Game of Thrones season 6 episode 10: Natalie Dormer says finale twist is 'really harsh on the audience'

*WARNING* MAJOR SPOILERS FOR GAME OF THRONES SEASON 6, EPISODE 10*

Only a fool would hope for season 6's finale to flutter by without blood on its hands; major players were always destined to meet their maker here, but could anyone have predicted who would finally get the chop?

Though plenty of bets had been placed on the likes of Cersei or Melisandre, it was the ever-charming Margaery Tyrell (Natalie Dormer) who so regrettably met her doom.

Her political manoeuvring had been astute enough to be queued up as queen on three different occasions; yet, it seems as if her path to rule was forever cut short by forces far out of her control. Her death, then, was nothing new for poor Margaery.

Trapped on the side of High Sparrow, Margaery suffered the full force of Cersei Lannister's explosive vengeance; a neat, but tragic end to the life of a woman forever punished for the downfall of men.

It won't be too much of a great loss to Natalie Dormer; who's burgeoning fame on the big screen snapped her up a role in the Hunger Games series, with three further films currently in production.

It does seem as if Margaery's death acted as a kind of release for the actress. "In true Natalie Dormer-style I tried to fit a million projects into a single year", she told Entertainment Weekly. "I requested [while making season 5 that showrunners David Benioff and Dan Weiss] release me from working on the show earlier than usual so I could do another project, and they ended up phoning me — and that was The Call."

"But I got it six months ahead of normal. They were like, 'We weren’t going to tell you this for a few more months, but we’re not going to release you now, so you can’t do that job you really want to do and we’re really sorry about that.'"

"'But on the bright side, we are going to release you proper in the not-so-distant future.' It was good news, bad news — no you can’t do this, but don’t worry, you’re going to have lots more opportunities very soon."

Dormer does believe Margaery's end was absolutely fitting for the character; stating, "I thought it was an inspired choice. And it’s really interesting that I am given a moment of some vindication at the very end, which was the perfect way for Margaery to leave the show."

"She’s given a platform to say that she was right, as she always is. But because the power was taken from her, she couldn’t do anything about it.The reason it all goes tits up is because Margaery wasn’t in control of the battle against Cersei. She had to hand the reins over to the High Sparrow and Cersei outplays him."

"By the end, Margaery is a victim of the High Sparrow’s incompetence. He underestimates Cersei and that’s something Margaery Tyrell would never do. David and Dan try to stay as close to human nature as possible."

"I'm sure everyone will be sad," Dormer told Harper's Bazaar in a separate interview. "I'd like to think that people will be sad to see the Tyrells unjustly blown to smithereens! [Laughs] As an audience member you spend so much time with these characters, you get to know them very well and to have them so irreverently snatched from you and killed is really harsh."

"But that's what real life is and that's why Game of Thrones is the powerhouse that it is. It's not scared to take away some of your favorite characters. It's always been brave, this show."

We can look forward to the return of Game of Thrones when season 7 premieres in 2017.