Season 7 of Game of Thrones is up for 22 Emmys this year, more than any other show. Among the nominees are Alan Taylor and Jeremy Podeswa, the guys behind “Beyond the Wall” and “The Dragon and the Wolf” respectively; both are up for the Outstanding Directing in a Drama award. The both of them discussed season 7’s biggest moments with The Hollywood Reporter, starting with the dragon Viserion’s death in “Beyond the Wall.” Apparently, a big moment like that was just another day at the office for Taylor:
I have a history of killing beloved characters on HBO shows: I killed Ned Stark, I killed Julius Caesar [on Rome], I killed Wild Bill Hickok [on Deadwood]. As a director, it’s great when you have a moment like that because you know it’s going to have an impact. I knew that killing a dragon was going to be like killing a puppy. (Laughs.) It’s an emotional moment when you kill a character that’s flesh and blood and human, but killing a creature that’s beloved the way dragons are? I knew it would have impact.
We never realized Taylor killed off so many of our favorite characters…that murderer. (Kidding.)
Podeswa hasn’t killed as many beloved characters as Taylor, but he does have a long and impressive resume that includes stints on shows like Six Feet Under, Dexter, The Tudors, Homeland, American Horror Story, Boardwalk Empire, The Handmaid’s Tale and many more; guy’s done it all. He directed some banner moments for season 7, but the most memorable may have been the last: the fall of the Wall.
When you’re reading the script, you’re thinking, “Oh my God. They’re really going there.” Then it was like, “Wow. This is an enormous, spectacular sequence. How are we going to pull it off?” There’s a big question of mine about how much is real, how much is not real, how much is visual effects. You’re so well-supported on a show like this with such great people that I knew I wouldn’t be doing it alone.
Podeswa also had the job of revealing Jon Snow’s secret heritage: he is the son of Rhaegar Targaryen and Lyanna Stark, which makes him Daenerys’ nephew. And we learned this information, of course, while we watched Jon and Daenerys have sex for the first time, because this show is a smartass like that. “It’s an epic revelation about the past, and that’s suggestive of the future,” Podeswa said, intriguingly. “For us, it was very important that there be a question about what could possibly happen after this moment. In the script, it described the fact that they were lovemaking, but it didn’t go into great detail in terms of what was going on between them in that moment.”
We built in a moment between Kit [Harington] and Emilia [Clarke] where they stopped and looked into each other’s eyes. The intention from my point of view, and their point of view, too, is that they’re driven by passion into this. They don’t even fully understand what it’s all about and what the consequences of it are.
It will surely be interesting to dig into the consequences next year. Nephew vs aunt for the Iron Throne? Nephew and aunt on the Iron Throne? Unspeakably awkward conversation about how close is too close for family members?
Neither Podeswa or Taylor are directing an episode for season 8, so if they want to take home an Emmy for their work on the show, it’s now or never. The 70th annual Emmy Awards will air September 17 on NBC. Best of luck to them both!
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