Spanish-language news outlet XL Semanal was one of the very few publications that got access to the set of Game of Thrones season 8 while filming was going on, and they’ve shared their observations in a new article. Let’s hit the highlights, shall we?
XL Semanal wasn’t there for the initial table read, but they did hear what happened from cast members after the fact. As has been reported before, it was basically a big flood of tears, particularly from Kit Harington, who by all accounts got the weepiest when Bryan Cogman read the final line in the final script: “End of Game of Thrones.” Emilia Clarke (Daenerys Targaryen) lightly teased Harington about it, saying the tears were “cute to see.” In a separate interview, Sophie Turner took thinks a little further: “What a pansy.” Oh, these two:
To me, the most interesting thing about this article was XL Semanal’s description of the scene where Daenerys arrives at Winterfell, which we’ve seen glimpses of in the trailer and other promotional materials.
“It’s one of the first scenes of the season, when Daenerys meets Jon’s family, who is now her boyfriend,” Kit Harington said. “It’s a difficult situation for him…And I can not tell you more.” The producers shot this scene many times, making sure to get it right. That’s something showrunners David Benioff and Dan Weiss did with a lot of scenes this season, spending way more time than usual making sure every detail was perfect. We’ve all heard about how spectacular this season’s big battle sequences will be, but that applies to every area of the production. It’s why they took longer filming six episodes than they ever did shooting 10 in prior seasons.
Also intriguing is what Bella Ramsey (Lyanna Mormont) had to say about the first episodes. Apparently, her character “is not very happy with the arrival of a foreign queen. But I can not tell you anything else.” There’s a lot of that going around.
“We have made 22,000 extra costumes for the season, and another 300 for the stars.” said crew member Kate O’Farrell. Meanwhile, armorer Natalia Lee went over some of the gear they made for the final season, including “[d]aggers, spears, bows, catapults, hammers, shields, crossbows and scorpions, halberds, maces, manguales, tribal weapons, swords of steel, copper, oxidiana, wood and rubber, the sheaths of the swords…” It’s gonna be big.
And then there’s the ending. What say you, cast members?
- Liam Cunningham (Davos Seaworth): “It’s beautiful, colossal!”
- Iain Glen (Jorah Mormont): “It meets all my expectations. But you’ll never guess how it ends.”
- Sophie Turner: “There will be more blood, betrayal and death than ever.”
Season 8 debuts on April 14.
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