Osha (A Song of Ice and Fire)

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"Osha (character)" redirects here. For other uses, see Osha (disambiguation).

Osha
A Song of Ice and Fire character
Game of Thrones character
Natalia Tena as Osha, from the episode "The Climb"
First appearance
Last appearance
Created by
D.B. Weiss (for Game of Thrones)
Portrayed byNatalia Tena
In-universe information
SpeciesHuman
GenderFemale
Occupation
  • Spearwife
  • Winterfell
SpouseTelevision:
Bruni
RelativesBooks:
Unnamed brother
ReligionOld Gods of the Forest
OriginBeyond the Wall
CultureFree Folk

Osha is a fictional character created by

Winterfell
. In the television series, she serves as a major character during the early seasons of the show, with a similar background to her novel counterpart.

In the novels, Osha was first introduced in

Maester Luwin out of his misery.[3] Although her whereabouts remain unknown for some time, she is mentioned several times in A Storm of Swords (2000) and A Feast for Crows (2005). In A Dance with Dragons (2011), it is revealed that Osha, Rickon, and Shaggydog are currently seeking refuge at Skagos.[4]

The character served a minor role in the books, but her role became much more prominent in the television series. Osha held a strong reputation during her initial appearances in the first three seasons of the HBO adaptation, before being written out of the next two. The character returned in the season 6 episode "Oathbreaker" and was subsequently killed off in the next episode by Ramsay Bolton.[3][5] Osha's death was the subject to mixed and negative criticism mainly due to her promising buildup in season 3,[5] and how quickly the scene occurred.[6] However, the character in the television series received a positive response from critics, who cited Osha as one of the show's more intriguing characters, praising her story arc, likable personality, and development. Tena's performance as Osha also received praise from Martin himself, who preferred the character in the show over his original interpretation.[7]

Character overview

Book series

George R. R. Martin, the creator of the A Song of Ice and Fire novel series, wrote the character Osha to further introduce the threat of the Others.

Osha is a wildling spearwife from Beyond the Wall who was once loyal to Mance Rayder and his cause. Once the Others made their return, Osha and a band of wildlings passed the Wall with the help of two Night's Watch deserters. Initially an antagonist to Bran and Robb Stark, she was proven otherwise for her good behavior during her time as a prisoner of Winterfell. For her appearance, she is described as tall, lean, and shaggy-haired, while her personality is characterized as bitter, sarcastic, and charming.[3]

Osha was created by American author George R. R. Martin, appearing in Bran Stark's point of view chapters. The character has only appeared in two books in the series — A Game of Thrones and A Clash of Kings. Martin plans on bringing Osha and Rickon back into the main storyline sometime during the next two planned books in the series,[8] and will be giving the wildling a larger role in the future books.[9]

Television series

In the HBO television adaptation, Game of Thrones, Osha is a wildling woman from Beyond the Wall who flees south to escape the threat of the White Walkers. She is portrayed as the fierce protector of Bran and Rickon Stark after her arrival in Winterfell.[10] She is described as beautiful, young, and more dynamic in comparison to her book counterpart.[7]

Natalia Tena was cast for the role of Osha.[1] Her role as the character was revealed to the public in July 2010.[11] Martin expressed his interest in Tena's audition: "When I saw that she was reading for Osha, my first thought was, 'She's great, but no way, she's too young and too hot.' Then I saw her reading, and none of the other Oshas had a chance. Her charisma grabbed me by the throat and I could not take my eyes off her. David and Dan felt the same way. We're all thrilled to have her."[12]

Tena appeared as a

guest star in a total of 16 episodes, during the first, second, third, and sixth seasons. Osha was written out of the fourth season after her character's temporary departure from the show. As such, Natalia Tena did not return for season 4. Art Parkinson, Tena's co-star, revealed that they and their characters would not return in the fifth season.[13] Tena returned for the role of Osha in the season 6 episodes "Oathbreaker" and "Book of the Stranger
" before her character was killed off.

Storylines

A Game of Thrones

A portrait of Osha by Roman Papsuev, as described in A Game of Thrones (1996).

