Curtain Call: Natalia Tena 

If season 6 has taught me nothing else, it’s that, even when I see a character’s death coming a long way off, that doesn’t ease the pain of it one bit. In “Book of the Stranger,” Osha (played by Natalia Tena) was killed while trying to assassinate Ramsay Bolton.

Her demise wasn’t exactly unexpected but it was heartbreaking nonetheless. Osha was a fantastic character whose absence from seasons 4 and 5 was sorely felt. She will be missed.

. George R.R. Martin admitted in the audio commentary for 1×08, “The Pointy End,” that he initially dismissed Tena as too young and attractive to play Osha but changed his mind once he saw her audition tape.

“She was just wonderful. I couldn’t take my eyes off her. She was perhaps not the character as I had originally written but in fact she was a much more interesting character than I had originally written.”

Indeed, Tena delivered a mesmerizing performance as the wild-haired Wildling. She had some beautiful lines:

Who do you think sends the winds if not the gods? They see you, boy. They hear you.

However, it was Tena’s acting choices – the melodic cadence of her voice, the tilt of her head, the animalistic posture of her crouch and her wry smile – that truly set Osha apart from other characters.

Osha’s death wasn’t quite as elaborate as Tena would have liked–

– and I, personally, wish that the writers had decided to let her survive or, at the very least, get in few good slashes before Ramsay stabbed her. However, it’s satisfying that the resilient, resourceful Osha met a heroic end. She wasn’t chased down by hounds or flayed alive. She died trying to kill Ramsay Bolton. Surely, if there’s any cause worth dying for in Westeros, that’s it.

, Tena has enjoyed a prolific and eclectic career. Her other projects include the

films and, most interestingly (given the circumstances), the Netflix series,

, in which she played a photographer uncovering a supernatural conspiracy and Iwan Rheon co-starred as her supportive boyfriend.

Tena’s also achieved success in the music industry as the accordionist and lead singer of the band, Molotov Jukebox. The group released their fourth album,

, in April and they’re scheduled to tour in Spain and the UK later this year.

is over, she’s left behind quite a legacy. In the audio commentary for “The Pointy End,” Martin said that Osha’s one of the few characters whose incarnation on the show may impact his plans for future ASOIAF installments. “She’s become such an interesting character in the TV show that when she reappears in the books I’d really like to give her a more interesting role to play than I had perhaps originally had in mind,” he said.

is, I’m grateful that we got to enjoy Natalia Tena as Osha while we had her.

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A small character, who didn’t really had much of a story in the books.

But damn if Natalia didn’t knock it off and make us all love Osha.

It is because of her alone, and what she did to this small character that I will miss Osha!

A truly great actress, hope to see some of her other works soon.

Natalia! We’ll miss you (but I’ll see you at your concerts when you come close again). Thank for your enthusiasm and everything you gave to us fans.

Much more interesting than the book version. Natalia was a blessing to the show. I wish there was more of her, but oh well, the writing fates are cruel. I’ll miss Osha & Natalia’s performance!

Such a great secondary character in the show, all thanks to Natalia Tena and the enlarged role the writers gave her. I too wish that, before dying, Osha had managed to stab Ramsay in the dick or something. It’d been quite appropriate (considering Theon’s torture), yet it would allow Ramsay to remain alive for the rest of the season, until hopefully Jon and Sansa kill the bastard; because of course Ramsay wouldn’t die at the hands of a secondary character who has been absent for years. But I wish she’d been able to wound him at least!

Oddly enough , even though we haven’t seen OSHA in two seasons, this was hard to take. It still is. I really wish we had more of her before she was killed. Will miss her madly 🙁

he Netflix series, Residue, in which she played a photographer uncovering a supernatural conspiracy and Iwan Rheon co-starred as her supportive boyfriend.

Ive been enjoying seeing the connections between actors on this show, but this has to be my favorite! Need to watch that!

Did love what she did with this character; she really made it her own Osha was wild, but so loyal, and I knew she’d die being an active part of the show. Looking forward to seeing what else she will be in. RIP Osha, thanks Natalia for a job well done

Oh and that video was great! need to find that cd

Her death couldn’t help but feel perfunctory after having been absent so long, but intellectually one understands it, given the very obvious, aggressive pruning of the cast that’s going on this season as things head toward the finish line. Tena definitely brought the part to life.

Because of the rumours Davos heard in the books I was anticipating really cool things about Rickon and Osha. It was a bit disappointing, but at least she didn’t get flayed!

I never cared much for the character, but I appreciate that many people did. I’m happy that she got a relatively good (untortured) end.

Like that could scare Osha! Come on —Ramsay doesn’t even eat them after, the weakling! He’s no Thenn. He couldn’t impress Osha. Which was a pretty good way to go, when you think about it. Still: I hoped for a dick stab.

Natalia was awesome in this role. I will Osha more than Rickon.

”-You eat them after?-No.-Then i’ve seen worse.”

