George R.R. Martin’s Song of Ice and Fire saga and, by effect, HBO’s ongoing Game of Thrones adaptation, haven’t been left yearning for deeply sinister, wicked villains.
Since Martin’s fantasy epic first graced the small screen in 2011, viewers have harbored a profound hatred for Joffrey Baratheon and later Ramsay Bolton – to name but two – and it’s really a testimony to both Jack Gleeson and Iwan Rheon’s (Inhumans) nuanced performances that neither villain devolved into a caricature. But now that Joffrey and Ramsay are sleeping with the fishes of the Shivering Sea, who will fill the void? Leave it to Pilou Asbæk’s power-mongering Euron Greyjoy.
First introduced via Game of Thrones season 6, Euron Greyjoy now finds himself perched on the Salt Throne after murdering his brother Balon in cold blood. Flanked by a small army of Ironborn, Asbæk’s unhinged antagonist longs to rule over Westeros with an iron (!) fist, and wants to do so by forming an alliance with Daenerys Targaryen and her dragons.
That arc will no doubt become one of the more intriguing subplots of Game of Thrones season 7 as it unfolds over its seven-part run, and as Pilou Asbæk told Empire, long-time fans of both Martin’s novel saga and the TV show on which it is based can expect a villain so dark – so bone-chillingly terrible – that he’ll make Ramsay seem “like a little kid.”
The psychos I’ve encountered have so many different sides to them. So each scene I’ve done with Euron, I pick a new thing I wanna show: ‘This scene I want to be charming.’ ‘This scene I wanna be a molester.’ ‘This scene I wanna kill someone.’ After this season, Ramsay’s gonna look like a little kid.
What is dead may never die? Either way, now that Yara and Theon Greyjoy have buddied up with Daenerys Targaryen and her colossal army, fans can certainly look forward to plenty of fireworks by the time season 7 of Game of Thrones premieres on July 16th.
