Inktober Redux 2022 - Day 14 - Sibongile Mlambo, Chataya

Day 14 - “Game of Thrones” Often times, backlash against casting POC in fictional roles comes with the ridiculous argument of “that’s not true to the :::insert original media here::: However, where’s the same wringing of hands from those same folks when the opposite is true? That’s when that argument starts to show it’s girdle and you realize that this is not about notions of keeping “purity” (again an odd world choice) with the original source material, especially concerning fiction. Case in point, the books from A Song of Ice and Fire featured a character names Chataya. Chataya is the owner of an upscale whorehouse in King's Landing. Chataya described int he books is a tall, black woman with sandalwood eyes, from the Summer Isles. She ends up being a confident and spy to both Tyrion and Varys becoming integral to the plot involving Robert Baratheon’s numerous bastards. In the show her role was remixed to have Peter Baelish run the brothels in KIng’s Landing and her role was cut and then replaced with a new character name Ros (played by Esme Bianco). WHAT IF show runners had decided to cast the role? Sibongile Mlambo a Zimbabwean actress would have been perfect for the role as the commanding beauty with deep knowledge of the court and its secrets. She’s best known for starring in Netflix’s Lost in Space, and the Starz historical adventure series Black Sails.


InkTober2022_Redux_14_SibongileMlambo_Chataya