A world as vast and expansive as Game of Thrones is obviously populated by quite a number of characters, and over the course of the past seven seasons, we've seen more than a few of those characters meet the pointy end of a sword or the chompy bits of a dragon. Unfortunately, one of the HBO series' most beloved characters is no more: Ser Pounce, Tommen Baratheon's pet cat.
While speaking with Entertainment Weekly, Game of Thrones creators Dan Weiss and David Benioff confirmed that Ser Pounce is dead. Not only that, but he was killed by Queen Cersei Lannister, Tommen's mother.
Cersei hated the name ‘Ser Pounce’ so much she could not allow him to survive. So she came up with her most diabolical [execution]. Ser Pounce’s death was so horrible we couldn’t even put it on the air.
Dan Weiss joked, "If you buy the super-extended, super-charged Game of Thrones box set that comes out, the death of Ser Pounce will be in there. Just one whole episode devoted to the death of Ser Pounce." In all seriousness, there likely isn't much more of Ser Pounce to be found as the cat was notoriously difficult to work with. "That cat was really not fun to work with. There’s a reason the phrase ‘like herding cats’ came into existence," Benioff said, with Weiss adding, "Dogs generally do what you ask them to do if they’re smart and well trained. Cats have their own agenda." Farewell, Ser Pounce.
Even without Ser Pounce, we've heard plenty about just how epic these final episodes will be, including from HBO CEO Richard Plepler, who compared each episode to a full-fledged movie.
It’s a spectacle. The guys have done six movies. The reaction I had while watching them was, 'I’m watching a movie.' [David Benioff and D.B. Weiss] knew the bar was high. They’ve exceeded the bar. I’ve watched them twice without any CGI and I’m in awe. Everybody’s in for an extraordinary treat of storytelling and of magical, magical production.
The eighth and final season of Game of Thrones will debut on HBO on April 14, 2019.