Bryan Cogman on Lyanna Mormont, the internet’s new favorite character

“The Broken Man” introduced a character who was only teased in Season 5, when she sent a letter to Stannis the would-be king refusing to support him in his march against the Boltons. Her name was Lyanna Mormont (Bella Ramsey), and she instantly became a fan favorite despite not having a single second of screentime in Season 5. Fast Forward to Season 6, and the 10-year-old lady of Bear Island of House Mormont finally got her moment in the spotlight, and boy did she shine. Entertainment Weekly spoke with Game of Thrones co-executive producer Bryan Cogman, who wrote “The Broken Man,” and got an inside look at what went into bringing the little firecracker to the screen.

"The Lyanna scene was a lot of fun. Bella is a terrific young actress – the whole cast and crew were very impressed. I think, much like the character does with Jon, Sansa, and Davos, Bella kept Kit, Sophie, and Liam on their toes!"

The reason Lyanna has to lead House Mormont at such a young age is because her mother and aunts went to serve Robb Stark in the War of the Five Kings, and died in his service (on the show, at least). Her uncle, Jeor Mormont, was the Lord Commander of the Night’s Watch, but was killed during a mutiny at Craster’s Keep. And her cousin Jorah Mormont is in Essos currently seeking a cure for grayscale and serving at the pleasure of the Dragon Queen, Daenerys Targaryen. Young Lyanna is an example of what the female Mormonts have always been called: she-bears.

Lyanna was an instant hit online, and TIME ran a piece today on the Twitter reactions fans had to her.

This tweet from B Mo is spot-on.

Not to be outdone, ASOIAF Defender! had a rather hilarious take:

Indeed, it does seem as if Lyanna’s popularity will eventually lead to her death. I don’t think the internet is ready for that. Of course, the fact that she’s willing to believe Jon and Ser Davos about the Night King and the army of the dead makes her a badass hero in my book.

Of course, no introduction of the matriarch of House Mormont would be complete without a look at the beautiful Bear Island.

Lyanna wasn’t on screen for long, but had several memorable moments, including this “Talk to the Hand” bit.

Good lord, is it too late for George R.R. Martin to rewrite the entirety of A Song of Ice and Fire and make Lyanna Mormont the main protagonist and rightful heir to the Iron Throne and queen of the known multiverse?

Lyanna approves.

More seriously, Cogman also talked about how the “Northern Diplomacy” scenes gave viewers a glimpse of how the wars of the last few seasons have affected people in the North, perhaps more than Jon and Sansa realize.

"[I]n Lyanna and Robett Glover you have two very different types, both of whom have been thrust into leadership positions they never expected to hold (Lyanna’s mother and Robett’s brother having died in the War of the Five Kings). Sansa has suffered a great deal and so has Jon. But I think they underestimated the pain and suffering these other families have gone through, so that was interesting to explore."

In another interview with EW, Cogman weighed in on Arya’s end-of-episode predicament. “She’s been well trained, but she’s up against [professional killers],” Cogman said.

"This is [an] ongoing arc that Arya is battling her own humanity and her reasons for being part of this guild. She feels like the Faceless Men stand for one thing, but things aren’t quite as black and white, if you pardon the pun, as all that. It was also an opportunity this season to make her story into slam bang thriller."

Arya’s fate was certainly one of the more pulse-pounding cliffhangers the show has had this year. How is she going to get out of that?