It appears that ‘Game of Thrones’ has filled an important role for the final season…
When last we heard about Euron Greyjoy leaving King’s Landing, Cersei Lannister informed her brother/lover Jamie that he was actually on a mission to ferry a fighting force known as the Golden Company back to the shores of Westeros to help battle against Daenerys Targaryen, her two dragons, the Unsullied and a Dothraki horde that reportedly reached more than 100,000 men.
Now it appears we’re going to meet the Golden Company in the final season of ‘Game of Thrones’ with a bit of casting news that was revealed this week.
According to Watchers on the Wall, German actor Marc Rissmann has been cast in the role of Harry Strickland, the leader of the Golden Company, who will appear in at least two episodes of the final season of ‘Game of Thrones’
Rissman has appeared in numerous television series over the years including ‘The Last Kingdom’ and ‘Into the Badlands’.
In the books, Harry is a portly man who doesn’t look much like a warrior at all and in fact many believe him to be a coward, but as the former paymaster for the troop, he takes over when the previous leader is killed. Now Harry leads the sell swords as they fight battles for money and their latest benefactor is the queen in Westeros.
It will be interesting to see how the Golden Company plays into this final season considering Cersei is hiring them to fight against Daenerys, but it’s possible their allegiances will be tested even with all the gold being paid to them by the Iron Bank in Braavos. Historically (in the books), the Golden Company was founded by Aegor Rivers, who was a legitimized bastard of Aegon IV Targaryen and the brother to Brynden Rivers aka the Three Eyed Raven.
Aegor’s loyalties were with his half-brother Daemon Blackfyre — another legitimized bastard — who led an uprising against King Daeron II Targaryen. They were eventually defeated, which led Aegor to leave Westeros before eventually founding the Golden Company. It’s possible that the Golden Company still has some loyalty to House Targaryen and perhaps that will lead to Cersei’s undoing.
Either way, the Golden Company are headed to Westeros with Harry Strickland leading the way.
