George R. R. Martin gave a lot of insight into his thoughts, feelings, and involvement with “Game of Thrones” in the Sky Atlantic interview, and the author’s feelings about Natalia Tena’s Osha were made clear quickly. “The character in the book fulfills a certain function, but never mesmerized or made you just want to, you know, watch this character and learn more about this character and see more scenes with this character the way that Natalia does when she plays that role on screen,” Martin continued, emphasizing how compelled he was by Tena’s portrayal and elaboration of the character that he originally created. “When I bring Osha back in the future books, I’m probably gonna have to make her more interesting.”
That’s high praise coming from such a masterclass world-builder like Martin. Tena’s liveliness as Osha inspired him so much that he realized he would need to up his game if he ever decided to bring her back into his work.
Tena starred as Osha in 16 episodes of “Game of Thrones.” As a Wilding who grew up North of The Wall, Osha fled to escape the growing threat of the White Walkers who had taken her husband from her. Her group wished to go as South as they possibly could to outrun the deadly winter. Osha was a prominent figure in Seasons 1 through 3, who found herself intertwined with the Stark boys, especially Bran. Ramsay Bolton ultimately killed her in Season 6 when he learned of her connection to the Starks.
