The “Shame Nun” is Septa Unella, the severe member of the Faith of the Seven played by Hannah Waddingham in Game of Thrones. She is the woman who follows Cersei Lannister through King’s Landing during the queen’s naked walk of atonement, ringing a bell and repeatedly shouting “Shame!”
Although Unella has limited dialogue and appears in only eight episodes, her bell, chant and grim expression make her one of the most recognizable figures associated with the Faith’s punishment of Cersei. This article contains major spoilers for Seasons 5 and 6.
Who is the Shame Nun in Game of Thrones?
Hannah Waddingham plays Septa Unella, a religious enforcer in King’s Landing. “The Shame Nun” is a fan nickname rather than the character’s official name.
Unella belongs to the Faith of the Seven, Westeros’s dominant religion. A septa is the female equivalent of a septon. The role is broadly comparable to that of a nun, but a septa is not literally a Catholic nun, and the Faith of the Seven is a fictional religion with its own hierarchy and customs. The septa entry at A Wiki of Ice and Fire provides the relevant distinction.
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Outbyte PC Repair FREEClear out junk files and repair common Windows errorsFree Scan →Outbyte Driver Updater FREEScan for outdated or missing drivers - takes under a minuteDriver Scan →Unella is a particularly uncompromising follower of the High Sparrow, the religious leader played by Jonathan Pryce. Her work involves interrogation, imprisonment, punishment and the public enforcement of the Faith’s rules. She is not simply an observer of Cersei’s humiliation: she is one of the people who directly makes it happen.
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Which episodes feature Septa Unella?
Waddingham appears as Unella in eight episodes across Seasons 5 and 6—not throughout the series. Her appearances are:
| Season | Episode | Title | Unella’s role |
|---|---|---|---|
| 5 | 7 | “The Gift” | Begins enforcing the Faith’s authority over Cersei |
| 5 | 8 | “Hardhome” | Continues to appear in the Cersei storyline |
| 5 | 10 | “Mother’s Mercy” | Oversees Cersei’s walk of atonement |
| 6 | 1 | “The Red Woman” | Remains associated with Cersei’s imprisonment |
| 6 | 4 | “Book of the Stranger” | Appears as the Faith’s authority grows |
| 6 | 6 | “Blood of My Blood” | Continues the King’s Landing plot |
| 6 | 7 | “The Broken Man” | Appears before the conflict reaches its climax |
| 6 | 10 | “The Winds of Winter” | Has her final appearance |
The episode listing is also documented by TVmaze’s Septa Unella page.
Why does Unella shout “Shame” at Cersei?
Unella’s most famous scene occurs in the Season 5 finale, “Mother’s Mercy.” After Cersei confesses to certain sexual relationships, the Faith agrees to release her from imprisonment on the condition that she undergo a public religious punishment.
Cersei must walk barefoot and naked from the Great Sept of Baelor to the Red Keep. Unella follows close behind, ringing a bell and repeatedly calling out “Shame!” while the people of King’s Landing jeer, insult and throw things at the disgraced queen.
The sequence is commonly called Cersei’s “walk of shame,” but the more formal term used for the ritual is a walk of atonement. In the Faith’s own terms, it is meant to publicly demonstrate repentance and restore religious order. It is also plainly a spectacle of humiliation and social control. A Wiki of Ice and Fire’s explanation of the walk of atonement covers the terminology and ritual.
Unella’s bell and repeated chant give the punishment its structure. The queen may still be politically powerful, but the sound announces that, for the length of the walk, the Faith controls her body, movement and public identity. That is why the character became so closely associated with the scene despite having relatively little dialogue.
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What is Unella’s relationship with Cersei?
Unella and Cersei have a relationship built on direct opposition. Before the walk, Unella repeatedly demands that Cersei confess. Cersei responds with defiance, insults and contempt, refusing to give the septa the emotional submission she wants even while remaining physically trapped.
Unella represents the Faith’s ability to discipline a member of the ruling family. Cersei, meanwhile, treats the septa as an instrument of the High Sparrow rather than as an independent authority. Their exchanges are therefore about more than personal dislike: they dramatize a struggle between royal power and religious power.
Once Cersei agrees to the walk, Unella becomes the visible enforcer of the punishment. She walks behind the queen, rings the bell and turns the Faith’s judgment into a public event. The scene makes her an active participant in Cersei’s degradation, which becomes important when the balance of power changes in Season 6.
What happens to Septa Unella?
Unella’s final appearance is in Season 6, Episode 10, “The Winds of Winter.” By this point, Cersei has destroyed the Great Sept of Baelor, killing the High Sparrow and much of the Faith’s leadership. Cersei then has Unella captured and taken to a dungeon.
Cersei pours wine over the restrained septa’s face while making it clear that she is seeking revenge for the walk of atonement and the suffering Unella helped impose on her. The scene reverses their earlier power relationship: the woman who once controlled Cersei’s movement now lies helpless before her.
Cersei leaves Unella in the dungeon with the reanimated Gregor Clegane, known as the Mountain. The episode cuts away before showing what happens next. Unella never appears again in the series.
Does the Mountain kill or rape Unella?
The finished series does not confirm exactly what happens to Unella. It strongly implies that the Mountain will torture her, but it does not show her death, establish that he kills her, or confirm her ultimate condition.
A frequently repeated claim says that the Mountain kills or rapes Unella. Those statements go beyond what is shown on screen. Waddingham later said that an earlier version of the sequence was intended to involve sexual assault, but that version was changed. An abandoned plan is not an event depicted in the finished episode. The Washington Post recap of “The Winds of Winter” likewise treats the scene as an implied, unresolved fate.
