'Game of Thrones' recap: Winter has come for Westeros
Fox411: HBO's smash hit 'Game of Thrones' returned for Season 7 and wasted no time getting things going
"Game of Thrones" star Maisie Williams was thrilled when showrunners surprised her with Ed Sheeran's cameo as a Lannister soldier last season — but many fans had an entirely different reaction.
In fact, the 28-year-old singer was so brutally mocked for his appearance in the Season 7 premiere that people believed that was the reason why he briefly deleted his Twitter account. Sheeran later disputed those reports, clarifying on Instagram that he "was always intending to come off Twitter."
"[It] had nothing to do with what people said about my game of thrones cameo, because I am in game of thrones, why the hell would I worry what people thought about that. It’s clearly f-----’ awesome. Timing was just a coincidence, but believe what you want," he wrote in a July 2017 post.
ED SHEERAN: 'GAME OF THRONES' BACKLASH ISN'T WHAT MADE ME DELETE TWITTER
Despite the overwhelmingly negative response to his performance, Sheeran had high hopes for this character Eddie.
"I know what Game of Thrones fans hoped happened to my character. I’m sure they think my character got brutally, brutally murdered, but I think my character is still out there. I think he’s chillin’. It was fun being in Game of Thrones, but I definitely think they should’ve killed me off in the episode. I reckon that probably would’ve been the redemption for people that didn’t like it," Sheeran reportedly told Buzzfeed last year.
But the HBO show opted to take a more grisly turn when it came to his character's fate.
In the Season 8 premiere, during a brothel scene involving Bronn – a skilled sellsword who previously served as Tyrion Lannister's bodyguard – three women were discussing the war and the gruesome injuries some of the Lannister troops faced. While getting into bed with Bronn, they mentioned Eddie.
'GAME OF THRONES' SEASON 7 ED SHEERAN CAMEO UPSET SOME FANS
"That boy Eddie came back with his face burned right off. He's got no eyelids now," one woman said.
"The ginger?" another asked.
"How do you sleep with no eyelids?" the third then questioned.
Their conversation, however, was soon interrupted by Queen Cersei's hand, Qyburn.
Though some "Game of Thrones" fans admittedly didn't get the reference right away, others were quick to react to the current state of Sheeran's character.
"Finally, we know what happened to Ed Sheeran's warbler soldier," one Twitter user commented.
RECAP: 'GAME OF THRONES' SEASON 8, EPISODE 1 - A REUNION IN WINTERFELL
"Eddie...the ginger...oh god," another wrote.
"The best part of the episode was when those prostitutes dragged ed sheerans cameo by tellin us eddie got his eyebrows burnt off #GameofThrones," a third added.
"Trying to keep spoilers to minimum, but the ladies talking about “ginger Eddie” who got his face burned off in the battle and doesn’t have eyelids anymore is a hilarious payoff to Ed Sheeran’s cameo. #GameofThrones," a user suggested.
Season 8 of "Game of Thrones" premiered on Sunday. HBO says the series will conclude its run with six episodes.
Sophie Turner, who plays Sansa Stark, said fans should expect to shed "a lot of tears" this season.
“I think, you know, as an actor it was really satisfying — I think for everyone, everyone’s storylines — to be able to act out the way that it all ends. It was really satisfying for us," she previously told IGN.
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