She played a small role on Game Of Thrones "The Bells," but Westeros civilian Nora was the episode's unsung hero. George R.R. Martin's sprawling A Song Of Fire And Ice book series never felt particularly well-suited to a movie adaptation, due to its sprawling narrative and vast cast of characters. In 2011, HBO's adaptation of the novels arrived and would become a surprise cultural phenomenon.
Game Of Thrones brought a cinematic sheen and scope to the fantasy genre that had rarely been seen on TV, which was only aided by its great casting and shock twists. The show only became more popular as the years wore on, and it was one of the biggest series on television. The show eventually outpaced the books, with seasons 6 to 8 consisting of largely original material. Sadly, this led to a lot of disappointment for audiences, as the quality of the writing in the final years took a noticeable dip.
The final season in particular felt needlessly rushed and would have benefitted from more breathing room. With Game Of Thrones' penultimate episode "The Bells," some viewers were particularly distraught with Daenerys Targaryen's decision to attack King's Landing even after the bells ring, which signal Queen Cersei's surrender. It's a decisive moment for the character and show, and Arya (Maisie Williams) was caught in the middle of the chaos as Daenerys and Drogon rained fire on fleeing civilians. When she's being trampled, she's saved by a woman named Nora (Laura Elphinstone), who is trying to get to safety with her young daughter.
In disaster movies or shows, sometimes it's easy to dehumanise the crowd who are being wiped out while the heroes run away, but Game Of Thrones' "The Bells" tries to put a face to the horde. Nora doesn't have much in the way of screentime or dialogue on Game Of Thrones' "The Bells", but the character's simple act of humanity in helping Arya and the latter returning the favor by trying to help her and her child escape added a human element to the destruction. Of course, this just is one of many tragedies taking place as Daenerys' razed the entire city to assert her dominance, and Nora and her child are later caught in Drogon's fire.
For both Arya - and most audiences - this is the point of no return for Daenerys. Arya comes across the charred bodies of Nora and her child in the final scene of Game Of Thrones "The Bells," and knows Daenerys is not fit to rule Westeros. For a relatively minor character who only appeared in one episode, Nora had a surprisingly big impact on the final two episodes.