Was Hannah Waddingham actually waterboarded while filming?
The scene shown on television depicts Cersei pouring wine over Unella’s face while the septa is restrained. Waddingham and Lena Headey have sometimes referred to the filming experience as “waterboarding” or “wineboarding,” but those descriptions need to be separated from the fictional event.
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- During filming: Waddingham said she was strapped to a table and had liquid repeatedly poured over her face for approximately 10 hours to create the effect.
- In an earlier version: Waddingham said the Mountain’s scene was originally intended to include sexual assault, but that material was not included in the finished episode.
Waddingham has said the filming experience contributed to lasting claustrophobia. Her account is discussed in GameSpot’s interview coverage. She later said that, despite how difficult the scene was, she would do the role again; TheWrap reported on those comments.
That distinction matters because “Unella was waterboarded” can misleadingly sound like a description of the show’s plot. The finished scene shows wine, while Waddingham was describing the demanding physical process used to film it.
How Hannah Waddingham got the role
Waddingham has said that she auditioned for Game of Thrones while nearly eight months pregnant and did not expect to be cast. She began filming the Unella material approximately nine weeks after giving birth to her daughter.
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The production also concealed much of Waddingham’s appearance beneath austere religious clothing, severe makeup and an intentionally unkempt look. She has described liking the fact that Unella looked as though she had “been dug up”—an appearance deliberately far removed from the glamorous public image audiences would later associate with Waddingham as Rebecca Welton in Ted Lasso.
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The contrast is part of the role’s appeal. Waddingham’s later fame can make it easy to overlook how completely the production buried her recognizable features beneath the septa’s costume and makeup. CinemaBlend’s interview summary discusses her reaction to Unella’s appearance.
What is the significance of Unella’s bell?
The bell is Unella’s defining prop. During Cersei’s walk, its repeated ringing marks each stage of the procession and works with the chant to make the punishment impossible to ignore. It is both an object of religious ritual and a symbol of public condemnation.
Waddingham kept the bell after filming. She told The Kelly Clarkson Show that receiving the prop effectively confirmed that Unella’s story was finished, since productions generally do not give away important props when a character is expected to return. The bell consequently became a personal keepsake and the object most strongly identified with the character. Waddingham’s appearance on The Kelly Clarkson Show includes the story.
Independent reader supportYour contribution helps us test, update, and keep practical guides available for everyone.How is the book version different?
Septa Unella also appears in George R. R. Martin’s A Song of Ice and Fire novels, particularly A Feast for Crows and A Dance with Dragons. The television adaptation retains her connection to the Faith and the High Sparrow, but it ties her much more directly to Cersei’s central storyline.
The most important difference concerns the walk of atonement. In the novels, Septa Scolera, not Unella, is associated with the bell during Cersei’s walk. The television series gives that highly visible function to Unella, which is why viewers remember her as the “Shame” septa.
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- Game of Thrones (Complete Series) - 38-DVD Box Set ( Game of Thrones - Seasons One to Eight )
- Game of Thrones (Complete Series) - 38-DVD Box Set
- Game of Thrones - Seasons One to Eight
In other words, the show did not simply transfer every detail of the book character to the screen. It consolidated the visual identity of the punishment around Waddingham’s Unella, making her a much more memorable part of Cersei’s television arc. The character’s book and television distinctions are summarized in A Wiki of Ice and Fire’s Unella entry.
Septa Unella: the essential facts
- Real name: Septa Unella.
- Played by: Hannah Waddingham.
- Affiliation: The Faith of the Seven and the High Sparrow.
- First listed appearance: Season 5, Episode 7, “The Gift.”
- Most famous scene: Cersei’s walk of atonement in “Mother’s Mercy.”
- Signature actions: Ringing a bell and shouting “Shame!”
- Final appearance: Season 6, Episode 10, “The Winds of Winter.”
- Fate: Left with the Mountain; the show does not confirm exactly what happens afterward.
- Book distinction: Septa Scolera, rather than Unella, is associated with the bell during Cersei’s book walk of atonement.
Frequently Asked Questions
Is the Shame Nun really called Septa Unella?
Yes. Hannah Waddingham plays Septa Unella. “The Shame Nun” is a fan nickname based on her role in Cersei’s walk of atonement, not the character’s official name.
What does the Shame Nun say to Cersei?
She repeatedly shouts “Shame!” while ringing a bell during Cersei’s public walk from the Great Sept of Baelor to the Red Keep.
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1Scan for outdated or missing drivers - takes under a minute2Repair Windows errors before they cause bigger problems3Fix the driver behind crashes, sound loss and screen glitchesDoes Septa Unella die in Game of Thrones?
The series does not show or explicitly confirm her death. Cersei leaves her restrained with the reanimated Mountain, strongly implying torture, but the exact outcome is left off screen.
How many episodes of Game of Thrones feature Hannah Waddingham as Unella?
Waddingham appears as Septa Unella in eight episodes across Seasons 5 and 6.
Is the walk called a walk of shame or a walk of atonement?
“Walk of shame” is the common informal name. Within the Faith of the Seven, it is presented as a walk of atonement, a public religious punishment intended to demonstrate repentance.
The Bottom Line
Hannah Waddingham’s “Shame Nun” is Septa Unella, the Faith of the Seven enforcer whose bell and chant define Cersei Lannister’s walk of atonement. Her story ends ambiguously: after Cersei takes revenge, Unella is left with the Mountain, but Game of Thrones never confirms precisely what happens to her.
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