That 'Game of Thrones' Character You Were Expecting in the Season Four Finale? Don't Get Your Hopes Up.

Spoilers!

Fans of the book series upon which "Game of Thrones" is based were more than likely disappointed when a certain character failed to appear at the completion of season four's finale episode - especially since Lena Headey had just teased her Instagram followers with a suggestive image of rocks in the shape of a heart.

In the novels, the character of Lady Stoneheart appears at the end of the third book, which would have placed a show correspondence to the final episode of season three.

However, nothing whatsoever suggested that Lady Stoneheart would appear at all as "The Children" came to a close.

Michelle Fairley, who played the late Catelyn Stark in the wildly popular HBO series, spoke recently about the probability that Lady Stoneheart would enter the story.

For those that don't know, Lady Stoneheart is Catelyn herself, resurrected from her gruesome death at the Red Wedding. She leads a band of outlaws on a task of revenge against all who wronged her and her family.

"Yeah, the character's dead. She's dead," says Fairley, effectively dashing many a hope.

"You resect the writer's decision. I knew the arc, and that was it. They can't stick to the books 100 perfect. It's impossible. They only have 10 hours per season. They have got to keep it dramatic and exciting, and extraneous stuff along the way gets lost in order to maintain the quality of a brilliant show."

True believers might note Fairley does not quite deny that Lady Stoneheart might be appearing... she is, after all, a dead character. Is this just clever word play on Fairley's part, or wishful thinking on ours?

In the novels, of course, Lady Stoneheart's quest for revenge causes quite a few ripples in the storyline, so if indeed the zombie-fied Catelyn Stark does not appear in season 5, it will be interesting to see where the writers take the story instead.

What do you think about the character's removal?