A new casting update has popped up for the "Game of Thrones" lineup. Actress Alice Nokes from BBC's "The EastEnders" will be joining season 8 of the HBO juggernaut as the character "Willa." However, if one is to look deep into the "Game of Thrones" list of characters, Nokes might actually be playing "Wylla," the name of a bar wench that Lord Eddard Stark gave to King Robert Baratheon when he started asking questions as to who Jon Snow's real mother was.
The reference goes far back to season 1, when King Robert and Ned shared a drink after hunting. This was the first and only time that the two friends discussed Jon Snow's lineage. "Willa" is not a book character, according to fan site Watchers on the Wall, while there are a number of mentions of "Wylla" in George R.R. Martin's "A Song of Ice and Fire."
Nokes has swapped Albert Square for Westeros, which would be quite a transition from her previous role as Courtney Mitchell on the well-known and well-loved British soap. As for her upcoming role as "Willa" on "Game of Thrones," no definite leads have been leaked as of yet. However, according to Watchers on the Wall, she will be appearing in an episode directed by David Nutter, which trims it down to either the first, second or fourth episode of the season.
Another actress set to be in the eighth season, Danielle Galligan, had posted a photo on her Instagram with Nokes and another confirmed actress for the season, Emer McDaid. Galligan had captioned the photo as "Aaaaaand that's a wrap!" and indicated that they had shot in Belfast. Since the photo was snapped up by fan sites, it seems Galligan might have taken it off her social media account.
As to what their characters will be encountering and what they will be contributing to the development of the series' finale, fans would have to wait until 2019 to see it all unfold on HBO.
