Sansa Stark
Sansa Stark in Season 4 of "Game of Thrones." HBO

Season 4 of “Game of Thrones” is coming to a close, and after the gruesome death of Oberyn Martell in “The Mountain and the Viper,” many fans have reached their limit in terms of shock value. But HBO show runners D.B. Weiss and David Benioff are not even close to giving fans their fair share of shock in Season 4, and the final two episodes are set to leave audiences speechless, especially the Season 4 finale “The Children.”

Warning! Spoilers ahead for Season 4 of “Game of Thrones.” If you do not want to know what will occur in forthcoming episodes do not read any further.

While it may sound wild, especially for readers of George R.R. Martin's "A Song of Ice and Fire" series, the most jaw-dropping scene of Season 4 may in fact be the birth of a character, as opposed to a death. However, when I write birth I don't mean that in a literal sense, like all things in Westeros, even life and death are dramatic. Director Alex Graves has described the Season 4 finale episode; “The Children” as "the big one" meaning it will most likely feature huge reveals. This big reveal could possibly be the "birth" of Lady Stoneheart. For fans of the HBO show, the name Lady Stoneheart, may not sound familiar, however the character is. Lady Stoneheart is the reanimated version of the deceased Catelyn Stark, who was notably murdered by the Freys alongside her eldest son, Robb Stark.

In George R.R. Martin's “A Feast for Crows” Catelyn Stark no longer exists, but Lady Stoneheart does. "The Brother Without Banners" discovers her body in he river, she was dead for three days, Lord Beric Dondarrion gave the dead Catelyn the kiss of life, and miraculously she rose again, but not as her former self. Stoneheart is a vengeance-obsessed zombie who is merely a shell of her former self. Death has changed Catelyn, and Lady Stoneheart does not look like the beautiful wife of Ned Stark fans remember, now she consumed with a desire for revenge on anyone she believes betrayed the Starks. She hangs any men associated with the Freys, Boltons, or Lannisters, even if they had nothing to do with the "Red Wedding." In addition to her vengeance consumed life, her appearance has altered, her wounds have never healed and to speak she must cover the gash in her throat. Her skin is white and soft due to being submerged in the water for so many days, and her trademark auburn Tully hair has turned white.

Despite the acceleration in storyline, Cat's coming as Lady Stonheart has been continually foreshadowed in Season 4 of "Game of Thrones." On Arya and the Hound's unsuccessful journey to the Vale, she continued to say her list of names. The ritualistic prayer, in which Arya lists all the names of the people she will kill specifically highlighted two very integral characters in the Lady Stoneheart storyline--Beric Dondarrion and Thoros of Myr, both of who, travel with the Brotherhood Without Banners. Of course these two have been on Arya's list ever since they betrayed her and decided to attack Lannister soldiers before taking her to Riverrun, but why mention them if fans were not going to see them again in Season 4? More evidence that Weiss and Benioff don't want viewers to forget about poor old Cat Stark is Sansa and Lysa's reminiscing. In episode 7 "Mockingbird" viewers not only watched the eerily satisfying death of Lysa, but were reminded of her older sister, who seems to not only got the looks but the sanity of the Tully family. Lysa revealed Cat's love of sweets, Petyr Baelish revealed his love for Cat and only Cat, and Sansa was once again reminded that everyone in Westeros wants to kill her.

These lovely and somewhat tender Catelyn memories are not the only reasons as to why I believe Lady Stonheart will begin her posthumous revenge in the Season 4 finale, my main reason for thinking that a reanimated Cat will return is due to "Star Wars." Yes, you heard me correct; "Star Wars" is the final piece of puzzle that confirms Lady Stoneheart's arrival in "The Children." And no it's not due to an odd nerd connection, but because of the recent casting of Gwendoline Christie. Christie portrays Brienne of Tarth on "Game of Thrones," everybody's favorite lady knight, who alongside Podrick Payne gets hanged by Lady Stoneheart due to their Lannister armor and more importantly "Oathkeeper." Remember back in episode 4, when Jamie gifted Brienne the Lannister Valyrian steel sword, he made her promise to discover the Stark girls. Despite the noble Brienne actually keeping her oath not only to Catelyn Stark, but also Jamie Lannister, Lady Stoneheart is blinded by her pure hatred of the Lannisters, and instead literally sees red and demands that either Brienne kill Jamie Lannister, or hang alongisde Podrick. At first she refuses to kill Jamie, but after seeing Podrick die, she utters a single word only heard by Stoneheart.(Spoiler Alert, George R.R. Martin confrimed in 2012 that the word Brienne said was "sword.") Brienne's departure back to allegedly disocver Jamie in the Season 4 finale, would allow Christie time in her schedule especially Seaosn 5 to film "Star Wars." So fans should prepare to witness at least one more death, one reanimation, and enough Stark revenge to keep you satisfied through summer. Long live Lady Stoneheart!

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