Osha makes her first appearance in

Maester Luwin calls Osha to carry Bran to the crypts after the boy dreamt of his father walking within them. Within the catacombs, they are shaken by the presence of Shaggydog, who attacks Maester Luwin, and is later patched up by Osha. For her good behavior, some of her shackles and chains are removed.[14]

A Clash of Kings

In

Hodor, Shaggydog, and Summer. They make it to the woods before heading back to Winterfell to hide in the crypts until Theon's search is over. The group leave the crypts a few weeks later, only to find Winterfell destroyed. They encounter Luwin badly wounded, where Osha shows him mercy upon his own request. Making the decision to separate due to the unsafe roads, Osha agrees to take Rickon and Shaggydog and head toward Kingsroad, while the rest head north.[15]

A Dance with Dragons

In A Dance with Dragons, it is revealed by Wex Pyke that Osha, along with Rickon and Shaggydog, is hiding at Skagos, an island in the Bay of Seals. Ser Davos is instructed to travel to the island to retrieve Rickon if they want the Manderlys to join Stannis Baratheon's campaign for the Iron Throne.[16][8][17]

The Winds of Winter and A Dream of Spring

George R. R. Martin intends to reintroduce Osha and Rickon in the

A Dream of Spring.[3][7][8]

TV adaptation

Season 1

See also: Game of Thrones season 1
A coat of arms of House Stark.

Osha first appears in the

Lannisters
.

Season 2

See also: Game of Thrones season 2

Bran reveals to Osha that he is having similar dreams to the ones about his father, only instead taking on the body of a direwolf. He eventually points out the

Hodor, and the two direwolves, Summer and Shaggydog, escape Winterfell. The Stark boys are presumed dead after Theon shows the city two burnt corpses of young farm boys, but Luwin notices Osha sneaking into the crypts.[20] He learns that the boys did survive, and promises Osha to keep the situation a secret. Theon is betrayed by his own men, and Winterfell is sacked. After the sack, Osha and the others leave the crypts to find the city destroyed, and find Maester Luwin dying under a tree. He tells Osha to take the boys to the Wall, where their bastard brother Jon Snow
currently resides. She promises to take them there, before Luwin allows Osha to kill him out of mercy.

Season 3

See also: Game of Thrones season 3

Osha travels with the Stark boys, their direwolves, and Hodor as they head for the Wall. They are crossed by the Reed siblings,

Ygritte. Osha is still frustrated over the entire situation, but Bran suggests that she take Rickon to Last Hearth to seek refuge with House Umber, loyal allies to House Stark. Agreeing, Osha and Rickon say their goodbyes, and part ways.[24]

Season 6

See also: Game of Thrones season 6

At some point prior to

Battle of Winterfell
.

Other appearances

Osha appeared in the comic book adaptations of A Game of Thrones and A Clash of Kings.[25] The character also appeared and is mentioned in the "Wargs and the Sight" featurette in the third season of Histories & Lore, an animated short series based on Game of Thrones lore.

For merchandise, she appears on trading cards released by Rittenhouse Archives based on the TV series, and the A Game of Thrones and A Clash of Kings board and card games based on the books.

Reception

Natalia Tena portrayed Osha in HBO's Game of Thrones, receiving positive and favorable reviews from critics.

Osha, in the books, received an average reception from critics. She is one of the characters intended to introduce new plot points within her respective storyline to help the story forward, particularly the Others. Osha's personality, however, has been viewed as being one-noted.[26]

Osha has received a generally positive reception in the television adaptation, and has received praise for her character arc, development, and strong personality. Due to her positive reputation, she is often regarded as one of Game of Thrones' most underrated and underused characters.

Game Rant remarked Osha's characterization to be one of the best changes from the books to the TV series, writing: "As an actor or actress, there is likely no praise higher than that of the author of the source material that is being adapted [...] Of course, the showrunners also had a role in Osha's character being more fleshed out as she was given more screen time and involved in plots that book Osha took no part in. Even so, Tena deserves a lot of credit here."[9]

George R. R. Martin revealed that Osha was one of his favorite characters in the television series and one of the few characters where he preferred the TV counterpart—which he called "younger, more attractive and more dynamic"—over their book counterpart.[34][7] He explained that this preference was mostly due to Natalia Tena's performance, which he continuously praised during the first three seasons of the show.[7][26] As a result, Martin stated that he wants to reconsider the character's direction in the books and give her more of a dynamic storyline,[26] noting that "the only actress who's really made me rethink a character is Natalia Tena as Osha".[34][7][26]

Although the episode "Book of the Stranger" was met with widespread critical acclaim, Osha's death in the episode was met with mostly negative criticism. Her death has been regarded as unnecessary and pointless to the plot by numerous critics, who complained about the character's possible potential,[35][36][37] later claiming her death did not serve either a purpose or plot point in the show. "Osha really deserved a larger role in season six and while she would inevitably have died eventually, this really wasn't the right send-off for her," wrote Robin Baxter for WhatCulture.[28] Critics also complained the only reason for Osha's shocking return was to have her killed off instead of being entirely written out of the show.[38][35][39] Her death has also been remarked as both pointless and random by Screen Rant.[40] Mike Rougeau for IGN believed Osha's death at the hands of Ramsay Bolton was unjust, and that the character deserved better since being absent for the past two seasons.[30]

References

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External links

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