Meera Reed deserved better. Honestly, there isn't a single character in the entire Game of Thrones universe who did more with less, only to be tossed aside like a broken tool. While Jon Snow was busy being broody and Daenerys was counting her dragons, Meera was dragging a paralyzed boy through a frozen wasteland for years. Without her, Bran Stark dies in Season 2. If Bran dies, the Night King wins. It is that simple.
Yet, when we talk about the heavy hitters of Westeros, her name rarely comes up. Why? Maybe it’s because she didn't have a Valyrian steel sword for most of the show, or because she wasn't interested in sitting on a spikey chair. She was just a girl from the Neck who knew how to hunt and how to survive.
The Crannogman Mystery and Why Meera Reed Was Different
The Reeds are weird. In George R.R. Martin’s A Song of Ice and Fire books, the people of the Neck—the Crannogmen—are described as small, secretive, and basically magical. They live on moving islands in the swamps. While the rest of the North focuses on heavy plate armor and big broadswords, Meera showed up with a trident and a net.
It was a total breath of fresh air.
In the show, Ellie Kendrick brought this grounded, gritty energy to the role. Unlike the high-born ladies of King’s Landing, Meera didn’t need a knight to protect her. She was the knight. When she first encounters Bran and Rickon, she's the one providing the security while her brother Jojen provides the cryptic "Green Dreams." It’s a dynamic we don’t see often in fantasy: the sister as the physical shield and the brother as the fragile seer.
Ellie Kendrick once mentioned in an interview with MTV News that she loved playing a character who was defined by her capability rather than her romantic interests. That’s a huge part of why the character resonates. She wasn't there to be someone’s wife. She was there to do a job.
Surviving the Cave of the Three-Eyed Raven
The journey north of the Wall is where Meera Reed really proved she was built differently. Think about the logistics. They’re traveling through a literal arctic tundra with zero support. Hodor is doing the heavy lifting, sure, but Meera is the tactician. She’s the one skinning rabbits, keeping watch, and mentally holding the group together while Jojen slowly dies from the physical toll of his visions.
Then we get to "The Door."
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Most fans remember that episode for Hodor’s tragic origin story. It’s a tear-jerker. But look at what Meera does in that sequence. She is the first person in the history of the show to kill a White Walker with a dragonglass spear. She didn't have a special destiny. She didn't have a prophecy. She just saw a monster, grabbed a rock, and ended it.
The physical toll of that scene is insane. If you rewatch it, you see Meera screaming at Bran to "warg into Hodor" while she’s literally fending off a horde of undead. She is doing three jobs at once. She is the protector, the motivator, and the primary muscle. And then, she has to watch Hodor—her only friend left—get torn apart while she drags Bran’s dead weight into a blizzard.
The Bran Problem: Why Their Ending Felt Like a Slap in the Face
This is where things get controversial. By the time they finally get back to Winterfell in Season 7, Bran isn't Bran anymore. He’s the Three-Eyed Raven. He’s basically a human Wikipedia with no emotional RAM.
When Meera comes to say goodbye, she’s grieving. She lost her brother. She lost Hodor. She lost her youth. All for him. And Bran? He gives her a "thank you" that has all the warmth of a refrigerated ham.
"You died in that cave," she tells him.
She was right.
A lot of fans felt this was a weak exit for such a powerhouse character. But if you look at it from a narrative perspective, it’s actually a very "Game of Thrones" way to go. In the real world, and in Westeros, the people who do the hardest work often don't get the parade. They don't get the crown. They just go home. Meera’s story ended because her mission ended. She owed the Starks nothing more.
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What the Books Might Change for Meera
For those of you still waiting on The Winds of Winter (stay hopeful, we’re only a decade or so behind schedule), Meera’s story is in a very different place. In the books, Jojen is in much worse shape. There’s actually a dark fan theory called "Jojen Paste."
The theory suggests that the Three-Eyed Crow (the book version of the Raven) fed Jojen to Bran to "awaken" his powers. If that turns out to be true, Meera’s eventual realization will be devastating. It turns her from a loyal protector into a tragic victim of a cosmic horror story.
George R.R. Martin has always been better at the "bittersweet" than the show. In the books, Meera is also much more of a mentor. She teaches Bran about the history of the Knight of the Laughing Tree—a story that might actually hold the key to R+L=J (Rhaegar + Lyanna = Jon).
The show skipped the Knight of the Laughing Tree entirely. By doing that, they stripped Meera of her role as a keeper of lore. She became "the girl who pulls the sled." It’s a bit of a disservice to the depth Martin wrote into the Crannogmen.
Why We Never Saw Howland Reed
One of the biggest missed opportunities in Game of Thrones was not showing Meera’s father, Howland Reed, in the present day. We saw him at the Tower of Joy in a flashback, saving Ned Stark’s life. He is the only person alive who knows the truth about Jon Snow’s birth from the very beginning.
Fans spent years theorizing that Meera would lead Bran back to Greywater Watch to meet Howland. We wanted the payoff. We wanted to see the swamp-fortress that moves. Instead, she just walked into the woods and vanished from the script.
Meera Reed’s Legacy: A Masterclass in Competence
If you want to understand how to write a strong female character without falling into "girl boss" tropes, look at Meera. She is vulnerable. She cries. She gets tired. She gets frustrated with Bran’s cryptic nonsense.
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But she stays.
Her strength isn't just in her spear-throwing; it’s in her endurance.
- She survived the Mutiny at Craster’s Keep.
- She survived the wight attack at the heart tree.
- She survived the Night King’s personal assault.
- She kept a paralyzed boy alive for thousands of miles.
She’s basically the Samwise Gamgee of Game of Thrones. Without her, the "Chosen One" never makes it to the finish line.
Actionable Insights for Fans and Writers
If you’re looking back at the series or diving into the books, pay attention to the "silent" heroes. Meera Reed represents the common folk—or at least the lesser nobility—who actually bear the brunt of the "Great Game."
For writers: Meera is a lesson in showing, not telling. We didn't need a monologue about how tough she was. We saw her drag a sled through five feet of snow. Use physical burden to demonstrate character resolve.
For fans: Don't let the show's ending sour her character. In the internal logic of the world, Meera Reed is one of the few people who left the story with her soul intact. She didn't get corrupted by power. She did the right thing, suffered for it, and had the strength to walk away when it was over.
Next Steps for Deep Diving:
If you want to see the "true" Meera, go back and read the Bran chapters in A Clash of Kings and A Storm of Swords. The dialogue between her and Bran is much richer. You’ll also get the full story of the Knight of the Laughing Tree, which is arguably the most important piece of world-building Martin ever wrote regarding the downfall of the Targaryens.
Meera Reed wasn't just a sidekick. She was the glue holding the North together. And it's about time we gave her the credit she earned.