Yes, probably the best quote from the episode imho.

She did outstanding with that character, on the show she just seemed to have an air of mystery and purpose behind her, and I now realize it was just all Tena’s on screen presence.

I think the show did a disservice to her and the fans by only bringing her back to kill her off. As with the Dorne kill offs, it just seemed way to rushed. I would agree she is expendable, and understand that under Ramsey’s control she would most likely die, but like her character, I would have hoped her end arc was more suspenseful over at least 1 or 2 more episodes and another speaking scene.

I would have liked to see her death scene play out exactly how it happened except extended, may Ramsey miss that neck kill and they have to both stand up and face each other to the death with Ramsey having a huge smile from the trill of it. Or maybe a Ramsey moment when she is killed and the guard opens the door asking should they take the body, and Ramsey says: no, i’ll hold on to her for a bit longer.

but the TV version of Osha is far superior than the book version, great job Tena.

Bitter times… The actors with outstanding performances are getting sacked this season.

McElhatton, Teale, Tena, Siddig, …and O’Connor. Who will be next: Rigg? Headey?

Back to Tena. Long journey, few appearances, big impact… I was truly sad, when she entered the room in a linnen dress. A symbolic funeral. Besides the fact, that she was alone in one room with Ramsay.

I wish we could have seen a little bit more of her this season. RIP you little badass Wildling.

RiP, Osha. Totally enjoyed Natalia’s performance and wish we could have spent more time with her on GoT. Her candor in various interviews always brings a smile to my face. Love her voice. Plus, she is the mistress of the merkin! 😉

Osha’s demise is yet another reason to detest the Boltons and (maybe) the

Umbers. I wonder what plans GRRM has for her on the page? Are her and Rickon really in Skaagos?

She was fantastic. While I wish she would have went out more dramatically, whats done is done.

Man, they’re really killing em off quick this season. We must really be in the home stretch.

*wry, not rye. A rye smile would be a mouth full of bread. 😀

Has it really been two seasons ? Damn. Natalia was amazing, and I will miss her. I agree, would have been nice if Osha had given Ramsay a really awful facial wound. Maybe stabbed out an eye. A dick-stab. Something !

“Osha’s death wasn’t quite as elaborate as Tena would have liked..”

D&D have been a bit too expedient this season.

I mean this season Doran Martell , Areo Hotah and Trystane Martell are eliminated as if they were blips on a Pac Man screen!

It was George who said that it was Natalia who influenced him to write Osha differently in , well, Winds of Winter.

Felt Osha story would end this way but until like E10, so I am disappointed since I think there was narrative to mined.

Can’t seem to find any comments from Tena about the development.

Ha-was just putting together a similar post, ‘cept with rye whisky.

“I tried telling your brother, he’s marching the wrong way. All these swords, they should be going north, boy, not south. The cold winds are rising.”

From a feral spear wife to a dedicated servant of House Stark, Natalia always was a superb Osha.

The pinnacle of her performance, in my estimation, was her monologue about her Wildling husband, Bruni. You could see the fear in her eyes as she described her encounter with his wight. And to her credit, she remained so dedicated to the Stark boys that she was willing to bring them back to the doorstep of the very land she fled as a result.

And of course, another wonderful character to lay at the feet of Ramsay Bolton. He must pay with his life!

But aleast Natalia got onscreen death here as osha when she didnt in harry potter.

Such a shame that the character GRRm seemed to like how they developed in the show and started writiing more in the books is gone this quickly after returning ..

Hope we get to read more about Osha in the TWOW and that too very soon..

Yes that scene was very well done ..good job indeed by Natalia

What a fantastic actress…her portrayal of Osha was outstanding and I loved how cocksure she was and her fearlessness.

The manner of her death was one of the only gripes I had about this amazing episode as I mentioned in another thread, and like Tena, I just wished she’d been able to give Ramsey one helluva scar before meeting her very grizzly (but perhaps necessary) end. RIP Osha.

Outstanding performance on the show! She sold the hell out of someone representing a Wildling looking for a better life south of the Wall.

Side note: Martin’s stance on possibly changing something due to the adaptation being better on television is a bit of a slippery slope (with the extreme being tWoW and aDoS eventually conforming to what the show did). Don’t get me wrong, I’m all for having the book story be as good as possible but I want Martin’s vision for what is best and not some altered vision using the screen as a pre-test for treatment/storylines. They’re already separate enough entities as it is, I would prefer to have the author’s mind independent of how characters behave/arc on screen. Then again, this is just a testament to just how good Tena was in her role, bravo!

Sad to see Osha go so soon! 🙁 Maybe George will give us more of this wilding girl.

Perfect acting! Thank you, Natalia <3

There are plenty of other places to voice your criticism of the writing/plot.

I have loved Natalia in everything I’d watched her in and she perfectly embodied Osha. I am so sad to see her go and so quickly after her reappearance, but she went down with a fight and that is exactly what you would have expected from her Wildling character. Bravo, Natalia!

