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“ | Shame! Shame! Shame! | „ |
~ Unella during Cersei Lannister's walk of atonement. |
“ | Only through confession and true repentance may our immortal souls be saved. | „ |
~ Unella demanding a confession from Cersei. |
“ | Good. I'm glad to see your face. I'm ready to meet the Gods! | „ |
~ Unella to Cersei. |
Septa Unella is a minor antagonist in the A Song of Ice and Fire novel series and a supporting antagonist in its television adaptation Game of Thrones. She is a high-ranking septa of the Faith of the Seven in service at the Great Sept of Baelor. She might be a member of the Most Devout.
She was portrayed by Hannah Waddingham, who also played Mother Witch in Hocus Pocus 2.
Personality[]
She is big, imposing, and has a scowling face. In the novels, she seems dutiful and neutral, and although she serves as the confessor, she does not display any sign of sadism whilst tormenting her prisoners. But she is also stern, humorless, controlling, and authoritative. As a confessor of the Faith, she claims to be helping people to confess and repent for their sins. Margaery, who is a friendly and non-violent 15 year old girl, admits that she wishes she could claw Unella's eyes out.
In the version of the television series, Unella torments her prisoners to confess and "repent" for their sins much like her novel counterpart, but it is apparent that she uses her position in order to satisfy her own personal sadism.
Biography[]
After Cersei's conversation with High Sparrow, he has Unella arrest her and throw her in the cell. Unella occasionally visits Cersei, offering her ladle of water and asking her to confess her sins in return. Cersei, however, refuses stating that her face will be the last thing she'll see before she dies. Cersei, eventually swallows her pride and confesses adultery with her cousin Lancel. The High Sparrow organizes her Walk of atonement in which Cersei is stripped naked and publicly shamed. During the walk, Unella was chanting "shame" until Cersei arrived to the Red Keep.
In Season 6, Unella reads Seven Pointed Star to imprisoned Margaery Tyrell, while urging her to confess. After the queen's demand to see her brother Loras, septa moves to strike her, but High Sparrow enters the cell and stops her. After Margaery was released, she is assigned by the High Septon to keep an eye on her. Upon the destruction of Great Sept of Baelor, Unella is imprisoned and tortured by Cersei. She pours some wine on her face and leaves her to be tortured by The Mountain while vengefully chanting "shame".
Her fate is ultimately unknown since Cersei stated to her that she wouldn't die for quite some time, though it is unlikely that she would ever leave King's Landing alive. She most likely perished in the dungeons when King's Landing was decimated by Daenerys Targaryen and her dragon Drogon.
Trivia[]
- In the television series, the roles of Cersei's confessors were entirely merged into Unella as a single character. In the novels, Unella is part of the trio of Cersei's confessors, the other two being Septa Scolera and Septa Moelle. Scolera is portrayed as the leader of the trio and it is her who rings the bell and begins shouting the word "shame" during Cersei's walk of atonement. Unella and Moelle join her, and all three sing "Shame, shame, shame upon the sinner, shame, shame."
- All three of them are senior ruling septas, possibly members of the Most Devout, if the council allows women. Scolera, who is described by Cersei as an "old hag", is short, thick-waisted with heavy breasts and olive skin (possibly Dornish). Moelle is old, wrinkled, and white-haired, with suspicious small eyes, a stern expression with a face "as sharp as an axe", and lips pursed in perpetual disapproval. Unella is possibly the youngest of the trio, and she is the biggest and tallest, described as big-boned with callused hands and a scowling homely face.
- In the novels, Cersei's vengeful fantasies are directed towards Septa Scolera, instead of Septa Unella. She has a great hate for Scolera, fantasizing about having her tongue removed with hot pincers, or about pushing her from a staircase. She additionally thinks it would be fun if Unella ended up getting caught in Scolera's fall behind her.
- The three septas chase, overwhelm and arrest Cersei's together when she attempts to flee from the Great Sept of Baelor. Unella is the one who later records Cersei's confession to the High Septon.
- None of the three septas are as mean as Unella's television counterpart, who is portrayed as more sadistic and cruel in the show. In the novels, the authoritative septas are portrayed as stereotypical "mean, stern and self-righteous nuns", and Unella helps Cersei on her feet when she falls during her walk of atonement and tells her the walk is almost done when she is having a breakdown, showing her that the Red Keep is near and she is almost done with the punishment.