Which Game of Thrones characters have been recast, and was it the right move?
By Corey Smith
Myrcella Baratheon
Princess Myrcella was the middle child of Jaime and Cersei Lannister, but was known to the world as a Baratheon. As the Lannister kid with the smallest amount of screen time, fans may not not have noticed when actor Nell Tiger Free took over for Aimee Richardson, but we did. Let’s discuss.
Richardson portrayed Myrcella in season 1 and 2 as a sweet, innocent companion to her brother Tommen. When Myrcella was sent to Dorne (to “work on her tan,” according to Richardson) in season 2, we wouldn’t see her for two years, which opened the door for Free.
Myrcella grew up during her time offscreen — by the time Free took over, she was a mature young woman enamored with her husband-to-be, Trystane Martell. But she still had that innate sweetness about her, and when she was poisoned to death in the season 5 finale, fans were upset. Free returned for one episode of season 6, to play Myrcella’s corpse.
It’s unclear why the show recast Richardson, but she had a lot of fun with unemployment:
So which princess do you prefer?