It’s sad to see Osha leave because she was such a fantastic character, and I would love to have seen more of her. However, I can completely understand why D&D killed her off at this point. The North has a whole host of characters now, and to be honest we have a lot more invested in all of them than Osha (mainly because Osha has been missing since Season 3). You can only juggle so many characters without others feeling short-changed, so I can see why she had to go.

As soon as it was first speculated that Osha and Rickon were heading to Winterfell I knew that Osha would be killed off (and probably Rickon as well). She was a prisoner of absolutely no value, so the only reason Ramsay would have to keep her alive would be to torture her. And we have all seen Ramsay torturing others enough by this point. As Luka Nieto mentions it might have been nice for Osha to injure Ramsay, but that is my only complaint.

Osha was such a brilliant character, and was brought to life by Natalia. We knew exactly why she behaved the way she did, and she was the first character who showed that wildlings weren’t as bad as other characters suggested. It is sad to see Osha go, but I’m grateful she was kept on in Season 3. It was also good that she wasn’t just killed off-screen as we would have felt short-changed, so I’m grateful that D&D didn’t go down that route, and that Natalia agreed to come back.

Natalia Tena did such an amazing job and shame she went so soon after being broutgh back to the show. Curious to see what George will do with her in the books. She was truly embodiment of a willding woman as she was truly fearless and probably knew that she’ll die anyway. She went for it and tried. All the best to the future Natalia. She was in Harry Potter saga, wasn’t she? Can’t remember it very ell.

PS:Just a friendly warning. Be careful of reddit and try to avoid it.

Natalia’s Osha will be missed. Whenever she was on screen that meant we were visiting the Northern storyline, so interesting events were bound to happen. She was another example of the solid casting work to create meaningful supporting characters in this story. I was happy to see her finally return and would have loved seeing her in more scenes before her story ended. Alas, it was not meant to be.

Sorry to see Osha go and I concur Natalia Tena gave a heck of a performance. Makes me worry for Rickon also. It’s natural to hope for the best but with GoT it’s wise to be prepared for the worst I think. Last year I was hoping nothing would happen to Shireen but it did so I expect the worst now and then if something good does happen to a decent character it’s a nice surprise.

I’d like Bran to warg into Ramsay’s dogs (he’s probably too far away of course) and turn them on their master.

Sad to see Osha go so soon! Maybe George will give us more of this wilding girl.

Natalia did a fantastic job bringing Osha to life. Such a layered and nuanced performance! She drew my attention in every scene she was in. And not a spectacular death, but a meaningful and heart-wrenching one. Looking forward to seeing her in other projects!

I’d like Bran to warg into Ramsay’s dogs (he’s probably too far away of course) and turn them on their master.

osha the protector…..she was one of the best characters in game of thrones ..fun to watch strong….and commanding character. ..but most of all she was unique… osha you shall be missed……

Natalia Tena…….you deserve a standing ovation. …………thank you for your wonderful performance. ..you truly entertained us ……..

Thank you, Natalia, for allowing us GOT geeks to watch you play the role of Osha. We don’t realize how attached we are to certain characters until they are, er, um, killed 🙂 Wishing you all the best for the future and for your promising career. The North will never forget you, Osha :sobbing:

She did a heck of a job with a small character. Given I was unsullied in Season 1, soon as I saw her, and recognized her from Harry Potter and About a Boy, I knew she wasn’t brought in just to be killed off in five seconds, and so glad we got to have her for the bulk of three seasons.

“Take care of this one. He means the world to me.”

“But the gods wouldn’t spare a raven’s cold shit for you or me or anyone. You don’t understand. You don’t know. You don’t know. None of you know. None of you have been up there. I had a man once. A good man. Bruni, his name was. I was his and he was mine. But one night Bruni disappears. People said he left me, but I knew him. He’d never leave me. Not for long. I knew he’d come back. And he did. He came in through the back of the hut. Only it wasn’t Bruni. Not really. His skin was pale like a dead man’s. His eyes bluer than clear sky. He came at me, grabbed me by the neck and squeezed so hard I could feel the life slipping out of me. I don’t know how I got the knife. When I did, I stuck it deep into his heart. And he hardly seemed to notice. I had to burn our hut down with him inside. I didn’t ask the gods what it meant. I didn’t need to. I already knew. It meant the North was no place for men to be. Not anymore.”

Farewell Osha. You didn’t make it as far south as south goes, but you made it into our hearts, and you will be sorely missed (esp. by Rickon and Bran).

RIP Osha. And yes, you were better at skinning those rabbits.

Osha brought a really nice light side to the series with the way she interacted with Bran & Rickon. D&D did wonderful with her and I really wish they gave her more screentime in S6. 🙁

How glorious would it be if Bran finds out everything Ramsay’s done to Winterfell itself, Sansa, Rickon and Osha, and unleashes terrifyingly rage on him. One can wish.

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