Sand Snakes, Oberyn’s warrior kids, in new ‘Game of Thrones’

JESSICA Henwick at the “Game of Thrones” Season 5 premiere in London
photos courtesy of hbo asia

LONDON—New characters are making their debut in the coming (fifth) season of the hit fantasy-drama series “Game of Thrones.” Some of the most anticipated are three of Prince Oberyn Martell’s eight bastard daughters.

Also known as the Sand Snakes, Obara, Nymeria and Tyene Sand are as fierce as they are fetching—not surprising, given that they were raised by Oberyn, one of the most skilled, flamboyant and charismatic warriors in Westeros, whose idea of playtime with his children included battle training.

“We’re strong women. If you saw the previous season, you would know that Oberyn was kick-ass, so there’s no way for us not to be tough,” Jessica Henwick, who plays Nymeria, told select international media outfits, including the Inquirer, during a press junket organized by HBO early this year.

Last straw

“We’re like a fantastical, medieval Charlie’s Angels!” Henwick jested, to which Rosabell Laurenti Sellers, who takes on the role of Tyene, retorted:

“Except that we no longer have our Charlie.”

Oberyn, of course, is dead—his teeth knocked out, eyes gouged and head smashed into a blobby mess by Gregor “The Mountain” Clegane during Tyrion Lannister’s second trial by combat. This was the last straw for the three women, who grew up on stories about the atrocities that House Lannister wrought upon their family.

AND AS Nymeria, calculating and strategic with her bullwhip: “Without sufficient practice, you could kill others, or yourself.”

The sisters have different mothers: Obara’s was a peasant; Nymeria’s, a noblewoman from the eastern city of Volantis; Tyene’s is Ellaria Sand, Oberyn’s paramour. Children born out of wedlock in most parts of Westeros are looked down upon, stripped of all privileges or, worst of all, ignored altogether.

Success or death

But in Dorne, where House Martell rules, illegitimate children aren’t treated so shabbily. Thus, Oberyn treated Obara, Nymeria and Tyene as his own and with much affection, sheltering them in Sunspear, the Dornish capital.

Now they are united by a common goal: To avenge their father’s gruesome death. As Henwick pointed out, “The motto of House Martell is ‘Unbowed, unbent, unbroken.’ So … there’s no room for failure—

it’s success or death.”

The Sand Snakes have distinct fighting styles and preferences in weapons, apparently influenced by the respective traits they inherited from Oberyn. Obara, played by Keisha Castle-Hughes, is the toughest of the three, and wields a spear, like her father. Nymeria, the most calculating and strategic, brandishes a bullwhip. The dogged Tyene uses daggers, and has adapted Oberyn’s penchant for using poison.

As in most sibling relationships, the three don’t always get along and butt horns every so often. Explained Henwick, a 22-year-old British actress of Singaporean descent, “We have contrasting ideas on how to do things. Obara, faced with an obstacle, will go straight on; Nymeria will sit back and think of the most efficient way.”

Sly, sneaky tactician

ROSABELL Laurenti Sellers at the London preem. For a single sequence, she says, “I trained daily for two weeks.”

Tyene relies on sly and sneaky tactics, Sellers, 19, and an Italian-American, said. “She’s the youngest, so she’s still proving herself to her older sisters—that she is a warrior, too, despite their insistence that she is not.”

Henwick and Sellers related that soon after landing their respective roles, they had to fly to Belfast, Ireland—one of the show’s three main filming locations—for extensive training.

“We had about half a year to prepare for our first big fight scene. I worked with Paul Shapcott. We really needed that, since you’re likely to kill yourself as you are to kill someone else,” recounted Henwick, whose eight-foot-long whip is made of kangaroo skin, and has a bronze handle.

Awesome costumes

“I went to Belfast to learn how to use double daggers,” added Sellers. “For one of the battle sequences, we trained daily for two weeks.”

Aside from all that action, part of the fun, Sellers said, were the costume fittings. “It was exciting what Michele Clapton (costume designer) had in store for us. I love our all-leather battle armor; it’s kind of ‘snaky,’ with all the little details carved into it,” related the actress, who also revealed that she did a “nudish” scene. “It wasn’t anything sexual … I was nervous, but it turned out fine in the end.”

The first time she wore a costume and learned stunts was overwhelming, Henwick said. “I was shaking, knowing how massive the scale of the show is, and you could really feel that as you enter the studios,” she said. “I also love my costume—very Dornish, fun, lots of leather straps.”

“Dornish? You mean nonexistent!” Sellers quipped.

Pretty intense

Henwick, who has read the book series—“A Song of Fire and Ice” by George R. R. Martin—on which the show is based, said the Sand Snakes will not be seen in the season’s debut

ROSABELL Laurenti Sellers as Tyene Macall B. Polay/ HBO

episode. But when they finally appear, she promised, “it’s going to be pretty intense.”

The young actresses admitted they are a bit worried about how the fans will receive their characters, because they are being introduced late in the series, and viewers by this time, have already chosen which character or house to root for.

“Also, the fans may already have an idea of what we should be like—real strong ideas. What if we don’t meet their expectations and they start to hate us?” said Sellers, who has been constantly bugged by friends for spoilers since they learned she would be in the show. On second thought, she shrugged and said, “No, I think we’re going to be awesome!”

“Yeah, I’m not going to lie!” Henwick agreed, laughing.

Titled “The Wars to Come,” the first episode of “Game of Thrones” Season 5 premieres on HBO and HBO HD on April 13, 9 a.m. (same time as in the United States), with same-day encore at 9 p.m. The show will also be available in the Philippines via online streaming on HBO GO.

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