretty sure his hatred of the wildlings was borderline racism…but whatever. We shall never see his like again. He was Ser Alliser Thorne. And now his watch is ended.“