Was he burnt to a crisp while guarding the Castle On The Hill? (sorry)
Words by Jadie Troy-Pryde
Despite knowing for months before the air date that Ed Sheeran was set to have a cameo in Game of Thrones season 7, we weren't really prepared for it. He cropped up as a Lannister soldier in the very first episode, singing a new song (unheard of in Westeros!) which may actually have been foreshadowing this major character's death.
Other celebrities have cropped up in the show during its seven seasons. Sigor Ros gave a mediocre musical performance at Joffrey's wedding, Coldplay's drummer Will Champion was part of the Red Wedding reception band, and Snow Patrol's frontman Gary Lightbody served as a Bolton solider for approximately 5 seconds in season three.
However, while the above managed to blend into the background, Ed and his ginger locks were a blindingly obvious addition to the Game of Thrones cast, mainly because he is the first celebrity to actually get a speaking part. Shortly after the episode aired, he deleted his Twitter because he was getting so much hate.
But, to give him his dues, his character did share his own measley bit of rabbit with badass Faceless girl Arya Stark, and despite being a Lannister he seemed like a nice guy. Once the absolute epicness of episode 4, Spoils of War, had sunk in, we were left wondering - what happened to Ed and his mate from This Is England? Was he still sat in the forest having bants with the boys, or was he burnt to a crisp in Daenerys' attack at Highgarden?
Matt Shakman, who directed the most recent episode, might have the answer. He told Mashable: 'The idea behind the question is an interesting one and I think the earlier scene that was so great with Arya meeting those Lannister soldiers, where we humanise what those Lannisters are like, that they’re generous with her, only helps this sequence because it helps you feel for the men who are shaking in terror as their death is upon them.'
When pressed about whether Ed's flame-haired character would have been toasted on the battlefield, Shakman told The Daily Beast: 'A few characters, for sure.'
But he went on to tell Mashable: 'I don’t think literally those soldiers were there.'
So there you have it - he's probably still in the forest singing Hands of Gold. We'll let you decide whether or not that's a good thing.