(HBO)Get ready to see more of sellsword Bronn (Jerome Flynn) in "Game of Thrones."Warning: There are spoilers ahead if you haven't watched season 5, episode 2 of "Game of Thrones."
Sunday night’s “Game of Thrones” episode set into motion many interesting plot lines, including Arya’s reunion with Jaqen H’ghar in Braavos and Daenerys’ struggle to keep Meeren under control.
But the most interesting revelation in the episode was a large deviation from the book canon – Jaime and Bronn are heading to Dorne to rescue Jaime's daughter, Myrcella.
In the book series, Jaime spends this time in the Riverlands on actual diplomatic missions, and he brings along Ilyn Payne. If that name sounds familiar, it's because he's the the royal executioner in King's Landing, the one who cut off Ned Stark’s head.
His tongue was removed as punishment long ago, so he lives as a mute knight in both the show and the books.
(HBO)Ilyn Payne about to execute Ned Stark as Sansa watches in terror.
Since Ilyn is a skilled swordsman as well as a mute, Jaime brings him to the Riverlands (in the books) in order to practice fighting with his left hand. Jaime trusts that Ilyn cannot spread rumors about his lack of skill without his right hand.
Last season, we saw hints of the pending substitution when Bronn was the one helping Jaime practice sword fighting.
(Macall B. Polay/courtesy of HBO)Bronn and Jaime secretly sparring last season.
So why has the show swapped out Ilyn for Bronn?
Bronn, played by Jerome Flynn, quickly became a go-to source for both comic relief and great fight scenes on HBO’s adaptation. His quips with Tyrion and general forthrightness about his lack of honor make him a rare character on the show. Rather than following leaders based on respect or sworn oaths, he is a sellsword through and through; whoever pays him the most gold gets his services. The show creators were probably already looking for ways to keep him on screen, since his story arc in the books petered off once Cersei bribed Bronn to leave King’s Landing and marry Lollys Stokeworth.
(Neil Davidson/courtesy of HBO)Bronn breaks the news to Tyrion that he's been bought out by Cersei.As fate would have it, a bittersweet opportunity presented itself when Wilko Johnson, the actor who played Ilyn Payne, was diagnosed with pancreatic cancer in late 2012.
Johnson initially issued a statement saying that he would not be seeking chemotherapy treatment, and the showrunners were left to decide how best to respect Johnson in light of the tragic news.
(Tim P. Whitby/Getty Images)Wilko Johnson at the GQ Men of the Year Awards in 2013.Seasons three and four of the show aired with no re-casting of Payne’s character, but they did mention him twice, indicating that the character was still alive. This worked well since Payne didn’t have much plot in those sections of the books, but many fans speculated how they would handle season five and Payne’s role in the Riverlands.